Last Week of School!!!

Hip, hip, hooray...hip, hip, hooray...hip, hip, hooray!!!! Sometimes I think the teachers are more excited by the end of the school year than the students are...which is hard to imagine, I know!!! Tomorrow will be the last full day of classes, the elementary students will finish the year with a closing program on Wednesday, the jr high/high school students will have exams through the end of the week and then will finish with their closing program on Friday afternoon! Saturday night is graduation!!!! In the past the school has typically had graduation on Friday night...so I'm a little disappointed that they decided to move it to Saturday night this year...since it means I have a conflict with my girls from the youth group. Fortunately the girls are flexible and if I offer lunch at my house on Sunday...instead of a meeting on Saturday night...they're usually willing to oblige! I appreciate their flexibility!

I continue to LOVE working with the girls from church. Over the weekend I had company as two of the girls spent the night on Friday night and then another girl spent the night on Saturday night. I'll admit after long days...and then staying up until late watching movies and hanging out with them...I'm paying for it today! However, I loved having the here! I also love that they continue to open up more and more, allowing me to share in their lives! It's been GREAT!

On Saturday, I agreed to help out at a mission's conference at another church (where several other SAM missionaries attend). They needed someone to dress up as if from India and share with the children. Due to typical Bolivian schedule...I think the program started about an hour and a half later than they said it would...so I spent a lot of time sitting and waiting...but all in all, it was lots of fun! Hopefully, the children learned something about serving the Lord in another country as well as a bit about the country of India! Afterwards, the mission's committee took the two guest speakers out for lunch...paid in pizza, it was WONDERFUL! There are a couple of pictures posted below for you to see...



As for this week...I will be finishing up the school year and try to get my room packed up a bit so that I won't have to go in very often next week! Tonight we also start the new trimester in CIET...I have been on vacation for the last couple of weeks, but now it's time to get started with a new group of students. I believe there are a couple interested in English 2 this trimester as well...so I should have two classes on Monday nights. Also, one of my Bolivian friends, Sandra Jaldin, who works with SAM's Ayore ministry (a ministry designed to meet the medical as well as the Spiritual needs of an Indigenous group of people, the Ayore) is having an overnight "camp" or Spiritual retreat for 12 Ayore kids at the home of Bill and Bev Smith (other SAM missionaries) and has asked me to help her with that. I will be helping with the crafts as well as other aspects of the retreat...the themes are: God as creator, God's holiness, God's omnipresence, and God's love. We would appreciate your prayers for this event...I think it starts Friday evening (not sure what time) and goes through most of the day on Saturday (although I will only be able to help until about 2 or 3 as I have a commitment with the children's ministry at my church on that day). Thank you so much for your interest in the ministry here in Santa Cruz and for your continued prayers as well as praises for all that God is currently doing!

May 11, 2009

Here we are...nearing the end of the school year! It's really quite amazing! I was just commenting to my parents that this time last year I was finishing up my last week of furlough before returning to the field...a lot has certainly happened in a year!

There are only two weeks of school left for us here at the Learning Center. This is the last full week of classes and then next week we will be busy with final exams, closing programs, and graduation! Due to the fact that my classroom is so small...I won't have a lot to do to pack up my room for the vacation...however, I do hope to sit down with Nikki Elliott (my co-worker in the resource department) and do a bit of planning/organizing the program for next year.


I have mentioned several times that you could be praying for the youth group at my church...our division of classes for guys and girls so that we could talk about a few topics which are more gender specific. After three weeks of being separated for classes...we came together last Saturday for our first "social"! Everyone got all dolled up...we decorated the church ( I even bought some real flowers for the occasion), played games, sang songs, had a short devotional together, shared refreshments, etc. It was LOTS of fun! The best part for me was that many of the girls came...even one of the girls who isn't a member of our church but has been coming with her friend! Another one of the girls also brought her boyfriend whose relationship/devotion to the Lord is questionable. She talked with me about him a week or so ago and we were praying that he would come on Saturday night...as he has tried several times to discourage her from going. Praise the Lord for the work He is doing in this young man's life!


One of the things that has been encouraging for me recently concerning the group of girls from church, is that they have begun to open up and share more openly with me about the things on their hearts and minds. Even some of their parents have begun to talk to me about concerns they have for their girls. What a blessing! Not to mention a couple of the girls have begun to bring their boyfriends (some of whom aren't Christians) around a bit, such as the girl who invited her boyfriend to come on Saturday night and then another brought her boyfriend with her on Sunday morning. I feel that God is really beginning to work in their lives, guiding them and teaching them to put into practice the things that we are studying!

I'm feeling very encouraged by the many ways God is using me both at school and through this ministry with the girls! May God continue to grant me the wisdom to guide them in a way that is pleasing to Him, and to advise them using His Biblical truths. Thank you so much for your continued prayers for me as well as for these young women. Thank you too for praying for the end of our school year...as the students/teachers need the strength to finish well!

In my up-date last week...I mentioned a conference that SAM's children's ministry team was presenting on Saturday. The title of the conference was "Mujercitas" (Young Women) and primarily addressed the issue of dressing modestly as well as other things including learning about the differences between men and women, choosing friendships wisely, and allowing each one to look at her own heart and evaluate her relationship with the Lord.


All in all the conference went really well! We did the conference with two different groups of girls, one group in the morning and one in the afternoon...about 60 or 70 came for the morning group and 40 or 50 in the afternoon. We got off to a bit of a rocky start in the morning...my mom referred to it as the dress rehearsal and that was what it felt like! However, the afternoon went much smoother. Thank you for praying specifically for my talk...I felt prepared and for the most part the words seemed to flow quite nicely. I even had one of the Bolivian women who is in our mission tell me that my Spanish has really improved! That was encouraging for me to hear. In the afternoon I was also asked to basically give an altar call. A couple of the teachers had presented the gospel in their talks, but we hadn't taken time yet for the girls to pray and accept Christ if they wished to do so. Several (I think about 10) indicated that they had never accepted Christ as the Lord of their lives so we took a few minutes to pray with them. The hard part in a conference like this is that we had so many groups from orphanages and churches...that truly doing follow-up with these girls is next to impossible. However, God knows exactly who they are and we can trust that He will meet them there and provide people in their lives to guide and direct them in their walk with Him. Please continue to pray for them. Please pray also for the girls overall...that this conference will have an impact on the way they present themselves as well as their interactions with others.



Fortunately, this week is a bit slower for me! I'm looking forward to getting caught up on some emails and other paperwork that I got behind in last week! We only have about 3 weeks of school left!!! That's incredible!!! Thank you so much for your continued prayers! Blessings to you all!

April 27, 2009

I was just commenting to my mom that I needed to sit down and up-date my blog for this week...but with the swirling around of things in my head that I have to do this week, mixed with the number of things that I wanted to tell you about from this past week...I must say...it makes getting any of it out of my mind and into my blog a bit difficult, but I'll do my best!

One of the issues that is currently being addressed at school has to do with the interaction between Bolivian and North American staff members. Not that there is blatant racism that happens between those two groups, but basically there just isn't much interaction. So, in an effort to change that...the school has begun promoting several social activities as well as workshops in order to encourage more integration. One such activity was last Friday night, in celebration of Labor Day (which is May 1). There was a special program (hosted by yours truly along with a Bolivian teacher), games, pinatas, food, fellowship, etc. You will notice in the link below that I have several pictures of the event. To add to the integration...my coworker and I dressed up for the occasion...I dressed in a costume typical for Santa Cruz...and he was dressed in a black tuxedo with a red bowtie and a blue/silver tophat (with stars). It was lots of fun!

Saturday night was the Jr./Sr. Banquet at school...replaces the high school prom...always a huge event and wasn't any less this year. I wore the dress that I bought for Janet's wedding a couple of years ago...this dress has truly served me well! In the snapfish link below you will also see pictures from this special event!

Due to the fact that I was going to the banquet on Saturday night, we moved our "girls' meeting" with the girls in the youth group at church to Sunday lunch! After the morning service, all of us piled into my truck and went to my house...for lunch and the lesson. While I was teaching the lesson on how God has made each of us different and what kinds of things in our lives affect our uniqueness...a couple of the older girls helped me out in the kitchen making noodles and heating spaghetti sauce. After the lesson, we enjoyed a time of fellowship while eating lunch together. This week there were 8 of us total...however, only 4 of us have been there for both meetings...so that shows you that we had quite a different group. I have a feeling that is how each week may be...a slightly different mix of the group. Basically all of the girls have now come to one meeting, so we'll see how this Saturday goes! One of the things that has been most exciting for me is that God is allowing me to become more involved in the lives of several of the girls in my church. With these sessions, it is mostly the younger girls...teenagers/early college students. However, there are also a few single women who are in their upper 20's and have begun to help me as well. Now, God is opening doors for me to meet regularly with them and for us to begin strengthening our friendship as well! It has been such a blessing for me!

Speaking of Saturday...SAM's children's ministry team has been trying for quite some time to offer a modesty conference for girls, ages 12-18. Every time, for some reason or another, it has had to be postponed. Once again we have it planned for this Saturday...and it appears like it will actually be happening! This is something that is desperately needed, particularly in this culture where advertisements everywhere teach otherwise! We have been inviting girls from orphanages, schools, the Learning Center (where I teach), churches with whom SAM works as well as other churches, etc. The conference will be offered once in the morning (8-12) and repeated to a different group of girls in the afternoon (2-6) on Saturday...with a lunch break for the workers in between. I have been asked to teach the first lesson entitled "Como esta tu corazon?" (How is your heart?)...talking about the importance of modesty and how our outward appearance reflects what is in our heart. Please pray for this conference, the many people involved in teaching and coordinating the event (some of them are coming to training sessions that we are offering for them this week on Monday and Tuesday evenings), and the girls who will be attending.

Well...I think that about wraps up this week! As you can see...it is proving to be quite a busy one! Thank you so much for your continued prayers for the school/staff relationships, the girls/women at church, and the modesty conference! God is definitely working in Santa Cruz and it's exciting to see! Here is the link, as promised, for the pictures I mentioned earlier! There are also a few pictures of the games we played at a baby shower we had last week for one of SAM's Bolivian workers(I think you'll know which pictures those are)! Enjoy!

http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=136271240862666758/l=957303008/g=31174248/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Birthday Celebrations!!!

Greetings once again from Santa Cruz! I don't have a lot of time to write this morning as we are doing achievement testing at school and I am responsible for providing modifications for students. That part isn't so hard, but my room is also being used by the other resource teacher who has a larger group of kids so that means that I don't get as much computer time while I'm here! However, I just wanted to touch base on a couple of things. First of all, thank you to all of you who sent birthday wishes and greetings! For those of you who didn't know, Saturday was my 33rd birthday! A couple of people commented that I was now ready for my ministry to begin...following in Christ's footsteps! Lidia, my friend, started my day off right by bringing me breakfast at the house...it was a wonderful surprise!!! After that, there is a girl from school, Veronica Apodaca (pictured above) whose birthday was also on Saturday so her parents invited me to her party. That was a lot of fun as well...although I don't know that I've ever been to a birthday party for someone else on my special day! Then, I went to visit my friend Avelina, who had prepared a special lunch for me (which I ate at about 4:00)...after that there was a women's Bible study at church (and more eating since they brought food for my birthday)...then in the evening we had our first divided youth group meeting. I have been asking you to pray for that time, for awhile. We started this past weekend so that I could begin with a party for me...I decorated my house, made a cake, and had pizza for them to eat!

They tried to get me to bite the cake...as is the custom here...which then means that someone will push the cake in your face so that you end up wearing about half of it! Fortunately, I was quick about it and they were kind to me...so it was only a small bite out of the cake!

Praise the Lord, things went SUPER well! We had a great group of girls...two people even brough friends so we had a couple of newcomers! I am so thankful for this group! Please continue to pray that they will desire to come and grow in their relationship with the Lord. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure that one of the girls who came is not a Christian so this is a great opportunity of witness as well! Due to the fact that I have a school event on Saturday night, we decided that our next meeting will be Sunday for lunch! In addition, there also appear now to be more older girls than there were before (upper 20s...and me) so we have begun talking about doing more things together. I think that could really be a great time of support and growth as well! This new ministry is exciting for me!

The celebrations, however, didn't stop on Saturday night...on Sunday afternoon, a couple of friends from SAM invited me out for cake and ice cream. We went to a local cafe, which has the most delicious chocolate mousse ever...and there awaiting us were ALL of the SAM ladies, with gifts in hand! It was a very special time and caught me quite by surprise! I didn't even have my camera with me...so I'm still waiting for someone to send me the pictures before I can pass them along to you.

Thank you so much for your support of this ministry! Well...I need to give up my room for testing now! Blessings to you all!

April 14, 2009

Sorry for writing this up-date a bit late this week! I had hoped to get it written yesterday...but the day turned out to be more busy than I had expected! As I told you in my last up-date...I have been busy this week with the Elementary Spiritual Emphasis Week and my Easter vacation travels! I have a few highlights to share with you about each!

Elementary Spiritual Emphasis Week...
Thank you to all of you who were praying for this time! I ended the three days absolutely exhausted...however, Praise the Lord for the many ways that He spoke through me! The children were attentive and appeared to really be taking to heart the things that they were learning, which was encouraging to me! There were also 5 children who made decisions to accept the Lord as their Savior during this time! I praise Him for allowing me to be a part of this special point in their lives! Please continue to pray that their walk with Him will grow stronger each day!

Easter Vacation...
On Friday afternoon, I left with two other SAM singles...Katie Wells and Dana Wilson, to go to a resort only about a half an hour outside of the city. The name of the resort is Las Lagunas...due to the lake that runs along the backside of the property. There was also a pool and plenty of areas to sit and relax! Part of the time we spent individually enjoying a refreshing time for a Spiritual Retreat, other times we hung out together (watching movies, lounging by the pool, or just talking), and on Sunday morning...we woke up at the crack of dawn to have our own little Sunrise Service! We returned to the city on Sunday afternoon...about 4:00. All in all, it was a wonderfully refreshing time...rich with Spiritual renewal as well. I can only speak for myself, but there were several things that God spoke to me about in my time alone with Him! Praise the Lord for this time away from the hectic city life!

As promised...I have a link for a few pictures from these two events. If you would like to look at them, just cut and paste this link into your browser...or you may be able to click on the link and have it take you directly to the photo album (http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=671141239766274848/l=655970008/g=31174248/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB). Thank you so much, once again, for your prayers over the past week! They were definitely felt!

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

I'm afraid this will be a rather short post! I'm tired, it has been a long and busy day, and tomorrow will start very early! So, let me quickly launch into some exciting things happening this week (hence the extra busy schedule)...then I'm heading to bed!

This week...well, the 3 day week that we have at school...is our Elementary Spiritual Emphasis Week. As the elementary chaplain, I'm in charge of this event. Basically, what it boils down to throughout these three days...is a chapel service each morning for 1st through 6th grades (from 8:45-9:15). Due to the fact that we are so close to Easter, we are using Christ's relationships with others through the time of His death and resurrection to help us in how we treat one another. Other than the chapel time each morning, I have also made arrangements to go into all elementary classes from PreKinder through 6th grade in order to do a special activity with each of the grade levels...ranging anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes. Of course, I'm still responsible for most of my typical schedule and all of these activities need lesson plans and organization...hence the very busy week! Please pray for these times with the students that this will be a Spiritually enriching time for them...that God would speak to them in a way that they haven't heard Him before. Also, that God would speak clearly through me as I'm working to overcome obstacles such as the wide age range, hyperactive children, English as a Second Language difficulties, etc.

Another exciting thing is that this weekend, two of my friends from SAM (Dana Wilson and Katie Wells) and I will be going to spend the weekend at a resort on the northside of the city. Thank you to a very generous gift, we've decided to go on Friday and return to our homes on Sunday afternoon. While there, other than simply enjoying the pool and each other's company, we also plan to have a Spiritual Retreat. Please pray that this will be a refreshing and renewing time for us...and of course that God would keep us safe while we're away!

Well...I said this would be a short post! Next week I hope to have pictures of both of these events to share with you! May you enjoy this Easter weekend, basking in the presence of the risen Savior!