Beauty

the view from my balcony... breathtaking

God is good. He provides for my needs each morning. Laughter for my soul, beauty in nature for my heart, and a community to keep my life balanced.

Even though I've lived in Bolivia for a total of 8 months, each morning brings something new. Here are a few from this week:

1. a dangerous scorpion in my closet, then on me, then thrown to my pillowcase, then thrown outside with a scream (much to the amusement of my Bolivian neighbors) and FINALLY, crushed with a shoe

note the purple and green guts!

2. obstacles on my run, including a large herd of disgruntled pigs, boys hiding in the bushes to ambush me with water balloons, and beautiful wildflowers every 100 ft

this is, in fact, a REAL flower found near our house!

3. the road turned river every morning when I try to walk down to school. I need galoshes or a flat-bottomed boat!


On Thursday, I got to visit Villa Israel for the first time since returning to Coch, and it did my heart good to see the kiddos. They've really changed since I was last there, but in so many ways, it felt the same. I hope to continue to stay involved in the kids lives, at both orphanages and the Center whenever I can after school. I've found that I still do have energy after school, and it's been great to reconnect with lots of friends.

Jhoel with my umbrella

me and Erland

There's so much more to share and so many stories. My heart is at rest here, and I am grateful for God's goodness in my life. May God bless you richly with His abundance.

Katie

P.S. Here's a video of Brandon (from Villa Israel) singing a praise song.

6th grade and lawn mowers

I have successfully finished my first week as a teacher! Yay! When I got off the plane in Coch last week, the school director was waiting for me with good and bad news. They weren't going to split the 3rd grade, so I'd be teaching a split 6th grade class. The good news is I'll be teaching English (grammar, spelling, reading and writing), which is my FAVORITE, and I'll have more prep periods than anyone in the school. The bad news was that the other 6th grade teacher (my housemate, Jenny), wasn't going to return until the following week, and I was going to be teaching the full class (28 students). I'm also on detention duty after school every day this semester. Giddyup.

my classroom this week (Jenny's room)

So, this week I taught 28 squirrely 6th graders, many of whom don't speak English well. The week was full of math outside, Colorado alpine flowers for science, and Chronicles of Narnia for a read aloud. We spent most of the week getting to know each other, and my heart breaks for so many of these kids. Even though they come from some of the richest families in Coch, so many of them have the same needs as the poorest children from the Center I worked at the last 6 months. Many of them crave attention and approval just like the kiddos in the orphanage. The main difference is that they have all the latest technology, games, and clothes. It's been humbling to see so many of my prejudices toward the rich come to light, and to be forced to look for beauty in these kids, too, as spoiled or sheltered as they may be.

my new house
¡mi cuarto!

On a lighter note, I'm beginning to settle into my room and to feel like this house is truly my home, not just a place to stay for the next year and a half. I walk to school every morning, about 6 blocks down the hill. My room has a balcony overlooking the entire city, and a view of the Andes from my quiet time spot. Life is good.

meet our lawnmowers!

Things are certainly done differently here, and each day I feel like I learn something new and exciting about alternative ways to live. This week's life lesson is: WHO NEEDS LAWNMOWERS WHEN YOU HAVE COWS? (and a sheep). A lady in the neighborhood was grazing her herd on the street outside our house, and we opened the gates so they could come in and feast on our yard, leaving behind freshly grazed grass and piles of fertilizer:)

me with our lawnmowers... or should I say
FERTILIZERS?!

Thanks for reading!
Katie

P.S. Psalm 16. Good stuff.

P.S.!

Don't forget my new address!

Katie Stewart
c/o Cochabamba Cooperative School
P.O. Box 1395
Cochabamba, Bolivia

I still love letters. A lot:)

Waiting...

Good grief. Sometimes it seems like I'm not meant to get to Bolivia. It seems like every time I try to go there, or work to stay in Bolivia, something always stops me. My connecting flight to my plane to Santa Cruz, Bolivia was 2 hours late, and I missed my flight. The next flight isn't until 24hrs later, so I'm hanging out in Miami until 11:00pm tonight. My AeroSur flight in Bolivia from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba may not be honored, since American Airlines does not have a ticketing agreement with them. I'm hoping I'll be able to get on a flight tomorrow to Coch once I arrive in Bolivia, but there may be more obstacles once I get there.

As I talked to my dad in tears on the phone, I remembered all the times I was stuck in Chicago, needing to leave the country for my visa, and fighting to get what I needed to return to a job at the school in Bolivia. It'd be so easy to think that all these struggles means that I'm not meant to return.

Since last night, I've reached a place of peace. All this fighting has made me realize what Bolivia really means to me. Sometimes, the things that are most valuable, beautiful, or purposeful are the things you have to fight for the hardest. All the obstacles in my path to Bolivia now seem like more reason to push forward, trusting that God has confirmed my calling there.

Thanks for your continued prayers. I'll need them a lot this next week, because I will be starting class on Tuesday, and the school is still unsure what grade I will be teaching. Lots to adjust to, and lots to be flexible for! But, our God is good, and I will rest in that.

Peace to you, friends.
Katie