La Paz Long Term?

Nearly three months later in my third year at Highlands, and yes, I do have some things to share. Thanks to those who kept reminding me to update, it's a skill I've always been poor at, but still want to improve on.

School- I've had a great time with my class this year! They just finished their reading unit on biographies/autobiographies and our celebration was a wax museum. They had picked a teacher/staff member at the school to interview. They then used the information they received to write an autobiography as if they were that teacher. They came dressed up two Fridays ago as that teacher and parents, teachers, and students came to walk around and learn more about the lives of the growing staff at HIS. :)

Mr. Cunningham and his mini-me!

In October, we had parent-teacher conferences which went well. I continue to enjoy getting feedback from the parents, whether it's how much their child is enjoying fourth grade or how they can help their child do better. I have some very competitive boys in my class this year again, and according to their parents, they think I'm just amazing. And all I really had to do was climb the flagpole to get the flag unstuck. I love how easy it is to impress fourth graders! :) My girls maybe aren't quite as easily impressed with physical feats, but they do enjoy joking around with me. :) With only four girls in my class last year, I didn't have to deal with their drama, but with nine this year, I do. I feel like while they are still connected in some way, shape, or form, they tend to have new better friends one day and others another day. Oh well, I still don't understand the opposite sex, maybe one of these days. :)

Team day is coming up this Wednesday. I have coordinated all the teams and am in charge of the dodgeball/snowball fight station. They'll be throwing styrofoam balls at each other, it'll be hilarious. Our theme this team day is the Winter Olympics, so even though it's summer here in Bolivia and no snow, we'll be improvising a lot to make it work.

Relationships - My roommate Sheldon is in the campo (country-Altiplano) most of the time. I wish I saw him more often, and he says that things should slow down after Christmas, so I'm excited to be seeing him more at that time. He is definitely my closest friend here in La Paz and it's been such a blessing to shoot the breeze with him and discuss our personal lives together without hesitation. I'll be missing him a lot next year.

There is another very special someone that I wish I could tell you all more about. But there are some students who read this blog if you get my drift. She is truly amazing though. Conversation is open and honest. I don't have to guess around too much with her, but that's not to say that there's no mystery to make it exciting. Her faith is truly evident in everything she does and she becomes more beautiful to my eyes each and every time we spend together. I'd love to tell you more, but you'll just have to e-mail me at bjorlie@gmail.com or skype me.

The new teachers are great! They have really stepped up to the plate and are building strong relationships with the students. The middle school just took a trip to the School for the Blind and had a powerful experience there with the students. The 8th grade backpacking class is right now doing the Taquesi Trail, which I did a few weeks back. My quads were killing me for two days afterwards, and I've been running! So, yeah, you can be praying for them. :) Some of my students' favorite specials are music and art, which have new hires in charge. God has really blessed Highlands with an amazing staff this year!

Excursions - My weekends have been pretty busy since I wrote you all last in September. I have been driving more and more and not just in La Paz. It took me a little while to be comfortable driving a Land Cruiser, but it has quickly become my vehicle of choice if I ever buy a vehicle down here. There have been two long trips I've had the opportunity to drive on.

1. Lake Titicaca- One of the new teachers had a connection with someone who owned a nice home on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It was a very relaxing time of playing games, hiking around, and driving to places that we never got to see. :) We tried to going to Copacabana, but after having crossed over on the ferry, which was awesome driving the Land Cruiser on to, we were stopped by the police and told we had to turn around and go back because none of us had our passports. Somewhat frustrating, but the ferry was the awesome part for me!

2. Sorata- We had our staff retreat about four weekends ago in Sorata. It was definitely a time of spiritual rejuvenation, but it was physically exhausting. I went on a nine mile or so run with a couple teachers in the morning. The scenery was beautiful, but my legs didn't really care about the scenery afterwards. :) Both of these drives were without incident except for almost running out of gas, but God provided an extra little bit in the bottom of the tank to get us to the next open gas station. There aren't many in the altiplano. Although, one of the other vehicles hit a cow, it's easier to do than you might think, and had to deal with how to pay the cost of that. Luckily the vehicle itself was still intact.

The weekend after Sorata was the Taquesi hike, which was amazing, not only because of the great weather and beautiful scenery, but because of all the "open and honest" conversation that occured. ;)

The weekend after that was spent with my roommate Sheldon in the campo, and also with Amber, one of the Samaritan Purse interns. It was my chance to see if Samaritan Purse was a ministry opportunity that I would like to pursue. It was also Sheldon's birthday over the weekend. So we packed a bunch of stuff for tacos and also the birthday cake. We took off early Satruday morning, installed about five pumps, ate a delicious taco dinner, played some awesome games of cribbage, where I dominated all but one game :) , went to bed, got up and installed five more wells, and then got back to La Paz late Sunday night. Needless to say, I was behind on grading, planning, and everything else after these three weekends in a row, and I had to turn out progress reports the very next week. Yeah, it's been busy! And yet, each of those weekends was very special and I wouldn't trade any of them for the perfect lesson.

Some Happy Customers!

The weekend after the Samaritan's Purse one, last weekend, was spent here in La Paz and I finally got a little caught up on work, but it was still busy. Saturday was spent paintballing in the morning with some high school teachers and students. I know now why I never hunted or signed up for the army. I had no strategy and couldn't hit a darn thing. After that, I went to help out the IBM (Iglesia Biblica de Mallasilla) with their Olympics themed outreach to the kids of Mallasilla. It was a joy to be able to help and to see the faces of the kids light up with all the activities they could participate in. I even had to really work my Spanish by giving all the instructions for my station in my non-native tongue. I then got up really early Sunday morning and participated in a 10 kilometer run at 13,000 ft above sea level. I ran it in just under 46:00, which is a personal best for me. For some reason I run better at high altitude than in flat ol' Des Moines, Iowa. :) I almost didn't do it, but I had that special someone convincing me that I should, and I just couldn't say no. :) I went to church after the run, and after having missed the past three weekends, it was just good to reconnect with everyone. I even made some delicious apple crisp for the potluck lunch after the service. Not bed, eh?

Fierce Competitors! Ha!

Finally, this weekend has been the most relaxing in awhile. I did a bunch of laundry, it was piling up, and cleaned up the house. The thing that motivated me to do all this was of course date night. We made spaghetti, had a couple glasses of wine, went for a walk up the hill to the cross that looks over Mallasilla, and finished it with a movie I haven't seen in forever "Independence Day". It truly was a wonderful night! After church today, the staff will be getting together for an early Thanksgiving dinner. I will be bringing my appetite!

Future - I will be staying on with Highlands for one more year after this one is finished. During the course of the rest of this year and the next, I will be focusing on different ministry opportunities here in La Paz. I feel the Lord's calling here in this place, but I'm still not sure where that calling is, but I do feel that it's not Highlands, as much as the school is very special to me. I will probably still be doing subbing there even. This is definitely something that I would appreciate all your prayers on as I search for where He wants me serving Him. The church I attend was started through SIM missions, and the man who helped start it, Greg Hurst, also helped to start Highlands. He has asked me on more than one occasion if I would be interested in helping lead the Children's Ministries Dept. This option is definitely at the top of my list, but there are others, such as working with my Bolivian sister and her husband, and very dear friend, with their Shoeshiner's ministry called Kayuparu. There's even Word Made Flesh and Samaritan's Purse. So please pray that the Lord would make clear the direction He's leading me and also to make the decision if it would be wise to attend seminary before doing so or not.

In the more near future, another thing you can be praying for is a place to stay for Sheldon and I during second semester. We have been living in a missionary family's apartment while they are on furlough in the States. They will be returning in early January, so pray that Sheldon and I would be able to find an apartment within this next month.

Also, I'm really excited about this Christmas break for two reasons. 1. I get to come home and spend it with my family. It will also be a white Christmas unlike last year's. 2. I'll be returning early to South America with Stacy, my sister, to travel the length of Chile and end it with her having the opportunity to see where I work and live each day. I'm really looking forward to spending this quality time with her too. :)

I think that about wraps up my update. My next one will be over Christmas break. My family will help make sure that happens. Stacy and I may use this blog too as we travel throughout South America. We'll just have to change the name to Bjorlies in Bolivia. :) Thanks all again for your continued patience and support whether in prayer, finances, or both. I thank the Lord for such amazing friends and family that can put up with my weaknesses in communication. I will work on improving in this area. Take care and God bless!