Update | December 7-January 23

Happy 2021! 😊 School days in mid-December felt loooong and draggy, but that’s usually the way it goes when everyone knows that a break is coming soon! We took three weeks off for the holidays, and I was able to fly to the US to spend Christmas and New Year with my family and friends in Indiana. 😃

It was a refreshing vacation! The Lord used it to renew my focus and inspiration for another season of loving Him and loving those around me. I was reminded of the sweetness of fellowship with Him and filled with such a desire to know, love, and obey Him. Time spent with my friends and family was so sweet, and the Lord crowned it all with His own blessings.

• 

• 

Then when I got back to Bolivia, the blessings continued! Starting with getting to see my favorite Bolivian again. 😁 I got back to Bolivia and right away traveled with Juan Luis to Camiri for a reunion/retreat at the Bible school he attended last year! Fellowship there with other siblings in Christ from all over Bolivia was so sweet. I was encouraged by one sister’s passion for missions, by hearing older women speak words of wisdom and truth (I wanna be like them when I grow up 😄), and by the love, kindness, and patience that the believers there in general showed toward me in those moments when I needed help with Spanish.

The teaching over the weekend focused on the fruits of the Spirit, but the session I was most encouraged by was when the guys and gals split into two groups, and hermana Silvia spoke to us ladies about walking in the Spirit. What she shared was so full of truth that I needed to be reminded of! The flesh and the Spirit are at war with one another. When I feel that battle, it shouldn’t discourage me; rather, I should be encouraged knowing that this battle is evidence of the Spirit of Christ living in me! Walking in the Spirit means loving God, and loving God means seeking to truly know Him through spending time in His Word and prayer; and loving God means obeying Him. Reminders like these were exactly what my soul needed before another season of seeking to build the Kingdom of God in the ways that He has set before me.

• 

• 

• 

Now I’m back home again in my casita, back in the swing of school. We’ve had an amazing start to this semester; so far every grade the students have received has been higher than their average grade from last semester! I’ve discovered some small ways to pour more into my students. My prayer is that God will continue to be my strength and inspiration as I seek to give these guys the best that I can. Jesus is so worth it.

• 

• 

Please be praying for me to have the grace I need to teach the best that I possibly can. Pray that the children’s home would have all the help that it needs as it is soon to be without all the extra volunteers! Pray for God’s continues guidance and protection in my relationship with Juan Luis. And as decisions begin to be made in the next few months regarding what this next year will look like, pray that I would have God’s wisdom, clarity, and peace.

Sweet blessings in Jesus!

Olivia