Bolivia: March 2008 Archives
One word for the past few days: irony.
I do believe God thought it would be fun to play a big joke on us. When most of us were checking up on the weather in Bolivia, weather.com gave a vicious report of rain and cold weather all week long. Well, it has been far from that while we´ve been here. Most of the days the high is in the 70´s and we have had glorious sun all week long, some showing it on our cheeks more than others. Apparently the sun decided to run away from us when we headed to Lake Titicaca yesterday. All was well and good when we drove the hour and half to the lake, but it was far from pleasant once we boarded a ferry to Isla del Sol. Dark thunderclouds welcomed our entrance onto the Island and most of us were also far from pleasant. Island of the Sun? Seriously?
The boat ride from the mainland of Copacabana (ya, like the song) to Isla del Sol started out fun as most of us boarded the top of the boat hoping to catch some sun, but all we saw ahead was rain. Thank you weather.com. You finally have it right! The waves got pretty choppy and all of us carefully made our way to the bottom of the boat. Smart choice! The 2 1/2 hour boat ride finally dropped us off at Isla del Sol and many of us bartered from some cheap ponchos to keep us dry for our supposed four-hour hike. After a consecutive decision not to do the hike in the rain, we all huddled into a museum and learned about the Tiwanaku culture, a people group whose city is apparently under Lake Titicaca. Atlantis, anyone? When the museum tour was over (I call it a tour, but one can hardly "tour" a one-room building. nevertheless, it was cool), we boarded the boats once again. This time, it was worse.
Although the rain had finally let up, the waves were still vicious. I have to admit, I was expecting a Gilligan´s Island type of arrival on whatever island we found off Lake Titicaca. Despite the seasickness felt by most of us and rough waves, we made it to another island safely and Gilligan-type-of-situation-less. Once on solid ground, we wasted no time getting on with our day. Since we opted out of the 4-hour hike, we decided that a 45 minute stair climb would be better: The Thousand Stairs to be exact. Well, actually there´s 1200 but the Thousand Stairs sounds way cooler. Some were faster than others, but we made our way up the stairs with low air supply, some dizziness, and many rests along the way. I´d say the view from the top was worth it all. How can we deny a maker when we see such sights of his glory? Plus, it was a good way to keep our mind off of the fact that our bodies were screaming in pain for oxygen and rest.
The prize at the end of the trek was a delicious restaurant where we got served fresh trout and potato soup. Now I hate fish, but I have never felt so grateful for food as I did atop that mountain. When lunch was over, we made our way down the mountain. Oh how I wish it could have been downhill both ways! It probably took us just as long to come down as it did to go up as many of us were captivated with the various stands selling souvenirs and beautiful jewelry. Many of the team´s journey seemed to be less rewarding though and more of a scam. Note to travelers: if a small Bolivian child asks you to take their picture, be warned. You may come out 2 Bolivianos poorer than when you came in. These kids know how to scam.
Hotel Oberland never felt so much like home when we finally arrived back around 10:30 last night. We shortly debriefed about the past few days and were demanded to go to bed! Many of us were still feeling the sickness of the boat, the long car rides, early wake-up call, and long hike so bed was very appealing.
While we can look back and laugh at God´s humor of yesterday, we are still grateful for the rest that we have today. A large group headed to a Bolivian church this morning while some stayed behind to get more rest and enjoy some solitude before headed back to the busyness of school. School...wow, I had almost forgotten I was still a student. Ugh.
Please still be in prayer as it is our last night here in Bolivia. Pray that God will continue to provide opportunities for us to show Christ to those around us. Pray for rest tonight and tomorrow morning (3 am we´re off the airport!). Pray also for our team meeting tonight. We´re hoping today´s rest will prepare us for a beneficial time together tonight where we can encourage one another in the Lord and reflect on our time in Bolivia. It´s almost done, but God´s work is still continuing!
Miss you all.
Laura Bobbett
First and foremost, I´m sitting across from three very attractive professional Bolivian Football (soccer) Players. Despite their good looks, they are computer hogs and wear way too much cologne. I´m trying to make out what they say, but unfortunately my spanish is patchy.
But on to more important things... for instance, yesterday´s events. Friday afternoon we left La Paz to stay the night at a mission center. From there we would leave for our "hike" on Saturday morning. I feel my ideas and feelings would best be expressed through list form. These are the highlights of the day, David Letterman style:
10. Traveling to Isle de Sol: a ferry ride in a boat that looked like it was made 80 years ago, a windy and curvy drive, an altitude 2,000 feet higher than La Paz, another 2 hour boat ride...(I lost my wallet somewhere in here)
9. Isle de Sol (Island of the Sun), was rainy, cold, and grey
8. El Museo de Isle de Sol: we still aren´t sure what happened here... It was a small room filled with artifacts. My good friend Paige is pretty sure she has the same rocks in her backyard
7. 45 minute boat ride to the starting point for our hike: this may have been the worst 45 minutes of my life. Imagine the rockiest boat ride possible, and multiply it by 10. By God´s grace, no one got sick... but there were many close calls. Students sitting on the "roof" of the boat were planning which way they would swim when the boat tipped over
6. The 1200+ stairs: instead of a gradual 3 hour hike, we did the 45 minute stair climb... most of us still felt like we were on the boat from hell. We ate at a resturaunt at the top, then walked back down
5. Another boat ride: I hate boats
4. 3 minutes to get "dinner": pringles, stale candy
3. the rest of our travel: another ride in the 80 year old boat, narrowly escaping a torrential downpour, a long drive back to the mission to gather our things, a drive back to the hotel that felt like an eternity
2. having to paying to use bathrooms that don´t have toilet paper or water
and the top highlight of the day....
1. we laughed the whole time
Climbing into bed has never been so sweet...
Football players are filtering in, and the smell is suffocating. I think I´m going to head outside to soak up our last day´s worth of sun.
Leigh Anne
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
Anna. Sara. Cristian. Lorena. Baleria. Alajendra. Marielo. Blas.
Yes, some of these names look funny or are difficult to pronounce. But these are the children who are impacting our team--the ones who have impacted me. We can only hope and pray that we our impacting them as well. We have been blessed to realize that many of them are familiar with the Easter story. When asked ''¿Donde está Jesucrísto?´´ (Where is Jesus?) two children responded ''En mi corazón'' (In my heart). What a humbling blessing to be ministered to by the very people to whom we are to ministering.
Most of the work we have been doing at the orphanage has been painting, playing games, coloring, math and crafts with the kids. This has been a great way to see that these children really do have individual talents and are often showing us up in those. Not to mention they have the advantage of a better air supply. You see, we´re up in the mountains which means air is thin and our bodies are weak. There is no exception; not even our football players. Nevertheless, they are patient with our lack of Spanish skills and weak bodies. As long as we know how to player soccer and catch, they´re happy.
Beyond the orphanage, our times with the team have been far more encouraging than expected. It could not be more obvious that the Lord hand-picked this team for our mutual edification as we serve alongside one another. During team meetings we have been sharing our testimonies as well as debriefing and worshipping together. What has proved to be the most beneficial during this time has been the vulnerability displayed by many members of the team and willingness to share about their personal issues. Please keep praying that as the week goes on we will continue to open up to be more affective in our ministry.
Learning to appreciate the culture of Bolivia even more, a group of us had the opportunity to spend time with some of Dan Saldi´s friends (Dan´s family is from Bolivia so this is home!), ate at their home, drove around a different part of the city of La Paz than the more run-down areas we have been used to seeing around Alalay Orphanage. The evening included some great Pollo Copacabana which could roughly be described as a KFC but suprisingly healthier! We also got a taste of what people our age experience when they drive. Let´s just say they would be described as offensive drivers in the U.S. and might not be too fond of our friend, the stop sign. The highlight of the night was attending a worship service with Dan´s church that an AMERICAN actually spoke at. He was part of IHOP (International House of Prayer) and spoke blessings on Bolivia to wrap up a retreat he had just spent with the youth group. Some would call him a prophet which was quite an experience for most of the Taylor group. Despite reservations, it was a blessing to hear an American speak to us in English and we were truly blessed by his message.
Thank you for your continued support and prayer for our team. We are still seeing the Lord work in the lives of these children and know that through the power of prayer, the Lord can accomplish great things. Pray that our perspective will be eternal and that we will not limit the capabilities of God. He is a great God. We are but the work of his hands. What a blessing that he would choose to use us.
By His Grace,
Laura Bobbett
p.s. the quote is from our team leader. she may or may not have completely wiped out in front of several Bolivian woman and then, i quote, ''ricocheted'' off the wall. word of advice: avoid flip flops on roads in Bolivia
After a smorgasbord at Burger King, a night in a Five Star hotel, and eleven long hours of waiting, we finally landed in La Paz (6:30 a.m.). We were greeted by the Saldi family who took us to Hotel Oberland where we are staying. It provides the privacy of a bed and breakfast, with comfort and the beautiful scenery of the mountains. One of the best parts about it is that the rooms are scattered in little white buildlings that are situated higher than the main area. On your way to your room you walk through lots of greenery and flowers. (Mom, I keep thinking how much you would like this.)
After breakfast and showers, we headed to church where we met Mr. James, a Taylor parent. The service seemed like any other evangelical church service, except that it was entirely in spanish. Some women sat with us and translated, but I just couldn´t keep myself from falling asleep, (I´m attributing it to the lack of sleep and the altitude). Some members of the church generously prepared lunch for us which included roasted chicken, friend plantain, rice, and salad. Some of us tried the drink "api" which is made of purple indian corn and other spices. I´m not good with identifying spices, but it tasted like anise, or maybe cloves...to be honest I have no idea. I just didn´t want you to think that by spices I meant oregano or chili powder.
At this point it would be helfpul for you to know how we have been traveling. Two local men have been driving us in two white mini-van type vehicles. At one point today, the one I was in stalled while we were driving up hill. Don´t worry though, we are completely safe.
We traveled for about 30 minutes to Alalay, admiring the mountains along the way. You simply can not escape the scenery. At the same time, it is obvious that you are moving further away from the city. By the time we got to the orphanage, you really feel like you are creating the road as you go.
We walked around Alalay for roughly an hour, just getting acquainted with the kids. This is going to be hard work--not only is there the whole language barrier thing, but these kids seem fairly unimpressed with us, and rightfully so. Dan (our team member/son of the Saldi´s) shared with us that groups from around the world come in and out to spend time at Alalay. The kids only really attach to people who are there for a year or two or three. So what can we do? How can we "represent Jesus" in such a short amount of time? Is that presumptious to even assume that? I think Satan would say "yes", but I´m sure my God would say "no". He functions outside of time, and can use any second that we give back to Him. Think of Jesus himself, and the people that were dramatically changed just by being a day in His presence.
So, the real question is not, "Is this worth it?", but "Is Jesus flowing in and through me?"
Leigh Anne
By the way, I overpacked. Big time. I had to transfer my toiletrees to a team bag. Later, this same bag fell off the top of one of the white vans. Then we ran over it.
Excitements were high and temperature low as we headed out of Taylor at 9:00 this morning bound for the Chicago airport. The Taylor Chicago team was gracious enough to lend us their drivers for the ride there and we only encountered one wrong turn. Not too bad considering the inclement weather conditions outside of Chicago and the distraction of college girls singing their heart out in the back of the vans. We never ceased to entertain ourselves!
The airport served as our makeshift home for the next 6 hours. We arrived nearly 5 hours before our flight was scheduled to leave but as we watched the heavy snow fall outside the windows, we had a good feeling our time there might be a bit extended. Our predictions were right and our connecting flight to Miami ended up departing about an hour and 40 minutes after the scheduled departure time. Thankfully we have leaders who kept our spirits high and team members who keep a healthy perspective on the situation.
So there we were in the Miami airport as our team leaders, Emily and Julie, frantically made preparations for our flight to La Paz, Bolivia...tonight. Unfortunately, our flight out of Chicago put us into Miami nearly an hour after our flight to Bolivia left. The airport is provided accommodations for the night and we trust this is only a blessing in disguise for those of us coming from a hard week of midterms and due dates.
With that said, please be in prayer for our focus. It would be far too easy to allow the devil a foothold but looking forward to the beach rather than our mission in Bolivia. Pray that we will take hold of every opportunity to evangelize even while we are still here in the states. The lady at the check-in, a world-traveling photographer, a third grade teacher, a baggage claim attendee--these are people who have already been positively affected by our witness. The Lord can truly work wherever we are.
Bolivia is not the confines of our mission this week. Pray that we remember that God is not limited by a location but rather take every opportunity to be a light in the darkness around us. We are tired, some grumpy, some overly enthusiastic, but we are all here for the same mission and that is to the serve the Lord wherever he has placed us.
By His Grace,
Laura Bobbett
I'm one to start having travel anxiety a week before departure. I am also one to overpack-- by a lot. Both of these problems can cause quite a bit of worry and instability. Travel anxiety covers all of the freeting that goes on before driving to the airport. Overpacking anxiety begins before packing, and lasts until you get to the baggage check. "Did I go over the limit?" "Will a bright orange 'heavy' sticker get slapped on my bag?" "Will everyone point and laugh as I drag what appears to be a body bag along?" As I sit here and type the pre-departure blog, I can proudly say that I have not overpacked.
The other anxieties, however, have not been so easy to avoid. Last Friday night I woke up after 2 hours and was up the rest of the night. My mind kept boucing from fear to fear and I couldn't seem to quiet my thoughts. I gave up trying to "will" myself to sleep, and cracked open my Bible to read some verses out loud. One of the ones that stood out was 2 Corinthians 1:4
"God comfots, encourages, and consoles me in every trouble. He enables me to console others who need comfort"
My prayer for my teammates would be that we find ourselves save in our Father's arms tonight as we fall asleep. I pray that we feel comforted, encouraged, and consoled so that we are eager to show that same affection to those we are going to serve. Pray that we enter as humble servants, eager listeners, and passionate sharers of the faith. And also pray that I didn't go over the 70 lb. limit.
Leigh Anne
Hola! Nos estamos yendo por Bolivia en cuatro días! That's right. The Bolivia team of 18 students, 1 grad student and 1 faculty member is headed out Friday afternoon from Chicago, flying to Miami, and arriving in La Paz, Bolivia early Saturday morning. Be praying for plenty of energy throughout this long process.
But before we leave, we are taking care of some major preparations. We have the opportunity to spend the majority of our time at the Alalay Orphanage in La Paz. When we're not rollin' up our sleeves during work projects, we'll be doing various activities with the children including organized games, coloring, math, crafts, and singing. Each of us is assigned to a specific task and are in the process of getting supplies for these activities. We're also hard at work on basic Spanish phrases which Dan Saldi has been patiently helping us with. As a Bolivian native, we're so grateful for him and his family welcoming us to their country.
The team as a whole is eager to just get there and serve alongside the Saldi's in ministry! Please be in prayer for health as a few of us have been fighting sickness and such. But God is good and I am confident he will give victory over these things that the enemy only wants to use to discourage us. Keep praying with us and I am excited to share more of what the Lord is going to do in Bolivia!!
By His Grace,
Laura Bobbett (on behalf of Bolivia SB 08!)
