The City that Touches the Sky: One Week Later...

"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." ~ Matthew 6:20-21

It has been exactly one week since I arrived in La Paz, and three days since the beginning of school - not a day has gone by without some surprises! If you know me well, you know that surprises are not exactly one of my favorite things. I am a planner, a creature of habit. I like routine and order. My nature is to try and control circumstances. But that goes against what God teaches in His Gospel! Andrew Murray (1828-1917), a South African writer, teacher, and pastor put it this way: "In your prayers, above everything else, beware of limiting God, not only through unbelief but also by thinking you know exactly what He can do. Learn to expect the unexpected, beyond ALL that you ask or think. So each time you intercede through prayer, first be quiet and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, how He delights in Christ His Son, and of your place in Him - then expect great things." No matter how chaotic and out-of-control my days may appear, God is truly sovereign over them. Being in La Paz is a daily reminder of how masterfully He orchestrates my circumstances to bring Him glory, beyond all that I could have imagined.

For those that have been asking, here are a few photos of my new home! I share a three-bedroom apartment with two Highlands teachers. We live in a residential neighborhood in the southern part of the city (La Zona Sur), which is generally very safe and quiet. I love it!

Living room

Dining room

Outdoor patio (everything here is walled in)

My room

Most importantly, here are some photos of my very first classroom! I love my twenty fifth grade students - what a blessing they are to me! Every one of them is an ESL learner, which brings some definite challenges. At the same time, they amaze me with their ability to transition between Spanish and English. One of their "specials" is a Bolivian Social Studies course, taught all in Spanish! Listening to the way they can communicate so beautifully in their home language amazes and humbles me. It gives me a new appreciation for how much they can learn from their American English-speaking teacher, "Mees Sheepmahn."