Answered Prayers!!

typical Bolivian baby

God brought me to the breaking point last weekend, only to turn around the next day and answer prayers left and right.

Monday morning, I walked into work and found out that my contract was back from La Paz. By Wednesday, I had signed my contract, and yesterday found out that I will start my visa process on Monday! There's still no word on my passport, and whether that's still a problem, but the other two obstacles, God seems to be breaking down quickly!

The director is all of a sudden on my side and doing everything he can to get me home for the summer. He's letting me miss all morning on Monday to get my paperwork started, and he seems willing to do whatever it takes to get my papers through. They did warn me that the immigration process may take "at least 3 months", but I choose to be hopeful.

God also continues to use those in my life to encourage me and remind me of His truth and His faithfulness. On Sunday, as we prepared for the church service, I was feeling especially frustrated, discouraged, and even homesick. My 13-year-old friend Rosalia tuned into that, pulled me aside to gently "lecture" me about God's plans for my life and His faithfulness, and then made me go on a walk with her to get my mind off my troubles. Rosalia is only 13, but she acted like she had the widom and maturity of an adult in her care and response to me.

Keep praying, the battle isn't over yet. I'll keep you posted as things unfold.

Yay!

Katie

walking down to school with the housemates

Jen and Jeff
2 friends from ITeams ministry

PRAY

me and Franz
(one of the Villa Israel boys,
recently moved to the Frutillar orphanage)

Ambiguity. That's the theme of my life in Bolivia. I wrestled for 6 months with my visa when I was here as a volunteer, and now, 4 months later, I'm in the same place.

When I left 2 and a half months ago, I thought I was saying goodbye for just 5 months. Even though I hadn't bought plane tickets, I had plans to return to Colorado for the summer during school vacation. My heart was full of plans: the people I would see, the time in the alpine tundra I'd soak up, and the mountain berries I'd pick. It was more than just returning to evade homesickness... it was going to be a time to really deepen and invest in relationships that are important to me.

This week, I learned that a series of complications, both with my contract and with my visa, may very likely keep me from coming home this summer. My contract is stuck in La Paz, with the Ministry of Labor, where it has quite possibly been for the last two and a half months. in order to get a work visa, I need my contract. The government has to approve this new contract, but seems to be waiting for new immigration laws to settle. Once I have my contract and can start the visa process, I may be looking at months before I have the piece of paper allowing me to leave the country.

So, as it stands now, it looks like I will be unable to leave the country. God must have some plan through all this ambiguity and frustrated plans; I just have to fight to see it. Pray. Pray that a miracle will be done with my visa and contract. Pray that God will continue to refine me through this process, and that I won't give up seeking His face in this.

one of my favorite running routes

In the midst of all the craziness, I've found that going on early morning runs before school saves my sanity. This last week, I had several gifts of quiet solitude, slipping through the dirt streets of the adobe pueblito above my house. These misty mornings have a calming effect on me, reminding me that God is ultimately in control of my future, my past, and my now. In the cloudy sunrises over the Andes, He whispers in my ear, "Katie, just breathe. Breathe in my goodness, and rest in my faithfulness." And looking over the glow of the city lights below, I believe, even if for a minute, that our God is a God who fights for us. A God who knows our heart's deepest cries and inmost groans.

Then I turn down the path and head back home, towards my anxieties, my frustrations, the mundane of daily life, but carrying with me just a little piece of the truth I find on my morning runs.

May each of you find your own "morning run". A time where you can rest each day in the knowledge that God's sovereignty is bigger than anything we could ever encounter.

Kati

"Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
Psalm 46:10

a picnic at the Botanical Gardens

Bautismo

My life here is full to overflowing. God has blessed me abundantly with a rich community, outlets to use my gifts, and lots of encouragement. I am so grateful for His daily affirmations that THIS is where I'm supposed to be.

me with my favorite neighbor boy, Willy
Carnaval continued... in our house!

It's an incredible blessing to me that my post-college life is almost as full of community as it was when I was living on campus and surrounded by peers! Even though I am developing great friendships with those around me, I still really feel a hole in the area of deep, close friendships. Because of the cultural barriers, I have to be very careful in my friendships with guys. There are no girls my age who I'm around, and I struggle not having a close girlfriend here to keep me accountable.

Nelson, Pastora Charito & Miguel
(don't worry, the boys are standing on rocks. or at least one of them is...)

Miguel getting baptized

Several weeks ago, my church went to Los Molinos, a beautiful retreat along a river. We had a neat ceremony before the baptism, where the four youth who were going to be baptized shared a little bit about why they wanted to be baptized and about their faith journey. The day was cloudy and the water freezing, so the youth really had to be committed to their decision to be baptized! After each person was baptized, we sang "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus". It was truly a time of celebration for the new life of those four jovenes.

me and my friend Humberto behind
one of the waterfalls

Afterwards, we played soccer, sang, and explored along the gorgeous river, including the various waterfalls in the valley. I had fun going behind the waterfalls and playing in the water with my friends. We all drove there together in a big trufi (the local transportation), and as we drove back, someone pulled out the guitar and we worshipped the whole way back. What a joy filled day! It was pretty special to realize I've been a part of this church family long enough to witness two baptism ceremonies, and to have so many memories with the wonderful people in our congregation.

Laura, Valkeria, and me at the baptism

Despite all these blessings, I am struggling with some of the same visa problems that I had the last time I was here. Even though I am on a completely different visa, and I supposedly put all those visa problems behind me, my boss approached me today informing me that I may have hit a snag with my visa process. Someone really doesn't want me to be in Bolivia! It seems like every step of the way, there is always at least one hang up.

Anyway, here's the scoop. I'm still waiting for my contract, and I need my contract from the school in order to start my visa process. It may sound crazy to be teaching without a written contract, but I've been paid each month and given every reason to believe that I will be provided what I've been promised. The problem is that supposedly my new contract is stuck in the lawyer's office because the Bolivian government has an "observation" on my passport. Aaahhh! Sounds scary, but my boss made it sound like it's not a huge thing to worry about yet.

That all said, please just pray that God will provide a clear path to move forward, and that it will just be a mix-up. Hopefully, all I'll have to do is pay for the days I was over my visa last fall, and I can move forward. I am currently almost a month and a half over my current visa while I wait for the residency visa process to begin. Ugh.

Thanks for listening, for your continued prayers, and for all your encouragement. I am grateful for all the support I have at home.

Kati

P.S. Here's the link to my Carnaval dance with the other teachers:
http://video.google.es/videoplay?docid=-4319825846314456703

I'm also including a video from the baptism:
http://video.google.es/videoplay?docid=-8400814169223687980

COPY THE LINK INTO YOUR BROWSER:)

Carnaval

Carnaval has come and gone, but I think that water balloons and kids with squirt guns will stick around for a long time. I know I plan to continue to use my own small squirt gun in class as a classroom management technique for months to come!

two of my detention regulars:)

At school, we had our own celebration. We had classes in the morning, and then spent all of Friday afternoon celebrating. Each grade had prepared a traditional dance to perform in front of the school. Some of the teachers and staff also prepared a dance, Saya-Afro Boliviano, which I participated in! It was so much fun to practice and perform this dance. My housemate recorded it, so I'll try to post it in my next blog.

me and Jenny in dance dress

It was especially fun to dance in front of my kids; they went crazy screaming for me and Jenny! We even threw in a little can-can to spice up the traditional dance when we were in front of them:)

me, the director's wife, Jenny and Alma

my students

me and Vanessa (one of my students)

two of my girls in full costume

After the dance, we had a school wide water fight. I was supposed to be supervising one section, but instead, I got SOAKED by all my kids down there with huge super-soakers. They thought it was the coolest thing ever to get to get their teacher wet at school. Even though I was sopping wet, I thought it was pretty fun, too.

Aside from all the fun of Carnaval, there's a dark side to the celebrations. It's a mezcla of both the Catholic tradition of Lent, and the pagan offerings and prayers to Pachamama, the Incan Earth goddess. On Tuesday, our landlord came over to ch'allar our house. Ch'allar is a Quechua word for the act of making offerings to Pachamama. They burn fake money, herbs, and other things in a "koa", a small coal fire, and decorate all things sacred with colored string and balloons. The belief is that if they offer sacrifices to Pachamama, she will bless them in the year to come. It was hard to know how to respond to such an empty ritual, and I felt almost oppressed by the hopelessness of it when our landlord came over to burn sacrifices at our house

There's much more to share about the last few weeks: a church baptism, the women's co-op, updates on old ministries.... To be continued

Kati

P.S. "O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." Isaiah 25:1

Normal Life

me and Briseyda
(one of the youth in the church)

What a rich last few weeks. Relationally, I've really begun to put down deep roots here. I've had my share of challenges, especially learning how to be vulnerable and honest in a different culture that doesn't always understand me or the way my culture works.

Sara, Elías & friend
(kiddos from the Center)

I've begun a neat relationship with a woman named Reina. She's my age or younger, but has a three-year old and an infant. Her job is to clock in the "U" trufi, which is one of the buses that goes through my neighborhood. She's a new Christian in our church, and I've been trying to build a relationship with her for the last 5 months. I keep running into the awkward barrier, where we don't have anything to talk about and it feels fake. On my way home from school last week, I stopped by her clock-in station to say hello, and we talked for an hour and a half! She finally opened up, and is such a delight to be around. I hope she might even become a good friend here.

It's Carnaval now, which means that everyone is fair game for a water balloon or a thorough soaking with a water gun. Yesterday, I was minding my own business, grading papers on my balcony, when a water balloon slammed next to my face. OUT OF NOWHERE! Now I feel like I'm always being watched.

Today, I was locking the gate as we left the house when I got ambushed by a gaggle of boys, armed with super-soakers. There was nowhere to run, to I just turned my back and got a full soaking of my backside. I'm sure there will be many stories to follow, as this is just the beginning of the water madness.

Ann, Drew & Jenny
my housemates with the neighbor kids
after a SERIOUS waterfight

I've started up Quechua lessons again, and was thrilled to see that I haven't lost that much over the last two months. The neighborhood where I now live is primarily Quechua, so I get to use my Quechua almost every day. I can now hold a basic conversation with someone in Quechua! ¡Walej walej!

me and Tina (my Quechua teacher)

I leave you with this:

"Wait for the Lord;
be strong, take heart
and wait for the Lord."

Psalm 27:14

Love to each and every one of you.
Kati

Praise the Lord!

Praise the LORD
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
The LORD builds up Jerusalem;

he gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars...

Psalm 147:1-4


This is the passage that we got to read aloud and pick apart in my English class last week. We are reading Number the Stars, and this passage was in the book. I got to read it aloud several times to my kids, and I got chills as I read praises to God to my kids, regardless of the academic context. We even discussed what it meant that God "heals the brokenhearted" and "binds up their wounds".

me and Elias

Last Tuesday, I got to visit the Center for the first time since returning to Coch. The sweetest little boy ever, Elias, was there in the swimming pool, and came running over to give me a sopping wet hug. It was beautiful to see that my friendship with this incredible little boy was unchanged. I gave him a picture of the two of us, and he spent several minutes comparing the picture with my face, checking to make sure that all my facial features were still there, and hadn't changed too much. According to Elias, my eyes, mouth, and nose are all still there.

I'm beginning to feel the stresses of being outside my own culture. Please pray that I'll learn how to respond graciously, and to figure out my role in this culture.

Bedroom Scorpion Count: 2

Katie

p.s. VERY IMPORTANT! If you want to send me mail, there is a slight correction to the mailing address. Instead of putting my name first in the address, you must put the school first and put my name in the second line. The post office looks for the name on the box, which is the school, and may not realize that it's supposed to go there if my name is the first they see.



Cochabamba Cooperative School

Atte: Katie Stewart

P.O. Box 1395

Cochabamba, Bolivia