Bolivian Fun in the Cemetary and The Jungle

Well the past month has of course flown by and has been full of many valuable cultural experiences. I wouldn’t say we celebrated Halloween, but we definitely were able to experience how Bolivians celebrate the Day of the Dead. The Day of Los Meurtos (the dead) is an important day here because relatives believe that if they leave a feast of food and gifts for the deceased and pray a lot, the relative will come back for a visit and eat the food. Another ritual here is to go to the cemetery all day and gather around the grave site and place food out for the dead as well. We all decided it would be fun to go the cemetery to see how Bolivians celebrate. We went with two other Bolivian people so we wouldn’t stand out too much and seem culturally insensitive. This was unlike anything I had ever seen before. People were everywhere! People were singing, crying, dancing, sleeping, celebrating, having picnics, and much more. There were even groups of singers that would get paid to come to the grave site and sing for the deceased person. Women and children were camped out with their blankets of bread, pastries, and meats for their loved one to enjoy.

Here is a picture of a man who was sleeping with a dead baby chicken on his chest. There are a lot of indigenous beliefs and practices associated with the god, Pachimama; this being one of them. They use dead fetuses and animals as protection to ward off negative spirits.

I was blown away by the crowds and crowds of people in every corner of this cemetery. I don’t know if I will ever go back, but I was grateful to experience this part of Bolivia and how different it is from the US.

Another highlight of this past month was our day journey to The Chapare, the jungle of Bolivia. We have been working on bunk beds since I arrived and they were finally ready to be delivered to the orphanage that is being built in the jungle. Five of us piled into the back of this huge fruit truck, not really ready for the bumpy and rainy ride.

Thankfully there was a huge tarp over us, until we got far enough into the jungle to take it off. This place is amazing, humid, steamy, green, and so different from Cochabamba. We got to the orphanage six hours after leaving, dropped off the beds and got back on the road home. It was a very quick ride, but I’m so glad I got to see another orphanage in the making. I’m so excited to be here in the upcoming months when they move kids in and get another orphanage started. Here are a few pics of what The Chapare is like. Below is the orphange.

Another highlight of this past month has been getting sick AGAIN! This is a pic of my roommate and I eating street food; excited at that moment. Haha if I would have known what was in store. I would not have taken one bit of that Lomito. All that to say, this time was worst than the last and I am now much more aware of what I’m putting in my mouth.

Our work at the orphanages continues to go well and I love spending time with these kiddos. I’m going to miss them so much while I’m away for Christmas. At the “Villa Israel” orphanage, there were four boys who earned enough points to go on an outing. They decided they wanted to go the cinema. Guess who had the honor of chaperoning….me! It was actually a really great time as we all sat, ate our popcorn, and enjoyed the entire two hours of high school musical 3. There were no other kid movies playing so we had to resort to singing, dancing, bad acting, and high school drama. Overall, they loved getting out and doing something fun. We also did face paint with both groups and they loved it!

On a sadder note, this is officially the last week that all four of the original girls will be here. When I arrived back in july, there were three girls here. As of next week, two of the three will have left. Things are coming to an end very quickly and come January, it will be me and the new intern, Craig, for some time. I know things will be fine and I praise God for the past four months he has blessed me with. I have made some life long friends and I can wish them the best and say that I’ll miss them terribly.

I can’t believe it’s already thanksgiving. Unfortunately it doesn’t feel much like the holidays without snow and family. God has richly blessed me with a family here, whom I look forward to spending the day with. I leave you with a psalm of praise and thanksgiving to our Lord and Savoir, Jesus Christ.

Psalm 92: selected verses
It is good to praise the Lord and make music to you name, O most high.
To proclaim you love in the morning and you faithfulness at night,
For you make me glad by you deeds, O lord;
I sing for joy at the works of you hands.
How great are you works, O lord, how profound you thoughts! You O lord, are exalted forever!

Lots of smiles, lots of pics....

Well, I feel like there is so much to write about since it’s been about a month since my last
post….sorry about that. Hmm where do I start? I suppose we would officially say that rainy season has started here in Bolivia, it’s going to be a long couple months. No it’s really not that bad, there’s a lot less sun and frequent down pours when you least expect it. October has been a big month here at the hacienda; people have once again come and gone. We had to say goodbye to our great friend Jeff. Him and I arrived in Bolivia together, so it was hard to see him go. He may be back, we’ll see.

We spent a lot of time with the kiddos this month, playing, learning, and swimming. One Saturday, we had the kids from the Villa Israel Orphanage over at our team leaders house. They have a pool so of course the kids had a blast. Here are some pics of the kiddos sunbathing. Here is a pic of Jhoel, the boy I want to bring home with me….what a great kid he is.

The other days spent at Villa Israel could not have gone better. These kids seem to improve more each time we go. I think my boys really enjoy our tutor time together, not only because of the candy I bribe them with to work, but also because they get my undivided attention for a full hour. These two are so sweet and we always have a blast. We have started memorizing Psalm 100 together in Spanish, so Ill let you know how that goes.

Here is a pic of Neydi, the girl that I mentioned in my email. What a beautiful heart she has. We still don’t know exactly how she is adjusting to her new home, but we continue to pray for her and that she would feel God’s love and her family’s acceptance. The other little guy is Arland, he has good days and bad days. He loves to eat….that’s all he ever wants to do!

So another fun thing we did this month was celebrate my birthday. I don’t think I have ever felt so special on my birthday; God is soooo good and surrounded me special friends here in Bolivia. Not only did we celebrate on the actual day, as you can see in these pics below, but we celebrated for a good week. I got a north american and a south american cake, yes!!

We also celebrated in on the weekend by going out to a nice Italian restaurant. Here is a pic with some of the other volunteers that I have the pleasure of working with on a daily basis.

I thought the celebrations were all over until the next day, another cake appeared and we celebrated with our Potosi Team. How wonderful it felt to know that, even though I was far away from home and from friends and family, I was surrounded by friends and family here.

I haven’t written about our Wednesday mornings building bunk beds in a while. Things have really been progressing over the past couple months and soon the beds will be ready to assemble. I have used some heavy duty machines and have been scared to lose a finger or a hand, but God has kept us all safe. These beds are going to be used in the new orphanages that are going to built in Chapare (the jungle area where we work). It’s very exciting to see the progress of something we have been working on for months now.

As for the other days during the week. Our time at the center has it’s up and downs. The kids continue to be crazy and unruly, but we continue to learn from them each time we’re there. I have been working with the littlest kids and they have been improving for the most part. They still enjoy climbing up the book shelves, spitting on each other, hitting each other in the face, swearing, and crying. Aside from all that, we somehow manage to teach them about Dios (God) and how much He loves each one of them. This is Dennis, probably one of the most misbehaved kids at the center, but has grown on me in a weird way. Just look at those eyes.

These are twin sisters in our class. They are bad too, but just crave a little attention.

There’s not much to say about the Frutillar Orphanage except that the kids are the sweetest kids here in Bolivia. We see them twice weekly and enjoy our time with them each time. Just look at these pics….so great!

Well thanks for taking time to look at all these pictures, even if I got a little carried away. Sometimes pictures are the best way to express how wonderful things really are. Praise God for his continued faithfulness and for all the ways he is growing the kids. I miss you all....

Potosi and back again...

The journey to Potosi and back in eight days was quite the experience. It hasn´t been my favorite experience here yet, but it is something I’m glad I did. We left Saturday, the 27th and encountered lots of car trouble therefore we stayed in Oruro the first night. This put us at about five out of the ten hours we had to travel to Potosi. One answer to prayer is that we had somewhere to stay every night and never had to search very hard. We had places to stay, but that’s not to say they weren´t freezing. Each night was about 30 degrees once the sun went down because we were so high in altitude. Potosi is the highest city in the world, about 14,000 feet. There were points when I felt the altitude change, but overall we all stayed fairly heatlthy the entire trip.

Heres the view from our truck...amazing!

Our Team...
So one highlight of our trip besides seeing the kids faces light up when they opened their box was the ride each day. The truck did well, except for the break replacement, the random stops to check the wheels, the random stops to check the hundreds pounds of luggage and boxes on the roof, the flat tire we blew up with a bike pump, and much more. I wish someone could caught our adventure on videotape because there were definitely some points when I thought we were all going to go over the edge of the mountain.

Our main purpose on this trip was to visit small, remote villages in a region called Potosi. These villages mostly consisted of brick huts, no electricity, one source of water and one school building (where we slept). Each day was similar in that we would arrive, do a puppet show about dental hygiene in Quechua (the tribal language in most communities), and play games. After the games, we broke the kids up into three classes and had them learn a verse and shared with them the meaning of the verse. It was a way for us to talk with them about God and His love for them. After class, we presented the kids with their own personal Samaritan’s Purse shoe box full of goodies from the states and Canada. The smiles on these kids’ faces were priceless and something that made the entire trip worth it. These kids were so thankful for a small gift and we made sure they knew it was from God and not us.
Pics with kids ....

Heres a village we visited....

At least two of the villages had a special presentation planned for us, which consisted of them wearing traditional clothing, dinner and even warm water so we could wash our hair. I don’t think I had ever gone over five days without a shower, it was good for me. By the close of our trip, we were all definitely feeling tired and it was hard to keep going at points. I learned a lot about patience and perseverance. When I didn’t think I could put on another smile or sing another song, God gave the strength needed for it.

We ended up giving out about 800 shoeboxes to kids in these communities. The smiles and responses were priceless and Jesus’ name was talked about openly. There were a lot of firsts for me on this trip….heres a list.

First time touching a llama, eating llama, and seeing a “llama crossing” sign on the road. First time getting ghiardia. First time leaving Cochabamba. First time speaking Quechua. First time calling Cochabamba home. First time doing a puppet show in Quechua. First time giving my testimony in front of a group of people without being prepared. First time without any type of toilet to speak of. First time not officially showering for 8 days. First time traveling around with a dead baby sheep (a present from one of the villages) on the roof of our car.

Overall, what a great experience and a wonderful opportunity!! I hope you enjoyed learning more about the remote villages of Potosi....hope you enjoy the pics as well. Love you all!

The boxes with all the little shoe boxes inside

Heres what our toilets looked like....if we were lucky...
Heres me with the llamas....
Check out how close i got to the llamas......wow!

2 months done....

Well it’s been quite some time since I visited this page….sorry about that. There have clearly been lots of things going on in Bolivia in the last three weeks. We have had to filter the things we have been hearing about the political state of Bolivia, as well as the the rumors of sending all US citizens home. There have been many people evacuated as of now, but we have been safe and have not felt threatened at all. Today is my two month anniversary! It would be way too soon to go home right now, so I’m praying that the Lord would calm things down here and bring peace again.

There have been lots of things going on at the Hacienda as well. In three weeks we got three new people (volunteers/missionaries). Bryan came for about 8 days to take a break from his world travels. He’s been traveling since last august and decided to stop here to see what we do and to help. He was great to have around for laughs, encouragement, and security (its nice having a guy’s presence in the house). He is currently wandering around Argentina right now. Jeff flew in on the same day as me and has been staying with his brother since he arrived. He was supposed to head back to the states 2 days ago, but extended his ticket and will be staying with us for the month of October. Bethany just got here last Friday and will be here with us until December. We were expecting her to come in October; surprise, she’s came early! She lived here for a year in 2005, so she knows her way around. It’s nice having another person to help with everyday activities and ministry. Thank God for continuing to bring people here to do his work.

So enough about us….the kids are so great! The more I get to know them, the more I never want to leave! One of my fondest memories of the center kids will be the feria (fair) we held for the kids and their parents. Each class did a bible skit for the parents, which went really well. After that there were games, music, food and prizes. The kids absolutely loved it and had so much fun. As usual, it was a crazy and hectic day, but that’s a normal day at the center. Katie (my roommate) and I have taken over the youngest class and have agreed to teach class every Wednesday. I wish you all could observe these kids even for a minute. Once they are all packed into the small room, it’s a free for all. I have never worked with a more rowdy, naughty, and mean group of 3’s, 4’s and 5’s. They do not listen, unless they are bribed with candy, they mock me and Katie, they are mean to each other and are just crazy (running around the room, climbing the shelves, hitting each other, and crying.) We have managed to get through both bilbe stories in hopes they heard and will retain some of the truth we shared. Despite how stressed and exhausted I feel after Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I leave that place loving the kids more than the day before. God definitely gives me the strength for these two days and makes my heart hurt for them and love them more. Here are some of the kiddos from the center...haha so cute!

At the orphanages, i have continued beginning with a bible story and the boys at Villa Israel love that part. They would rather read bible stories the entire time, than learn English or any other activities I have planned. We have grown very close simply from our hour spent together each week. While the other kiddies are running around, we are able to escape and do our own thing for a small amount of uninterrupted time. They seem to be stuck on long multiplication problems, so that is one thing we’ve been focusing on a lot. It’s also been amazing to see how they take care of the younger kids. Jhoel has three younger brothers in the orphanage, so he is used to playing the father figure, but I continue to be amazed as he helps them, guides them, and is so patient with them. He is mature for his age and I have seen growth in both of my boys since I got here. I can’t imagine how I’m going to feel about these kids 8 months from now. Heres Roberto and Jhoel again....

Well personally, I’m doing well. I’ve agreed to teach ESL every week, because one of the volunteers had to return to the states. I actually had to teach last week, which was a very stretching experience. I’m glad for these experiences because I know God wants to challenge me and use me in ways I would not have imagined. I’m excited to be committed to this ministry and get to know more Bolivian people.

One area of prayer right now is a trip to Potosi that my roommates and I are all going on this weekend. On Saturday we are leaving for a 10 day trip to the antiplano, where Potosi is located. We will be stopping at 7 villages throughout the week to deliver packages and to spend time with the people and their children. The bus ride is a full day and we are going up to about 13, 000 feet, so I’m sure I will be feeling the effects. It is the worlds highest city, yikes!

I continue to learn and see new things everyday here and God continues to be faithful and ever present! This verse has reminded me of His love for me and more importantly for all people. Psalm 90:14 says, “Satisfy me in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” Amen! I miss you all lots!!!

Spring in Cochabamba

So winter is over here and it’s getting warmer by the day. I say warm and I mean it’s about 85 degrees in the sun, but the minute you step into the shade, you could easily freeze. So the flowers are beginning to bloom and Cochabamba is becoming more and more beautiful! It will be this way until November when the rainy season begins.

Well things have been busy these past couple weeks, but have been fun none the less. Now that there are four of us living at the hacienda, we spend most of our nights together. I feel as if I’m back in college; its kinda fun.

In the last two weeks, we have celebrated five birthdays at the two orphanages. It has been one of the sweetest things I have experienced since I’ve arrived here. Each birthday party has consisted of a cake and a small gift, usually from the house parents. It’s amazing how happy these kids are to receive one gift and a piece of cake! They especially love the attention from the “gringos”, all the white volunteers. So here are some pictures of the many bday parties we have celebrated this month.

Here is Arlan sporting his new clothes...he loved them!

Tutoring has been going well. I have begun to memorize some bible verses with some of the kids, in Spanish! They do such a great job and it’s good practice for my Spanish, as well. This weeks verse was Isaiah 40:31, my favorite verse in the bible. We spent four hours on Thursday at the “Villa Isreal” orphanage and had so much fun with the kids. There are now only three interns so tutoring can be tricky at times. I work with two boys, Jhoel and Roberto. They are the oldest boys in the house. I have found that “chicle” or candy motivates them. We spent an hour and a half reading a bible story in Spanish and working on multiplication problems. This also has been very good for my Spanish. I hope to do so much with them during my time here…they make my heart smile! Here is a pic of them...

Every Wednesday we help with an organization called “Food for the Hungry”. There is a couple here from the states who have agreed to help us build bunk beds for one of the orphanages. So last week I learned how to use a heavy duty electronic sanding machine. By the end of three hours, my hand was tingling. We have four out of ten bunk beds completed. This week was different because instead of building, we helped move Nate to a new shop. The way people “move” from one place to another in quite different here than in the states. Here is a picture of what we had to ride on for 30 minutes to get to the new shop.

It was very dangerous to say the least, but sooooo fun! We’re used to Bolivians’ staring at us, but this time they had a reason to stare….it was quite a sight. The Lord kept us safe and we successfully moved all the machinery and things to the new shop.

The kids at the community center continue to be bad, but are a blast to be around. It almost feels like I’m back at work in the states, because I constantly have to put up with negative behaviors. The only problem is that here there are no rules or disciplinary actions in place, so it’s a crazy three hours for me! On Wednesday, a mini swimming pool was brought in and the kids loved it. They stripped down to their underwear and dove right in.

This is Christian, he is a tough tough kid, but will smile when you tickle his belly. He wasn’t too sure about the pool, so he sat out and threw the balls at the girls.

We also spent a day making “kites” with the kids. These consisted of tissue paper, pieces of broom thistles, string, tape and a water bottle. The process of making the kites was very stressful, but the end result was more than I could have imagined. When they were ready to be flown, we took all the kids to the top of this huge hill and they actually flew very well in the wind. The kids absolutely loved the activity and had soooo much fun! Here is a pic, check out the mountains (God’s creation) in the background. This is where I live!

One thing to be thankful for is that our team leaders (the Timmers) made it back safely. They were on furlough in the states for the last four months and returned on Monday. I had never met them and had the pleasure of sitting down with them on Thursday. It’s a comfort to have them back here in Cochabamba, so praise God for their safe return.

I miss you all lots! Until next week....

More Changes...

Well, this title basically encompasses how the past two weeks has been. First of all, all the interns at the Hacienda (the house we live in) all had to say goodbye to two special people. We tearfully said goodbye to Adrian, an intern from Australia. He has been here since April and he will spending the remainder of his time in Ecuador. We miss him already! Here is a pic of him and some of the kids...they really loved him a lot!

We also said goodbye to Rachel, who was with us for about three weeks. She is a sister of one of the interns who has been here since February. It was so great to have her presence in our house and an extra helper! We miss her as well. Unfortunately things are always changing in our house and new people are coming and going often! It does make for an exciting house to live in.

Well the day before they both left, we decided to go up to The Cristo. The Cristo is a HUGE monument of Christ the Redeemer, it is the biggest of it's kind. There is a smiliar "cristo" in Rio de Janeiro, but is only a little bigger becuase of the it's stone base. There's some history for you! So, we took a taxi to the top and the views were amazing! I will be sure to visit it again, becuase there are stairs that lead up and I would love to climb to the top. It was truly an experience and we are so lucky to be so close to it. You can see it wherever you are in Cochabamba.

When we're not climbing mountains or saying goodbye to people, we are spending a majority of our time with some great kids. We spent a good four hours with the "Villa Isreal" kids on Thursday. We are trying to teach them better manners and to appreciate what they have been given. We decided to tutor first and then put in a movie and made some popcorn. The first thing out of their mouth's was "is there more popcorn?" We tried explaining that it's polite to say thank you and not ask for more. It's little life lessons like this that may take them months to understand. They love to read, so we always spends lots of time reading books in spanish and english. The little guy in the middle is the youngest of all the kids we work with. He is 2 and a half. He is so precious, but seems to be sad a lot of the time. It's always a highlight when we get a smile out of him. He and his brother both live in the orphanage. They have come from a background of Quechua (the second most prevalent language in Bolivia). They are learning spanish, but still use the Quechua they have been taught. They are two of the sweetest little boys I have ever met!

Here is a picture of his brother, Elian. He loves to learn and always asks for homework! Below is picture of our "house" dog. We have named him pop tart. He likes to come around at dinner time for a nice meal that we often provide him. He is not very picky and like most things, except for vegetables. He is cute and I am probably way too nice to him.

There is never a dull day in Bolivia and I grow more in love with this place more everyday. Yesterday I got to play volleyball with a bunch of Bolivian kids my age, it was so fun. We played for almost three hours and I met a lot of really nice people. I also hope to meet more people my age at bible study and the ESL class that I will be helping at every week. Please pray that I will continue to work hard at spanish and not get discouraged. Pray for our ministry with the kids every week. Pray that we would be an example in our actions more than anything. Praise God for his faithfulness and for relationships thus far! Praise God for encouragement from family and friends back home. Here is another video I thought you would enjoy. This is at "Frutillar" Orphanage. I started to dance with one of the little girls and sing "bailamos"....she ended up loving it. It made me laugh! She is also a cutie and loves when we come to "play". Her name is Maribel...enjoy.