Bolivia: "A four hour hike?"

The lack of blog entries can give you a clue as to how busy we have been. We wake up to the sun every morning, eat breakfast, head to Alalay (ah-lah-LAI), do some paint work in the dorm rooms, eat lunch, spend time with the kids, return to the hotel, eat dinner, debrief as a team, and head to bed. It may sound monotonous, but trust me--it´s not.

The painting project consists of trimming and rolling the whole inside of the boy´s "dorm" with watered down paint. Oh, and before that we have to fill in cracks and sand them. The first day was rather chaotic, but we have had some wonderful male leadership in the days following. I´ve noticed how some boys have little collections of books, second-hand toys, crayons, books, etc. Yesterday I saw that one boy was saving two rolls right next to his pile of clothes. You can imagine how every little trinket becomes a treasure.

Our time with the kids is somewhat structured --singing (which they love), group games, and crafts. I wake up every morning with a different song in my head (Rebosando, rebosando, rebosando esta me copa --overflowing, overflowing, overflowing is my cup), (caminamos en la luz de dios, caminamos en la luz de dios--I am walking in the light of God, I am walking in the light of God). The little boys love getting up on our guy´s shoulders during singing.

Organized games are basically the kids and our team running around the basketball court--which happens to be set against a backdrop of mountains. They have absolutely loved craft time. The favorites seem to be making bracelets and coloring.

There is so much more to update you on, like shopping in an artisan district, but I have about 15 minutes to pack up for the weekend. We are heading to Lake Titikaka after working at Alalay this morning. Rumor has it that we have a 4 hour hike tomorrow--pray for us. The altitude is kiiilllller, and I think it is starting to get to a few of the team members.

In closing, let me leave you with one of my favorite things about yesterday. I was talking to my buddy Christian. I told him, "Jesus Cristo te ama," (Jesus Christ loves you). He replied, "Porque es me papa," (because he is my daddy).

Hasta luego

Leigh Anne