How to begin describing all the emotions I have experienced today...
Today is a hard day. June 13 is always a hard day.
Years go by, and it doesn't get easier.
I miss my family, yes.
I miss my friends, yes.
I miss my darling nephews, yes.
I miss "home".
But today I had to experience missing those things in the midst of really MISSING someone who I've missed for 7 years. And it isn't any easier when you have to miss someone without the comfort of your family around you. Today, I woulda given a lot to be able to hug my mom. That was my one big selfish desire for the day.
Yes, I miss my family and the many comforts of home. But more than that, today was a day where I really deeply missed Uncle Dave.
It's not a fun day, and I'm definitely ready for it to be over. But God sustained me through a day that could have been a lot worse.
A verse that came to my mind and I saw on multiple occasions today was this... "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." {2 Corinithians 12:9} I have liked this verse for a while and held onto it as I was preparing to go on this adventure. I love the idea that God uses us in our weaknesses. I am weak. Today, I was especially weak. My heart hurt, and I was longing for things that I couldn't have. But God still used me. And God used my day for His glory. Today was a day when I definitely needed God's grace to get me through the day, and that is exactly what He did.
Standing on the rooftop tonight looking out at the full moon and the immense sky full of stars, I was reminded of how great and how vast God's love is for us. And how His grace got me here and continues to sustain me.
So in a day that could have been overtaken by the sadness in my heart, I was able to have a one-on-one Spanish lesson with an amazing and caring woman and teacher, hand out snack to 80 eager and joy-filled children, and hear countless happy voices calling out my name "Hola Profe Breanna! Hola! Hola!" God's grace is definitely sufficient for me.
And I could do it all knowing someone was up in heaven smiling down on me, keeping a protective eye on me, and teasing me for every misstep along the way.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Dia de la Copa Mundial!
Today is World Cup Day (the first day of the World Cup), and so many of the kids at El Centro (especially the boys) couldn't control their excitement! "Who do you want to win?! Who do you think is going to win! Brazil! Brazil!" It was fun to see the excitement and joy on their faces. It is a big deal here, since the World Cup is just taking place right next door in Brazil. Most of the kiddos here are cheering for Brazil (since Bolivia doesn't have a team competing), but if you ask mi hermanito Isaac who is going to win-- Espana! Espana! He is definitely cheering for Spain. It's a lot of fun to be in South America as this is going on. People here are selling things with World Cup stuff on them and there are Brazil World Cup 2014 advertisements everywhere! The boys in this house definitely love soccer and so I am sure we will be kept up to speed on everything going on with the World Cup.
What a crazy, hectic, tiring, FUN week it has been. We are in the midst of our first really full, normal week here in Cochabamba. We had last weekend to relax some more after our Thursday and Friday off. Saturday we went downtown, walked around the parks and the city a lot, got some amazing ice cream at Dumbo's, and had a fun day together. Saturday night we went to Kathryn's (another missionary/team member) apartment. She went to culinary school before coming to Bolivia to serve, so she offered us homemade brownies and ice cream. :) We had a GREAT night of playing games (Evopolio...Bolivian version of Monopoly!). It was fun to be able to laugh and relax with some good friends here in Bolivia. Sunday we went to church again, which was great as usual, and then we returned for a day of relaxation and rest. We had another great night of conversation with our host family. I'm continually blessed by the Quiroga's.. what a wonderful, funny family to be a part of during this summer. I couldn't have asked for better people to spend my summer with! David, the father, is always joking with us about trying to set us up with people and that we need to get married (especially since we know how to cook!). We have had plenty-a-good laughs with Isaac, the 15-year-old, as well. He is HILARIOUS and always keeps us on our toes. (We do tease him a little bit, too) ;) I am sure he just LOVES living with four 20-something ladies. :)
Our newest (and last) team member arrived just yesterday morning! Emily is a college student from Minnesota who attends Wheaton (in Illinois). She is a sweetheart, and she fits in well with the rest of us and we are so glad to have her! It has been fun getting to know yet another girl here in Bolivia. I have been blessed by the friendships and unity that has already been forming amongst the team of people we have here.
Monday we went on a little adventure to a park...really shouldn't have been much of an adventure, but it sure turned into one! A little boy told us we couldn't go in.."umm, okkk, it's a park? why not?" Turns out he had reason! A teenage girl was like "yeah, go for it.." So we entered. It was a beautiful park that was recently built. The park had a large grassy section full of exercise equipment..yes, actual exercise equipment! Outside! So cool! When Joana said there was a "gym" there, I didn't actually think there was a "gym" in the park! What a great idea to get your exercise done right outside! I mean, the weather here couldn't be more gorgeous. There is NEVER any humidity. It is really dry and each day gets up to probably lower 80s..just GORGEOUS weather. At night it can get down to 50s probably I'd say, but it is expected to get colder as the winter goes on. Anyways, we played around on the exercise equipment, explored the park for a good 20 minutes when we started walking past the pool that was there and everything. A man then approached us and said that the park was closed and we needed to get out...OOPS. So, yes, the little boy was correct when he said we couldn't go in. However, it wasn't REALLY our fault because there was no signs and the gate had been left unlocked and even open. The lady who escorted us out wasn't quite as friendly as the nice man who told us we need to leave and return on a day that isn't Monday. :)
Tuesday was my day to go with Kathryn to the Cancha (the market) to help her shop for her women's cooking classes at El Centro. It was a fun morning with her! We did a lot of walking (especially since finding a trufi home was difficult when a random parade that was blocks long popped up!). It is interesting being two blonde, American girls walking around the Cancha. We had to be especially careful as to not get robbed and got a lot of unnecessary attention from people. We survived, though! After, we ran some more errands and had lunch at her house. It was great getting to know her more on a one-to-one basis as well.
The past two days we have spent the mornings at El Centro doing construction. They have been LONG days, and we are very exhausted by the end of them! We are cleaning up the grounds a lot to make it look nicer and so that eventually maybe the kids will have more space to actually run around and play. For the most part, they handed us shovels and pickaxes, set us on top of a dirt/rock pile, and we got to work! (I couldn't help but think..RyderBoy would be in HEAVEN here....he coulda been busy "stoopin" all day!!!) It was hard work, but it felt good to get some good physical labor in and work up a sweat! By the end of the morning, we were tired and very dirty and ready for lunch. We would head back to the house, which is a trek in itself, shower up or clean up, eat lunch, and then on back to El Centro it is for teaching/working with the kiddos! I will explain what we do at El Centro more in another post and hopefully share some photos..this one is unfortunately getting quite long..sorry!
As for me now... my muscles are sore, my mind is tired, and I need some rest before my first Spanish lesson tomorrow!! A few prayer requests before I go..
1. Continued safety
2. Health...that we stay healthy; I have also been struggling a lot lately with my allergies here..a lot I think because of the amount of dust here and everything..but it would be nice if I could get some relief from that.
3. Sleep..I haven't been sleeping SUPER well..mostly because of the insane amount of bad/weird dreams I have been having. I know that my malaria pills are to blame, and I have been seriously considering stopping taking my malaria pills so I will have to decide what to do about that exactly.. (there are NO bugs here, so really there is no need for them..)
4. Continued relationships at El Centro. I feel as if the kids are super eager to meet us, get to know us, etc. but at first it still was hard to get to know them/remember their names/feel a part of The Center/etc. So pray that relationships would form, we would continue to get to know kids/remember their names, etc. Those relationships are why I am here..to spread Jesus's love to these kiddos and love on them while I can!
Sorrrry for the super long post :)
Adios y vaya con Dios,
Breanna
Friday, June 6, 2014
El Dia de la Maestra
I have a little time to blog today because it happens to be "Dia de los maestros" in Bolivia, which is the national day to celebrate teachers!! What a fun day it is for us teachers in Bolivia. :) Many kids bring their teachers flowers or other small gifts before the holiday. All the schools are pretty much closed on this day, so we as well have the day off as no kids will be coming to El Centro for classes. We also took yesterday off for the holiday and everyone who works at The Center went out to supper last night. I think we should have a holiday like this in the States! It is always a fun time getting together with all the other teachers and getting to know them further.
It has been a crazy last couple of days here in Cochabamba. We are starting to feel very settled and were excited to begin our work at El Centro this week (although it was only a 2-day work week for us at The Center). I want to update you on all the great things that have been happening here this week! I have finally been in Bolivia for a full week, and that week sure has gone fast!
First off, a few of the things that have made me smile this week.. :)
It has been a crazy last couple of days here in Cochabamba. We are starting to feel very settled and were excited to begin our work at El Centro this week (although it was only a 2-day work week for us at The Center). I want to update you on all the great things that have been happening here this week! I have finally been in Bolivia for a full week, and that week sure has gone fast!
First off, a few of the things that have made me smile this week.. :)
- Waking up Tuesday morning to mi hermana, Joana, frying me an egg. The food here has probably been the hardest thing to get used to...so one of my favorite foods (that she remembered I liked from a previous conversation) was a very pleasant surprise! Since that day, I have had eggs two other days for breakfast as well. :)
- Playing Scrabble last night with mi hermano, Isaac... Leah and I had a fun time playing Scrabble in both English and Spanish (just to make it fair for everyone ;) ). We always have fun teaching Isaac new English words and answering any questions about English he has. He is SO eager to learn... even if it is just words so that he can do better on his English videogames. :)
- Having good ole MASHED POTATOES for lunch today... homemade and all. YUM!
- Last night like I said, we went out to eat with the other team members. We ate at a sort of food court--there seems to be a lot of places to eat like that around here. I had a hamburger and french fries. (Let me just note, I realized how blessed we are with Iowa beef. Can't say it was the best burger I've ever eaten.;) ) And at this food court there was COLDSTONE ice cream....we had seen this place a couple days previously and were like WHAT?! Coldstone ice cream in Bolivia?! That's our first place to go when we get homesick..! Well, when we got there we found out it wasn't quite actual Coldstone Creamery...just had the same name. haha. But they did have some dandy ice cream, and I was definitely very satisfied after being able to eat a dish of rich chocolate ice cream! Delicious! We will definitely be returning there.
- Conversations with my sweet family here-- they are so great! I especially enjoyed sitting with mama Toty on the way home from supper last night on the microbus. (It was our first trip taking the bus and it was an experience for sure!) She is just so sweet, and I love having conversation with her. I think she worries about me as much as my own mother does--so don't worry Mom, there is someone else here doing it for you! ;) Every time we are out alone and return home, she says she is so thankful we returned home and that she had worried about us. :)
- All the kids running around at the center calling me "Profe Breanna"... fun to be called "profe" for once! :) The kids are so sweet and were excited to meet their new teachers!
It has been a week of a lot of firsts. I'm excited to say we are getting used to getting around here, though. Right away Tuesday Joana took me to the bank to get US cash to pay for my housing and everything here. After getting my cash she said, "Ok. So can you get yourself home now? I will meet you at home because I have to run to the store." Uhhhh.... sure?! So there I was finding my way back to the house on a trufi for the first time with $500 cash in my pocket and all alone! But I did it! I felt very proud of myself after that achievement. :) The transportation here is just crazy. But we are slowly getting used to it, and getting quite good at it, too! So far, so good..we haven't gotten lost yet! Just to get to El Centro we have to catch three different trufis (taxis), get on the correct number/color, and get off at the right place!
Tuesday we went to El Centro for the first time for our first actual day with the kiddos! It was wonderful! Tuesday and Wednesday we spent preparing snack for the kiddos and then helping out in Joana's Creatividad class (arts/crafts class) that the kids get to do after all of their other work is done. This week I helped Joana prepare the activities for the class. It was a lot of fun interacting with the kids and being able to get to know them a little bit. I am slowly picking up on some of the names of the kiddos, but we'll see how many I actually remember after this long weekend! The past couple mornings we have spent at El Centro as well, just cleaning things good for church and all the kiddos.
Our teammate Rebekah arrived Tuesday night. It has been great getting to know her and having another pair of hands! She is a preschool teacher from Kansas three years out of college. Wednesday morning Joana took the three of us downtown, we walked around, and ran some errands. One of the funnier stories of this week is that during that time she took us to the Plaza Principal, which Leah and I had adventured to on Monday by ourselves. Well, turns out we actually never made it to the Plaza Principal on Monday. When the trufi dropped us off, he had said "the Plaza is up there" and pointed.. Turns out we didn't walk quite far enough and never even made it to the Plaza! We had found a good shopping location and we just assumed we were at the Plaza Principal! So when Joana said, "of course this is the Plaza Principal, where you came Monday...", Leah and I looked at each other and then at Joana and were like "Uhhh we've never seen this before." Joana was a little scared for a bit!.. Like, "Where did that trufi driver take you?! Where were you all alone on Monday?!" haha Well, we kept walking a little further and showed Joana where we actually had been on Monday. We all thought it was pretty funny that we didn't even go to the place she sent us to. When she had given us directions, she never told us what to expect or what it was like when we got there, so we had no idea what to look for!
A few prayer requests:
- Continued safety: for us on the roads and when we are taking trufis/microbuses, when we are crossing super busy streets to catch trufis, etc.
- Health: both me and Leah have had a little bout of being sick this week-- probably mostly from things we had eaten. So pray that we would have good health.
- For relationships to blossom at El Centro... with the other teachers and with the children especially.
- That I would continue to do well here and not miss home! I have been doing well but now that I've been gone a full week I expect to start missing home and the many things and people that come with it more. Having a couple days off is a blessing, but they can also get long which makes missing home more possible!
Thanks so much for your prayers and support thus far!! I love it here in Cochabamba and am so blessed to be in this place at this time. It is a beautiful place with beautiful people! Feel free to email me (breanna.mars@nwciowa.edu) or message me as I love hearing from friends and family back home. :)
Adios y vaya con Dios,
Breanna
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| Mi querida Joana--so thankful for her. Such a beautiful woman inside & out! |
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| Mama Toty & Matias |
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| Taken from the roof of our house..one of my favorite places to be here! Cochabama sure is one beautiful city. |
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Los primeros dias en Cochabamba
Wow! What a crazy past couple days it has been. We have been slowly getting accustomed to Cochabamba and are starting to get the hang of a few things here... but there's still so much to learn! I will try to keep what has happened the last couple of days short and sweet but there's just so much to tell!
Saturday morning we went to La Cancha (the large market here in Cochabamba) with Joana. We helped her buy a few things such as meat, pasta, herbs, etc... It was LOCA. Absolutely crazy... I have never seen anything like it. I thought Haitian markets were crazy..absolutely NOTHING compares to La Cancha. ha! It consisted of holding tight onto my purse so nothing was stolen, staying as close to Joana as I could so I didn't get lost, and making our way through crowds of people, vendors, food stands, and random meat products, and not trying to get run over by any vehicles. It was crazy, but so much fun, too! There were so many sights and sounds, and it was a little overwhelming but a lot of fun, too. I honestly don't know how we will ever be expected to get around there by ourselves. It is blocks and blocks of just packed chaos. We also went to our first ATM there and figured all that out.
After La Cancha, we were a bit exhausted and came back to the house and rested. Last night, we went to the oldest daughter of the Quiroga family Shari's house. She was married last year and has a 6-month-old son Matias. He is SO CUTE! Her husband was gone working all night, so she invited us over for movies. She lives in a condo in a different part of town on the 9th floor. There was an amazing view of the Cristo statue in the distance and you could look out over the entire city---the views here continue to amaze me! It was a lot of fun watching movies, eating, and just getting to know the family better. I showed them a picture of Tate because he is about Matias's age, and they finally understood why I call him my chunky little nephew. :) They kept saying how "gordito" he is and giggled, saying he was so cute. I also got to share with them a little bit about Ryder and his story, which was a blessing to share how God has worked in his life and our family's. They agreed that GOD IS GOOD. :)
A little more about the Quiroga family, just so you have an idea of who I am staying with this summer! They are GREAT people, and we are so blessed to have such a wonderful host family. David: the father; Toty: the mother; Shari: oldest daughter (with son Matias); Joana: daughter in her 20's/teacher at El Centro; Jorge: 21-year-old son; Isaac: 15-year-old son. I have enjoyed getting to know them all individually through conversations and time spent with them! Best of all, they all are SO patient with our Spanish and willing to teach us and correct us. They all know pretty good English as well! I am definitely impressed!
This morning, Sunday, we went to church at El Centro (the center where me and Leah will be serving). It was our first trip there. Joana kind of showed us the ropes of how to get there so soon we will be able to do it ourselves. We have to take three different trufis (like a taxi) and stop at different places. It might take a bit to figure out exactly where we are going here. Everything looks so similar and is very confusing to me! Once the trufi drops us off as far as it goes, we have to walk up a pretty steep hill to El Centro. That was the first time I've really noticed the altitude change here! It is a good walk, and I am expecting strong calf muscles by the end of this. ;)
Church was so great. They have church at El Centro with a small group. It was about 5x more kids than it was adults, as a lot of the kids who go to El Centro attend without their parents even. There first is a "Communion Service" where we sang songs, had a very short message, and then took communion. They also had the kiddos greet us, which was really cute. I can't wait to get to know them better. Then there is a short break where someone provides a light "snack": cafe con leche and cookies (OREOS!:)) Then we had another service all together. Everyone sang together, prayed, some people share, etc. and then the kids go to their own little church/Sunday School. Then the 15 or so adults/older kids that were left got into a circle and the rest of church was set up much like a Bible Study. We studied John 6 and Gustavo led us through a way to study the Bible. It was a great experience-- being able to worship in a more intimate setting, with people of all ages participating, and studying the Bible with a group of brothers and sisters in Christ. Gustavo (or Gus) is a great guy. We met him today at El Centro. He is probably in his 20's and is such a genuine man. He clearly has joy for the Lord and loves the kiddos there and serving God. We talked to him for some time after church as well. A couple of my highlights from church were singing a song we sang with kiddos in Nicaragua and singing "10,000 Reasons" in Spanish, which happens to be one of my favorites at home. Before singing, they asked the kids all the things we should be thankful for. It reminded me of how many reasons we really do have to serve and praise our God. No matter where we are in the world-- we ALL have 10,000 reasons!
After church, they generally go out to eat. So, we went to this supermarket which had a sort of food court (looked very similar to America!) and ate. I had some pizza-- couldn't pass up some good American(ish) food for once. :)
It has been a VERY good couple of days! I haven't been dealing with really any homesickness, which is such an answer to prayer. I have been adjusting well and slowly getting used to life here. The last days have been busy with getting to know the Quiroga family better and getting to know Cochabamba, so I am excited to finally start serving and working at El Centro this week!
Prayer requests:
1. Safety in travel: There really are no rules of the road here. The driving is absolutely crazy! It is fun, but please pray for safety as we are often taking a car or many trufis to get to and from where we need to go each day.
2. Pray that I continue to adjust and learn how to get places, how to do things here, etc. It will be nice to finally be able to do some things "on our own".
3. Pray that our first week at El Centro will be great and that we will start forming wonderful relationships with the kiddos there.
4. Communication: Complete immersion in another language is difficult. There are times when I'm feeling so proud of myself and all I can say in Spanish and there are moments where it is frustrating, I can't get the right words out, and I just struggle with it. Pray for perseverance in learning and that I won't always feel so drained from all the Spanish each day.
Well, that was kind of long, so that will be it for today. :) There is just so much to tell and so many great experiences to share! I hope everyone is doing well and finding beauty in each day like I am learning to find here in Cochabamba. :) GOD IS GOOD!
Adios y vaya con Dios,
Breanna
Saturday morning we went to La Cancha (the large market here in Cochabamba) with Joana. We helped her buy a few things such as meat, pasta, herbs, etc... It was LOCA. Absolutely crazy... I have never seen anything like it. I thought Haitian markets were crazy..absolutely NOTHING compares to La Cancha. ha! It consisted of holding tight onto my purse so nothing was stolen, staying as close to Joana as I could so I didn't get lost, and making our way through crowds of people, vendors, food stands, and random meat products, and not trying to get run over by any vehicles. It was crazy, but so much fun, too! There were so many sights and sounds, and it was a little overwhelming but a lot of fun, too. I honestly don't know how we will ever be expected to get around there by ourselves. It is blocks and blocks of just packed chaos. We also went to our first ATM there and figured all that out.
After La Cancha, we were a bit exhausted and came back to the house and rested. Last night, we went to the oldest daughter of the Quiroga family Shari's house. She was married last year and has a 6-month-old son Matias. He is SO CUTE! Her husband was gone working all night, so she invited us over for movies. She lives in a condo in a different part of town on the 9th floor. There was an amazing view of the Cristo statue in the distance and you could look out over the entire city---the views here continue to amaze me! It was a lot of fun watching movies, eating, and just getting to know the family better. I showed them a picture of Tate because he is about Matias's age, and they finally understood why I call him my chunky little nephew. :) They kept saying how "gordito" he is and giggled, saying he was so cute. I also got to share with them a little bit about Ryder and his story, which was a blessing to share how God has worked in his life and our family's. They agreed that GOD IS GOOD. :)
A little more about the Quiroga family, just so you have an idea of who I am staying with this summer! They are GREAT people, and we are so blessed to have such a wonderful host family. David: the father; Toty: the mother; Shari: oldest daughter (with son Matias); Joana: daughter in her 20's/teacher at El Centro; Jorge: 21-year-old son; Isaac: 15-year-old son. I have enjoyed getting to know them all individually through conversations and time spent with them! Best of all, they all are SO patient with our Spanish and willing to teach us and correct us. They all know pretty good English as well! I am definitely impressed!
This morning, Sunday, we went to church at El Centro (the center where me and Leah will be serving). It was our first trip there. Joana kind of showed us the ropes of how to get there so soon we will be able to do it ourselves. We have to take three different trufis (like a taxi) and stop at different places. It might take a bit to figure out exactly where we are going here. Everything looks so similar and is very confusing to me! Once the trufi drops us off as far as it goes, we have to walk up a pretty steep hill to El Centro. That was the first time I've really noticed the altitude change here! It is a good walk, and I am expecting strong calf muscles by the end of this. ;)
Church was so great. They have church at El Centro with a small group. It was about 5x more kids than it was adults, as a lot of the kids who go to El Centro attend without their parents even. There first is a "Communion Service" where we sang songs, had a very short message, and then took communion. They also had the kiddos greet us, which was really cute. I can't wait to get to know them better. Then there is a short break where someone provides a light "snack": cafe con leche and cookies (OREOS!:)) Then we had another service all together. Everyone sang together, prayed, some people share, etc. and then the kids go to their own little church/Sunday School. Then the 15 or so adults/older kids that were left got into a circle and the rest of church was set up much like a Bible Study. We studied John 6 and Gustavo led us through a way to study the Bible. It was a great experience-- being able to worship in a more intimate setting, with people of all ages participating, and studying the Bible with a group of brothers and sisters in Christ. Gustavo (or Gus) is a great guy. We met him today at El Centro. He is probably in his 20's and is such a genuine man. He clearly has joy for the Lord and loves the kiddos there and serving God. We talked to him for some time after church as well. A couple of my highlights from church were singing a song we sang with kiddos in Nicaragua and singing "10,000 Reasons" in Spanish, which happens to be one of my favorites at home. Before singing, they asked the kids all the things we should be thankful for. It reminded me of how many reasons we really do have to serve and praise our God. No matter where we are in the world-- we ALL have 10,000 reasons!
After church, they generally go out to eat. So, we went to this supermarket which had a sort of food court (looked very similar to America!) and ate. I had some pizza-- couldn't pass up some good American(ish) food for once. :)
It has been a VERY good couple of days! I haven't been dealing with really any homesickness, which is such an answer to prayer. I have been adjusting well and slowly getting used to life here. The last days have been busy with getting to know the Quiroga family better and getting to know Cochabamba, so I am excited to finally start serving and working at El Centro this week!
Prayer requests:
1. Safety in travel: There really are no rules of the road here. The driving is absolutely crazy! It is fun, but please pray for safety as we are often taking a car or many trufis to get to and from where we need to go each day.
2. Pray that I continue to adjust and learn how to get places, how to do things here, etc. It will be nice to finally be able to do some things "on our own".
3. Pray that our first week at El Centro will be great and that we will start forming wonderful relationships with the kiddos there.
4. Communication: Complete immersion in another language is difficult. There are times when I'm feeling so proud of myself and all I can say in Spanish and there are moments where it is frustrating, I can't get the right words out, and I just struggle with it. Pray for perseverance in learning and that I won't always feel so drained from all the Spanish each day.
Well, that was kind of long, so that will be it for today. :) There is just so much to tell and so many great experiences to share! I hope everyone is doing well and finding beauty in each day like I am learning to find here in Cochabamba. :) GOD IS GOOD!
Adios y vaya con Dios,
Breanna
Friday, May 30, 2014
FINALLY here... Hola from Cochabamba!
We have finally made it!! We have arrived at our new home for the summer, and I couldn't be happier!! It was definitely a very long journey and after a day and a half of traveling, it feels so good to unpack the bags and say I am staying a while. We flew overnight last night from Miami to La Paz. We had an hour to sit on the plane in La Paz at like 4 AM while others deplaned and others got on. At that point, we were all a little overly tired, in a state of wishing we could have just slept longer so we could get an actual night's rest. I thankfully slept the entire overnight trip once they shut the cabin lights off and don't remember anything of that flight! Then we flew about an hour from La Paz to Santa Cruz.
We got into Santa Cruz at about 7 AM and went through immigration. Immigration couldn't have gone smoother. It really was so simple and we were so thankful for that. We had from that time until our flight left at 2 PM in the Santa Cruz airport then. I wasn't expecting that long delay, but we realized it once we looked at our flight time. That was quite the long layover, but we made it! Had a little Cinnabon in the airport (nothing like comfort food ;) ). Then we luckily found this really nice skydeck on the roof of the airport. We sat up there and were able to watch the planes come and go for a couple hours. It felt SOO good to finally breathe some fresh air after being stuck in an airport and on planes for over 24 hours. It was windy, sunny, and warm with an occasional mist but so nice! That was our first glimpse of the beautiful creation here in Bolivia! I laid down for a couple hours on one of the benches up there and got some sleep (and a very nice farmer's tan.... oh well, I'll take any sun at this point). It felt SO nice!
Then we finally got on our plane to Cochabamba! The flight was only like 45 minutes after that super long layover so that was nice. We got off the plane, got our luggage, and immediately met Joana who was there to pick us up! She is so nice and immediately put us at ease. We didn't really even get a chance to say good-bye to Arianne and Emily, Arianne's teammate we met up with in Miami, as they went off with whoever picked them up as well. We took a taxi back to the Quiroga's house, which is where we are staying. I will hopefully share more about them as I get to know them more.
Me and Leah have our own room at the Quiroga's. Their place is beautiful with lots of space! The doors all lead to outside and there is four levels to the house. The top level is on the roof with an AMAZING view of the mountains and Cochabamba. I can't wait to spend more time up there during the day and at night. We spent a lot of time this afternoon in the kitchen just talking with members of the family we are staying with and getting completely immersed in Spanish from the get-go! I can officially say I think my Spanish brain is getting warmed back up. :) We talked a lot about our families and got to know each other. They have a 7-month old grandson, so he is comparable in age to Tate. (And they think the name "Tate" is just the funniest/cutest thing!) They love hearing about my nephews and I don't mind sharing. ;) It's amazing how much you can have in common with people from halfway across the world. It helps me feel very at home here.
So far, so good! I really have been doing well. The only moment any "sadness" or "nervousness" hit me was when we took off from Miami, and it was like well here we go! Next stop=South America! But other than that, I think everything is going remarkably well. Praise God for the very smooth travel we had! Pray that we get some rest tonight as we haven't had much but glorified naps the past couple of days. And pray we continue to get settled here in our new home! THANK YOU for all of your prayers thus far!! I will hopefully be able to update often with what's going on here and what it's like!
Adios y vaya con Dios,
Breanna
We got into Santa Cruz at about 7 AM and went through immigration. Immigration couldn't have gone smoother. It really was so simple and we were so thankful for that. We had from that time until our flight left at 2 PM in the Santa Cruz airport then. I wasn't expecting that long delay, but we realized it once we looked at our flight time. That was quite the long layover, but we made it! Had a little Cinnabon in the airport (nothing like comfort food ;) ). Then we luckily found this really nice skydeck on the roof of the airport. We sat up there and were able to watch the planes come and go for a couple hours. It felt SOO good to finally breathe some fresh air after being stuck in an airport and on planes for over 24 hours. It was windy, sunny, and warm with an occasional mist but so nice! That was our first glimpse of the beautiful creation here in Bolivia! I laid down for a couple hours on one of the benches up there and got some sleep (and a very nice farmer's tan.... oh well, I'll take any sun at this point). It felt SO nice!
Then we finally got on our plane to Cochabamba! The flight was only like 45 minutes after that super long layover so that was nice. We got off the plane, got our luggage, and immediately met Joana who was there to pick us up! She is so nice and immediately put us at ease. We didn't really even get a chance to say good-bye to Arianne and Emily, Arianne's teammate we met up with in Miami, as they went off with whoever picked them up as well. We took a taxi back to the Quiroga's house, which is where we are staying. I will hopefully share more about them as I get to know them more.
Me and Leah have our own room at the Quiroga's. Their place is beautiful with lots of space! The doors all lead to outside and there is four levels to the house. The top level is on the roof with an AMAZING view of the mountains and Cochabamba. I can't wait to spend more time up there during the day and at night. We spent a lot of time this afternoon in the kitchen just talking with members of the family we are staying with and getting completely immersed in Spanish from the get-go! I can officially say I think my Spanish brain is getting warmed back up. :) We talked a lot about our families and got to know each other. They have a 7-month old grandson, so he is comparable in age to Tate. (And they think the name "Tate" is just the funniest/cutest thing!) They love hearing about my nephews and I don't mind sharing. ;) It's amazing how much you can have in common with people from halfway across the world. It helps me feel very at home here.
So far, so good! I really have been doing well. The only moment any "sadness" or "nervousness" hit me was when we took off from Miami, and it was like well here we go! Next stop=South America! But other than that, I think everything is going remarkably well. Praise God for the very smooth travel we had! Pray that we get some rest tonight as we haven't had much but glorified naps the past couple of days. And pray we continue to get settled here in our new home! THANK YOU for all of your prayers thus far!! I will hopefully be able to update often with what's going on here and what it's like!
Adios y vaya con Dios,
Breanna
Thursday, May 22, 2014
1 week...7 days...168 hours...
I leave on my Summer of Service to Cochabamba, Bolivia, in one week. ONE week. I really can't believe it. I really don't know how I feel about that! Some days I feel really scared, anxious, nervous, unsure... But most of the time these days I've been feeling an overwhelming feeling of being blessed. I really am excited to go, and I don't know if it will really feel like it's happening until I'm on an airplane and leaving my family at the Omaha airport next Thursday morning.
When people ask why I signed up for an SOS, it's really hard for me to give an answer to them. I don't really know! I just kept feeling called to fill out the application, keep going with the process, and now I guess I am going to Bolivia! There was a little bit more to it. ;) But for the most part, I really just felt a tug on my heart always that this is what God wants me to do and the direction I am supposed to be going this summer.
A song that was in my head a lot during my time of deciding what to do and whether this was something I was supposed to do was "Oceans" by Hillsong UNITED. A lot of you probably know this song. One line really stuck with me and gave me peace about my decision. It goes like this...
Anyways, I leave next week Thursday morning! I will be flying with two SOS teammates, Arianne and Leah, from Omaha to Cochabamba. We will be leaving the Omaha airport shortly after 10 AM. I will be with Leah the entire time working at El Centro de Amistad y Apoyo. We will be tutoring kids, doing small construction projects, and just forming relationships with all the kiddos and people there. I can't wait to see the ways in which God will use us.
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me thus far! I was brought to tears many times seeing the many gifts people have given to get me to this place and fully fund my trip. Now, I am asking for your prayer! Which is just as important, if not more important! PRAY...
I will hopefully be writing a blog post every week while I am there, so check back in often! :) And meanwhile, be PRAYING! I am so thankful for each and every person in my life and the countless ways they have blessed me and gotten me to this point. So, THANK YOU again.
Adios y vaya con Dios,
Breanna
When people ask why I signed up for an SOS, it's really hard for me to give an answer to them. I don't really know! I just kept feeling called to fill out the application, keep going with the process, and now I guess I am going to Bolivia! There was a little bit more to it. ;) But for the most part, I really just felt a tug on my heart always that this is what God wants me to do and the direction I am supposed to be going this summer.
A song that was in my head a lot during my time of deciding what to do and whether this was something I was supposed to do was "Oceans" by Hillsong UNITED. A lot of you probably know this song. One line really stuck with me and gave me peace about my decision. It goes like this...
"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders. Let me walk upon the waters, wherever You would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander. And my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior."The hardest part about me going is clearly having to leave home. But that song reminded me that I need to have the trust in Him to go wherever He needs me and wants me to go. That's why I decided to call my blog "Trust Without Borders". I will be crossing borders, and I will be far from home. But I will be in good hands, because I will be in God's hands.. the ENTIRE time. I love that. I know this will be a transformational opportunity for me. I can't wait to see what God has in store since I'm following His lead.
Anyways, I leave next week Thursday morning! I will be flying with two SOS teammates, Arianne and Leah, from Omaha to Cochabamba. We will be leaving the Omaha airport shortly after 10 AM. I will be with Leah the entire time working at El Centro de Amistad y Apoyo. We will be tutoring kids, doing small construction projects, and just forming relationships with all the kiddos and people there. I can't wait to see the ways in which God will use us.
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me thus far! I was brought to tears many times seeing the many gifts people have given to get me to this place and fully fund my trip. Now, I am asking for your prayer! Which is just as important, if not more important! PRAY...
- alongside me as I make the final preparations to go;
- that any anxiety and nervousness would go away and in its place would be more excitement and peace;
- that Leah and I and the 2 other interns we will be working with would really grow close, have unity, and work well together;
- for my heart, that I would be ready to soak in anything God is trying to teach me while I'm gone.
- that I am not homesick... as this is probably my biggest fear right now;
- for my entire well-being... physically, mentally, spiritually.
I will hopefully be writing a blog post every week while I am there, so check back in often! :) And meanwhile, be PRAYING! I am so thankful for each and every person in my life and the countless ways they have blessed me and gotten me to this point. So, THANK YOU again.
Adios y vaya con Dios,
Breanna
{You can see Cochabamba is right in the center of Bolivia, which is where I will be!}
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