Yes, two months in San Fernando, now we are having a little break and I´m safe in Robore! HELLO FRIENDS!!!!!

What a long, but great, two months! There is so much to say, but it´s so cool that Amy has been able to update you now and then. AMY THANK YOU SO MUCH! I KNOW YOU ARE SUPER BUSY WITH ONE MILLION THINGS... moving, getting moved in, being mom of 3 kids in home school and wife and just living in Santa Cruz... everything takes twice as long to get done. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WRITING! I AM ON THE INTERNET FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2 MONTHS! I TOTALLY FORGOT MY HOTMAIL SIGN IN! weird! but some how I remembered this one. I just talked to my MOM ON THE PHONE! THIS IS THE LONGEST I´VE GONE IN MY LIFE NOT BEING ABLE TO TALK TO HER! It was great to talk to her!!!!! It felt wonderful...like a healing medicine! I really would like to call my grandparents! But my little chat with my mom COST a bit more than I thought... and I only brought so much money here to Robore... BUT IT LOOKS LIKE GOD IS OPENING THE HEAVENS AND MAKING HIS PLAN AND PATH CLEAR FOR JIMENA AND ME TO GO TO SANTA CRUZ FOR A WEEK OR SO! YEAH! I totally, TOTALLY, was not planning on it... and the school in San Fernando, where I have been teaching English and Art... they will be a bit uncomfortable... as well as the church.... We will be gone longer than we thought... This little trip to Robore came about rather quickly. We had not planned on leaving San Fernando with Greg in the airplane until a few months from now... but God´s plans are higher and better. So, a few days ago, I was having breakfast with a lady in town who had come to the church a few times and had asked for a Bible. I was visiting with her, and a man who we know came up and had to tell her something... then very off-the-cuff, he invited Jimena and me to go to Robore with him and his mother-in-law, just to have a little break from San Fernando. Both Jimena and I were very glad for the invite. This man had been coordinating the construction of our house, and has good connection with Greg and other missionary men, so when he invited us to go on the 8-hour ride in his large pickup truck to drop off his mother-in-law, we both felt good about it. This morning, as we were visiting with the Bolivian missionary couple pastoring a church here in Robore, they strongly encouraged us to go to the annual Baptist Missionary Convention in Santa Cruz. Jimena´s church in Santa Cruz is the headquarters for the Baptist convention in Bolivia. So... I called one of the SAM missionaries in Santa Cruz, and he said it sounded like a great idea. It will be a week of workshops and other events for NATIONAL BAPTIST MISSIONARIES! I´m so curious, and very glad to have a reason to go, to connect SAM with the mission more, as well as for Jimena to have some missions training.  So! I will be connected with YOU more these next few weeks:  a few days here in Robore... then off to Santa Cruz! Then in September back to San Fernando. Unexpected, but very welcome travel plans.

Updates of life in San Fernando- Yes my wooden bed is made, as well as the kitchen table... they are beautiful! Our kitchen that was dirt floor is now cement! AND NOW WE HAVE A MUD OVEN AND ITS  LITTLE TIN ROOF OUTSIDE! I haven't used it yet and soon I'll post pictures! We´ve been using the little two burner gas stove, which has been great. But if we run out of gas (when we run out) and don´t have a new tank yet... or when someone else is living in our house as pastor or missionary, now they have somewhere to cook... like everyone else in San Fernando. The Sunday morning services have been good, and Sunday evening as well. The attendance of the Wednesday night prayer service ebbs and flows. Lots of kids show up in the evenings to play with the new soccer and volley balls we now have, as we are nearly the only ones to have light at night. One store has light at night.  They have a generator. Teaching in the school is going well. I have never taught English, but it´s been fun. I´ve never been a PASTOR... well, I wouldn´t call myself a pastor... but it´s been fun to study the Bible and then share what I´ve studied and what God has revealed to me. It's been an interesting and great challenge helping a few different people with some medical problems and then having the complete liberty to share openly about our spiritual health and the reality of the spiritual world. It´s been good getting to know people of the town, and drinking mattee together. I will write more about that later.

It has been INCREDIBLY challenging understanding my dear coworker, Jimena. She is very young and had no training before she came. I think our week of missionary workshops will be VERY good for us. There is another girl who will join us in September for 3 months. Dina is also Bolivian, but is in her mid 20´s and is finishing her seminary studies in theology in a seminary in Santa Cruz. She has felt called to missions for a few years and has been involved with different things SAM has done promoting missions, and is also on her church's missions committee. I´m so looking forward to having Dina working with us in San Fernando.

Well, I will write more later. Thank you for your prayers for me and Jimena. There is another young woman who is here in Robore with us from San Fernando, her nick name is Neca. She is the daughter-in-law of Bella, the church leader in San Fernando. Jimena and Neca are good friends. Pray that we will have a good time. Until now, I underestimated the value of team-building and down-time. Jimena and I have not had either one, and I can feel because of that, there is no basis for a friendship. Pray that we would learn how to understand each other and how to laugh together. Believe it or not, the last two months have been very quiet between the two of us... not much talking and not much laughter... which I´m seeing as a huge weakness in our ability to minister together.

Pray for the believers in San Fernando to be encouraged by God and to have community, and meet together while we are not there.

Pray for our safety in travel here and around Robore and to Santa Cruz and back to San Fernando. I will tell you more, when I know more.

Pray that we would be flexible, and hear God´s voice in all things.

I pray that you would be encouraged to seek and keep seeking God! He has much more for us to see and  understand, ways to grow... and so often we are standing still with our eyes and ears closed, so distracted by our physical inconvenience of some sort.
Ephesians 3:14-21.  Paul's prayer... for you!

Grace and Peace!
Katie Wells