Catch-Up-Blog

Hey guys! Can you remember the first picture from Bolivia I shared with you (19th of February)? I thought it might be interesting how these Bolivians went on with their construction. At least I find it kind of incredible... seems like the future inhabitants of that one floor don't have the money for their walls... I was used to see houses in Bolivia that kind of don't have a roof, just metal bars sticking out of the last ceiling so you can easily build another floor on top of the last one if there is the need to or as soon as you have the money to do so. Well, I've learnt something new: if you don't have the money for everything but want your roof on top of the house... just leave out one floor and finish it later... I'm not an architect and I don't have a clue why the last two floors with the roof aren't tipping over - but obviously they have decided to stay up there...

What else? I remembered some things I promised you to let you know how these stories went on, so I decided to use this blog to catch up with these "opend ends".

Thursday night worship. Don't know if I already told you that they changed it to Monday - but I actually only finished my first series (4 topics about "Love & Co."). It was a really blessed time and it helped me to lose my fear of talking in Spanish publicly. I've still one worship prepared and ready with Power Point ("Letting go"), so if there should be a need - no problem. They asked me though if I could do a topic on nutrition and health, so I'm working on that one right now.
My sermon yesterday was a real blessing, for me and Arturo said for the church as well. He didn't ask me to preach about a special topic (like he wanted to at first) and didn't tell me anything about "his" church either, but prayed and just told me to talk about what God would give me. While stuydying for an exam on Thursday, I kind of had like a sermon topic in my had without thinking about anything related to it. It was one of my favourite topics though (summary statement: True community and growth are only possible if there is love combined with radical honesty), so it wasn't hard for me to put my heart into it. On Sabbath, Wendy did really come with me and for lunch, we were invited by a really nice and huge family (grandparents, their kids and grandshildren). In the afternoon, Arturo gave a short bible study for Wendy and another girl and we even stayed for the youth program. It was really a blessed Sabbath... and next week, I'm invited to preach in Nailson's church... He's Arturos friend (and since the jungle hike my friend as well) and didn't even tell me about it until last night. Arturo had told him I was about to preach in his church, so Nailson just anounced in his little congregation that I would preach there next Sabbath... I love these Brazilians... =)

I also think I didn't tell you yet that I'm not living with high school students anymore. I'm still living in my room in the part for the high schoolers, but all of my littly roommates were moved out for different reasons. Daniela went home due to health problems and was replaced by Fernanda, a 7th grader. After some weeks, the dean moved my two "grandchildren" to another room so they could have more supervision in the afternoon, especially with their homework. I lived just with Fernanda for 2 or 3 weeks, but some not so very nice things happened so that she at first had to leave my room and finally even the school =( Right now I'm sharing my room with Virginia, a young lady that is about to finish her degree (teacher) next Sunday. So next Mondax, I'll have 4 beds and more space for my clothes than I need =) Sometimes I miss my two little roommates but on the other hand I'm enjoying a clean room that I actually don't have to clean very often. Studying in the nights is a lot easier as well. Yeah, everything has advantages and disadvantages.

Another story is the "L'esperance orphanage" I wanted to work at for some time initially. Since they never wrote me again and I felt more and more comfortable here at the university, I didn't try to contact them again. Last week though, I got an e-mail that they could actually use my help. Mmmmh... July is vacation time, so I'm thinking of going there for a month if they think that I can be useful for a really short time period. Let's see.

Oh yeah... and I haven't been sick since the last time I wrote about it. I guess I've reached the state where I can eat almost everything the Bolivians eat. I eat apples without washing them, I drink whatever people offer me without worrying about clean water or not, I eat self made stuff you can by at the market, eat 80%-90% in the cafeteria (yep, the jungle hike made some difference... changed my tactic... I started to take my tomato sauce, garlic butter, honey, peanut butter... to the cafeteria - and the Brazilians don't mind sharing a table wih Nutella either...) and enjoying complete health. Even freezing in the mountains and the jungle for hours/days didn't give me a cold. I'm gaining all the weight though I had lost in my first two months. Whatever. I'm feeling great.

Right now, I'll go back to my books though, since I have my last two partial exams tomorrow and I don't want to feel stupid =) Have a warm and sunny new week - and fun with the European Soccer Championship!
maria