Julie's Journey
September 2003
Greetings from Cochabamba, Bolivia,
I have been in Bolivia for over a month now and I am
settling in well. I have been teaching at Carachipampa Christian School (CCS) for 8 weeks now. I have 17
students in my class. 13 students are Bolivian, 2 are from South Korea and 2 are from North America. Its amazing to see many of the students praying for each other and the needs of their families each day in class.
On Saturday September 6 we had a school barbecue which was a great opportunity to meet the student’s parents and to practise speaking in spanish.
Cochabamba, Bolivia:
I am living in the city of Cochabamba which has a population of over 1 million people. I live across the street from the SIM (Serving in Mission) guest house.4 other teachers at CCS also live in apartments next to me
Ministry in Cochabamba
As well as teaching at CCS I have had the opportunity to help with the outreach program at the main plaza in the city on Saturday afternoons. Local Bolivians run a program where they give out food, wash babies and give clothes to the Quechua people who are one of the native people groups in Bolivia.
I am also involved in the CCS program where we teach English to the children from the local barrio (neighbourhood) after school on Thursdays. I am teaching the youngest students, ages 6-9.
Prayer Requests:
That I would continue to be a Christ-like role model for my students at CCS and would be able to share Christ with my students everyday.
The grade 2 teacher Beth Lowder has still not arrived. She needs to sell or rent her house to able to come to CCS. Please pray that God would sort out all her needs.
That I would gain more confidence in speaking Spanish to be able to share the gospel with
Spanish speakers.
Grade 7 and 8 Discipleship Teams:
I am helping to lead the girl’s group on Thursday evenings. Please pray that Susan Johnson and I will be able to share Christ in new ways to mostly MK students and that they would be challenged to be witnesses to their friends.
God’s Call: Cochabamba, Bolivia
Dear family and friends,
As many of you know I have been praying and researching mission organizations to answer God’s call and use my teaching gifts to promote the gospel . This has come to fruition in my acceptance by SIM (Serving in Mission) to teach at Carachipampa Christian School in Cochabamba, Bolivia for one school year beginning in August 2003.
Bolivia: A Snapshot
Bolivia is the least developed nation in South America. Located in the heart of South America it is a land locked country with The Andes mountains to the west and Brazil to the east. La Paz is the administrative capital city, with Sucre being the legal capital. Carichipampa Christian School is 6 miles outside of Cochabamba, a city with a population of 500,000 located in the valley of the Andes mountains with a moderate climate.
God’s Call For My Life:
God planted the fruits of my desire to go to South America sixteen years ago when I met a friend from Argentina and became close to her family who only spoke Spanish. In 1994 the Lord sent me to London, England to teach in the inner-city at a Christian school for four years. While there I experienced major spiritual growth and the experience taught me the need to be totally dependent on God for everything.
God then fulfilled my desire to return to Hamilton where I have been teaching at Hillsdale School in a high needs area for the last few years. Even though God answered my prayers to return to Hamilton I still experienced the call to go to South America on missions and share my gifts abroad. A trip to Urbana, a mission conference in the USA in 2000 cemented my belief that God had decided it was the right time to venture into the mission fields of South America.
My Mission: Carachipampa Christian School
At Carichipampa Christian School I will be teaching the children of Missionaries from different Missionary organizations which constitutes 57% of students attending the school (22% are SIM missionary children) and 43% of the students are local Bolivian students.
The aim and purpose at Carichipampa Christian School:
"CCS exists to provide a quality Christian education for the children of missionaries and for local Bolivian students. The school aims to help students discover a dynamic, biblical perspective of the world and their role in it, and to inculcate godly principles into their daily living and decision making."
CCS teachers have initiated a weekly outreach to local children in the neighbourhood around the school giving free English classes to around 50 children. Several children have given their lives to the Lord as a result. I look forward to the opportunity to work with local children and share the love of Christ with them.
The Power of Prayer
While I am extremely excited about the opportunity to go to Bolivia on missions, the next few months will bring a lot of preparation and change as well as many new challenges. I would like to ask for your prayer support and for someone who is interested in becoming a “prayer champion”, someone who will consistently pray and keep in touch with me while in the mission field and who will be a facilitator in passing on prayer requests and information to others
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for my spiritual preparation:
That God will continue to open the doors that will lead me to fulfill his mission for my life in Bolivia and that I will be a Christ-like example to the Bolivian people that I meet.
Please pray for my deputation:
That the Lord will open doors for me to find the right partners in ministry and the $20,000 support needed for the year
If you feel that the Lord leads you to support me financially, please fill out the enclosed form and mail it to:
SIM Canada
10 Huntingdale Blvd.
Scarborough, ON
Canada
M1W 2S5
(416) 497-2424
1 (800) 294-6918
Cheques should be made out to SIM and a tax receipt issued. Automatic bank withdrawal or donation by VISA or Mastercard is also available.
Julie Burley
1791 King Street East Apt#401
Hamilton, Ontario
L8K 1V6
(905) 543-8812
Email: julrob@globalserve.net
