Before I get to the bulk of the post, I would like to say sorry it has taken so long to write, but it has been crazy here the last few weeks! I'll make up for it in the next 2 weeks I promise!
In July, by the grace of God, I was able to go home for my nephew/godchild's baptism. This meant the world to me since I missed the baby shower, birth, and the first 3 months of his life. It was an incredible time to be home with family and to start to make memories with my nephew.
After my 2 weeks at home it was time to begin the long flight back to Bolivia. As my site partners and I were headed back from the airport to Okinawa, my heart was excited to be heading back. I couldn't wait to get back to my beloved Okinawa! Unfortunately, we arrived at about midnight, so I wasn't able to see any of the friends or family I have here.
The next day was a school day, and conveniently, they were celebrating the Day of Friendship. Much like in the USA for Valentines Day, the kids here give out friendship cards on this day. I ended up helping one of my 4th graders carry their snack back to the classroom before recess. I arrived at the door and a few of my students saw me and shouted "Teacher Julia!" and came running to give me a hug. I soon was ambushed by 30 4th graders all wanting to give me a hug and share their friendship day cards. They told me things like "How could you leave us for 2 whole weeks?!", "I missed you so much!" and "When will we have English with you?". This last one I find funny, because whereas these kids like me coming to their class, they rarely want to actually LEARN what I want to teach them, haha.
After school, we had our usual catechist meeting for First Communion and Confirmation. We decided that each person would buy one gift for someone else to celebrate, and everyone brought a snack to share. Upon walking into the meeting, I was applauded, told how much I was missed, and received many welcome-back hugs.
So why am I sharing all of this? Well, sometimes as a missioner, especially as one of presence, it is easy to get burned out. Sometimes you wonder if you are being an effective missioner. This experience of coming back after being home showed me that I am being effective. I am being a presence in the community. I have given so much of my love to the community of Okinawa, and I know that it is returned. It gave me more energy to keep pushing through, to keep loving, and to keep being a presence. Sometimes the best witness to faith is not with words (though I do teach a fair amount of catechism), but is by merely presence.
August 15th, 16th, and 17th was a weekend of celebration here in Okinawa. What were we celebrating? 60 years since the founding of Okinawa! When I first told people I was heading to Okinawa Bolivia, the usual response was "you mean Japan right?". Well everyone would be correct that Okinawa is an island in Japan, but it also is a Japanese colony located in the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. In 1954 the Bolivian government gave a land incentive to the people of Japan. This caused a migration of the Japanese into Santa Cruz, Bolivia where they began to farm. The area that they lived in they named Okinawa, which consists of 3 colonies. We live in Okinawa Numero Uno. When driving outside of Okinawa to any of the communities we visit or to the other two colonies, one sees nothing but farmland with various crops, the majority being wheat, soy, sugarcane, and corn. The views on these roads are absolutely breath-taking! When looking at old and current pictures, it is incredible to see how far Okinawa has come over the last 60 years. The majority of the farms are owned by the Japanese, but the Bolivians usually work on the farm.
