October: Growing

As the year goes on we continue to feel the blessings of God's goodness through growing relationships and ministry opportunities. Adeline is almost 10 months old now, and growing rapidly. Mark is growing in his relationship with students, and Audrey with her balancing act as mother and worker. Besides a bout of sickness that took out Audrey and Adeline for about 10 days, October was a solid month, and we are thankful that the sickness is in the rear-view mirror. All were healthy for this past weekend's school community festival. This is an event where families and local businesses come to spend a day of fun together at the school. It was also where Adeline achieved a "classic baby first" milestone in eating her first anticucho, a.k.a. cow heart (a common street food here in Bolivia).

Despite some soggy weather conditions, we made the most of it and were able to enjoy connecting more with our Highlands family. It continues to be a giant blessing to see how supportive the Highlands family has been when it comes to Adeline.

October brought some other opportunities to support the Highlands family with the celebration of another baby to our community. This time it is the High School English teacher who has given birth to a baby boy. We got to celebrate with some of the parents and students in support of this new little addition. It was another reminder of the family focus and Christian love that plays a center role in the Highlands community.

Among that opportunity was a chance to host the senior class for a Packer watch party. Mark continues to expose the students to the Good News of God's love, as well as the humbling experience of being a Green Bay Packer fan. If anything what we have realized is that the more we open up ourselves and share our lives,

the more the students do in return. It has really been a great month of relationship building for Mark. Many of the students are asking really good questions and looking to have open conversations about many God-centered topics. Please pray that God will work through these conversations and questions, and that the students continue to open up and share whats on their hearts. Our ministry is so relational here and as we deepen these relationships it seems like God is opening up more doors for ministry conversations. We know full well that God is the only reason things can happen, and so as much as we try and create opportunities for things to happen, it is ultimately in God's hands. So we pray earnestly for Him to work in us and through us. In the meantime, we seek to create opportunities to for deepening relationships not only with students, but with the entire Highlands community, teachers and parents alike. Some October opportunities have been a local hike that Mark took with fellow teachers, and another was when Adeline helped out with parent-teacher conferences.

Now in the early goings of November, we enter the home stretch, and have a little more than one month left before the end of the semester. We will be flying back to the U.S. for Christmas break and will be visiting friends and family in Phoenix, Florida, and North Carolina. If possible we would love to connect with anyone that wants to hear more. Don't be afraid to reach out. Thanks again for keeping up with what God is doing in our lives and through our lives here in La Paz.