It felt good to be able to sleep in today. I slept in until my alarm when off at nine and then got up to have breakfast. I had a glass of water and a piece of bread for breakfast. After breakfast, I came back to my room to do my morning devotion and then went back to bed for awhile. While in bed, I took time to reflex on my experience here in Bolivia so far. In reflecting, God helped me to realize some misconceptions that I have had and what I would like to share with people when I return home. The main misconception that I was given my many people is the fact that since I am only going to be in Cochabamba for a short period of time so I will not have an impact here. Well, it is only with God’s grace, but I feel that I have had an impact here. I have helped set up connections for other interns and missionaries that might come down to Bolivia as a part of SAMS. Also, another impact that has not been felt yet is the retreat that is coming up in about three weeks. Even though, I have signed up to help with the spiritual aspect of this retreat, my advice as been asked to contribute to all aspects of this retreat. In addition, my advice has been asked for the retreat that will happen in December for all of Bolivia that will be like a Happening. Then working at the boy’s home, I think that even though I have only been there a week that I have really given the boys guidance and confidence to continue in their schooling. When it comes to what I would like to share, I realized that it is a little different for each of the groups that I have in mind to share with. Basically, one idea is to forget having an agenda where times and a schedule is important because that is nonexistent. Another importance is to be able to take time for yourself. It was very hard for me to find time for me to take time for myself in the United States with my constantly on the go schedule. Also, I have come to realize how important it is to spend a significant amount of time with God each day. In doing my devotions everyday, I have felt my relationship with God grow stronger. This mission experience has also been a learning experience for everyone involved. I have learned from other missionaries and I think that I have learned from myself has well. When I felt God leading me to do this mission, I was a little hesitant about it because I was not given much information about what I would be doing. There is also some expectations that I do not think have been met and there has been a lot of confusion. This has shown me how important it is to work with a team and to makes sure that communication is clear. With all these events that have occurred to me that has made this experience somewhat difficult; it is my hope that people that come after me will have an easier time. I know that God has some purpose for me being a guinea pig in this experience. After taking most of the morning to reflect, I then got ready for my day, uploaded some photos, and used the internet until lunch. Before lunch I was able to do my noon time devotional. For lunch I had chicken with rice and potatoes along with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. Today, I had the opportunity to have lunch with almost all of Susana’s family and their concern was if I was getting enough to eat. They kept asking me if I wanted more food and I kept declining. It was a little bit awkward. At lunch I was also informed that Adelina would be gone until Tuesday because there is a party in her town because someone is getting married. After lunch, I took the rest of the afternoon to work on my Bible study for next week. It was then time for me to head out to youth group. On the way to catching a taxi I ran into some people from the language school who were going to visit Lucas. For some reason tonight, it took me forever to get a taxi. Even one taxi driver drove off after talking with me because he wanted fifteen and I would only give him ten. When I finally got to youth group, I played ping pong with Omar and Winney. We then opened up in prayer and we went around the circle to say different prayers Omar started it and it ended with me. That means that I prayed aloud for the second time; my prayer was short, but it went much better than the first time. Next, we sang some songs of praise to God. After getting drinks and a snack of potato chips, it was time for our movie nights. We watched the movie Giants of the Earth. It was a football story in which the coach taught the player values of the Bible while coaching them. With prayer the coach was able to win the state championship and also have a child which was not possible before. Then we ended our time in prayer and then had a meeting about the upcoming retreat coming up. It was decided to meet on Tuesday in the afternoon to discuss the retreat and begin working on a drama we want to present to the congregation. While making the decision when to meet the group made sure that I could make the meeting and others even asked me if I was coming on the retreat with them. They were elated when they found out I would be going on the retreat with them. Upon returning home from youth group, I did my evening devotion, showered, and went to bed.
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