Random Ramblings

Two updates in one week! What good blogging! I'll probably just ramble.

We all finally figured out--and implemented for the first time--our set schedule for the rest of our Bolivian lives. Jordyn, who is slowly but surely catching up on her mountain of schoolwork, is finally getting to spend the day in the orphanages/daycares as her workload is lightening. She's basically got the same schedule as me, so as we go to the same daycares each day, we just split up and go at it with the adorable pequeñitos. This week Ashley stuck with me so that she could learn and get a feel for the different FAI projects; she went to both the Betaña nursery with me on Monday and that of Casa de Paso on Thursday. If you're interested, here's my weekly life as of now:

Monday and Tuesday: 9am-1:30 at Betaña nursery (the daycare based in one of the poorest neighborhoods of La Paz)
Monday night: 5-8pm visit at Niñas Obrajes (girls' orphanage) and help Ivelisse with her dance class
Wednesday and Thursday: 12:30-5pm at Casa de Paso nursery (where the majority of the kids' mothers are prostitutes)
Friday: flexible day, I either join my mom and visit Niñas Obrajes or Refugio (home for young mothers), or have a day "off" (which, naturally, doesn't necessarily mean "off")

Praying at midweek. What an incredible part of our
family here living in La Paz.

Often, throughout the week I'm in Bible studies (right now three or four, hopefully five soon! Pray for a certain 14-year-old girl who's eager but timid!), helping the oldER people with technology, midweek every Wednesday night, meetings with other volunteers/coordinators, FAI events, church events, exploring the city, going out to eat/trying to make good meals, an hour of in-depth Spanish once a week, hanging out with sisters, and of course watching Matt's movies! Plus, I really do enjoy running the everyday errands like walking a few blocks to the grocery store or to the RadioShack in the Montenegro shopping area. I almost feel Bolivian!

So that's kind of my life in a nutshell. Of course, that's not including all that I'm learning in my times with God... in all honesty, this past week was a lazy one for me, and I wasn't in the Word like I need've been. That totally affected every area of my life, inevitably, and just this morning I was hit with the realization (or reminder) of who I am without God. Selfish, lazy, angry, prideful, arrogant, and so much more disgusting things. I'm scared of myself when I'm not following the Spirit because, truly, I'm a waste of life and space and air when I'm following my own plans! It's funny how quickly I can forget that and lose perspective... thank God for His gift of grace.

Anyways, to sum it all up, I'm grateful that I have been shown my purpose in life and that I'm continually learning and re-learning every day. There's nothing like the Bible, seriously. Here's one of my favorite verses of all time, because it sums up my existence:
"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward." -Psalm 19:7-11

Beautiful and profound words. It's one of the psalms you read that make you wanna run down the street and SCREAM OUT HOW MUCH I LOVE GOD'S LOVE LETTER (Ps 119:32)... there's this well of passion hidden in the pages that kind of take you over when you realize the truth of what you're reading. (Jer 20:9) Whenever I think about myself and what I want to do, that passion goes away and I'm intensely miserable. (Ps 73) Unfortunately that happens often with me, but my Bible's always sitting right there, and I swear the light of life and overflowing peace fills you up when you put it into practice. (Ps 36:9, Philippians 4:9)

Alright, alright, I'll shut up. Go read, and anyone who wants to hold me accountable with my reading, please, for the love of God (literally), do so.

La ciudad de Coroico

Oh, and exciting news, we're going on a weekend vacation today! Vamos a Coroico, the closest "weekend getaway" to La Paz. The three Hospital musketeers (Dad, Lin and Gwen) desperately needed to relax and have some time to gather their poor brains, and since Coroico is only two hours away and everything is very reasonably priced, we decided on a whim to go. It's warm there, so we can swim and read next to the pool and fight off the Bolivian bugs and hopefully hike a little bit. We leave in an hour and I'm pumped!

Well, I hope this really random post was worth reading. Love you all and please continue praying for us!