Laney in Bolivia

 Hello there!  My name is Alayna Avila, but my friends and family call me Laney.  I am from Albuquerque, New Mexico and attend Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee. It is at Southern where I felt God’s call to go out and serve as a Student Missionary for 9 months!   I was raised Seventh-Day Adventist, and I attended an adventist elementary school. However, wasn’t until I got to Southern that I decided that my faith could no longer be the faith of my parents, but my own. I did not attend an adventist academy for high school, but a public school for high school. I chose Southern because I felt as though the Lord was calling me there.  When I started my freshman year at Southern I hadn’t realized how involved in mission work the school was. I had heard lots of mission stories growing up. The beautiful miracles God had done in the scariest moments of missionaries lives. It wasn’t uncommon to hear the stories, but to be hearing the stories of ...

Hello Everyone!  This is my first monthly update of my time here in Rurrenabaque, Bolivia! More specifically, how my first month of being at Familia Feliz has been. It has been such a journey, filled with ups and downs. Lots of trial and error, tears and prayer. My journey began July 24th, 2024 with 4 flights where I ultimately landed in La Paz, Bolivia. During the entire journey I encountered God's presence very heavily. My first layover was in Dallas, there I met a mother and her 5 young children on their way to Madrid, Spain, where she is originally from. At the same time I met a young man also on his way to Madrid. Funnily enough he had just come from Albuquerque, where he has lived for the past 3 years. I got to practice my Spanish with them and told them where I was journeying to. They were both incredibly encouraging, the mother told me she had also taken a mission trip to Peru during her university days and that it was the best experience she had ever had. That encount...