learned.

On July 19 I celebrated seven years living and serving in Bolivia! Since early last year I even have my permanent residency visa, which is WONDERFUL! This means I never have to apply for a visa again as long as I’m not out of the country for extended periods of time.

Right now is one of my ever-rarer trips back to the US. I have a week more visiting my family and this weekend we'll attend my cousin’s wedding in Texas!

As I add more and more time in between trips, it becomes a little like visiting a foreign country! The United States changes, my family changes (changing houses right now), and I change. The main reason I feel different since my last trip is all that I’ve been privileged to experience and learn in 2010 and 2011.

I’ve learned how to…

…Drive stick shift

…Care for triplets! (In a phrase, it’s exhausting, rewarding, and definitely felt like a once-in-a-lifetime blessing!)

…Lead a worship team at church

…Be part of a leadership team at church of university students and young professionals

…Make a real Bolivian “torta” (birthday cake)!

…Administer first aid (second aid?!) for many and various urgencies and emergencies

…Stitch minor wounds

…Give shots (to humans…before I’d only given them to goats)

…Choose medicines for various complaints and illnesses

…Coach soccer :)

…Get out ID cards for Bolivians

…Deal with macho police on a daily basis

…Speak and understand many, many legal and medical terms I had no idea of before 2010

…Speak “street slang” (literally dozens of new phrases and words in my vocabulary…some usable, others—well, NOT!)

…Go to a beautiful Christian wedding in the maximum security prison

…Enter the three main jails plus juvenile detention facility in Cochabamba

…Get someone out of a holding cell…or jail

…Navigate far reaching corners of the huge valley that is Cochabamba as I take street friends to their families

What other country and job would allow me to learn all of THIS in 1 ½ year’s time?!

I LOVE learning, what about YOU?