Furlough

I'm finding that the missionaries/volunteers who have the most productive ministries and healthy lives down here make a short trip back to their home country once a year.  It's good for keeping supporting churches, friends, and family up to date on all the projects and ministries going on in Bolivia.  And personally, because I live down here by myself, I need to see my family.   So I'm planning to make a trip back to the States this coming summer.  I'm hoping to share about the projects I am involved in down here, visit my supporters, and spend some time at Risen Savior, my sending church in Chicago.  I'm also going to make time for a week-long vacation in northern Minnesota with my family and FBS (my kind of extended family).  

I'm actually going to be in the US for about 8 weeks because part of what I need to do is make a trip to D.C. and figure out my visa issue with the Bolivian consulate.  I don't have any news, but as far as I know, I'm still illegal.  I'm meeting with the travel agent to book my flight back to the States either today or tomorrow, so hopefully I can find out more info about the current state of my visa and where in the country my passport is.  

So sometime around June 25 or 26, I should land in Chicago - just in time for my friends' wedding.  After a few days at Cornerstone with FBS (how could I be in the US and not go to Cornerstone!?), I'll spend July and part of August visiting supporters and churches.  Hopefully by then I'll have a documentary video to bring with me that Ninos con Valor is getting put together right now.  Then, during the first week of August, I'm going on that big family vacation/reunion to Minnesota.  I'm also hoping to spend a week or two in Chicago with my church during my trip and then head back down to Bolivia (with my visa) in August.  

(Blogs are always better with links and photos.)

Christa, Mallory, Ryan, and me in Garrison, Minnesota in 2005

Niños

Saturday was Children's Day here in Cochabamba, and we celebrated our kids at the center with a carnival (sort of).  All the kids who come to the weekday afternoon activities earn tickets which they can spend at a carnival at the end of 4 months.  This was our first go at the carnival idea, and it went over pretty well.  With their tickets, the kids could buy things like toys, candy, and food, or play games and earn prizes, or get their faces painted.  I put together a basketball game, a ring toss, and a bucket toss and recruited Kim and Ruth to help run the stands.  The games sound cooler than they actually were, but the kids liked them.  If you are interested, I posted some photos on my web gallery.

Next Saturday, it's back to normal at the center, and we'll continue with our theme: "Clean, Inside & Out."  I'll have to figure out a way to pass out tickets so that the kids who can only come on Saturdays can be involved in the next carnival at the end of July.

And then, on Sunday the 27th, the teen girls and I are having a pizza-making party!  

I'm pleased about the open door for weekend activities and outreaches at the center, but I'm resigning myself to the fact that other doors have been closed.  As in all ministries, changes in leadership mean changes in direction and vision.  It's normal, and there is room for many different types of ministries in the Kingdom of God.  And so, as some doors close for me at El Centro de Amistad, God has been opening other doors in other areas of ministry in Cochabamba.  

Since the end of March, I've been spending 3 mornings a week volunteering with another foundation called Ninos con Valor.  Right now, I am just observing/helping out where I can in their project for street girls and women at risk as well as spending some time with the girls in their girls' home.  I hope to get more involved as I cut back on my Spanish classes in the coming weeks.  I'm praying that ITeams will want to partner with them, as they have with so many other ministries in Latin America.  Check out their website, if you get a chance.  Hopefully, I'll get some photos posted online in a few days.

A review of the weekend's activities

We [finally] kicked off the Saturday afternoon activities at the center this past Saturday, and it was awesome.  I have Ruth (a local university student) and Kim (a missionary friend) helping me out, and they are both really excited about the ministry.  

We only had about 20 kids show up, but they had a great time and word should get around before next week.  They played really well, listened attentively, and participated in everything from the organized games to the object lesson.  

The theme for the month is "Clean, Inside & Out."  I put together an object lesson that compared dirt and germs on our hands to sin in our hearts.  We taught the kids how to properly wash their hands and passed out scented bars of soap.  Repetition is key, and so next week we'll repeat the same concept but talk about our teeth and cavities.  Kim is putting together a puppet show to go along with the lesson.  I already picked up toothbrushes to pass out to all the kids after we teach them how to properly brush their teeth and why they need to do so.  Bless 'em, they all have terrible, broken teeth and tons of cavities.  Maybe we can just help prevent them from getting more. 

I also went up the center yesterday to see if I could round up some of the teenage girls in the neighborhood to hang out and talk about activities we can do as a group.  I found 3 girls, and we ended up hanging out for about an hour and a half.  I taught them how to play "Spoons" (if you don't know this card game, you're missing out), and we talked a lot.  They're going to pass the word around that we're planning to get together again this coming Sunday at the center.  We'll probably bake cookies or do something equally girly, and they'll love it.    

If you know me all,  then you know that I am not a domestic goddess.  When I was trying to make Rice Krispie treats a couple of years ago, I started a fire in my kitchen and completely ruined a wok (I know, a wok?).  But if I don't bake cookies with these girls, nobody will.  So here goes nothing!