Dare to dream

Well, after three weeks of going through the application process to International Teams, I'm finally done!! Now my file is in their hands and very soon their committee will sit down and hopefully accept me to serve in their organization. I had to take several psychological exams, a language assessment and just yesterday did a phone interview to talk about the test results from my psychological exams.

I have inquired as to further direction as to where I might be sent. The lady I've been corresponding with indicated their missionary advisor to Latin America felt that Trinidad, Bolivia is the best fit for me, but they haven't really spent too much time on it since I haven't formally been accepted to the organization. I too have felt God pulling me back in the direction of Trinidad in recent weeks. I've thought about what I want to do, what kind of a role I want to have and I think the position at La Palmera that Lucho has described to me is exactly what I'm looking for. I also think about all of the relationships I've built and feel it will be a very natural transition to return there since many of my friends are still there, even a few of my volunteer friends. With that affirmation from I-Teams, I feel 90% sure that's where I'll be headed.

I also feel compelled to say something regarding all of the media attention Bolivia has been getting lately. I want you all to know that much of it is overspeculation and not factually sound. I encourage you to use other resources besides media to get your news about Bolivia. Obviously the main points in the story have some truth to them, but especially American media are guilty of overexaggerating to make things more interesting. There's actually a really good blog I've been following that I also followed during the election campaign last year and I believe it to be pretty accurate. The guy that maintains it is an American living in Cochabamba and although he is left leaning, definitely has a much better feel for the situation than the main stream media. http://democracyctr.org/blog/ is the url for the blog. If you speak Spanish, there is a Bolivian newspaper in Cochabamba, Los Tiempos, which also does a pretty decent job.

Personally, I feel much of Bolivia's future has yet to be decided and we really won't know what will happen until after the Constitutional Assembly meets later this year. Please pray especially for this key event as it will shape the future of Bolivia.

Some direction

Well, after a minor postage complication, I-Teams has finally received my application. The lady reviewing it has suggested Queretaro, Mexico and Spain as possibilities, but really everything is still wide open. Their ministry in Queretaro is a University ministry and she thought I could teach computers as a piece of that. In Spain they have a Cafe style ministry that is located in Santiago de Compostela, on the southeastern coast of Spain. Trinidad, Bolivia would also work. The one thing I have stressed is that I want to be fully used wherever I go. I don't want to have my computer skills sit on the back burner and do a lot of relational ministries, but I also don't want to have just computer work either, I want to find a good balance of both and I do realize that computers can play a variety of roles. I also told her that I would be great if my computer work could aid/advance the project in some way such as creating a website for more publicity or organize administrative tasks. These are the things I'm thinking about as opportunities are presented. I feel I'm doing a pretty good job of keeping an open mind though in terms of geography, and Spain would certainly be an interesting challenge.