Feb/March: A New Season

February to mid-March has been a new season of learning how to parent this beautiful bundle of joy while balancing a return to our previous normalcy. Everything that was normal for us before Adeline has definitely been changed as a result of our growing family, but it is a good change. It is a new season of learning how to navigate life and integrate the new patterns that come with parenting a newborn. God continues to show us His goodness.

We feel showered with blessings as our family experiences good health and a supportive community both here and abroad. We are so thankful for all the people that have supported us, both near and far, in order to help navigate this season more comfortably.

Every parent can understand the challenges that come with a newborn. The never ending need for diapers and the cyclical nature of the sleep/feeding schedule has kept us on our toes. We were very appreciative of the help that Audrey's mom was able to provide for the first half of February. As Mark returned to work the Highlands community has really stepped up, and many teachers have volunteered to help out and made this whole process a lot easier. These acts of kindness and support remind us of the love that Christ calls us to and encourages us to keep trusting in His plan for our lives. In all honesty it was somewhat daunting to think about how this would go in raising a newborn in a foreign country away from family & friends, but God is faithful and has shown us His love through the community here and given us encouraging support from abroad.

In this new season we are learning a lot about our little girl. Adeline is a pretty chill baby thus far and seems to have the flexibility needed that we as missionaries need here in Bolivia. We won't fault her for sleeping during church just yet, and if anything we are more impressed at her ability to sleep during the worship. She is a sweet girl who loves when we sing Jesus Loves Me while getting her diaper changed, and her smirky smile fills our hearts.

We grow in our patience, love, and trust in God as she grows daily. Parenthood brings so many different windows into learning about God and his love for his children. It is true that when you become a parent you understand a depth of love that you couldn't before and that love reflects the love that God has for us.

In this new season we must also learn how our new life looks with our existing ministry in La Paz. Adeline has been a catalyst for deeper relationships with the students. They love asking questions about her and parenthood, and continue to come and visit her at our apartment.

It has felt like a rich season of relationship building with many of the students, who are a major part of our mission and ministry down here. Mark feels like he is in a really good season of connecting with the students. Audrey, while not at school physically, continues to have students reach out through letters and visits. We are very thankful for these opportunities to connect with the kids and share our lives with them. Our hope is that we can model Christ daily to them through their observation of our lives. We know they are always watching and we hope they see Christ reflected in our parenting and in our marriage. This new season has allowed us to open our lives up even more to them and be vulnerable, so your prays are appreciated as we are indeed human and will make mistakes.

Like mentioned earlier, Mark is experiencing a good season of connecting with the students, and during "dress like a teacher day" was mobbed by slew of interesting takes on Mr. Kreiss

Other opportunities have come through community service days and Team Color Day. Team Color Day this semester involved water based competitions and was a "splashing" success!

Lastly, we ask that you keep Bolivia in your prayers as currently there is an oil/gas crisis going on. This has caused major delays, inconveniences, and panic throughout the country. Sometimes student buses don't arrive until 2 hours later, and earlier this week Mark walked the last 30 minutes uphill to get to work because the traffic was so bad. This is a product of greater financial and economic issues, but it has many people worrying, and the worry is ramped up because it is an election year. Elections will take place in August and already the school is prepping the staff for that chaos that might ensue as a result, much like in Mark's first year in 2019 when there were riots and protests that engulfed the country. We appreciate your prayers and support and hope that this finds you encouraged in whatever season you are in.