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....