Summer Holidays Are Over

Monday morning, February 1st, kids could be seen in their school uniforms heading back to school. I must say I don't miss those days of being a student! Even so, summer holidays are over for me too, and I am currently filling three positions!

I am currently working as my dad's "secretary." He has a bunch of projects he's too busy for that he has passed on to me. This semester he is teaching the Christology class at the seminary. He has a full class of 70+ students, so as things pick up, he probably will have me help him with some grading, etc.

I am also filling in as "cook" these days. As my mom is sometimes busy homeschooling my sister Elisa, off to the prison doing ministry or, these days, going up to town to do paperwork (my parents have been trying to become Bolivian citizens for the last 5 1/2 years, and the bureaucracy here is ridiculous!) I have been making lunch, which is the main meal here in Bolivia. It's a great opportunity to practice and perfect my cooking skills! Some days meals turn out alright, and others not so good. Yesterday I thought I had turned off the rice, when in fact I had turned it on "high." Needless to say, the rice was quite burnt (I'm grateful for a patient and understanding family when meals aren't so great!)

My third position is that of "chauffeur." Elisa is quite a busy individual (I don't see much of her!) when she's not here at the house doing school, she's off to gymnastics or off to her church for some activity. My mom has been relieved to have me take over driving her to her different activities. Driving in Bolivia is definitely a different experience altogether. Just yesterday I had a couple of not so pleasant experiences. First, I got pulled over by a police officer who told me I was missing some sort of "inspection" sticker and wanted to see my license. I had no idea what he was talking about (for all I knew he only wanted to get money out of me!), but thankfully I was able to get away with telling him I didn't know anything about it, but I would inform my dad, the owner of the car. Second, I ended up going the wrong way on a one-way street! Two guards from the French Embassy saw me, but thankfully they were very gracious, and told me to wait till a car was past and then to cautiously keep going down the street (there wasn't much room to turn around).

Some of you may be wondering what my plans are for this year. At this point, I really feel like God wants me to take advantage of this time with my family and be a support to them (my wonderful parents are the couple in the above picture). In the meantime, it is also a time for me to wait on God for future plans. Please join me in prayer for clear guidance!