Hi friends!!
I’m officially in Uyuni, Bolivia. I can’t believe it’s actually month 8, and I’m in SOUTH AMERICA!
I had an amazing time with my parents in Rwanda. They killed it!!! We did road construction ministry together, preschool ministry, went to African church, ate local foods, and they even got to take some bucket showers 🙂 I loved having them and showing them all about my life and my friends! Thank you all so much for praying for and supporting them!
Uyuni, our current location, is a small tourist town in southern Bolivia. It’s the town that contains the “salt flats” – the highest desert in the world and a huge stretch of flat salty earth that shines bright white for miles and miles. My team and I are planning a trip next week, so make sure to keep a lookout for pictures! It’s supposed to be one of the most unreal, unbelievable sights in the world.
Also, it’s cold here!!!! I have been sweating to death for 7 months, plus the time last summer in the US before I left home, and it’s so nice to feel some cooler weather. I bought a llama sweater and some new socks 🙂
We have been given our own little separate, private house this month! La Casa de Bloom!!! It’s such a blessing to have a spot of our own where we can go to rest, cook, read, and hang out without interruption. It is very rare on the World Race to have as much privacy as we do this month. We are so grateful! We’ve even collected random junk pieces from around the area to make it more homey, bought flowers for decorations, and painted pictures to hang on the walls.
This month, we are serving with a local church. Pastor Rolando and his wife Abigail are incredibly kind, funny, hospitable, and super Godly! They don’t speak any English, so it has been fun putting my Spanish minor from Troy U into practice since arriving in South America. I love Spanish, and the people are all friendly and patient with me while I stumble over all of my words!!!
The culture in South America is extremely relational and loving. You can feel the camaraderie in the environment when the congregation gathers together. Yesterday, we drove to the base of a mountain at the foothills of the Andes and had a beautiful time of worship and prayer together. I love seeing the Body of Christ represented as it should be – all the peoples of the Earth praising His name together.
Also, I have some exciting news. I am officially attending graduate school at Liberty University School of Divinity in Fall of 2018! I intend to graduate with a Master of Arts in Global studies with the hopes of doing more long-term mission work. I am thinking I’d like to work with global aid and relief organizations, hunger prevention, international nonprofits, or refugee aid. I have discovered that God has created me to be extremely passionate for people who are suffering from poverty and hunger, and I’d like to further my education in order to make some tangible differences in the world and work to change people’s lives.
Please pray for me on the last leg of my Race!! The road has been long, and sometimes it’s easier to become weary. Just intercede for me that God will continue to renew my strength. Pray that I can continue to be present, here, and in the moment. Pray that my last 4 months are better than the first 7. Pray against sickness for my team. Pray for the Gospel to change lives!
And also, pray for my grad school process! Pray that God will give me insane trust and faith in His provision because a Masters ain’t cheap! It’s interesting, following this calling in my life because I haven’t had an income in the past year. BUT I can tell God is simply asking me to obey and allow Him to provide 🙂 I’ll keep ya all posted!
¡Muchas gracias mi familia!
Adios!
