Funny how my plans of updating people ever two weeks turned into every month, for two months I think, and then every 6 months and then finally Christmas came to just wring a year end newsletter out of me and there went 2016! Where did it go???? I think about certain events during the year and they seem so long ago, but it is not because the year was long, it was just so jam packed with activity I don't think I knew whether I was coming or going half the time. It is a ridiculous life in this corner of the jungle, but Oh what a life! Never uninteresting that is for sure! ( as I write this in my little Jungle house, I heard something scuttling across my floor and a little lizard popped its head in at the door, saw me and made his hasty escape…that's right run boy, unless you came to take the tarantula that lives under the sink, and the toad the size of my head that seems to think my shower is the best bathroom ever, and the huge moth that keeps me awake at night fluttering against my skylight trying to get to the moon with you… then you could walk.) What did I do for the last year? Hmmm
I worked… Starting the year as Director of education with 6 staff and 85 students, (and got dengue just before orientation, which had me in bed for a week) teaching classes, making and keeping up with schedules, schedules that keep young and way too-full-of-energy youth constructively occupied... then there were special events to plan and organize and gardens to make and plant and look after, and rice to harvest and chaco to make to plant more rice and Dorms to be kept in order ( impossible) and the Administrative Committee meetings (uggg)( I am grateful and have learned A LOT)( why can't you just all behave and obey???) Evangelism and District office trips and stays, fixing owies and listening to dreams and broken dreams, struggles that seem impossible to these young ones learning to trust in a new friend, God. That is just a bit of what I did, not half of what was done all over campus by our amazing team to keep this school up and running hard. Thank the good Lord for the energy and enthusiasm to get through it! I slept for 11 hours straight for 3 nights last week. Hurray for a vacation!
I played… far too little… Jack has started to become a dull boy… will work on reversing that…
I taught… Art (not just to copy but to create and visualize and imagine, and …. Nope… we just copied). Music, started out with choir, then ended up in a Guitar class with 12 boys… funny thing I can hardly play the thing myself, but we sure had some noise and fun:) English, I don't know if any of them learned something, but I sure learned more Spanish and some English too! And then there was the health and Biology classes which I loved to teach, but sometimes got too excited and found stares and blank looks and crossed eyes so had to back up and take them for runs to wake them up and make them drink water and stand up to teach me the class so they wouldn't sleep… that after lunch class is the beast. From sleeping beauty. Oh wait. Never mind.
I learned… ( am learning) some art tricks, more guitar, Ingles, a bunch of Spanish, PATIENCE!!!!!, per-se-ver-an-ce, diligence, responsibility, a bit of firmness,( I'm still a pushover) how to spank verbally but with kindness… (at least I saw how it was done..),how effort is not painless, and love hurts, but I think it is worth it… at least I am so very grateful that Jesus did that for me. I learned some photography, tried a few new foods, learned some new words in native languages, and learned about a ton of personalities and cultures. I learned more of excel and the education system and all their paperwork and legalities, to stand up and give a winged speech in Spanish, and sit down and wonder if my knees would ever stop knocking together. I learned how wonderful it is to keep in contact with family and friends, and how much I am really grateful for my support from the home front. I learned that when your "almost 30" people get desperate to marry you off. It's like they think your eggs are running out or something. I learned some agriculture, especially in the flower department, (oh why can't we just eat flowers??) and some Bolivian husbandry with sheep (find sheep dead, bury sheep) and cattle. I learned how a sense of humor will basically pick you right out of the grave and place you on your feet and laugh at you because you believed yourself. I also learned how to eat rice. Every day. Sometimes 3 times a day. All the time. And I am learning to be grateful for all that. Because I have meat on my bones, and protection over that, and there is still rice to eat.
I Laughed… the kids' antics sometimes leave you laughing out loud literally in the middle of the night when you are supposed to be sleeping… The staff are even funnier, and the staff's kids are just over the top. The other day the little overly expressive daughter of some staff members came and adorned my hair/ head with flowers and told me I looked like a mother queen, so beautiful. I could feel my hair all messed up and flowers sticking out everywhere. We started eating breakfast and another staff member walked in a said "You look like a dinosaur", to which the adamant little soul exclaimed "No she doesn't! She looks like an adulterous princess!" LOL. She hasn't figured out the difference between being "adult" and "adulterous" yet, bless her little heart:)
I cried…how much can one gal take of exhaustion, loneliness, then not having enough aloneliness, pain, disappointment, frustration, sadness and hurt when things just don't seem to have any possible good ending in sight. I cried when the Puchichi (staph infection) on my temple was being squished to death, and I could just not bear it anymore. That was the only time I cried from physical pain though, the rest is just that heart that is so rock hard being broken and molded and retrained in the way of loving. That is worse than a thousand Puchichis all together, but hopefully with fabulous eternal results on my heart. (And hopefully not eternal results on my presently bald temple…)
I was frustrated… ggrrgrgrgruuhhhhgggghhuuuuurrgggrgrgrhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaa! I don't even want to talk about this one yet… Lord I don't know how you can even think of saving us people!
I hated… I shouldn't have.
I loved… I should have more.
But most of all I had joy. And there is nothing that can take that away when you can trust that in spite of the circumstances or our idea of the right circumstances, we can say;
" I laid me down and slept ; I awakened; for the Lord sustained me… and it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness!
And with that, I am going to say adieu, and wish you all a wonderful Merry Christmas, and God's blessing of wisdom unto salvation for this New Year that is just before us. May we all be found faithful. With love from the jungle, Sara:)
The "Richard Gates Industrial School", ("Unidad Educativo Tecnico Industrial de Richard Gates") located near Guayaramerin, Bolivia, is a non- profit organization operated by all volunteer services along with donations.
If you are interested in volunteering at this project, please contact myself at farmgirlzsidekick@yahoo.ca, or go to this website: http://gospelministry.org/volunteer/. If you are interested insupporting this project financially, 100% of donations go directly to the project. You may make a tax deductible (US only) donation via:
