Patience

After the MCC retreat that I attended three weeks ago I was rather apprehensive to return to Concepcion. In some aspects I knew my experience would be different given I knew what to expect and the town was no longer unfamliar or an idealized place in my mind. I was heading back into my work better prepared to face the challenges since I had time to pray and reflect about them; taking fresh ideas which could take place within the library. Throughout the day people would also be thinking and praying about me, providing strength and encouragement alongside God´s continued presence with me. Nonetheless I still had the first week fresh in my memory and was not too excited to repeat or experience more challenges. However I boarded the bus and began my five hour trip to Concepción.


Reading has become a constant daily activity and thus I immediately cracked open my book and began reading. I was hoping the trip would take as long as possible. I thought perhaps we would run into a road block and be stranded for a couple hours, maybe even days. Then I would have an excuse to spend less time in Concepción. However the trip went smoothly without any problems. There was one bonus though, well kind of. I was able to talk with the person next to me and a few others in the seats nearby who appeared to be the same age as me. It was friendly conversation about the town of Concepción in general, family members, where I am from, interests and more. This was exciting because if they lived in Concepción, I would maybe have a couple more familar faces to add to my relatively short list. But that idea quickly fell through after learning they were studying in Santa Cruz and were only returning to visit for the weekend since there was a festival. "Oh well," I thought. "At least it was a chance to practice my Spanish and to meet new people, even if I did never see them again.


I arrived in Concepcíon Saturday night and then resusumed my work Monday. Marley (my co-worker) and I discussed possible ideas. We decided I would help students in grades 1-3 with reading, homework, writing and spelling. First we would have to talk with the school principal to gain approval and to organize a schedule. This was exciting for me and I was anxious to get things rolling. Each day I would ask Marley if they had responded to a possible date in which we could meet, but she always responded, "Sorry, maybe tomorrow." I did not get a chance to talk with the school principal until the following Monday because of schedule conflicts. Then after talking with the principal and the teacher that was excited to utilize our help, the kids did not start showing up until about Thursday. I am definitely learning to have patience. Lots of patience with myself, job, host family and the general nature of the town. Of course everyone is learning to have patience with me too :)

So after two weeks I was very excited since things started to develop. However more patience was required. I had planned with the principal three time slots in the morning and three in the afternoon, each lasting an hour. Four kids would come each hour and thus I would tutor 24 kids total. Yet I ended up tutoring a total of 10 kids the first week for a total of maybe five hours. I forgot to realize new programs take time to develop. I was stuck in the excitement of initiating a new program, but quickly bounced back to reality. The tutoring sessions are in the students´ own free time as well (they only attend classes half days and are scheduled to come during the part of day when they do not have classes) which means less motivation to come since they are only held accountable to their own honor and desire. If you were 8-10 years old would you head to the library on your own will instead of playing outside with your friends? I will have to look into possibilities on how I can encourage them to come.


We also started another program, or at least we hope it turns into a frequent activity. One of the teachers from one of the schools brought her class Monday, Wednesday and Friday to the library. We had the kids read a short novel and then provided questions for them to answer. Hopefully other teachers will choose to do the same the following school year since classes will end the first week of November. I am also working on starting English classes and possibly computer computation classes. This will all depend on the interest within the community and if I can find a place where I can use some computers. We will just have to see.

I appreciate the emails people have sent me providing support and giving me insight to what is happening back home. To answer some questions, I have yet to play soccer in Concepción but hopefully that will change this next weekend. There are roughtly 12 teams in the town and they have been playing every Saturday and Sunday evenings. However the tournament just ended and now people play solely for fun which means I can finally participate! The town where I live is the location of a Jesuit Colonial Mission. I will try to post pictures of the town sometime when they are done with construction. They are currently remodeling the downtown plaza (which is beautiful) and the church was recently renovated as well. You can also search for images on the internet. There are plenty since the town is a tourist attraction.

As for me, things have improved. My first week was definitely the hardest for me, but I am slowly adapting. I do have some rough days every now and then when I miss people and wish I was back in a more familiar setting. According to what I learned in orientation, I have definitely moved out of the "honeymoon" stage and am not exactly as thrilled to be in Bolivia as I was at first. However I am slowly making my way back up to a level of appreciation and enjoyment which for some poeple comes faster than for others. I just wish I could fastforward to when I will finally reach that point and skip over the rough times. Yet that wouldn´t be beneficial. According to Luke Timothy Johnson (the author of a wonderful book I am reading called Living Jesus: Learning the Heart of the Gospel), "personal learning cannot take place all at once, but only with the passage of time. . .this means that patience is a necessary component in personal learning. Hand in hand with patience comes suffering. . .because it is painful to open the mind and the heart to new truth. . .pain likewise results from the need to stretch mental muscles around new ways of viewing the world. . .both for good and for bad, for loss and for gain personal learning is always accompanied by suffering, and patience is the virtue that makes such suffering positive and meaningful: we endure for the sake of an education."

Ok, the word suffering gives a bad illustration to what I am feeling. Please do not get the wrong impression! I have many good days and have much to be thankful for. Instead I would say I have faced difficulties (it is easy to only focus on these days), we all face them and they vary from person to person. I just appreciate what the author has to say and he makes a good point. The tough times we face, even though not fun, are beneficial in the long run. This was a very good chapter for me to read, and something I will contintue to remember. So, even though there are times when I would rather be elsewhere, I am definitely thankful for this opportunity and am glad to be here. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I am truely blessed to have such a great support system. Blessings.

First Week in Concepcion

Today I traveled back to the city after spending a week and two days in Concepcion. I was introduced to my host family the first night (Sunday 28), unpacked and settled in. It was sad leaving my host family in Santa Cruz, yet also exciting to have another opportunity to connect with another family. My host family is very nice but it will definitely take some time for us to feel comfortable with one another. My dad is the director of the schools in Concepcion (similar to the superintendent) and my mother is a teacher. I have a ten year old younger brother and a sister who is 17. They also have an older son and daughter who are in their 20s, but are both currently living in Spain.

My first week working in the library was a challenge for me. I was expecting to immediately dive in and start working. I had been waiting for this moment for six weeks in Santa Cruz and was anxious to begin my assignment. Yet I found myself spending a lot of time in the library, not knowing exactly what to do. Kids would come occasionally to do homework and I would help with research on the Internet or help them find books related to their homework. However, the library is only a year old and many still do not know of its existence. Thus there were not as many visitors as I had expected. I was feeling a little useless and it was difficult to know exactly how to manage my time. I have ideas on programs that I would like to start, but I felt lost because I was stuck in a whole new environment, still had yet to figure out the cultural norms and felt isolated because I could not fully express all my ideas and opinions. I have been told to have patience, yet that doesn´t always agree with my personality.

Being away from the SALT team in Bolivia was also a struggle. Even though I miss friends and family back home, I still had the support of the SALTers and the other MCC volunteers in Santa Cruz. However, I moved away from all of that when I traveled to Concepcion. This was my first time being away from close relations which is an uncomfortable feeling. Thoughts and prayers were felt though and I managed to make it through my first week. I definitely was wondering what I had got myself into this past week and was wishing I could be surrounded by familiar faces again. Yet it is also a nice feeling knowing that I made it through the first week. Others have expressed that when they did service in years past, the first couple of months were the hardest, but things improved over time and in the end they were extremely grateful for the experience. This was encouraging to hear.

After returning to Santa Cruz I have been able to bounce ideas off others and gain some different prospectives on different programs I can manage through the library. I hope to start tutoring kids for a couple of hours in the morning and afternoons. There is also the possibility to teaching computer computation skills and research, yet space and equipment is limited. During the summer months we would like to have reading programs as well. I would also like to be in contact with the schools to encourage the kids to visit the library. I am excited about the possibilities and feel that when I return, things should improve. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers this past week, they have been felt and are very comforting. God Bless.