Last Wednesday was our final basketball game of the season. At the end of regular conference play, my JV girls' finished in third place. We lost the first round of the tournament, so our last game we were playing for third and fourth place to finish the season. The team we were going to be playing was the team we had beaten twice already. This game was going to be tough. We started out slow, but by the third quarter, the girls had found their rhythm and were making up lost ground. They fought until the final buzzer, but ended up coming short by two points. We were all disappointed, but as a coach, I couldn't have been more proud of my team and how far they had come. 

When we started practicing back in December, I was quite nervous because the majority of my team had never played basketball before, and we would be facing teams who had been playing for 2-3 years. We were young and inexperienced. Watching them try to make a layup and dribble down the court was painful. However, by staying positive and making practice fun, we started improving and working together as a team. By our last game, I stood on the sideline, watching my team work together to get the ball down to the other end of the court. It was no longer a "one-man show", but a team working together. Every game and practice, my team displayed good sportsmanship, positive attitudes, determination, and perseverance. A coach couldn't have asked for more from her team. It has been an honor to get to share the game of basketball with my girls!

A few weeks ago, I had to have a moment of truth, where I had to ask myself some difficult questions. Do I really want to be a teacher? Is this what I am supposed to do? Will I find joy in teaching again? 

It seemed like things in my classroom were slipping out of control as my students were not making good decisions, choosing to be defiant, saying inappropriate things, and being pressured by each other to make wrong decisions. Knowing what I was walking in to each morning made it a struggle to want to get out of bed. It was a fight, and it was robbing me of the joy that I had found in teaching. 

During the midst of these rough weeks, it became difficult to pray. As the negative feelings and thoughts were piling up inside, it came to the point where I had to cry out to God to intervene. And God did intervene. It came in the form of my one student, who seemed to be the main instigator, have a change of heart when he realized his actions affect other people beside himself. With some help, he has made a drastic change in his behavior, and as a result, has helped the class get back on the right track. It is something that only God could have done, and joy had been restored in the classroom once again!

Each morning as a class, we have the opportunity to start our day out by inviting God into our classroom to help us with self-control. We admit we are imperfect people who will make mistakes, but it is so reassuring that we have a God who will forgive us for our wrongdoings and help us to forgive others, as well. We pray for our relationships with one another that we will work together to help build each other up, not tear one another down. We also thank God for getting us through those weeks and for helping us get to where we are at now. It is such an incredible opportunity to be able to begin each morning this way.

Reflecting on those weeks, I realized I knew the answer, and the answer was yes. Yes, I am called to be a teacher. Yes, there are going to be difficult days in the classroom when you have to put academics on hold to deal with behavior issues. Yes, I have found joy in teaching again!

​Spiritual Emphasis Week update! Betsy Phillips, a WGM missionary who formerly served in Bolivia with her family, came down and spent last week with the elementary students. (Betsy and her family were serving in Honduras when my family went down for the first time in 2000. It was fun to reconnect with her!) She shared about “The Kingdom.” Staying with the topic, she shared who the King is, where the Kingdom is located, the Armor of God, and how to be an Ambassador for Christ. The students are still talking about what they learned a week later, which is encouraging. Thank you for your prayers throughout the week. Please keep praying that the seeds that were planted would take root, and we would see heart changes in the last remaining weeks of the school year.
 
Being a teacher is an honor and privilege, but it can be really difficult at times. Right now is one of those times. Unfortunately, many of my fifth graders are not making wise choices, which have resulted in some stressful decision making on my part, along with the administrators. However, these instances have also led to some good conversations with my students. I ask that you would please help me pray for my students, the administrators, the parents, and myself. As we are coming down to the end of the school year, the students are getting more and more anxious. We still have a lot of ground to cover before May 31st, and I pray that the students will be able to maintain their focus and motivation to finish their year well. Even more so though, I pray that my students would make decisions that honor God in all that they say and do.

I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful way to experience my first ride in a small airplane! The mission organization, South American Mission (SAM), has two airplanes that they use for ministry purposes in places that are difficult to reach by car. One of their pilots provided a tour of Santa Cruz from the sky. We flew out over a double waterfall and then over part of the city, where we could see the Learning Center and the compound where I live. Bolivia is so beautiful!

Shout out to my amazing co-coach and wonderful friend, Kristin! She has been a wonderful support and help during practices, as well as keeping me organized and on top of things. Don't know what I would do without her!

I felt truly blessed to be able to go to the States to attend the services for my Grandpa Bob and to be with my family during that time. Grandpa was one of the most influential people who inspired me to look at ministry opportunities outside of the United States. Sharing stories with my cousins and meeting people who had worked with my grandpa were two of my favorite highlights. He will be greatly missed. Being able to spend some time at home and being with my family was well worth the travel time!

It was always a dream that I would be able to live in another country, let alone call a city in Bolivia, South America, "home." It's amazing the changes that occur within when you move to a new place and establish relationships and roots. Once I landed in Bolivia after traveling for fifteen hours, I had the feeling of relief of being back home. I was excited to see my missionary family and to be back with my students and basketball team once again. They have all worked their way into my heart and have become my family away from my family.

After I rested up, I went over to school to get started on the stack of homework that had been piling up for the last week and a half. Grading was not something that I was particularly looking forward to, but with the end of the third quarter rapidly approaching, I knew I had no choice. I have to say that walking up to my classroom door and seeing yellow and green cutouts quickly put a smile on my face (and helped my attitude). My substitute (and great friend), Kristin, encouraged my students to write notes to me on paper llamas. Tears started to form as I read through the kindness and sweetness shining through their words. I am so thankful for a loving group of children who make my days better!

Prayer Request:

• As we begin the fourth, and final, quarter of the school year next week, the students are starting to get antsy. I have a handful of students who have not made wise decisions and are now facing some consequences at school. Please pray for wisdom when working with these students and for continued focus for everyone during the remainder of our time together in fifth grade.
  

Praise:

• My basketball team has improved so much since our first practice in December and even more so since our first game three weeks ago! I am having a lot of fun coaching and sharing my passion for the game. So thankful for my co-coaches, Kristin and Misty, who have been a great help. 

The fifth graders created models of the ocean floor to help them understand the different vocabulary terms for this science unit. They blew me away with their creativity, and even better, the students were able to explain to me the different parts of the ocean floor! 

Kristin, Alyssa, and I made a last-minute decision to take advantage of our long weekend and travel to La Paz and to escape the 100 degree heat wave that was settling in over Santa Cruz. Jessalyn and I went to La Paz while she was here, but because of the delay in her trip, we were unable to do the full trip that we had originally planned. This time we were going to make it to Copacabana to see Lake Titicaca!

We flew into La Paz and were able to stay the night with some friends of another teacher. The next morning we took a tour bus out to Copacabana. It was about a 3.5 hour trip. About halfway there, we had to exit the tour bus so it could be ferried across Lake Titicaca. There is no bridge or quick route, so the buses are taken on flat barges, while people take ferry boats. We met out boat on the opposite coast and then continued our journey. 

When we arrived in Copacabana, we met up with our tour guide who was going to take us to the Isla del Sol (Sun Island). Before departing, we had a really nice lunch, featuring trucha (pink trout) from Lake Titicaca. It was amazing! Afterwards, we took a boat out to the Isla del Sol. The water of Lake Titicaca was the bluest and clearest lake water I have ever seen! The snow-capped mountains made the view even more amazing! 

At the Isla del Sol, we quickly realized that everything was built up into the hills, which meant we had a big hike to our hostel for the night. Because of the altitude difference, we had to take several breaks, but those breaks allowed us to take in the breathtaking views and appreciate the Bolivian beauty!

Our hostel was set apart from all of the other buildings, which made it quiet and picturesque. It faced the lake and had the perfect view for the morning sunrise! The weather was much cooler than what we had left behind in Santa Cruz. The 70 degree difference made for a super chilly night of sleeping! On the Isla del Sol, we hiked up to a lookout where we were able to see Peru on one side and Bolivia on the other. We even got to see some llamas!

​While we were in Copacabana, we witnessed people buying flowers to decorate their cars. These cars were then lined up outside of the Catholic church to be blessed with holy water and alcohol by the priests. The significance of this is that this car would signify the first of many cars to come in the future. People could also purchase fake money, figurines, and tiny houses with the hopes that in buying these items that their families would be blessed with them in this upcoming year. If you want a new car, you buy a model car. If you want a new house, you buy a tiny model house. If you want a boyfriend, you buy a rooster. The people were going crazy making sure they bought their items in time to have them blessed by the Catholic priests. 

​We couldn't have asked for a better time together exploring more of Bolivia. The trip made me realize how thankful I am for my relationship with God and that the only thing that He requires of us is to believe in Him. We don't have to purchase items to be blessed by priests with holy water and alcohol. We don't have to walk up a tall mountain stopping every little bit to pray for forgiveness. We don't have to purchase relics to burn during rituals. I simply have to trust and believe in Jesus Christ, and because I believe, I have hope and reassurance that God is going to provide all that I need. God has made it so simple to follow him, for which I am extremely thankful!