More Travels and a Church

Queridos hermanos,

Tomorrow morning I fly to Salta, Argentina to get the final 30 days on my visa. I´ve been illegal for the last week or so, and will be illegal for just short of 2 weeks when I hopefully get my new visa. I´m flying by myself to a country I´ve never been to, which is a bit unnerving. Pray for confidence, and God´s protection as I spend Monday thru Thursday away from Cochabamba.

The last few days have been stressful, and I´ve struggled to trust that God would provide a good way for me to get my last visa. Yesterday, I was overwhelmed by His goodness. When I went to check on cheap flights out of the country, the agent told me the cheapest flight was to Salta, Argentina. Just last week, during a special week of celebration in our church, we had a visiting pastor, Pastor Rolando, stay at the church all week, who was from Salta, Argentina. One of the first things he said to me when I first met him was that I had a place to stay with him if I was ever in Salta!! How good is our God?!!

I have yet to get ahold of him, so I´d also appreciate your prayers that I would be able to contact him before I leave early tomorrow morning.

A special service last week at my church
(Carlos on piano (L), Wilber in the middle, and Pastor Rolando on the right)

Aside from visas, I continue to be overwhelmingly blessed by God´s intentional care for me. As I mentioned in my recent e-mail, my home church here has filled me to overflowing with incredible community. Here´s a little peek into what my church is like:

-Quechua older men and women
-a thriving young people´s group my age
-cute little kids running all over the place

People in the congregation at my church

Those who got baptized when I went with my church a month ago
(Rosalia is the girl on the left in the back)

I went to a devotional Thursday night at my church, and when I arrived early, Vicenta (a dear friend, mother of my friend Rosalia, and housekeeper at the Frutillar orphanage) came in and asked me to sing songs in Quechua with her out of her Quechua hymnal. Vicenta also makes sure that someone always takes me all the way home after church, since I have to walk through a dark forrest to get to my house.

Rosalia (pictured above) lives at the Frutillar orphanage, as the daughter of Vicenta, the housekeeper. I began a friendship with her two years ago, but she´s now 13, and we´re able to have much more of a relationship now that she´s a part of the jovenes (young people) group at church. It was powerful to listen to her share about her faith to the whole congregation before she was baptized. Her faith is vibrant, especially for a 13-year-old, and we often get to pray together, sing worship together, and spend time together. Keep praying for my mentorship of Rosalia, especially as she enters into rebellious years, and without a father.

Thank you, my dear friends, for your continued love and support. I feel daily blessed by the community that I never really left behind when I came here.

con todo amor,
Kati