November

My time in Bolivia is going by quickly and the weather grows hotter as we start to move from spring into summer. I no longer suffer from being cold all of the time like I was in the States. Rather, I am usually hot here during the day, and at nights as well if it doesn't cool off. Here are some of the highlights and learnings since I last wrote:

• We had our first MCC retreat at the end of October in Buena Vista. We stayed at a beautiful place out in the country and I had the opportunity to hike in a forest and eat a mango that had just fallen from the tree (it actually almost hit me on the head and made this huge racket as it fell that made me jump out of my skin). The retreat was a really nice time to meet and get to know the other MCCers. It was also refreshing for me to be out in the country and away from the noise and activity of the city for a couple of days.
• I learned that cockroaches can fly! What?!?! I learned this when the giant cockroach that I was watching climb the wall suddenly opened his wings and took flight. You should have seen the look on my face! Why would you give a cockroach wings? They are gross enough without worrying about whether they will fly at you.
• The beginning of November we celebrated Dia de los Muertos (day of the Dead). This is a big holiday here and there was no work or school. Families got together and went to the cemetary to put flowers on graves. My host family and I went to visit the relatives in the country where the grandparents are buried, and it was a really great time of getting to know the family better.
• I have been to two Bolivian weddings in November. At first it seemed strange to me to have weddings in November...but it is the end of spring and getting into summer and this is the time when there are a lot of weddings. November is basically like the month of May. The weddings here are very much the same as those in the States. However there are definitely some differences. For example, both weddings started an hour or so after the time we were told to be there.
• I am starting to learn my way around Santa Cruz and I love when I am able to get somewhere on my own. It feels like my world here is expanding bit by bit and I love feeling a little bit more independent as I go places.
• This past week was the last week of school for many of the students that I work with. It was a rather crazy week with many students needing help studying for exams or finishing up projects. This next week should be an easier week. The after school program will still be open for 3 or 4 more weeks, but the kids will come to do reforzamiento and some other activities rather then studying. I am looking forward to a lighter work load this coming week.
• One of my biggest learnings has come from things that I struggle with here. I find that I really need to rely on God to help me through the days and weeks. In the States, it was so easy for me to rely on my own abilities and my own strengths. In Bolivia, I cannot rely on myself, and there are many things that I struggle with. I have learned that it is in these areas and during this time that God can really work in my life. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 and 10 that God said to him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Why does God work in our weaknesses and not in our strengths? I think it is because in our strength, our focus and trust is in ourselves. Whereas in our weakness, our focus and trust is in God. In the States, I could rely on myself and my abilities to succeed in my job of teaching Kindergarteners. In Bolivia, I find that I need to rely on God for the patience and energy that I need to understand what my students are rattling off to me in Spanish and to figure out how I can help them with their homework. In the States, I could rely on myself to get to places safely in my car. In Bolivia, I need to rely on God for protection when I feel vulnerable walking in the city and for guidance when I feel lost or confused. In the States, I could rely on my friends and family to help me when I felt down. In Bolivia, I rely on God to help me when I feel alone or exhausted. It is a very humbling experience to be here, but it is also such a time of growth as I realize that I need God to make it through the day and as I ask him to change me and use me here where I am at. Paul also writes, "I delight in weaknesses...in hardships...in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." What a new way of looking at weaknesses and struggles--as strengths, as opportunities for God to work in your life and for change to happen. To delight in difficulties, rather then to complain. To boast about weaknesses rather then try to hide them or cover them up. To be present in hardships rather then trying to escape.
  

I want to end with a quote by M. SCOTT PECK: "The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."