Holding on to Faith

God’s been teaching me a lot about faith lately. I have been trying to have faith and to trust, but as you may know all too well it’s easier said than done. I have been trying to have faith that God will provide a job for me. That I have skills and knowledge to offer the development world (after a ton of interviews followed by rejection emails one starts doubting this). That coming to Bolivia was a good decision even though it has been filled with a lot of unanticipated challenges. I have been trying to have faith that God has a plan for Daniel and me. That even though some days we feel discouraged, something will work out. In true God fashion God really pushed me to my waiting and trusting limits recently. In the last week or so I found myself struggling to hold onto faith, hope and trust. During these difficult days I found myself clinging to Psalm 46 and taking comfort in it. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble… There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God… God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. –Psalm 46:1, 4, 5. I also found comfort in knowing that lots of people were lifting Dan and I up in prayer and from encouraging emails from friends. Thank you for that.

So, after weeks of searching, applying for jobs, completing interviews, and most of all, waiting, we have some exciting news to share. I have accepted a job with Mayan Families, an NGO working in Panajachel, Guatemala. As you may recall, in 2008-2009 I lived in Guatemala and worked as a volunteer with Mennonite Central Committee. I lived in Santiago Atitlan which is located on majestic Lake Atitlan. Panajachel is very close to Santiago, situated on the opposite side of the lake. It takes about 20 minutes to cross the lake via lancha (small motor boat). Needless to say, I am thrilled about returning to the Lake Atitlan region. Not only is it one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, the people and culture hold a special place in my heart. Since Dan came to visit me twice which I was living in Guatemala, he is familiar with the area too and very excited to be returning. I will be working as the Education Coordinator overseeing Mayan Families’ child school sponsorship program. They have almost 2,000 children sponsored so I am sure there will a ton for me to do. I will be working alongside another woman who I think is American. We spoke via Skype and she seems really nice. Most of the other employees at Mayan Families are indigenous, Guatemalan people- mainly women. I have committed to a one year contract with them. Dan hopes to attend language school (if it is financially feasible) and to find work either part-time or full-time. There is certainly a lot that still needs to fall into place (finding an affordable place to live, Dan finding work, etc.), but we are hopeful that things will come together after we arrive. We feel sure that living in Guatemala will be a better fit for us and believe it will be a better situation for us financially and emotionally. We feel peaceful about the change and it feels great to be returning to a country we know and love.

The hard part of this exciting news is that we will be moving directly to Guatemala. Although we planned on coming back to the States for a short visit, it didn’t work out the way we had hoped. While I was so excited to see familiar faces and indulge in all the things I have been missing (sushi, Greek yogurt, and a washing machine to name a few), we have to accept that it just didn’t work out. We were initially filled with a ton of sadness regarding this, but as the days have gone on we have started to feel better about it. Thankfully, our friends and family have been really understanding. And hey, this is just one more reason to have visitors, right? :) We hope to make a trip back to the U.S. at the end of May/beginning of June for some important family and friend events. We will try to make the rounds and see everyone then. For now, we’d appreciate your prayers as we begin to pack up and prepare for our new adventure in Guatemala. 

Thank you and much love to you all.

-Rachel & Daniel 

A shot of beautiful Lake Atitlan

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone had a Feliz Navidad! :) Instead of making a post we opted for writing a Christmas newsletter. If we have your email address you should have gotten it, but if you didn't and would like a copy please send us your email address (you can find our email addresses under the "Contact" tab).


We are planning on traveling this weekend to celebrate New Year's. We will be heading to Lake Titicaca to the town of Copacabana. We all know that Lake Atitlan (in Guatemala) is my favorite lake in the whole wide world, but I don't know Titicaca may come in as a close second. We will see. :) Please say a prayer for safe travels and for our health. We are really looking forward to a change of scenery and this little getaway. We plan to cross over the border to Peru (half of the lake is in Peru and the other is in Bolivia) in order to renew our tourist visas. Hoping it is a simple and easy process.

Wishing you a blessed and joyous new year! 

-Rachel & Daniel

Lake Titicaca

Celebration!!! & Prayer Request

Hola friends & family! :) I want to share with you that as of Tuesday I am OFFICIALLY DONE with my Master of Arts in International Development!!!! :) I am very happy and relieved. The last few weeks were crazy as I had to do a huge final project for one of my online classes. I investigated the traditional role of women in Bolivia and interviewed many of MAP’s workers. It was really interesting. Maybe I will post an excerpt sometime. Anyway, I am extremely happy to be done and am very thankful for all of the love, support, prayers, and encouragement I have received the past year and a half. I know that without the support of God and my friends and family I never would have made it. So THANK YOU!!! My graduation is this Saturday, but I obviously won’t be attending. We have been celebrating here though by taking it easy this week and just resting. 

In addition to that exciting news I have a prayer request to share with you all. As some of you know I have been applying to jobs throughout Central and South America. Since our situation here is uncertain due to visa challenges it makes sense to look for other opportunities. I have interviewed for various positions which has been really encouraging, but it turns out that finding a job that pays and that is suitable for a married person is harder than you’d think. Some of the positions haven’t worked out, but Daniel and I have been at peace with it because for one reason or another each was a clear no. Recently, two new positions have come up (one in Central America and one in South). Both jobs have pros and cons and while both are related to subjects I am interested in, the positions are really different. We are waiting to hear back to see if I am offered either position and should receive responses by Christmas. We are trying to be prayerful in this process and have open hearts, but it is extremely difficult not knowing what our plans are at this point. For me, the combination of missing Christmas and other events at home and not knowing what the future holds brings me to tears some days. At the same time, we are really settling in here in Bolivia and becoming part of an amazing community. We are trying to be open to staying as well as to the possibility of leaving soon. So, please say a prayer for us regarding this. That God would give us clear guidance and discernment in this process and that our hearts would be open to whatever He has in mind. We will keep you posted as answers come and decisions are made. Although the uncertainty can be a challenge, we continue hoping, praying, and having faith. 

Thank you for your prayers and support! 

In Peace,

Rachel

A Priestly mindset

It has been a while, hasn't it? I do apologize for the very long delay. I have struggled putting into words the work experiences here, but finally some thoughts have been able to materialize (and a very lengthy materialization at that!)  Rachel and I have finally begun hitting our stride in Bolivia with MAP and our efforts to find a place in the organization. Many months ago when we gave an outline of what our work would be here, we presented it knowing that this would most likely be adapted and would change once we actually arrived. One of the best things about MAP-Bolivia is its desire for every cog in the organization to find its place. The phrase they like to use here is: "be a priest of your own life". In a country with a high Catholic majority, I feel like this expression has a great deal of merit for the context. I am not giving a critique of the Catholic Church when I say this (and it is not the point anyways), but in the denomination there is a strong emphasis on the Priest for spiritual guidance. The Priest is not only a mediator to someone’s spiritual life, but when someone places great importance on his or her spiritual well being, the priest becomes the mediator and counselor in other areas of life as well (family, career, lifestyle, etc).  This expression used here really has nothing directly to do with actual Priests or church at all, but it is about taking the metaphor of what a priest is and applying it to one’s own passions and life situation. The phrase made me ask myself: What are my gifts, skills, and abilities? How can I use these to better myself? How can I use these to better others? When I look at the gifts God has given me, and when I look at my passions, how can they align to help me find my place? Where am I most useful right now and what will help me most for the future?

Such a simple phrase, but I have learned a great deal from it here. There is a great deal of importance in finding one’s place somewhere not only through others’ expectations, but through your own. There are so many people in the world who do what they do for a paycheck and security, but who have never really discovered, or have buried such a discovery a long time ago, how to use the gifts and abilities they have been given that truly make them happy. They have forgotten their passions except when expressed through a hobby over a random weekend when they have the time to do it. Look if this is striking a nerve with you, I apologize, as this is not about anyone particular. I have been guilty of this as well. I have been guilty of putting to the side my God-given abilities and passions when I worked in a restaurant for a year. I was hurt by a church I worked for that ripped me away from youth, with whom I had created amazing relationships, for reasons I now understand but will probably never agree with. The hurt they caused me, I see now, made me realize how much I care about working with children and youth, and also made me avoid being put in a situation like that again where I would feel such pain.  

Fast forward to right now. For the past many weeks I have been working in the classroom assisting the teachers and helping the children stay focused on their schoolwork, and explaining to them in my broken Spanish why the answers to their math problems are incorrect. It has been a great supplement to my Spanish lessons as I can practice speaking with the children, but most importantly it has helped remind me of my skills, and most importantly, my passion to work with children and youth.  Over the past months it has become more clear to Rachel and I that development in an international context is definitely the field we want to remain in; but in pursuing the mind frame of “being a priest of your own life”, I have been once again reminded to allow God’s spirit to lead me in the direction of what brings me the most joy in my work for God’s Kingdom. Unfortunately, as one of the biggest things I am realizing about development work is compromise, I cannot guarantee that whenever we leave Bolivia I will be led to a position of youth development, but at the same time it is good to be reminded where God has rooted me.

I have spent a great deal of time talking about the good of this phrase and the mentality of MAP that goes with it, but there are definitely challenges that come with it. The main one being that when everyone buys into this phrase, then no one wants to help you discover how the phrase can be applied into your life.  The fear is that if someone intervened by saying you should do this or that (like a normal boss would), then you could end up following their expectations rather than what you are best suited for.  The problem for us is, sometimes it would be nice to be given direction, as it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle. I might know what I love to do here, but for Rachel and I it is a constant struggle to find our “place” within the organization as a whole, where it is an expectation to find your own way.  We definitely have work to do and have established a good community of friends, but we have moments of feeling like we are on the outside looking in.  Keep us in your prayers as we continue to find our place in an organization that is doing so much for this city and community.

Well that is it for now, thanks for listening.  In a small way I am falling in love with Bolivia and the community we have here.  I have a great story to share with you about Thanksgiving that explains this more in detail, but that will need to wait for another time.

Sexual Violence is Real….

This blog post has been rolling around in my mind for a little while now. A couple weeks ago I started seeing a lot of posts on Facebook about Penn State and Joe Paterno. Here in Bolivia, I am almost always out of the loop regarding news. Mostly because I use our limited Internet time to write and read personal emails. Curious, I did a Google search and eventually stumbled on the original story regarding PSU. What a tragic story- not simply due to the abuse that occurred, but because people knew about it (or at least suspected it) and did NOTHING. The abuse could have been prevented or stopped, but it wasn’t because people were SILENT. 

For me, the story held a strong connection to my work here in Bolivia. Three weeks ago I started working at CUBE- Centro Una Brisa de Esperanza (English translation is A Breeze of Hope Center). This is one of MAP Bolivia’s projects and is a center that focuses on providing services to children (boys and girls) and adolescents that have been sexually abused. CUBE provides legal services as well as social and psychological services. 

My job at CUBE thus far is checking the database, making sure that all of the cases from 2004 (when CUBE began) until now are in the system. This requires going through each individual case, typing the name into the computer. To be honest, the job can be a little mind numbing. But, something occurred to me as I typed name after name after name- each of these children has been sexually abused in some way, shape, or form. Hundreds upon hundreds of cases have passed through CUBE in the past 7 years. As I typed the names I started praying for each of these children.

Something has struck me as I have begun working at CUBE… Oftentimes, our culture treats sexual violence as a taboo topic. It makes us uncomfortable so we just don’t talk about it. This surely is the wrong approach. 

This difficult, but important topic hit even closer to home recently. I found out that a friend of mine was brutally assaulted and raped in her home in the U.S. by a complete stranger. The news left me feeling all sorts of emotions- anger, fear, confusion. Why did this happen? Why did this happen to her?

 

I don’t have the answers and granted what happened to my friend is not the same as a child being sexually abused by a family member, BUT it is related.  Sexual violence is sexual violence. These things are real and are happening in this messed up, broken world. And although I am still figuring out how to respond something I am sure of is turning a blind eye is NOT the right response. CUBE has a saying- “¡¡¡No Calles, Rompe El Silencio!!!”- Don’t Be Quiet, Break the Silence!!! Although remaining silent is the easiest thing to do we must speak out. We must break the silence. 

As I continue working at CUBE I will write more about their work and about what you can to “break the silence”. For now, please join with me in praying for my friend, for all the children and adolescents of CUBE, and the thousands of others in the world who have been victims of sexual violence.  

May the Lord bring physical, mental, and emotional healing to them all. Amen.

A Call for Some Lighter Subject Matter: El Mercado

While the last post was necessary, let us return to why we have this blog: to keep you up to date with the daily happenings of our lives here. Even more important to me, I have not been able to articulate some of the ongoing theological issues running through my brain concerning the first month of development work, but as the thoughts form in my head I will pass them along to you, and hopefully soon.  :)

However, let us go back to the sharing of our daily lives here in Bolivia to bring us back to a little lighter subject matter. Let's talk about our favorite day in Cochabamba... Saturday, AKA El Dia del Mercado!

This past weekend was overall pretty enjoyable and busy, particularly Saturday. While Saturdays in a way have turned into our busiest, longest days here, they are normally always worth it. First, we awoke early like always to go to the market. Waking up before 7 on a Saturday morning in the States for us was almost unheard of, and I would lie if I said we rolled out of bed without any struggle. Why so early do you ask? Well one reason is to avoid the large crowds in the market after 9 AM. Ever go into a Philly Trader Joes on a Sunday afternoon? With a million people all with carts running into each other and even the programmed to smile employees are finding it hard to do so through their ridiculous shirts due to their pay not nearly being worth the chaos in front of them? Well for similar reasons, going to the market after 9 would be a chaos I would not like to be part of. Another reason is when you go early and are with a relaxed crowd, you get to know the vendors a little bit better.  They have a little more patience for your broken Spanish, asking them how much every single thing costs, and getting them to run to the stands around them to see if they can break your 200 Boliviano bill for 43 Bolivianos worth of fruit (refer to Rachel's Whhhaaa? post).  Also, this way you can do a little pricing experiment. While prices for food at the market is supposed to be regulated, things vary from stand to stand, and while it is hard to prove, one could suspect that certain sellers (taking the view that everyone with white skin is rich) will purposely overcharge you. The more we get to know the sellers that are friendly with us and give us good deals, the more we will continue to get such deals in the future.

While above are all good reasons, nothing motivates us more then the sweet and savory delight that awaits for us once we depart from the taxi-truffi: pastel de queso. So simple in its construction, a very thin layer of dough with some salty mennonita cheese put in the middle, thrown into a large bowl of frying oil and then sprinkled with powder sugar creates what you see below:

If every human ate one of these for breakfast, all wars would cease and poverty abolished due to pure generosity. They really are that good. They are paired with a hot corn drink named "api". An odd concoction but it is hot, semi-thick, and a little sweet; and for a cold Bolivian morning it is exactly what we need to perk us up and make us feel better about life at 8 AM.  I wish I could send you all this breakfast. Did I mention it is less than $1 per person?




From there we purchase all of our food for the week. We have made some friends with a few of the sellers and here are some pictures of there stands!

Our favorite vegetable stand. The teenage boy selling to us won my heart over when he sold us heads of broccoli at 2B less than the competitors around him. The veggies are cheap, to die for, and he remembers us every week...which I imagine is not that hard for him with our skin color and blonde hair bright blue eyes Rachel, but still...

 Just to give you an idea of the some of the other sellers and the nice variety. Definitely worth the early commute.

Our spice lady friend has pretty much everything we would need and more. You can buy the local herbs/spices by the weight and I get a new one each week to try. This week some local dried oregano. It reminds me of sage, and smells amazing!

 On to the fruit! Bananas anyone?  Such a variety, and they always ask if you want the fruit for right now or for in a few days, so you eat it at the right time. The fruit sellers have all been very nice, and how could they not be? They are surrounded by amazing colorful fruit!

 And here is me with our normal fruit seller, finding out about why some apples cost more than others, trying to see if we could get the price lower for getting more. The mangoes and pineapples are probably the best I have ever had. We have not got strawberries yet but they look great, maybe the next thing to try. If you cannot tell, I get pretty excited over my fruits and veggies. :)






After the market this past Saturday, we met a friend named Juan. He was on our flight from Miami to La Paz and we became friends. He promised to take us out for some saltenas and finally we took him up on such offer for lunch. Saltenas are essentially an empanada with much sweeter dough and filled with something similar to what you might find in chicken-pot-pie, but spicier. They are somewhat the fastfood food of Bolivia, but taste wayyyy better than any Bigmac or Whopper. The combination of flavors are amazing. They are very rich though and quite unhealthy, so I do not think they will be a weekly endeavor but for the days we need something awesomely delicious and unhealthy, they will be there.

One thing cool about Juan is that he has been living in Upstate New York for many years, so not only does he speak English, but his Spanish is very clear and easy to understand. I can practice my Spanish with him and when I get stuck I can switch to Spanglish.  On the other hand, Juan's generosity and willingness to show the best of what Cochabamba has to offer can backfire when you are a vegetarian. For example, we are supposed to meet Juan at the market this Saturday morning and he boasts that they have the best spicy chorizo sandwiches ever, and he thinks I would love them. The problem is one I knew I would come across here... I have not eaten any form of red meat in many years. I have eaten a little bit of chicken roughly every week here so that I have a little animal protein in me to prepare for such situations, but sausage? If I was invited over for dinner, it would be one thing. I would suck it up and deal with it. But this situation is slightly different. It's not like he is making the meal, he just wants to buy me one. At the same time, he is incredibly generous and I am unsure if turning him down might be misunderstood. Hmmmm... decisions decisions. Well I will let you know what happens.

I hope you enjoyed my rant about Saturdays in the city.  Even on the "fun" days there is still so much to learn and experience, almost as much on the days at the school and with MAP. Hopefully soon we will blog more about our experiences here with MAP day-in day-out, but for now we leave you with a view we see daily as it is right out of our bedroom window.  The way the sun hits the mountains at sunrise (and sunset on the opposing mountains of the valley) is simply breathtaking. The beauty of the mountains here is beyond words. Enjoy...

Peace,
Daniel