Reaching New Heights

Our March hasn't exactly been "March Madness", but it has brought good signs of things to come. Aided by some physical ailments that both of us sustained playing basketball, each which occurred about three days apart, our last couple weeks have been a little more restful. God still finds ways to work despite those setbacks and we are thankful He continues to work in and through broken and banged up vessels like us. Mark has gotten a little more time with his senior boys discipleship group as a result of Spiritual Emphasis Week at school, and a much needed birthday celebration for one of the senior boys. Please continue to pray as Mark seeks to connect and encourage these guys before they graduate and leave.

Most notably God has given us an opportunity to connect with a Bolivian named David. He was the first person we met on a Saturday outing to walk the streets and hand out Bibles to those in need. David works six days a weeks as a shoe shiner on the streets of La Paz and is extremely friendly and understanding of our Spanish limitations. Thankfully our Spanish is improving due to the classes we are taking five days a week now, and so we were able to carry on a good conversation and encourage him before leaving. After walking the streets and handing out the rest of our bibles, food, and encouragement, we ran into David again, and he thanked us greatly for the words of hope.

We ended up swapping numbers and met up with him again on another Saturday to take him out to lunch and hear more of his story. Each interaction has been fruitful, and despite our limitations we feel like we were able to convey God's love to David. He has responded well to our encouragement, stating clearly the importance of having God as our hope and showing love to others. We get the feeling that in the shoe shiner community David is an older wiser voice to some of the others, and as we left lunch we met another shoe shiner whom David proceeded to give his extra sandwich to instead of saving it for dinner later. We are hoping to continually meet with David and hopefully others. We promised to bake and bring him some muffins next week, and we hope to build a stronger relationship as well as strengthen our Spanish. Please keep David in your prayers as he has explained some very tough circumstances and surroundings in El Alto, the more impoverished city that sits above La Paz on the altiplano.

Yesterday we seized an opportunity to get out of the city and go on a glacial hike with other teachers from the school at a mountain called Charquini. The 1 hour 20 minute hike took us to a lagoon that took our breath away....or maybe that was the 16,500 ft elevation. Either way, it was an amazing experience and a great chance to get out of the city of La Paz and spend time in community with other teachers from the school. Being out in nature and away from civilization always brings a strong reminder of God's beauty reflected in His creation.

Upon return we feel so thankful to be here in Bolivia and so blessed to be surrounded by His beautiful creation. It's hard to believe all the different and amazing places around here, and they are quick to reflect God's might and glory. We are thankful also for our Bolivian friends, Daniel and Sarita who we got to ride with. We are thankful for their kindness and friendship as we seek to build community here in La Paz. As we look towards the next couple months we are encouraged by the progress we are making in our Spanish classes, the growing opportunities with friends, and the opportunities to reach out to those on the streets who continue to struggle during these times, many of whom are Venezuelan refugees. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to find ways to spread the Good News and encourage all we come in contact with.