Salida y Llegada

My heart is moving slowly higher in my throat as I prepare to leave for training in Chicago and then Bolivia in about a week. I feel such purpose and a certain "rightness" to my return. Ever since I left, I have felt drawn back to Bolivia to continue living out my calling. I have no doubts that this is where I should be for the next six months, yet it is so easy to allow the things I'm leaving behind to clutch at me in these final days.

Even as I prepare to leave, I wrestle with second guessing a trip that forces me to use so many resources: the generous gifts of others, fuel for many long plane rides, and my own financial resources. I struggle with what stewardship truly means, but I keep coming back to the same conclusion: I need to listen to God's distinct voice and my sense of calling. It's so easy to get tangled up in apathy while focusing in on making the best decision.

And so, as this picture shows, I am taking action and returning to a place where my heart is full. A place where I am able to use my gifts and passions, and where my interactions with the Bolivian people are rich and powerful. Among many things, I'm looking forward to:

-tutoring kids in the Muyurina orphanage
-hugging those same kids that I haven't seen in 2 years
-learning more Quechua
-riding with my motorcycle friends:)
-being stretched and challenged daily

Peace,
Katie

P.S. I love mail. I love it even more when I'm in another country. Write me at:

Nathan and Kate Spies
Casilla 376
Cochabamba, Bolivia

Please address it to Nathan & Kate, but put "for Katie Stewart" somewhere on the envelope.