Today's Thank You Thursday post (on Friday :) goes out to my dear friend Laquitha. She has been there for me since Mark's death, and continues to be a shining light in times of darkness and difficulty. Laquitha thoughtfully remembers those in her life, even when she is going through a hard time. From a card on Thanksgiving to a call to make sure I'm still doing okay, Laquitha continues to give of herself in countless ways. Now that I am in Bolivia, Laquitha has religiously called me every other week to check in, and to bring a little piece of home to me here. When I am struggling with something, she reminds me that some struggles are universal. Last night, I attended a prayer service where we talked about true friends, since el Dia de la Amistad (the day of Friendship) was Wednesday. The prayer leader reminded us that true friends tell you the truth, and help you to see yourself for who you really are. I am pleased and blessed to have someone like Laquitha in my life who is willing to do so! But who else is Laquitha? She is a kind, gentle, soul who brings laughter and smiles into the lives of everyone she touches. She makes strong friendships, and shares freely. She thinks that she is shy, but once you get to know her you will have full and enriching conversations with her that know no end. She looks out for her family and friends, and continues to look past the surface for ways to help that touch the heart. She is also a Godly woman. She searches out what is good, true, and holy in a fellow human being, and in this way brings herself closer to the kingdom. She has an inquisitive spirit and a giving soul. Laquitha has the patience of a saint, and for this reason will never be alone. Thank you, Laquitha, for showing me what true friendship can be, and for inspiring me to give more of myself to others!
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Today I would like to send an extra special Thank You to my sweet niece Isabel. Today is her birthday, and although I am very sad to miss it, I know that she will soon understand the special place I have in my heart for her. She has already rolled, crawled, walked, and talked her way into my heart, and I have felt a special bond with her from the moment I heard of her existence. When I saw that little ultrasound pic, I knew that the world as we knew it was about to improve in ways unimaginable! Her sweet smile and mischievous look (compliments of my sister) always make me smile, and she has that same effect on everyone around her. I did not know how much of an impact such a small human being could have on someone until I heard about her, and it was love at first sight...from the moment I saw that little ultrasound picture, I was super excited to get to know her! My sis and I tracked her every week through The Nest, and from a plum to a pineapple she has been on a much loved journey! Thanks to Theresa and Ryan, I have been with her from bath time to swim time via pictures and videos, and she never ceases to amaze me. Her expressions show so much understanding, and the way she waits for every person who enters the room to look at her so she can flash a winning smile is precious! Since we have been very far away, we have chatted through Skype, "played catch" with her throwing the ball and me waiting on the other side with my hands in catcher mode, and she has rushed the computer more times than I can count to reach out and pass some of her X's and O's from one side of the world to the other. She is much more of a blessing than I will ever be able to explain, and I can't wait to be there for all of the memories. Happy Birthday, dear Isabel, and I am looking forward to the moment when we can hug and play catch for real!!! Lots of love, Your Aunt Valerie (that's Valeria in Spanish but you can call me Aunt Val) There are so many more people to thank, and today I would like honor my friend, Erica. She has a heart so big it could fit the whole world, which is partly why she is willing to do things like have movie nights from the US to Bolivia, and support all of her friends when they are in need. Erica never has a bad word to say about anyone, and she has a real knack for seeing the best in people. She is also ready to have fun at the drop of a hat, and considers hanging out with you, no matter what you are doing, as fun. We met through a mutual friend, Ciana, when we were both in her wedding, and we have been close ever since. Of course, Erica doesn't know a stranger, so it would be hard not to be friends with her. Even though she is at times too humble to know it, her friends number the stars, and this is also because she will drop everything to be at a friend's side and shed tears alongside them when necessary. Not only all this, but she also is perceptive enough to see things that others do not. When everyone else may look at something in a certain way, she gets that things can be different, and knows just what to say to shine light on a difficult situation. Erica is not afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve, which is why she is able to be kind to strangers and an attentive friend to her loved ones. But I would be remiss if I forgot to mention one of my favorite things about Erica - she lives every day to the fullest. I am sure that she would be ok with me sharing with you that it is because when she was very young, she was in a serious car accident. She realized at that time that life is short, and you have to value every second. Thank you, Erica, for your example, and for the gift of your friendship in my life! As I sit here with a ginger tea and a cough drop, I reflect over my past couple weeks. Last night, we had a Fourth of July/Despedida (good bye) celebration for Nate and Mary, fellow FMS missioners and good friends who will be leaving tonight for Carmen Pampa to work (a.ka. volunteer in "mission" words) at the local university. Yesterday morning, Nate, Hady, and I (along with Allison, Carlos, and Caitlin from another cheer station) cheered on Mary and Joe as they ran a half marathon...complete with race bibs that said "Cochabamba 'Unsponsored' Half Marathon." Why "unsponsored?" All this time Mary had been training, just to find out the race date will be in July after she has already left, so we "created" a race! In two weeks, we will be celebrating the wedding of Allison and Carlos (friends and former Maryknoll missioners). This will be our second Bolivian wedding, as we were also blessed to attend Nora and Alvaro's wedding (Nora is a former FMS missioner). Last weekend, Hady and I went to a quinceanera to help welcome a young lady into a traditional Latin American rite of passage, and "the girls" had a pre-wedding celebration for Allison with a traditional Bolivian sending prayer service. Since I have been in Cochabamba, I have been blessed to attend birthday parties with my host family and fellow missioners, a baby shower to welcome Andres (baby brother of Santiago, pictured in my first blog), the fiftieth wedding anniversary party of my host family, and despedidas (good bye celebrations) of which there will be many more. I can't believe that I have only been here six short months, and already my calendar is so full! Between two ministry sites (and a third less official site - Salomon Klein), I can be pretty tired on the weekends. Sometimes, all I want to do is curl up with some hot tea and a Skype call, but I really do look forward to the social events, too. I realize how blessed I am to be surrounded by caring individuals, and how God always finds a way to show His love, even when you are thousands of miles from your friends and family. This makes our weekly house chores and doing laundry by hand seem less like hard work, and more like a time to reflect and realize how to be thankful for having so much, even when it seems like you have so little. I remember recently reading about the different types of poverty, and how living without many things is not always the worst kind of poverty: spiritual and social poverty are oftentimes even worse. Please keep your eyes open for opportunities to help those around you, in any type of poverty, including the less traditionally thought of types. As evidenced by the love and support that you continue to show to me, I know that you are capable of great things! Today my thank you goes out to Joe Loney, who is also known as "Jose" in Bolivia, and is the American attorney who helped walk us through the arduous path that eventually led to a Bolivian carnet! What is a carnet, you ask? For those of you who have been fortunate not to have to walk this path, a carnet is a "get out of jail free" pass for those of us whose 30 day visas expired...let's just say some time before the carnet was a mere light at the end of the tunnel. If this still makes no sense, check out the picture on the left :). What it means is that we became regulars at Interpol, the police station, and more governmental offices that we can count after having a full medical check-up including x-rays, dental exam, drug test, and being fingerprinted so many times that our fingers may as well have been endlessly purple. We made trips to notary offices, the Archbishop's office, and pleaded our way through each new document that was requested in a language that we did not understand very well. We signed our names to countless forms, that for all we knew, could have been promising our first born child and that we would only eat ice cream on Tuesdays. We showed up, nodded and kept our heads down, and only asked questions in the most humble of demeanor and when absolutely necessary. We said "muchas gracias" after being told the fifth time that we had to get yet another document and come back to the same office. We begged nuns at the convent and asked for children to testify as our Bolivian witnesses. We asked Jeff, fellow FMS missioner, to accompany us when he could very well have had amoebas, and we shamelessly asked him to show up at more places and make more copies of his documents. Finally, we made multiple visits to different banks to deposit required fees that could not be accepted in government offices because no money could change hands there. And through all of this, who was right by our side guiding us and saying, "yes, I understand, thank you very much" right along with us? None other than Joe Loney, who is a practicing attorney with a busy schedule and a family of his own to boot. Thank you Joe, for your constant patience with us and the entire visa process! Food for thought: The next time you see a foreigner in the US who is having difficulty with the visa process, please remember that he/she is trying to tackle a daunting process in "lawyer speak" in a language that he/she may not understand, and that a little patience goes a long way! |
AuthorValerie Ellis, who is in alignment with the Black Lives Matter Movement and everyone whose life is impacted, now or before, by times of social injustice. Archives
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