my body flies to bolivia in one month, my heart's already there!

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

hola amigos!

ONE month separates me from Bolivia. It's going to be such a month of life change! Between me and these boys are 1. an english paper, an education project, and an english exam 2. a stellar trip to Germany I am SUPER exicted about going on! 3. a full-fledged Halbersleben family reunion at my college graduation, which we haven't had in years 4. my graduation 5. two of my close friends marrying each other a week after graduation, and 6. a week with my family together "just the 5 of us!"



I am SO lucky to have these opportunities. I have even already raised 35% of the support for Bolivia and my next step after that, the Falls Church Fellowship. I have a loving family, a supportive community I am surrounded by, and life experiences that have shaped me to who I am today. These children I am about to go love on have experienced more hardship and trial at their young age than I have in my life. It's just not fair.

I had a conversation with a wonderful woman and mentor of mine earlier this week, who has been to the Life Center before, and she was sharing with me some of the meaning this trip had for her in the grand scheme of her life. This trip was the starting platform for many other service trips she has taken, including a medical mission trip to Africa she just returned from. What she has learned in her time was that whatever you plan for yourself NEVER happens the way you play it out. So for this month leading up to Bolivia, I want to be open. Open to unthought ways I can be of help and service to the folks at the orphanage. Open to what I am going to learn. Open to new experiences. Open to letting go of the control and organization I want to have over it.

ONE MONTH! the countdown begins! =)

2 months 'til Bolivia!

I am rather surprised at the excitement that is already building about going to Bolivia this summer. I think living with Kim and Kennedy (and hearing Andy's side of the stories as well) has really helped in beginning to gain momentum for this summer.

things i'm looking forward to:
#1- THE BOYS. i have seen picture after picture, and heard story after story about these boys, and i can't wait to be able to know them for myself, hug them, love them, serve them.
#2- using Spanish to help bridge the language gap-- some of the Americans that will be down in Bolivia this summer will not know more than a phrase or two in Spanish. I am excited about being speaking in Spanish and helping two different cultures communicate.
#3- Serving. My grandfather used to run a boys home here in the States. I look forward to being in a place where i have to think of others' needs before my own. i look forward to being able to catch a glimpse of what my grandfather devoted a good season of his life to.
#4- Being abroad. This will be my first time out of the United States! (besides a quick stop in the Canada side of Niagra Falls and a week trip to Germany in May)
#5- Being stretched. This journey is not going to be easy- I'm going to be exhausted, I'm going to want to be selfish, I'm going to grow impatient or weary. But I am SO pumped about growing a lot this summer. my understanding of God and my understanding of the world are going to be rocked bigtime this summer. I just hope I have time to process it all!
#6- Living simply. I'm not going to pack much (or at least I'm going to try), and I'm not bringing a computer, my cell phone, my iPod, etc. It's going to be an experience to be unplugged, but i am ready for it.

things I'm nervous about:
#1- Not being in available for Americans. We travel to the telephones/internet cafe once a week, where I'll frantically check and respond to as many emails as possible, hopefully blog, and then race to the end of the line to use the pay phone and make a call or two.
#2- The unfamiliarity. I am not going with anyone I know, and I will miss my family and friends and community back in the States. A whole lot. I have always had my family to lean on, just a phone call away, to bring back the familiar to my life. In Bolivia it won't be that simple, and I'm definitely nervous about that! It's something I definitely take for granted.
#3- Processing my experience. I will have just graduated from college and be processing a lot, while at the same time needing to give these boys and the American teams my mindspace and attention. I need to protect my alone time, and pray bigtime for patience and endurance to be able to love everyone i encounter this summer.
#4- The end. I am going to fall so very much in love with these boys (the process has already started!) and saying goodbye is something that already makes me sad. Kim has given me her journal to read about her two summers in Bolivia, and my heart grew heavy as I read her experiences saying goodbye to these boys.

For right now, my life is a contradiction of sorts. I want to graduate, but I don't want to be done with the Davidson community. I want to be in Bolivia right now, but I don't want school to end. I want the summer to come fast, but I want the last 5 weeks of my college experience to crawl by slowly.

And thus begins my journey to the centro!

Grace and Peace.