December 14, 2010

It's hard to believe that we're already only a week and a half away from Christmas!!! The semester is finishing up at school this Friday!!! Then...this coming Saturday, I'll be heading home for the holidays!!! As soon as I can get over this cold I have and finish up all that I have to do this week...I imagine that I'll be super excited about being with my family! As it is, I woke up this morning and lay in bed thinking about playing with and holding my nephews...as well as thinking about being with my parents at the beach...and all the other joys of being home during this time of the year!

This up-date contains mostly pictures...as I want to make sure that I get it posted today! I wanted to catch you up to speed on a few things that have been happening over the past couple of weeks! Last Thursday, we added a fourth roommate to our household...Emilee Dickman (sitting in the middle of the picture below). She has come to work at SCCLC until the end of the school year and then stick around and help out with teams until mid-July. She is a wonderful addition to our team and we are excited to have her here! She is a friend of Ally and Danielle's from New York state so they are particularly excited to see her and teach her the things that they have been learning...which is a good thing, since I'll be leaving them in charge of the house when I head to the states! Please pray for all three of them during this Holiday season as it is their first one away from home...and that isn't easy! I'm thankful that they'll be having a few supporters/friends visiting them!


This past Sunday, my church celebrated its 23rd anniversary!!! It was a beautiful celebration and a great reminder of all that God has done/accomplished and all He continues to do in/through that church! We praise Him for His faithfulness to our small congregation!!!

There were also a couple of activities that happened a little over a week ago...but since I never got around to up-dating my blog last week, I decided I would mention them in this post! One of these was that my friend's son, Marcos, graduated from high school! This is a huge milestone here in Bolivia and especially since God has placed the desire on his heart for him to continue studying through the university! Congratulations Marcos!!! We are all so proud of the young man that God is growing him to be! Please continue to lift him up in your prayers!

Also, that same weekend, I worked alongside my friends on SAM's Children's Ministry Team as we planned a Knight's Conference. This was a conference for boys, ages 10-13...teaching them to be men of honor. The boys seemed to have a great time learning about the armor of God and how it is applicable to their lives. Their fathers came and had lunch with them, then there was a session for fathers in the afternoon while we had one last session with the boys. After that there was "swordfighting" and other games on the lawn! I believe God will continue to use this conference in the lives of these boys as He grows them into leaders who desire to serve Him!


Thank you once again for your continued prayers for the ministry to which God has called me here in Bolivia. Thank you too for your prayers as I travel to the states on Saturday...as well as for the three weeks that I will be spending with my family! I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas! Through this busy time of the year, may you be constantly reminded of the TRUE reason for the season!

November 23, 2010

So, yet once again, I only got part of my blog done last week and then never got around to finishing it! I at least got pictures uploaded...but then the week got busy and I never got a chance to write anything to go along with them. I think the moral of my little story here is that I should begin to update my blog on Sunday afternoons as Mondays just fly by too quickly and don't leave me enough time to get it done!

Therefore...let me briefly recap on the last couple of weeks to catch you up to speed. First of all, a week ago Saturday, one of my roommates (Danielle, the one in the middle of the picture posted here) celebrated her first birthday in Bolivia. In order to make it a special one, we planned a surprise birthday party for her at the bowling alley...as well as pizza and cake at our house afterwards and then a serenade that night by the youth group from her church here. All in all, I think she had a wonderful time! I know the rest of us did!


On that same day, in the afternoon, my church had a baptism for 7 people...among them were 5 young people from Talita Cumi (a local children's home from which a large group of kids faithfully attend our church), and also a girl with her mother! It was an exciting time to see these people making a public profession of faith! Please pray that God will direct their steps and that they will continue to rely on Him as the Lord of their lives!


This past week we celebrated Thanksgiving together as a mission family! It was a very special time of eating lots and sharing with one another! One of the things that past through my mind more than once over the Thanksgiving week was how grateful I am to each one of you for your love and support (both through prayer and financial giving). It is such a comfort to know that you're continually praying for me and the work God is doing in Santa Cruz! THANK YOU!!! The rest of the long weekend, which we had off from school was full of various activities! It's amazing how busy I felt doing things...yet don't feel like I got very much accomplished! I'm not sure how that happened! Regardless, it was a restful time as well...I watched plenty of movies and worked on my cross-stitch when I could(maybe that's why I didn't seem to get much done!) As I'm putting up my Christmas decorations now...I'm reminded that the holidays are only a few weeks away! I've been given the blessing of going home for Christmas and New Years to spend the time off from school in the States with my family!!! I'm SO very excited! Although I will miss my friends here...I'm looking forward to seeing my family! I will head north in about 3 weeks! I can't wait!!!

November 9, 2010

Just so that you can understand a bit more about the day and life of the elementary school principal at SCCLC...

Monday morning, I administered a spelling test to a 5th grade student who has some special needs and is extremely hyperactive...just the same, I love the one on one time with him and it helps out his teacher. Upon leaving my office, he stuck his head back in the doorway and said, "God bless you, Miss!" All I could do was smile and chuckle a bit!

Then, at lunchtime, my roommate who is the 2nd grade teacher brought one of her students into the office so that we could have lunch together in the conference room. You see, as a behavior reward that she had established for him...he could earn a reward for having a certain number of stickers on his card. When she asked him what he thought a good reward would be...he said he'd like to have lunch with her...and Ms. Boyce...and the director of the school!!! Do you think he's a bit hungry for attention? Once we all got together in the conference room, sat down, and began eating...the child said, "So, tell me about your lives!" It was all we could do from cracking up!!!

The rest of the day was filled with addressing discipline issues and teaching in a couple of classrooms (part of a BUILD campaign...teaching students necessary tools that they can use in life to help build one another up...it's an anti-bullying campaign that we've developed!) After school I went home and prepared my exams for my CIET students...took a quick nap...had dinner with my roomies...then went to CIET, administered the exam, went home, and hopped immediately into bed!!! It was a full day, but an enjoyable one!!!

Oh the joys of being an administrator...thank you for your continued prayers for wisdom and strength as I confront daily challenges!

October 19, 2010

After a three week long visit to Bolivia, my friend Lisa Birzer and her daughter Danielle returned to the States. We enjoyed many fun things while they were here, including a quick trip to Samaipata with my roommates and two of the pastors from my church (in the picture above, the one in the front on the right is Dalmiro with whom the Birzers came to visit as well.) They also had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with Dalmiro's family, particularly his sisters. In addition, I appreciated their help at school being willing to fill in wherever necessary and do just about anything! We don't have enough people like that floating around this year! It was a huge blessing to me!


On Friday night, October 15, I attended my good friend America's wedding. It will be the first of a few for her as she married a young man from North America so although they had a religious ceremony here...they will legally be married in the States in a few weeks. I am very happy for her although, I will miss her terribly when she leaves this weekend to go to live in the U.S. They will be living in Washington state...I told her that I couldn't believe she'd be living about as far away from Virginia as she could get! Regardless, I hope to find a way to get over to see her the next time that I am home on furlough.

I continue to greatly appreciate your prayers on my behalf and on behalf of those here (both Bolivians and other missionaries). Personally, I am feeling very tired and that is adding to an already stressful time at school...leaving me more irritable than usual, with little patience. I haven't had much time at home in the last few weeks so there are several things that I need to take care of there (replacing the gas tanks so that we'll have hot showers tomorrow, paying the phone bill so that they'll turn it back on, cleaning my room so that I can find things, etc.) Of course, there's also the car...once again giving me fits. To add to all of this, my body is showing signs of stress as well, such as a rather constant back pain that I've had for about the last month. I find a bit of relief in realizing that I'm not the only one feeling this tension...I know of several teachers at school who could use more encouragement right now too, including my roommates. I am sure there are others in my church and in SAM as well, but where I'm noticing most of the strain is at school. Please pray for our school, students, and staff, we have become very proactive in fighting certain negative behaviors (i.e. bullying) recently and I believe that Satan doesn't want to lose that foothold...so his way of trying to stop it is by discouraging the staff and (it appears) by putting extra energy in all of the students. I think as a whole we could use an extra boost of His strength and constant reminders of His grace! Thank you for joining us in laying these concerns before the throne of Him who can do all things, whose plan cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2)!

Viva Santa Cruz!!!

Well, I uploaded a few pictures to my blog last week and had planned to write an entry to go along with them...but I didn't get it written and I didn't even get the pictures actually posted! Sorry about that! Anyway...there are a few bits and pieces to share with you...

Two weeks ago my roommates and I had the pleasure of baby-sitting Noah Weigner (shown in the picture below with his mom). Noah's parents were celebrating their anniversary and asked us if we would take care of him for the weekend. All in all, he handled it quite well...and so did we! There was a minor bump in the road on Saturday afternoon when he was having a few gas issues...but other than that things went very smoothly!


Also that week, I had the pleasure of participating, along with the other SAM ladies, in a baby shower for a Bolivian woman from Cochabamba. Some other missionaries that we know who live there, knew the family and discovered that their son who is 2 years old was struggling with some health issues. Since the doctor's couldn't help him there in Cochabamba, due to finances, the missionary family called Drs. Toni and Placido Mercado, who work with SAM, asking them if they could do anything to help. The boy and his mother then came to Santa Cruz, began living with the Mercados, and Placido took care of the necessary surgery. As there were some unexpected complications, the mother found herself still in the city when it came time for the birth of her second child. So, given that she didn't have any resources with her, Toni and her family organized a baby shower and invited all of us to attend! The woman was so moved that she cried! The mother and both of her children seem to be doing quite well; however, you can continue to pray for their salvation and the ministry that the Mercados have to this family!


Then, of course, on September 22...a couple of days before the actual anniversary of Santa Cruz, the school celebrated with lots of typical games, stories, food, and music. It was LOTS of fun!!! Below, you can check out a couple of pictures of that special day!



On September 23, Lisa and Danielle Birzer arrived from my home church in Abingdon, VA. Dalmiro (one of my pastors who spent a year as an intern at my church in Abingdon) and I, quickly went to work showing them the sights and enjoying in the many festivities around the city. More pictures to come soon of Lisa and Danielle's visit! Last Wednesday, they went to spend a week in Portachuelo, when they return this coming Wednesday to Santa Cruz...they will be here with us until October 15.

Also, this past weekend we celebrated my roommate Ally's first birthday in Bolivia! Danielle and I threw a party for her here at the house...and although she knew we were planning something...she didn't know what...so it was a fun surprise! I think she had a special weekend!


Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support! It's been a busy few weeks and I imagine that it will stay that way until Lisa and Danielle return to the states. Please pray specifically for strength and patience during this time! Thank you once again!

September 21, 2010

Here we are...off to a running start this week! This past weekend, I was taking care of my friends' baby as they went to Samaipata for their anniversary. With the exception of a few fussy hours on Saturday afternoon due to gas...he was a very happy and content baby. Overall it was a lot of fun to have him around...although, I will say, I think I ended the weekend about as tired as I started it!

This week we have many activities going on for the bicentennial celebration of Santa Cruz. Tomorrow, Wednesday, the Spanish department has many activities planned including games, dramas, speakers, food, etc. There are other classes that have special things planned as well! On Thursday morning, my friend Lisa Birzer and her daughter Danielle arrive from the United States. They will be here visiting and working alongside of us for a couple of weeks. Also on Thursday, I hope to attend a special program that the Talita Cumi orphanage will be hosting to celebrate this exciting day! Then of course, Friday, September 24, will be the actual bicentennial of Santa Cruz and there will be many more activities going on in the city! Please be sure to check my blog up-date again next week for pictures of these special events!

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support of the work that God is doing through me here! May God bless you for your faithfulness to Him!

September 13, 2010

It's hard to believe that we are already halfway through September! The days seem to quickly pass by...turning into weeks...etc. At the school, we're already 5 weeks into the first quarter! Each day is a learning experience for me as elementary school principal. I continue to grow in understanding of how to discipline children, interact with parents, train teachers, etc. Of course, frequently something new pops up and I go seeking advice from our current director who worked for many years as an elementary principal in Florida. In general, I'm really enjoying this new responsibility...although it doesn't come without trials either! I covet your prayers as I seek God's wisdom in handling various situations daily.

Aside from school activities, I continue to be active in my church ministry. I enjoy playing the keyboard and singing on the worship team...as well as teaching in various Sunday school classes. This past Sunday, I taught the youth Sunday school class for the first time. It was a lot of fun and stretching for my Spanish ability!

I'm looking forward to a few different visitors in the coming weeks. This weekend, I will be babysitting a 7 month old baby whose parents are fellow SAM missionaries. They are going away for the weekend for their anniversary and asked me to take care of their son! I'm SUPER excited about it...call it the "AUNT" instinct in me! Also, at the end of this month, on September 23, I'm expecting Lisa Birzer and her daughter Danielle. They are friends of mine from Abingdon Bible Church. It will be a joy to show them my various ministries here and allow them to participate in those as well.


Finally...September 24th marks the 200th anniversary of Santa Cruz! Needless to say...the city is already getting pumped up for the activities that will occur that weekend! I bought a t-shirt last weekend to commemorate the occasion and look forward to joining in on the festivities as well! Thank you once again for your faithful prayers for the city of Santa Cruz and the work God is doing here through me! May He bless you for your faithfulness to Him!