48 hours

The last 48 hours have been eventful.

After a long day of travel, I arrived to Cochabamba and was greeted by my “Bolivian Mom and Dad”. When they called during my bus ride to get my ETA I accidentally told them I was in a place that I was not. Oops! (I don’t the names of places this side of the country and the whole conversation was in Spanish). Thankfully, they were gracious about my mistake even though it meant they had to wait for me for awhile. After we left the bus station, we swung by a chicken place called “Buhos”, which means “Owls”. The logo was this big, cutesy owl. I think it was meant to be. J Despite my broken, broken Spanish I think I won Juan Carlos and Sandra over when I used a colloquialism in my speech. I commented on something and ended the sentence with “No ve?". Sort of equivalent to saying, “I know, right?” instead of , “I agree” or “That’s true”. They both said in unison, “No ve?!?” and turned around and smiled at me. At first I thought maybe it was offensive, well actually, I’m still not 100% sure that it wasn’t, but Juan Carlos relayed the story to his friends at church on Sunday, so I’m guessing it wasn’t. Thank you La Paz taxi drivers for teaching me slang. J

When we arrived home, I met Laura and Damiris, the young daughters of Juan Carlos and Sandra. We sat at the table and at fried chicken and french fries at 10:30 at night. So very Bolivian. Loved it.

On Sunday I went to church with Juan Carlos and the girls. In true Bolivian fashion, the service was relaxed and long. I admire the fervor in which this church studies the Word. I felt a little overwhelmed during the service, meeting so many new people, fighting off a headache, working to communicate and understand in Spanish. It was nice to come home and rest a bit. My family eats 3 square meals together a day and they pray before each meal. It’s a beautiful picture of family. The house consists of 2 levels; my bedroom is on the second level. Juan Carlos warned me that this is a “Bolivian house”, meaning to watch my head walking around or I might bump it on a short ceiling! Coming down to breakfast in the morning, I forgot to duck down and was rewarded with a hard smack of concrete. Probably won’t make that mistake again.

Sunday evening I went out by myself to see a friend who was visiting in Cochabamba. I felt proud that I was able to navigate meeting her and getting back home by myself. When I returned home Sandra was in the kitchen; she quickly scrambled up some eggs for me and then we sat and talked for awhile. We talked about many things, but the conversation ended with her sharing a story about how a few years back her husband was miraculously healed of kidney stones. #1-That’s awesome! #2-I understood (mostly) a conversation about kidney stones in Spanish-I consider that a WIN! J (This is not to toot my own horn, I will admittedly say here that my Spanish is terrible, that’s why this is such a win!)

As I said, the last 48 hours have been eventful and full of many emotions: excitement, fear, hope, anxiety, sadness, loneliness and joy, to name a few. Though they may seem insignificant, so many new experiences in a short time make this season feel kind of momentous to me. The verse God gave me before leaving on Saturday was this: “He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.” Isaiah 40:11.  This verse reminded me that Jesus has got me. He’s got me in His arms, close to His heart, right where I want to be, and any emotions I’m feeling can’t change that reality. I’m grateful for the encouragement of this verse and I’m grateful for experiences God brings into my life that allow me to rely more on Him. What kinds of things are you experiencing that are causing you to rely more fully on the Lord? 

Cochabamba-from the outskirts where my family lives. Those hills look kinda like Southern Idaho, no ve? :)