Bolivia and trusting God

Another reason for starting a blog (besides that "Give it a try-story") is my upcoming 6-months trip to Bolivia. I thought a blog might be a convenient tool to keep people updated on my joys and trials in that beautiful country.
My plane is taking off Feb 13 at 10.30pm (Central European Time) and I can't wait to go on board, sit down and just relax. The only problem: I still don't know exactly what I'll be doing there... I know it sounds crazy. Less than 4 weeks left and still no real plan of action... Well, it's not that I don't have ANY clue, but somehow stuff went wrong with the e-mails I wrote to several people at the Adventist university in Cochabamba (UAB). I've been almost going crazy, searching the internet for ways to get a hold of a person in charge - and no responses! I mean last year in August, I was told by a friend who had talked to the vice director of the university that I could come and just take the courses I would like to take (being education stuff, Greek and/or Hebrew). So far so good. But how to apply for a student visa without a document of confirmation from a university or school? Yesterday, I finally got an e-mail from sombody who kind of is in charge, but he told me that one thing I needed was a student visa... Great... 3.5 weeks left (including 6 finals just before I'll leave). Letters from Bolivia take at least a week... WOW... I felt my stomach turning upside down when I read the e-mail. So close... I just wrote him back and now I have to wait...

Going to UAB has been a dream of mine ever since I went there on a mission trip in 2005. It was my third time being in Bolivia and I had already fallen in love with the country and its people. I was about to add "Spanish" as a minor to my 2 majors (English and maths) so I knew I would have to improve my Spanish someday somehow somewhere. After staying on the UAB campus for 2 weeks, I knew what MY choice would be.
BUT... was it God's choice, too? I still don't know. In the process of fullfilling another dream (2006/2007, working as a dorm staff and teacher at Miracle Meadows School in West Virginia, a school for "at-risk youth"), I got introduced to 2 other projects in Bolivia besides the ones I already knew. Circumstances led to a change of my plan of action but when these circumstances changed back to "original", my plan did, too. Well... and now I'm waiting and trying my best not to go nuts.

It's SO hard to REALLY trust God sometimes. I mean even if it means that you might have to give up one of your dreams! To be honest - I couldn't give everything concerning Bolivia to God for quite a while. What if he wanted me in the jungle at a project run by Americans? I don't wanna have any Americans around me in Bolivia! I wanna be forced to speak Spanish day in day out!! I desperately need to improve in order to pass the advanced Spanish courses when I come back! What if God forgets about that...? (Stupid worry... I know...) I finally made the decision to trust. 100%. It's hard but I guess it's worth the trouble. Sometimes it means redeciding 5 times within an hour. That's where I'm at right now. I hope I'll improve but it's already turning into curiosity sometimes.

Yep. That's what I actually wanna be: just curious about where God is leading!

To be continued...
maria

(pic: Bolivian natural flag; Cochabamba/Bolivia, April 2005)