The Start of Vida Joven!

I tried to get this posting done yesterday but my internet wasn't working well. On Monday night we held our first VJ training time at my place with 12 leaders/volunteers from the 5 churches here in Tarija who have a heart for working with teens. Pastor Ramiro and his wife, Angelica, from La Iglesia (church) Nueva Jerusalen were invited to share from their training and experience with teens. Angelica is in her 3rd year in university as a psych major and so spoke about the physiological aspect of being an adolescent and Pastor Ramiro shared about their spiritual growth as well as leadership issues. We meet again this coming Sunday afternoon for another workshop focusing on specific issues dealing with adolescence such as self-esteem, depression, suicide, sexuality, etc.








Next week, I'll be heading to Sucre to meet with the VJ leaders there who are more established. I'm hoping to learn from them as well as find out about the issues they're dealing with. If all goes well, I'll then be heading to Potosi and Santa Cruz later on in April to meet with leaders in regards to training and the starting of VJ in these places.

These are exciting times! I cannot say enough how much your prayers are needed during the upcoming weeks and months. Many, many thanks for your overwhelming support and encouragement...

'til next time,
rebecca

The Beautiful Outdoors

I'm becoming friends with another Canadian, Heather, who has lived in Tarija for about 11 years. Last Saturday we spent about 6 hours hiking about 20 minutes outside of the city enjoying the beauty and quietness of nature. It was like a whole other world and I almost felt like I was back in New Brunswick. I cannot say how refreshing it was. And that's not mentioning the point where I actually fell into the river while trying to cross some rocks :)

The fotos show you not only the beauty but also some of what life is like in the country. The farm dog that followed us for much of the day (I called him Hank), the farmers sowing their crops and plowing the land, and a few of the animals.

'til next time,
rebecca

Campamento Pics

The following are pictures from the campamento including getting there, sleeping quarters, the kitchen and
just some fun pics of people and what was going on.
We stayed on a school property in the country.

The loading of the truck I went in, I stood at the back and basically prayed the entire way that nobody would fall out
but I admit that it was a lot of fun :)

The room where I slept with about 20 other girls

I'm always amazed at the delicious meals...these ladies were fantastic cooks!

An old outdoor oven no longer in use

'til next time!
rebecca

Campamentos, new leadership, and the joys of no sleep

Carnaval has been happening over the past few weeks...parties, parades with beautiful costumes and dancing, many, many water fights involving balloons and guns, and a general time of celebration. Something I've been learning about Tarija is that because of the easy access to wine (there are beautiful vineyards just outside of the city and cheap wine can be purchased at pretty much every little "tienda" or store), Tarija has the highest level of alcoholism in Bolivia so by the end of the final weekend of celebrations, it's typically not a very safe place to be. Plus with school holidays for the celebrations, the churches across the country have a habit of holding regional campamentos (last year I went to the teen camp in La Paz) so that people can still have fun but be safe at the same time. This year I was at the Tarija regional camp outside of the city. It was basically a family camp with a wide range of ages.

The theme was about being transformed by the love of Christ with workshops, many games, worship services, etc. It went from Saturday through Tuesday and in that time I think I got maybe 10 hours of sleep. For those of you who know me well, you know that I'm not a late night person and so I'll just say that by the last day, even I was amazed and couldn't help but laugh at how bad my Spanish had become because of tiredness. With the hard rain that poured most of the last couple of days, I'm now getting caught up on sleep and fighting a head cold :) I was one of the "counselors" and was able to use the time as a way to get to know more people and vice versa. There were people there as well from Burmejo which is around 3 hours away down by the Argentina border. All total (including those who came for day visits), we numbered about 230!

In the last few postings, I've written about Vanesa - the leader who was going to help me and then couldn't because of a new job and then lost it. Well, she's now living in another area and from what I'm understanding has found work which is great! So, we held elections and now have a new vice-president (who automatically works with the teen ministry and provides leadership). I'm very excited to share that Rodrigo was elected to the position. He's been working with teens for over a year now in the Nueva Jerusalen Baptist church and loves this age group (he's 23 years old). This position is brand new for him and so there's a steep learning curve right now but I think he's going to do a great job...please be praying for him. We're hoping to have our first official Vida Joven meeting with the various leaders of the teens from the churches in the area in the next couple of weeks.

Please be praying for us...

I also start language classes again this week (just one or two/week) to refine my Spanish and help me with the local accent and sayings. During the camp, the teens especially were helping me sound more "local". We had some good laughs :)

Pics are coming from the camp...thanks to all of you for your support and prayers!

'til next time,
rebecca

Now That's Random...

So, a few weeks ago, I was invited to go to a figure skating event at the university here in Tarija. Yes, you read correctly...a skating event in hot, humid Tarija, Bolivia.

I was sure I had not heard correctly but I was told repeatedly that it was happening. When we entered that university's gymnasium, I couldn't help but laugh. What you're looking at to the left is the rink :) As a Canadian...well, I'm laughing right now :) I actually thought little kids were going to be putting on a show but get this...the skaters were professionals from Russia on tour.
Go figure!

They were amazing! Even though the rink was incredibly small, they did jumps, spins, and pairs skating with all the tricks. The first half was basically a classical ballet and the second half reminded me of cirque de soleil. Afterward, any kids who wanted to try on some skates and go out on the ice could. The part that made me laugh the hardest was the ice itself. Because of the heat, the ice kept melting. By the time we got to the break, the man who swept the ice (I was hoping for a mini-zamboni but was disappointed:) ) tried to sweep the water into the trough around the "rink" but because it wasn't deep enough, the water just flowed back onto the ice. By the end of the show, the majority of the ice was now water and you could literally see the spray of it as the skaters did their work. Amazingly enough, only one of the skaters fell. They obviously had practiced and were seasoned pros with both the size and the "ice conditions".

Below are a couple of pictures of the skaters and the ice. Unfortunately my camera doesn't do them justice but hopefully this will give you an idea of what it was like.

This was taken from my where I was sitting...that's the ice at the far end of the gym

It was a night to remember and about the craziest, most random experience I've had yet.

'til next time,
rebecca

Now What?

I know...it's been awhile...I've been too distracted and couldn't get my thoughts gathered so hopefully now my brain is working a bit better (no comments from the peanut gallery!) and I can get some postings done on what's all been going on.

My last blog posting had to do with Vanesa who was to have been one of the main leaders I was going to be working with. Well...when she arrived at the office on her first day of work, she found out that her job had been taken away in a political move even though she had a signed a contract (that is very common here). So now she's back and at this point has not found work. She loves being back with her family, friends, and church but obviously this is a stressful time so please be praying for her.

This weekend beginning tomorrow, I'll be at a campamento which is where we're going to do the election for the new vice president and leader of Vida Joven. There is still the possibility that Vanesa will be the vp but at this point, it's unknown. Pray that the right person as both a leader and one who loves to work with teens is voted in.

Will keep you posted.

'til next time,
rebecca