red right ankle

things have just been crazy! sorry it's taken so long for me to write something...

to begin with, the trip here....
i got delayed in wichita like a long time...and chose to fly to dallas and stay the night there courtesy of american airlines. i was a little panicked because my cell phone had been turned off already, and i didn't have any way to get a hold of anyone who i knew to spend time with there. but i did finally get megan to come (thanks for the help, marynell!) and we had a glorious time. god really gave me a gift in those hours, just settling me down and giving me some perspective. we went to her work, drove around looking at big pretty houses, pretended to be rich people at anthropologie, ate pasta at a really cool new place, drank coffee at starbucks, and hung out at a really cool organic food market. then i came back to the hotel (so tired, no sleep for days before i left) and ate my amazing fruit from the market and watched cartoons until i fell asleep. the next day, i flew to miami. i met a few other missionaries on the flight, which was really cool! one girl was a bolivian who was coming home from a mission trip here, and we got some good fellowship in. also, i met some other american missionaries living here in coch, so it will be wonderful to get to know them more.

when i finally arrived in santa cruz (the miami-santa cruz flight being delayed 5 hours or so) i realized that my luggage was not with me. gross. but i had no time to do anything but sleep for 3 hours and get back to the airport. so i went ahead and flew to coch without it, and began the grueling process of hounding the airline for my stuff. here comes the hard part...

i got RIDICULOUSLY homesick almost immediately upon arriving in cochabamba. i think it was partly because i was so blasted tired. and my clothes were 3 days dirty and so traveled in. and i was thinking about dan and jessica and rosie. and josh's birthday party. and all the other things i wanted so badly to be around for that were so much a part of my life just a few hours before. but i also recognized satan's trick and tried to battle it as much as i could with my tired and lowered defenses. in addition to all that i was dealing with leaving behind, i felt strange and outside the group of volunteers here. even when my luggage finally did get here, and we got the car parts out of customs, i didn't really have anything to do for work yet, and spent the majority of my time wandering about, trying to figure out what everyone was doing. but soon that would change...

we had a power outage at the hospital and the guest house, and someone died in the hospital. i knew immediately that i was supposed to be right there dealing with it, since i'm sort of responsible for making sure everything runs correctly here in the absence of mike. not really sort of. i am supposed to be responsible for all that. so i had to go. and it was a huge HUGE wake up call. tomas got me up and going, and now i'm running full speed ahead. so that has been helpful in working out the "floating about aimlessly." who knew i would ever be responsible for administrating a hospital. god is just so freaking funny.

but to back track a little, there are lots of other things that have been so blessed and helpful. right after i got here, i got back into contact with andrea wilson, a missionary from wichita who lives here with her family, and she took me around to some things and got me involved in a bible study. it was so helpful, just talking about my struggles with integration and all that, and all the while her knowing just what i was feeling. i can't wait to see how god uses our relationship. she's getting me involved in lots of wonderful things with the girls orphanage, and a young adult group that will be meeting on sunday nights. she also helped me get a cell phone, which has been very helpful already. i feel a lot less trapped with a way to communicate if i get lost or separated.

i also really feel like i've connected with the volunteers really strongly. even the ones that just left on saturday. chris, jamie, marissa, and i had some times. oh boy did we have some times :) and i already miss them terribly. but i may see at the very least marissa at urbana in december, so that's a really great thing to look forward to.

i have also gotten to spend some time with marcello, one of the doctors at the hospital that's about my age, and his friend alejandro. i met marcello last time, but i wasn't here long so it's been nice to see him again. ale and marcello have helped me stay sane (which would be REALLY funny to you, if you knew them :) ) and made me feel a lot more at home. there's so much comfort in the small stuff. we walk around in the market and eat ice cream, and go for rides in ale's car and listen to good music. and they are just regular, funny guys, like the ones i hang out with at home. something i didn't know i would need, and such a blessing anyway.

and with all of that, i'm really starting to get comfortable in my spanish. granted, there will always be room for improvement, but i can go around by myself without messing it up too badly, and iris and i are able to say pretty much all we need to now without huge hiccups. soon i'll be driving too, so that will help even more.

all this to say...

every little bit, i remember what i am missing out on at home, and how much i miss all of you. sometimes the pain of it is so acute that it brings tears to my eyes. however, i keep the middle of december in the back of my mind and heart. and i try desperately to live every moment of every day and enjoy it for all the joy and beauty it has to offer. this place is amazing. truly my second home.

thanks so much for your support and prayers. and keep praying! there's a lot to do around here, and i definitely need god's grace and power to even begin to accomplish any of it.

i will write again soon. at least by next monday.

love you guys!!!