Autonomia Si! . . .

. . .is the slogan being plastered all over Trinidad. Tomorrow is the vote for the Autonomy statute for the Beni department. An overwhelming approval is expected which means it will join Santa Cruz in being the second department to accept the autonomy status as defined by the local government.

This is something that has been in the works, really for about a year. To clarify though, autonomy as defined here is NOT independence, but rather a decentralization of national government, basically which will give more power to the local government and grant it certain freedoms it did not have such as land management, police authority, etc. The Beni will still be part of Bolivia though, and still be subject to the national government on a lot of issues.

Thursday night, the biggest rally in the city took place just a block away from La Palmera from 4pm until midnight. Fireworks and firecrackers were going off all afternoon/evening and there were people speaking during most of that time too.

To me, I've really refrained from voicing my opinion on all of this, mostly since I don't know all of the intricacies and details involved. In general, I do support the idea of autonomy because it makes sense that local people should govern themselves on local issues and national government should tackle the bigger problems that face the entire nation. I think in some ways this may help the situation in Bolivia to settle down by giving the people in the east what they've wanted for the past decade at least: a greater degree of independence to allow for greater economic development. We'll just have to see. . .

Tomorrow we expect a peaceful voting session with little if any conflict, though streets will be closed all day.

Off to Camp!

Well, I'm heading off this afternoon to the La Palmera annual camp out at our Chaco about 30 min outside of Trinidad. The theme for this year is "Do you love me? Do you not love me?" and it is focusing on interpersonal relationships and friendships and teaching these adolescents about the differences between love, friendship and their implications and what the Bible has to say about each. I'm no expert on this, so please pray that the Lord will give me wisdom to teach this, and maybe I'll learn a thing or two as well! We are doing this topic because there are a lot of young couples in the school right now and the pastor felt it important that the kids hear this so that people don't get hurt. We get back on Saturday afternoon, so it will basically be three full days out there and three nights. Until then . . .

One Year in Bolivia

It was on this day, May 16, 2007 that I entered the Republica de Bolivia. Wow, what a year it has been. The Lord has taught me so much in my year here that I look back on how much I have changed, grown, stretched myself and how many friendships I have made with the Bolivians and other volunteers.

Probably the biggest thing I have been learning is trust. Trust in the political situation, trust in the future of the project, trust in my finances and trust in my relationship with Lidia. It is difficult to trust God with the things you care about, but I've learned that He does a much better job with managing the issues in our lives than we do. It's helping me to be at peace with where everything is and in that peace I am learning to love Him so much more. He has kept me safe, given me energy to complete my work, given me the money to be here and blessed me with a wonderful friend in Lidia who such a blessing in my life and very Godly woman.

It hasn't been easy to learn this lesson of trust - there have been lots of moments of stress, frustration and it's in those moments I realize it's out of my control and that's when I discover the joy of not having to worry about it. I am by no means fully trusting God yet, but I am learning to let go of my worries, stresses and fears.

Today also happens to be the 322nd anniversary of the founding of Trinidad, there is a four day festival commemorating this.

I thank you all for your unwavering support of my work here - financially, prayerfully and emotionally. I wish you all the best as I begin year #2 and I look forward to what the Lord has in store for me this year.