Last week we attended our yearly SIM conference where all the missionaries in Bolivia gather together for a time of sharing, learning from the Word, games, times of prayer and lots of eating. We went to a new venue this year- a retreat center that used to be a boarding school and is a 5-9 hour bus ride between 2 major cities (neither of which is La Paz). Since we needed to go either to Cochabamba or Santa Cruz to catch a bus to camp, we chose Santa Cruz since neither of us have spent much time there and there were several families we hoped to spend some time with. So, we left 4 days early and managed to enjoy our time with those families, despite rain and very cold temps. I guess it actually helped us to be stuck indoors because if it were warm and sunny, like it is most of the year in Santa Cruz, we would have been out swimming and playing in water parks instead of hanging out with people. Then we boarded the bus and took off for Monte Blanco and a wonderful time of fellowship with our SIM family. I have always appreciated the diversity of our crew- in cultural, in personality, in backgrounds, in time on the field, etc. I have always felt loved but sensed that in a new way this year after our experience with Zion. We were able to see many that we had not seen since he was born and hear how often they had prayed for us and thought of us. I was moved to tears several times by people I know very little who have faithfully prayed and was reminded again of God's love for me shown through His servants.
One of my favorite evenings was when a group of us hiked up to a landing strip nearby to star gaze. I'm not sure I've ever seen so many starts, so clearly. The Milky Way, the southern cross, the big dipper. And this strange mix of feelings. At one moment I would feel, as cliche as it sounds, so small in comparison to this universe of stars and planets and creation that is so much greater than this world that fills my mind from day to day. And when I looked out at those stars, it was as if Zion was on the other side- billions of light years away from me. I never felt farther from him. Than, a nanosecond later, I would feel as if I was so close to the heavens that at any moment he might see me and wave. Before we hiked back down to camp, we sang the doxology and my heart was brought to praise again, despite how I might feel.
On a lighter note, a good third of our SIM Bolivia staff have gotten hooked on a board game called Settlers of Catan and so we decided to hold the first annual Settlers tournament. We didn't have enough time to really get too many games going that counted, but we had a lot of practice rounds and really enjoyed that. Natty had a blast in her "class" every morning and most afternoons and really seemed to come out of her shell around the other kids and the adults too. She's at a really fun age right now and a lot of people commented on how good, calm, and flexible she is. And it's true, mostly. I am so thankful for that.
