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!