They were right. Everyone who told me third grade is the
dream grade to teach was right. I have fifteen beautiful eight and nine year olds who tell
me daily they love me and give me huge, sweaty hugs after recess. I could do without the sweat, but thanks to
intense futbol matches in the high La Paz sun, I’m realizing it’s a package deal, so
I’ll take it. The first few weeks of
school were BUSY. It felt a little bit like a first year again as I prepared
new materials for a new grade and tried to wrap my mind around a new
curriculum. I think we are finally starting to get into a pretty good rhythm.
Of course, as any teacher knows, there are always “to do lists” of things I
could improve or implement or create. Teaching is messy. Life is messy. I like
things black and white and organized.
And then I moved to Bolivia. J
But I’m learning to be okay in the messy and the gray (in school and in life).
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| First day of school; waiting for the taxi. |
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| Kiddos hard at work on the first day of class. |
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Some of my sweet students. |
Our team has been adjusting well to our new administration
and with the transition many great changes have come to our school. We are
grateful to have a team of administrators that run our school as a ministry
first, and a school second, and care for and love the people they lead.
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| Staff photo-the crazy one! |
My roommates and I are doing well and things at Calle 12
(Street 12) are also beginning to settle into a routine. We were recently given
a TV (much better than crowding around a laptop to watch a movie) and are
seriously contemplating getting a kitten. A family at the school has a little
orange tabby they are hoping to get rid of and we would be more than happy to
take it off their hands. I’ll keep you posted…
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| The roomies and me at school |
My past two years in La Paz my roommate and I lead a Bible
Study with 2 of our high school students.
It was incredible to build a relationship with them and watch them grow;
we said a bittersweet goodbye last year as they graduated and moved to the
States to attend university. This year, a friend and I will begin leading a
group for our 9th grade girls.
I pray this will be an authentic time of growth, sharing and learning
more about God’s love for us and the world around us.
I continue to enjoy being involved in “Tuesday Gathering” a
weekly meeting of worship, prayer and Bible study with friends from around the
city. Many members of this group are ex-pats and due to the mobile nature of
those living abroad, it’s amazing to see how the group has changed since I’ve
been involved. I was looking around the other day and realized that at two
years, I was one of the “veterans”.
November 22nd.
Lord willing, this will be the day I run my first half marathon in
Bolivia. In the past I’ve done a 10k here but have yet to achieve 13.1 miles
that, at 14,000 feet will probably be the toughest 13.1 miles I’ve ever ran!
Training is going well and I’m praying for the endurance to continue. A group
of friends will be running the race with me-running is so much better with
friends. I recently learned that my running partner has a foot injury; praying that it is nothing serious.
In the midst of busy, there has also been some time for a few random, fun adventures!
(Pictures of random, fun adventures below)
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| Occasionally, it snows here. But only in the highest parts of La Paz. We drove up to "La Cumbre" a few weeks ago to experience the beauty of the snow capped Andes. |
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| On a 4 wheeling trip with friends. We stopped in this little village for the amazing views of Mt. Illimani. |
Each year I have lived in La Paz has been different from the
other, and this third year is no exception. At the risk of being vulnerable, I
must say, this seems to be one of the lonelier seasons of my life. I feel
blessed to have deep friendships here and a loving community that supports me,
but I have found that even in the midst of that, loneliness can exist. The Lord
has reminded me that I am never truly alone because He is always with me. I
believe that growth will come out of this season as I cleave to the Lord to be
my all in all. But I must admit, it has not been easy to cling to Him. There
are many other sources of comfort one can run to in life and my wondering heart seems to turn too often to these things
other than my Lord. I would love your prayers that I would turn to Him in all things.
Last Tuesday was a rough day. Really for no reason in
particular, other than that a lot of the things that had been troubling me, but that I hadn’t yet taken the time to process, kind of caught up with me in a swirl of
emotions. After school I went to Cross Fit with a friend (yes, they have Cross
Fit even in Bolivia and no, I’m not really a Cross Fitter-that was my first
time) and then came home to fix a quick dinner before heading to Tuesday
Gathering. In my haste, I dropped the saltshaker. No big deal, right? Right.
Usually. But sometimes the most minute thing is the straw that breaks the
camel's back. Apparently my “straw” is a porcelain, owl shaped saltshaker,
painstakingly picked out and brought from the US to Bolivia as a reminder and
comfort of home. And then it shattered in what seemed to be a million tiny
pieces and the salt spilled out everywhere. I’m sure there are a lot of
analogies there. In that moment, rather than reflecting on the life lesson I
could be learning, I stomped off, yelled, and then came back five minutes later
and swept the mess up, crying the whole time. If you’re thinking I’m crazy,
you’re not alone; I think my roommates had the same reaction. Time they got to
know the real Jill, anyway. J
In later reflection, however, I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 4:7, where it
says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all
surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Isn’t that what we all are?
Fragile jars of clay that are broken, that break, that need the Potter to put us back together. As I watched salt spill out all over the ground, I remembered when Paul talks about being “poured out like a drink offering”
(Philippians 2:17 and 2 Timothy 4:6) before the people he serves and before the
Lord. Maybe when we’re “broken” before the Lord, that brokenness is actually a sweet offering of surrender that allows Him to shine through. "For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body" 2 Corinthians 4:11. May we allow Him to make beauty out of the brokenness.
Love and Blessings to each of you.
