Feliz Navidad

Feliz Navidad!

Hi everyone, it is time for another update! Sorry it has been awhile, it has been a busy last couple of days.

Well the Christmas season is upon us, even though it does not look like it here. We have had steady temperatures in the 80ish, so the song " It is Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas" does not really apply here. However, we are very excited for Christmas.

This past week was pretty crazy at Carachipampa Christian School. Grades were due this week and we had our Christmas Program on Thursday Night. Grades had to be in on Monday, so this weekend was spent calculating grades and figuring out comments. This week was filled with practice for the program, Christmas Music, Christmas Crafts and Christmas Goodies. The kids were very crazy all this week, but it was fun to see them excited for Christmas. The Christmas Program went really well. The kids did a great job and they were very cute. On Friday we had a Christmas Party and watched " The Best Christmas Pageant Ever".

It was very strange to say goodbye to my students and to think that I will not see them for 3 weeks. Granted I am excited for the break and for some peace and quiet, but I have gotten use to seeing these kids every week.

This week also brought about the end of our first half of our teaching in Bolivia. It is crazy to think that we are about halfway done. Overall, it has been a pretty good semester. It has been full of ups and downs, but it is making me a better teacher and it has helped me draw closer to God. I knew that coming down here would teach me a lot and it has. I have continued to learn that being a teacher means that you are a therapist, a counselor, a mom and a teacher. I have also learned that even though you feel called to teach, it does not always mean that it is easy. One passage that has really helped me through the hard times of this job is 2 Corinthians 4:7-10,16-18. These verses talk about how we have power from God to help us get through the hard times and that we will face hard times but they will not destroy us. My mom reminded me of these verses when I was having a rough week about a month ago and they have been brought to my mind often since them. I would encourage you to read these verses and hopefully they will be an encouragement to you!

Saturday Night was our Christmas Party with SIM. We had a version of a White Elephant Exchange and I ended up with the DVDs UP and Terminal. We also had a time of singing Christmas Carols and the kids had a present swap. It was so fun to see how excited the little kids were about their gifts. After the party, some of us went to a friends apartment and watched Elf. It was all in all a fun night.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week a group of 5 of us went to a cabin that SIM owns, which is about 45 minutes outside of Coch. We enjoyed two days of relaxing, chatting, barbecuing, reading, singing/listening to music, making smores, and watching a movie. This morning we even took the canoe out and got caught in some rain. Overall it was a fun two days!

Well I hope that you are all enjoying the Holiday Season with your loved ones.

I am excited to celebrate with friends here, but I am also going to miss being home for Christmas! Please pray for contentment over the Holidays as I will be away from home and wishing that I am with my family.

3 months down, 6 months to go

Buenas Tardes,

Greetings from Bolivia. It is hard to believe that we have been here for over three months now. I officially have less than 6 months left.

These past couple of weeks have been pretty good overall, but busy. I started teaching 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade PE two weeks ago, and that has been an adventure and a half. As some of you may know, I am not the most athletic person in the world. I love to watch sports on TV and in person, but me playing them is a totally different story. I have no hand eye coordination, and am not really competitive. How did I get myself into this you ask? Well our PE teacher had to leave in the middle of November, and we did not have anyone to cover for him, so different teachers had to fill in. Since I am only teaching in the morning, I was asked to teach the elementary PE classes in the afternoon, and I reluctantly said YES! But it is all for the kids right :)

My class is still going well. I have had a few issues with students and their parents recently, but I have been able to receive a lot of support from the other teachers at the school which has been a huge blessing. Through all this I am learning what it takes to become a better teacher and how to handle challenging situations with grace. Please be praying that I would continue to have wisdom to approach these situations and know how to teach these specific students.

The Christmas program is coming up in a few weeks, and my students have been practicing their parts in music class and in our classroom. All the elementary teachers got a copy of the Christmas music on CD to play in our classes. We have been listening to it a lot, and I think the students have fully memorized their song. They are going to sing "Good Christian Men Rejoice" and they will be attempting to do Irish step dancing along with it! I am excited to see how it turns out.

In math we have started a new chapter about time. Math is a hard subject for a lot of my students, so I am hoping that this will go well! In our reading curriculum this past week, we read a story about baseball. This was especially fun because some of my students had not heard of baseball before. I was able to teach them about the different positions on the field and the different rules, and we were even able to play some baseball in P.E. ( the perks of being the gym teacher and the classroom teacher :) ). Next week's story is from the Ramona series. I use to love reading the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary when I was little, so I think this will be a fun week!

Of course, this past week was Thanksgiving! It did not feel like Thanksgiving with the warm weather, working all week long and not being with my family. However, we were able to have a really fun Thanksgiving! Most of the teachers at the school were invited to a family's house for Thanksgiving dinner. All of us brought a side dish, and we were able to share in a feast together. It was so much fun and made me so THANKFUL for the family that I have found here. Here are some things that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving season!

T- Thankful for all of you who have made it possible for me to be here

H- Health, I am thankful for good health, and I hope I will be feeling back to normal soon :)

A- Adventures, I am thankful for the adventures I have had here and those I will have during the rest of my stay in Bolivia

N- New Friends- Thankful for the great friends that I have made here

K- Kids, I am thankful for the students in my class and the impact that I can have on them

F- Food- I am thankful for the yummy Bolivian food that I have been able to eat

U- Unconditional Love- I am thankful for the Unconditional Love that God gives me, even though I do not deserve it!

L- Learning- I am thankful for all that I am learning about myself, God and other cultures while I am here

It is hard to believe that we have only 3 more weeks before Christmas vacation. Christmas vacation will bring about the halfway point of our time in Bolivia. We are starting to think about our Christmas break plans, which is really exciting. We think we will go to La Paz and spend some time at a really pretty lake called Lake Titicaca.

Other Exciting News is that my Mom will be here to visit in January. I am really looking forward to seeing her!!

Hope you are all doing well!

Adios!! - Rachel

Buenas Tardes!

Here is a Summary from my Ministry Exposure Trip/Vacation we took last week:

We left on the overnight bus to Santa Cruz on Friday night. We left around 10:00 and it was a pretty uneventful trip. We traveled in a Buscama, which means that the seats recline and you have a nice foot rest. So it was a very comfortable trip, even for someone that is 6'2. We were all able to sleep pretty well and we arrived in Santa Cruz about 7:30 am. We then were on a search to find a bus that would take us to San Ramon( where we would be visiting the Missionaries). We were able to find a bus that left at 9:00am, so we bought our tickets and then waited until it was time to leave. We got on the bus around 9am and then had a 3 hour bus ride to San Ramon.

In San Ramon we met up with The Nelsons, a couple that has been in Bolivia for 26 years. They spent two of those years in Cochabamba, about 15 years in Santa Cruz and they have been in San Ramon for about 8 years. In San Ramon, The Nelsons minister to the Quechua people in the local churches there. They are focusing on Discipleship and helping grow leaders in the church. Don provides Seminary Classes for the men in the churches and Doreen focuses on Woman's Ministry. We were able to attend a church service at one of the churches that they minister at. It was a small gathering, but full of people who loved God and wanted to learn. Don gave the sermon in Spanish( which I was able to understand!) and he spoke about the life of Moses. I enjoyed my experience at this church, everyone was very welcoming and it was great to see what God is doing there.

The rest of our time in San Ramon, was spent visiting different sites and hanging out with the Nelsons. We took several long drives to see the beautiful landscape. It is quite different than Cochabamba out there. We were basically in the Jungle. There were palm trees mixed with regular deciduous trees, there were a lot of cows and lots of different rivers. One day we took a drive to a river that flows into the Amazon. There we were able to hear a lot of different types of birds and see fish in the river. It was fun to be there, because my kids just stopped learning about the Rain-forest in my classroom.

One morning we were able to visit a Christian School in the next town over. This school is open for both Primary and Secondary Students. We were able to meet with the director of the school to learn more about the school and what is going on. Throughout our conversation we learned that they are in a pretty big financial crisis. We heard about the needs they had and then were able to walk around the school and meet some of the kids. Even though there such a big financial problem all of the kids and the teachers were full of life and had a smile on their face. Please be praying for this school, that they would be able to get the financial help they need and that God would continue to work there.

On Our last day in San Ramon we traveled about an hour to a town called San Javier. San Javier used to be a location for a Jesuit Mission back in the 1700's. The Temple and part of the Mission are still there, so it was fun to be able to see the old structures and to learn more about the Jesuits. After walking around the Mission, we went to lunch at a place that is owned by a friend of the Nelsons, where we had delicious Fettuccine Alfredo and were able to swim in his swimming pool for the afternoon. It was definitely a fun way to end the trip!

On Wednesday morning we took a taxi back to Santa Cruz, where we stayed in a Hotel for the next two days. It was nice to be able to relax in an air conditioned room and swim in a nice pool! We were also able to meet up with some SIM missionaries in Santa Cruz, that we had meet about a month ago. We had a fun time going to dinner and ice cream with them and catching up with them.

On Friday Morning, we boarded a bus for a 10 hour ride back to Cochabamba. We arrived safely at 7pm and enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend!

We started classes again yesterday morning, which went well. The kids were a little crazy, but all in all it went well!

Hope you are all doing well!

Here is a link to the pictures from my trip: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2510123&id=9133492

Adios! - Rachel

Bolivia week 9

Buenos Noches!

Well it is the start of a new week in Bolivia. I hope you had a good week last week.

This past week for me was pretty busy, but good.

Monday was a big day at Carachipampa, because this was the day the first Report Cards were handed out. I had a lot of nervous students come up to me Monday morning asking me what their grades were like. I tried to reassure them that everything would be ok and that they would have to wait until the end of the day to see their grades. Report Cards were handed out that afternoon and Tuesday brought some students asking me about their grades, but all in all it was not too bad.

This whole process made me think back to when I anxiously awaited my report cards, to see what my grades would be. I can say that I am glad that I am done with tests and getting grades.

Parent/Teacher Conferences took place this Friday. I was a little nervous going into them, because I did not know how some parents would react. I was also nervous because I knew that we needed to have a couple of tough conversations with some parents. I was able to do the conferences with my co-teacher which was a real blessing. She has had more experience with these kinds of parents and she is a parent herself, so she can add a lot. The interviews went really well overall. God gave us the words to say and we were able to share what we felt needed to be shared. I was talking with my roommates later on that night and I mentioned how I felt that I had to be extra professional during my interviews. One of my roommates responded by saying, well of course. I said that I knew I had to be, but it was just weird to think of myself as a professional. The things you learn as you get older!

Here is a sweet story for you! Every week we have a chapel on Thursday mornings. This means that each grade takes turns doing some skits and doing a time of worship. It is a fun time each week where parents can come to see what their child has been learning in Bible Class. This week the sixth grade class focused on how Jesus Washed The Disciples Feet and sang some fun worship songs. One of these songs was Blessed Be Your Name. Later on the the afternoon I was working in the first grade classroom with a student that has some severe learning disabilities. We were working on learning different shapes( figuras geometricas), when all of the sudden he starts singing the chorus of Blessed Be Your Name. It was such a sweet sight to experience. Here is a kid who has a hard time remembering the difference between a square and a triangle, but he remembered the song from chapel that morning and wanted to sing. I joined in with him and we both started to sing together. It is the little moments like this that make me so thankful to be a teacher and to be working where I am working.

The weekend was a very relaxing weekend full of hanging out with friends, reading, and sleeping.

This week is our last week before a week of Vacation. Sarah, our friend Rebekah and I are going to be traveling to another part of Bolivia during this week to visit other SIM missionaries. We are excited about this opportunity to get out of Cochabamba to see a different part of Bolivia. We will be taking an overnight bus to Santa Cruz on Friday night and then we will have to take a 3 hour bus ride to San Ramon, where the missionaries live.

I am looking forward to a week off and look forward to updating you on how it goes!

Adios!! - Rachel

Two Months in Bolivia

Buenos Tardes!

It is hard to believe that we have hit the two month mark of being in Bolivia. At times it has flown by and at times it has not. I think this is pretty typical for being away from home and dealing with that adjustment.

The past two weeks in the classroom have gone pretty well. I must say I feel very accomplished having a quarter of teaching under my belt. Teaching at Carachipampa has definitely been a good first teaching experience. The staff has been so supportive of me as I have spent these first two months learning the ropes of teaching at a new place and getting into a routine. I am excited to see what the second quarter brings. I am excited to continue to help my kids succeed and work to their best potential. I am excited to further relationships with the other teachers in the school and with students in different grades.

These past few weeks I have also been working in the first grade classroom, while their teacher is in the States. This has made for long days, but I have really enjoyed working with the children and getting to know them. I have a cute little story about one of my first graders. The theme for our camp a few weeks ago was the Fruits of the Spirit ( Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control). This idea was talked about a lot during the week of camp, so the students are familiar with this. The other day I told one of my students that he was not being kind and I told him that he needed to be kind to his friends. He responded by telling me that he did not eat that kind of fruit. I had to stop myself from laughing in response. I went on to tell him that we need to be nice to our friends and we had a little chat. I thought that it was funny that he remembered what we talked about, but did not want to apply it.

This past weekend we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving at our house. There are several people from Canada here, so we celebrated in honor of them. The day of our dinner was hectic to say the least. We arrived home from church to find that our water was not working. We looked into our "well" and there was plenty of water in there, but nothing was working. We went to go ask our landlord about the problem and we soon found out that he was not home. His wife was though and she told us that something had happened with the electricity that went with the water. So at this point we were one hour away from having 30 people over and we had no water. We proceeded to use a bucket and the dog leash( yes.. this is all we had) to get water from the well. We filled up several containers full of water and we were ready to make the most of it. Soon people started to arrive and we quickly informed them of the situation. As people were showing up, a man came to look at the water situation. We were all very skeptical that he knew what he was doing, but after about 45 minutes of him looking around, turning the electricity on and off, WE HAD WATER!! Let's just say it was a huge answer to prayer and we were very happy campers.

I am doing pretty well overall. There were times last week when I was sick when I felt pretty homesick but God really used friends to encourage me and help me through that time. Some friends sent me verses that really spoke to me, one of these was a couple verses from Psalm 62

⁵ Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.

⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.

This was a great reminder that I can find rest in God during the times that I feel homesick and alone. He is my rock that I can lean on and trust in at all times. I have turned to this several times these past few weeks and it has been a great reminder and a great blessing( Thank you Shelley).

Hope you are all doing well!

Adios! - Rachel

Visiting The Simon Patino House

Buenos Dias!!

Yesterday Sarah, Bekah and I went on a tour of the Simon Patino house in Cochabamba. It is a very beautiful house with a lot of European Flair. We had a fun time walking around the gardens outside the house, and seeing all the beautiful architecture. There were times throughout the tour that I felt like we were in Europe instead of Bolivia. After the tour we ate lunch at a new restaurant.

It was a fun outing and we were very proud that we were able to do this all on our own ;)

Here are some pictures of our time there

Me and the House

The Gardens

The House

A Statue in Front of the House

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Adios! - Rachel

Sights of Bolivia

Here are some pictures of my time in Bolivia

My Classroom

Streets of Cochabamba and The Andes

The view of Cochabamba from the Cristo

6 Weeks in Bolivia!

Buenos Tardes!

6 weeks have flown by!!

Life has been pretty busy here. Last week was a normal school week and Olympic week in my classroom. We wrote "postcards" to friends about what it was like to go to an Olympic Event, we invented our own Olympic Sports, had our own version of the Opening Ceremonies, learned about some famous Olympic Athletes and learned about the very first Olympics in Greece. The kids really enjoyed learning about the Olympics. They had all sorts of questions that I tried to answer or tried to look up. It was fun to teach my students about a topic that they were really interested about.

The kids seem to be falling into a good rhythm. They have calmed down and are working hard. Last week my class also had chapel. Chapel happens once a week, and different grades take a turn leading each week. Each grade does a skit or two( based on a certain topic), sing some songs and share a little message. Our chapel was on The Calling of the 12 Disciples. The kids did a really great job. They did two skits, helped lead some songs about making fishers of men and my co-teacher gave a little message. Another fun thing about Chapel is that the parents get to come. They watch the chapel and then the kids have a little tea with them. It was fun to see the kids so proud of their work and to talk with the parents.

This week was Camp week, which means that all the kids at the school had camp! The Camps are divided into different grades with 1-3, 4-6 and 7-12. The different groups have a different length camp and different locations. I was with the 1-3 camp who had a normal week up until Wednesday. Wednesday afternoon we had a full day and then camp began in the afternoon, with a lot of games and activities. After an afternoon and night full of activities we spent the night in our classrooms. We got up Thursday morning after an interesting night of sleep and had breakfast. After breakfast we were off to an exciting afternoon of swimming, making sandcastles and playing a a retreat area. It was a fun, but very tiring week. I think all of the teachers are thankful for a day off on Friday!

Personally, I am doing pretty well. I am continuing to enjoy life here. Last weekend we went up to the Cristo, which is a huge statue of Jesus. It was quite a sight to see. We were able to take a gondola ride up to where the Cristo stands. From the top we could see a great sight of Cochabamba and we were even able to go up into the Cristo. It was a fun day!

Hope you are all doing well!

Adios!! - Rachel

Part of the Learning Process

Buenos Noches!

I have enjoyed writing to you the past couple weeks about how my teaching is going and how I am adjusting to life in Bolivia, but I wanted to take some time to tell you about what God has been teaching me throughout my time here.

1. Maybe God is Right After All- This is a name of a book that my mom gave me before I left for Bolivia. The idea that God is right is something that I have always known, but there are times in my life that I find what God thinks is right does not necessarily match up with what I think is right. One such experience happened right before I left for Bolivia. Our funding was coming in and we were preparing to leave for Bolivia when we heard that our departure would be delayed due to Visa issues. Of course that was not my plan, I wanted to be there for the start of school. However, God's plan was right. It was his plan that we would arrive in Bolivia late and that he would work all this together for his good. Having been in Bolivia for a month, I see that God was right. Everything has fallen into place and God has provided everything we have needed. He has provided a supportive staff to help us get acclimated to the school and to our jobs. He has provided great friends to help us learn our way around the city and to provide support during the hard times that have come.

I really like what the author of this book ( Cynthia Heald) writes when she is talking about why we can trust that God is right. She says " It is logical to believe that since everything in the heavens and earth belongs to God, then he knows what is right and true for us. He has every right to tell us how to live. Who better to know the paths we should take than the One who created us".

It has been a great encouragement to know that God is trustworthy and that his plans are right.

2. God is my refuge and my strength- " So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" This has been a comforting verse for me over the past few weeks. I know for a fact that God has called me to serve him here in Bolivia, but that does not mean that it will always be easy. There have been times that I have felt homesick, questioned how I am going to make it through the next 8 months, not always gotten along with the people around me, but God has helped me through each of these feelings of doubt and fear. He has given me the strength to press ahead.

3. I want to impact others like Jesus did: I am a part of a Bible Study with other female teachers and we are going through a book entitled " Becoming a Woman of Influence" by Carol Kent. In our times together we talk about how we can be an influence on others and how we can use Jesus as an example. I have really enjoyed our times together so far. The idea of making an impact on others is nor foreign to me, but these conversations have made me start to think about how can I can make an impact on others here. I will have an impact on my students that I am teaching, but I would love to be able to make an impact on some girls while I am here also. I like what Carol Kent says about making an impact on others " Whether we act as lifetime mentors, friends, encouragers, or seasonal mentors, we can embrace and pass on the principles Jesus lived by". I hope to be able to befriend some girls here and pass on those principles.

I hope these learnings have encouraged you! Remember God is right, he is a source of strength and refuge and he is a great example to live by!

Adios!! - Rachel

Week 3 in Bolivia

Buenos Tardes!

Sorry it has taken me so long to update this. Things are going well here. I am enjoying teaching at the school, everyone is so nice and it is a fun environment. I am enjoying my class of third graders as well. They are hard at times but I think we are getting into a rhythm, which sure helps a lot. Here are some things that have happened over the past two weeks.

- Last week one of my students called out during the middle of the lesson( which I am usually not a fan of) and asked why I was so long. I quickly responded that it was because I ate all my vegetables when I was a kid. I do not think the students really understood what I said, but my co-teacher chuckled in the back. It is little things like that, that make me enjoy what I do.

- Last week Sarah and I took public transportation by ourselves to meet up with our roommate in town. We were both very proud of ourselves.

- Sarah and I are starting to get to know some of our roommate Julies friends. Some of them come over on Thursday nights for Bolivia night which has been fun. This is a time where we can play games and eat dinner together. Julie is friends with a couple that has two boys and last week, they were the only people that came. It did not take long for the child to come out in Sarah and I , as we spent the night playing games with these two boys. We played Twister and Uno and got beat more times than not.

- This week my students and I had a fun time talking about their favorite sports and their favorite athletes as we read our story about a girl who likes to play Basketball. A lot of my students are big soccer fans and tennis fans, so we were able to talk about the US Open and the World Cup. Next week we will be learning about the Olympics. I am excited to do a little re-enactment with my students and let them get a feel for what the Olympics are like. I am planning on having our own Olympic Torch Relay and some races. Starting this week I will be observing the first grade class in the afternoons. Starting September 22nd I will be helping out in the first grade class for a month in the afternoons because their teacher will be going to the States. I think this will be a good experience and will help me learn a lot.

-My roommates and I have enjoyed watching the US Open on TV this week. It is usually our dinner entertainment. We watched the Woman's Final last night and were bummed when the Men's Final was postponed tonight.

- We are learning what our favorite types of Bolivian food are, we are continuing to learn our way around the city and are already thinking about where we want to travel to during our breaks. The weather is getting warmer, which we are all a fan of. The mornings are becoming a little clearer and this means that we can see the mountains on our way to school. It sure is a nice sight to see at 7 in the morning!

Hope you are all doing well!

Adios!! - Rachel

Here is a link to an album of my pictures from Bolivia so far:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=2447037&id=9133492

Keys to Surviving in Bolivia

Buenos Noches!!

I hope you are all doing well. There are several things that I have learned about surviving in Bolivia over these past few days. Some of these things are for health reasons and some are for safety reasons and some are just for fun.

Here is what I have learned:

- Never throw toilet paper in the toilet. You always put it in a trash can next to the toilet. It seems a little gross, but that is what they do here!

- Do not drink the water from the tap. Only use purified water. This includes brushing your teeth!

- When greeting Bolivians, you need to shake their hands and kiss their cheek.

- Crossing the street is not as easy at it sounds. Cars do not stop for you.

- People do not wear seat belts.

- You can fit 7 people on a 4 person cab.

- Never eat off the street... unless you want to get typhoid.

- You can buy DVD's for 10 cents

- There are many forms of public transport.

- Bolivians appreciate any Spanish that you can speak.

- We can get cable here, which is fun!

- I need to get use to being called Miss Miss, by my students. They rarely say your last name!

- There are not as many resources to use here, so creativity is a must.

These are some of the things that I have learned and I am sure there will be more to come!

I am enjoying my class. They are very energetic and chatty, but it will be fun.

I feel like I am starting to get into some sort of routine and I am enjoying being here.

For now..... Adios! - Rachel

Buenos Dias de Bolivia

Buenos Tardes!!

Well we made it safely to Bolivia last night! We were met at the airport by a conglomerate of people from the school which was nice, but pretty overwhelming for the first couple of minutes in Bolivia.

We met our two roommates at the airport. One of our roommates name is Julie, she is a fellow teacher at the school and is from Canada. Our other roommates name is Hadit and she is Bolivian and is taking classes at the University.

After being greeted at the airport, we headed to our home where we found our new rooms, the house dog Dulce, and got to know more about our roommates.

After hanging out, we went to a friends house for dinner. We had a delicious Bolivian Meal and it was fun to begin to meet people.

Today we went to a Market to get some fruits, vegetables and some other household items. The market was full of so many beautiful colors, a lot of different meat, lots of flowers, and a lot of different fruits an vegetables. Also from the market you could see the Magnificent Andes Mountains, which are so neat. We could see them as we flew into Cochabamba and we were in awe.

After the Market we came back and helped cut up some Zanahorias( carrots) for a soup we were going to have for lunch. It was a very delicious.

Tomorrow we will be going to church and after we will learn how to make another Bolivian dish!!

So far things are going well and I think I am going to like it here!

So for now, Adios! - Rachel

Visa Approved!

Buenos Dias!

So today I got the call that I have been waiting for, for a couple of weeks now! The Embassy approved our visas and we will be leaving for Bolivia next Thursday!

It is so surreal to think that this is really happening. We have been waiting to hear about this approval for a long time and now it is here. We will be leaving from Boston next Thursday afternoon, have a 5 hour layover, travel overnight to La Paz and then continue onto Santa Cruz. After we reach Santa Cruz we will have to fly to Cochabamba where our journey will be done. It is going to be a long day and a half of traveling, but it will be so worth it in the end.

I am excited to finally meet all these people I have been in communication with these past few months, to see what Bolivia is like, to meet my students and for all the experiences that we will have!

This last week will be spent hanging out with friends, going to a wedding, and finishing packing!

I will keep you updated on everything as we find out more!

Adios!! - Rachel

Update on Bolivia

Buenos Dias!!

It has been awhile since I last wrote. I was waiting to write because I was hoping I could tell you a leave date and some good news. However, that good news has not come in yet.

We have been having some bad luck with our Visa's. We were hoping we would have our Visa's and would be able to leave for Bolivia last week. However about two weeks ago we heard that the Bolivian Embassy wanted more documentation in order for them to approve our Visa's. It seems like every time we give them new documentation they say that they want another document. Today we got some more news that the embassy wanted another letter in Spanish that needs to be sent to the State Department of North Carolina and then the State Department in Washington before it can go back to the Embassy. This process can take up to a week or more. So we still do not know when we are leaving or how long this process is going to take.

So we are missing Orientation this week and will most likely miss the first day of school next week :(

Hopefully within the next few weeks we will have some good information and we can get to Bolivia before the end of the month!

So for now...

Adios!! - Rachel

Summary of Orientation and the Road Trip

Buenos Dias!!

Well we are back and have survived our 30 hour road trip and Orientation down in North Carolina.

Sarah and I left for North Carolina early Tuesday morning and started our 15 hour trek to Charlotte. It was a good trip. We passed through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Crossed the Mason Dixon line, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and at about 10:00 pm we arrived in Charlotte. We kept ourselves busy by looking for license plates from different states( we saw 30 states on the way down), and taking pictures of all the state signs as we crossed into different states.

On Wednesday we made our way from our Hotel to SIM headquarters. We arrived mid-morning, got a tour and settled into our room for a few hour break before our first meeting. Over the course of that night we meet 6 other STA's( short term associates) that were in our training group. We met the girl that we will be going to Bolivia with which was nice. We also met a couple that is going to Niger to work on Bible Translation, a girl who is going to Kenya to teach in the slums, a guy who is going to Zambia to work at a house for street boys and a guy who is going to China to work in a factory. They were really nice and it was fun to hang out with them for the few days that we were in North Carolina.

The time in North Carolina was over all really good. We received good information, met a lot of missionaries that had served all over the world, and were able to ask a lot of questions. During our time there, the three of us that are going to Bolivia, were able to talk to several people who have lived in Cochabamba and who had connections to Carachipampa. We were also able to connect with the former director of Carachipampa and his family, which was really informative.

Our training was done on Friday night and Saturday Morning brought about the time to start on our trek back home. The return road trip went well, but we were both pretty tired. So we took turns driving and napping. However, we both agree that it was way better to drive, because we saved a lot of money.

I arrived back in New Hampshire yesterday and when I was out and about today, I saw a bear crossing the road! I think it is safe to say that I am back in New Hampshire!!

Adios!! - Rachel

Road Trip and Orientation

Buenos Dias!!

Starting next Tuesday, Sarah and I will be taking a Road Trip to Charlotte, North Carolina for SIM Orientation. At first we considered flying but after looking at plane tickets, we decided it would be cheaper to drive. Why not save money and have an adventure??

I for one am excited. I LOVE Road Trips and we will be going to Orientation, where we will hopefully be getting some important information about going to Bolivia. Also while we are down there we may be able to connect with the previous Director of Carachipampa Christian School, which is exciting. It will be fun to ask more specific questions about the school and to actually meet someone from the school.

Driving down the East Coast in Sarah's Corolla is sure to bring back thoughts about our Spring Break '09 trip that 4 friends and I went on, during our Senior Year at UMass. The five of us crammed into the Corolla and drove down to Daytona Beach. It was quite the cramped journey down, but it was a great trip.

Here is a picture of us on the trip

Adios! - Rachel

One Sentence Can Brighten Up Your Day!

Buenos Dias!!

So today Sarah and I received the email that we have been waiting for since we sent in our application.

"We have received confirmation for your service in Bolivia at Carachipampa Christian School"

We have officially been accepted to teach at CCS with SIM! This is a huge relief and a huge answer to prayer! I am excited that we can finally move on in the process and I can start getting excited to leave!

Along with the glorious opening sentence, we received a lot of paperwork that we need to fill out and send in. We also need to start raising our funds,get a Visa, learn how to pack what we need for 9 months in two 50 pound bags etc....

We also have to go to Orientation before we go and it looks like that may not be able to happen until the end of August. So our temporary departure date looks like it will be August 20th. This is later than what we wanted, but all in all I think it will work out! :)

Change of topic: Tomorrow I will be moving out of Amherst. This is truly bittersweet. I am excited about Bolivia and about teaching there, but I will also miss Amherst!

Well stay tuned as information about Bolivia continues to be revealed!

Adios- Rachel

Thoughts

Buenos Dias!!

Today is the Global Day of Prayer. Today at church, the worship team did things a little differently and we sang 3 songs that were each in a different language to really incorporate the global feel. We sang a song from South Africa, a song that was in France and a song that was in Spanish. Each song brought about a different thought.

The South African song make me think of the summer that I was in Zambia. We had actually sang this very song when I was in Zambia two summers ago. This song brought back all those memories and reminded me of all the fun that I had that summer and made me miss all my friends over there. As I sat there singing, " There's no one, there's no one like Jesus, There's no one, There's no one like Him", it made me so thankful for that experience.

The French song made me think of my sister Jenny. She loves the French Language and loves France. She spent part of her last summer in France and is studying it at the Air Force Academy.

The Spanish Song made me think of Bolivia. It made me think of how I am going to need to get use to singing in Spanish, how I need to learn Spanish and how Lord willing I will be in Bolivia in two months.

This was a neat reminder that God is at work in all these countries all over the world and it will be exciting to have been a part of that in Zambia and I am looking forward to being a part of that in Bolivia.

Here is a photo of a church service from Zambia, as I sign off on this Global Day of Prayer!

Adios - Rachel

What is all this about?

Buenos Dias!!

My name is Rachel and I have decided to make this blog to tell you all about my plans to move to Bolivia and to update you when I hopefully get to Bolivia!

My friend Sarah and I are in the process of preparing to move to Cochabamba, Bolivia to teach at a school for Missionary kids. We are hoping to move their at the end of July, but there have been several things that seem to be getting in the way.

We have filled out all of our paperwork and all of our references have been filled out but it has taken a while to get these all together and moved onto the next stage. Lord willing we will be able to get accepted within the next week and we will be able to start fundraising. We need to fund-raise because the school we are going to is non-profit and we will not be getting paid. After we fund-raise we will need to go to training and then we will get the go ahead to be able to go. This is a lot to get done in the next two months, but we are hopeful that it could still happen.

Amidst all the discouraging news and the unknowns, I talked with the director of the school the other day and I was told what my job will be if we get down there in time. I will be working part-time as a 3rd grade teacher and part time as an aid for students that have some learning disabilities. I am really excited about this opportunity and hope I can get down there in time to start!!

As I am writing this, I am going into my last week of being in Amherst. It is definitely bittersweet. I am sad to leave the place that has been my home for the last 5 years, sad to leave my friends that are staying and sad to leave Western Massachusetts which I have learned to like. However, I am excited about this next adventure and I am excited to spend time with my family and friends before I leave the country.

I hope you come back to read more about what is going with Bolivia( whether we are able to go or not) and with my life!!

Adios - Rachel