Change of pace

Well, all our visitors have come and gone and we are looking forward to getting back in the swing of "normal" life (whatever that is!). My best friend, Allysen, just left yesterday after a 2 week stay, and we were able to do some really fun excursions with her. The first was a day trip out to the country with a Bolivian family we are getting to know better that will join our church plant soon. They have 2 fun boys and love the outdoors and camping. They took us on a bumpy truck drive through mountains and mostly dry river beds toward the base of Mount Illimani. The villages around us were full of farms- veggies, fruits, and flowers. They took a bag of clothes for the residents and in exchange received what was in season (not much in the winter)- walnuts, lettuce, greens, lemons, and some fruit I can't remember the name of. I bought 2 pounds of walnuts for $2.50- score! Let me know if anyone has any good walnut recipes... We loved hiking around, playing frisbee, picnicking, and generally enjoying the warmer weather of a lower region and becoming better friends with this family. Later that week, Ally, Scotty, and I headed to the mountainous jungle region called Coroico. There's a small town there that caters to the backpacker-type tourist and is warm all year round. This was sheer bliss for me, who tends to shrivel up and become a bit cranky during long spells of cold. We hiked again, swam in the pool (I could only manage to stick my legs in, as the water was icy!), ate, and rested together. I didn't want to leave! Actually, Ally and I returned for another 2 nights before she left, instead of heading up to Lake Titicaca, which is also beautiful, but freezing. The idea of more pool time was a much bigger draw. Check out the view from our hostel balcony:

It was great having visitors, but we are excitedly looking ahead to the next couple of months, preparing to open the church doors. Scotty has some opportunities to teach at the neighborhood Bible study, preach at our mother church, lead some sessions at an upcoming church plant retreat, and help our new pastor specify some vision statement and doctrinal stuff. Where does that leave me? This is a question I've been asking myself and praying a lot about lately. My role as wife and woman often looks very different from Scotty's obvious leadership roles. We have both been challenged lately in the area of discipleship and being much more involved in intimate, intentional discipling relationships. I want to be more hospitable and get to know some of the women and young people in the neighborhood, as well as work hard on my ESI coursework, which starts up again tomorrow. A lot of these ideas are a bit vague or dependent on time to build relationships and so I often feel like I'm not doing what I should be. But God's grace is great and I know He will use me for His purposes and my role is obedience and faith. All of this along with a baby coming sometimes makes me a little anxious! But, as we are wisely instructed in the Word, my response should not be anxiety, but presenting all these things to our soverign Lord.