November 2020 - Life in Santa Cruz

I have been living in Santa Cruz and working in the children’s home for over a month now. I am gradually settling into this new way of living and love the work that I am doing. I am also slowly adjusting to the drastic increase in temperature and new levels of sweating!

My main responsibilities continue to be working with the children and helping them with their homework. This has mainly been with their Mathematics and English work but also occasionally with other subjects especially with the younger children (though obviously, this is more of a challenge). I am loving the challenge of explaining things well in Spanish and of having to relearn some concepts of mathematics. This has been especially difficult with some of the older teenagers whose level of mathematics I  have not been using for a long time. Working one on one with the children, and in small groups, has been wonderful in terms of developing relationships and getting to know them. 

It is also good each day to play games and spend time with different children during their breaks from lessons or after school. This has been a real privilege and pleasure. Last week I also led my first devotional in Spanish, and it went better than I expected. Hopefully, I will have more opportunities to do this in the coming weeks.

I am also taking time every day to help look after three horses. This has been a very unexpected undertaking but one I am enjoying. It is another area where I am learning so much. Last week one of the horses was injured, sadly, while jumping a fence so this week I have been spending time helping him recover. Another of the horses still has a lot of training to undergo and at times her behaviour is difficult to manage, last week she injured me with a gate. They are beautiful animals and it was a dream of my childhood to work with horses -  I never expected to have the time or opportunity to fulfil that dream! 

I feel really blessed by God to be here and I am so thankful for all your support and prayers over this year. I am enjoying these new opportunities to grow and learn. Occasionally I am finding it difficult being in a new place with occasional feelings of isolation and loneliness. However, I think as I settle, I will have more opportunities to get to know different people and get involved in a church.

I am also aware that I need to be more disciplined in my personal times with God. This is something I am really going to be working on and reminding myself how important those times were in the life of Jesus. 

I feel that the situation in Bolivia is becoming tenser after some decisions made by the government this week. In response to this, there are new blockades in the streets of Santa Cruz, however when walking around it still feels fairly calm. 

Please pray for:

• Me as I go back to the church in person 
• Developing friendships 
• Building positive relationships with the children here
• The finances of the children’s home 
• Bolivia in general as the new president takes over 

Please get in touch if there is anything you’d like to know or just to make contact. I’d also be delighted to pray for you. 

Love and Blessings,

Andrew 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

"Always be joyful. Never stop praying."