Aventuras Bolivianas

Final Thoughts

2006-08-22T10:53:00.000-06:00

As you know, Bolivia holds a very special place in my heart. I love the people, the mountains, the culture, the music, and of course the llamas. As I embarked on my 6 month internship with Youth for Christ in La Paz, I had all kinds of wonderful expectations for my time in Bolivia. Looking back over my time in La Paz, it was an incredible experience, but one that was very different from the picture that I had painted in my head.

Personally, it is very difficult for me to express my thoughts and feelings in words. Since I've returned to Colorado, I can't tell you how many times I've recieved the same questions - "How was your trip?" "What did you do?" "What did you learn?" "What did God teach/show you?" I knew these questions would be challenging to answer, but I expected them to get easier by about the 50th time.

About a week after I returned home, my friend Steph and I took a much needed spiritual retreat to the mountains. Steph is a college friend of mine that had spent the semester studying in Hawaii and then spent the summer working with a mission organization called 'Surfing the Nations' in Hawaii and Indonesia. I knew that as soon as we got thrown back into our daily American routines, it would be very difficult to find the time we needed to reflect on our experiences in the mission field. I also know that I am much more productive and motivated if I have a friend to spur me on. So Steph and I headed to the mountains to rest in the the Lord and search our hearts for the insights and lessons that we needed to take away from our experiences. Here are some of the highlights of my reflection time.

Things I have learned through my experience in missions:
1. God doesn't need me.
- He can accomplish anything he wants and he doesn't need our help.
- I need to trust in this truth and the incredible power that God has to change hearts.
- I am honored that he chose me to be his warrior in Bolivia.
2. There are many different ways to share the gospel.
- The most effective way for me - Getting to know people, sharing life with them, living my life as an example, being real and loving toward my friends, being ready to talk about Christ as they learn how important He is in my life.
3. I may never see the fruits of my labor.
- It was difficult to see the results of our service in Bolivia.
- But what's important is that I followed Christ and his call to serve Him.
- God will cultivate the harvest from the seeds that have been planted.

How can I work my new insights and values into my life back home?
1. Be very intentional about queiet time and prayer.
2. Make relationships a priority.
3. Challenge myself to be bold - lead bible studies, small groups, discussions.
4. Be generous with my time and money.

Things that I am grateful to God for doing during my time in Bolivia.
1. Beth accepting Christ on the Project Serve trip.
2. Sparking curiosity for Christ in the shoe shiners.
3. Ismael's nephew healed from internal injuries.
4. Ramiro and Ismael believing in the power of prayer.
5. Stretching me to lead a shoe shiner church.
6. Speaking into my parents' lives during their visit.
7. Relationships with the girls at Shalom - Karina, Rosmary, Yustin, Jasmin.

I am still trying to process all that happened in Bolivia and I am still trying to listen to what the Lord wants me to take away from this experience. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve. It challenged me in so many ways. I can't wait for the day that I can return to Bolivia, but right now I am excited for how God will use me and challenge me in the mission field of Boulder, Colorado.

Chau to Bolivia!

2006-08-19T15:40:00.000-06:00

To say farewell to a wonderful place, we did what we do best - PARTY! David, Ross, and I were set to leave Bolivia on July 30th. The day came way too fast! I couldn't believe that my 6 months in Bolivia were already over! We invited everyone we knew to our place for one final bash. We organized a talent show and told everyone come prepared to show off their talents! It was an incredible night! The night consisted of dancing, singing, theatre, and a good ole fashion mullet cutting. Randy and David had worked hard to grow out their hair. A while ago they had agreed that they would cut their hair into a mullet before we returned home. So, Ross and I pulled out our scissors and prepared to destroy Randy's and David's hair in an attempt to introduce the infamous mullet to Bolivia. Well, we suceeded in creating a couple of the most hideous mullets posible. Please enjoy the photos!

The night was full of fun, excitement, joy, and tears. A bunch of our treasured friends got up in front of everyone to tell us how much we meant to them. We made some incredible friends that I will never forget. Bolivia holds a very special place in my heart. It was very difficult to leave the place that I have grown to love so much, but I know that I will return again.

Livin' the Simple Life

2006-08-19T13:58:00.000-06:00

First off, yes I am home safe in Colorado, yes I am a horrible blogger, yes life is good yet crazy. Here are some very overdue stories!

In July, Magno (a great shoe shiner friend) invited us to visit his 'pueblo' (pueblo = small town), where he grew up. Magno is a 20 year old shoe shiner living in La Paz with his mother and siblings and going to school. His father still lives in the Yungas (Bolivian jungle) where Magno grew up. His father, Don Augustine, farms the land that he owns in the jungle. He mostly harvests coca leaves, but also has oranges, mandarines, bananas, coffee beans, cotton, etc.

When Magno invited us to visit his pueblo, we were all for it. Ross, David, and I decided to make the trip into the jungle. David and Ross were leading a backpacking trip that weekend, so they just stayed down in the jungle. Magno and I met up with them in Chulumani and then found transportation to take us deeper into the jungle. After a total of 7 hours on the road, we arrived at Magno's pueblo just as darkness blanketed the landscape. It was so incredible to see Magno's roots. We walked up to a tiny adobe house. Magno opened the door and invited us into their humble home. It was 4 adobe walls which formed a room about 12' X 24' feet. There was a straw mattress on one end, a table in the middle of the room, a small gas stove, and construction supplies at the other end of the room.

Upon arriving on the first night, we realized that there was no gas for the stove. We walked through the small town, greeting and receiving greetings from all that we passed, as the natives starred in shock, as we were probably the first gringos (white people) to ever stay in the town. We went to a few small shops and finally found a tank of gas. We carried in back to the house on the other edge of town. Next, we made a trip to the river to bathe. It was very dark and the water was shockingly cold, but we enjoyed our refreshing river bath. We then made our way up to the house again to cook dinner. We had brought pasta and vegetables from the city to make a simple yet delicious soup. After dinner we walked through the town again found a group of guys to talk to. They were very nice and very interested to tell us about the coca industry and to hear about the United States. Because we were planning to get up very early the next day we said goodnight and made our way back to the house. When we arrived, Magno's father was sitting outside the door. He had just made the trip back from the city. It was such a pleasure to meet him. Soon after we crawled into our sleeping bags and went to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up to a dark room. Magno was making oatmeal and quietly talking to his father in Aymara (one of the native Bolivian languages). We all got out of bed, drank some oatmeal, and then got ready to make the trip up to Don Augustine's farm. We departed from the town at about 730 and began to hike. He hiked along the road for a while, then crossed over the river, and then hiked up a very steep and narrow trail to the farm. The trip was very challenging, especially with the hot and humid weather. After about 3 hours of hiking, we finally arrived at Magno's place. His house was a beautiful, humble, adobe structure, atop a huge luciously green mountain, surrounded by all kinds of crops and trees full of delicious fruits. At Magno's house we made lunch - a delicious feast of pasta with vegetables and roasted bananas. Then Magno taught us how to harvest oranges. We picked about 50 oranges and then made incredible fresh squeezed orange juice. Before heading down the mountain we took a little nap. We overslept a little, but soon woke up and made the hike down. Remember how it took us 3 hours to get up the mountain? Well, to get down, it took about 45 minutes... because we ran the whole way, down the steep and narrow path. What an adventure. We arrived at the river and had a little swim. Then we made our way to the 'canastilla'. This is a device that the locals use to cross the river. It's a small cart with a pulley system over a thick cable. The crossing was probably about 150 feet across and 40 feet high over the river. What an adventure! The cart ziplined about half way across the river, and then we pulled ourselves the rest of the way. Although the device may not look very safe, I can assure you that Magno kept us in very good hands. We finished the walk home along the road and arrived about dark. Again, we bathed in the river and made dinner. We were planning on making the trip home that night, but transportation through the town isn't very predictable. We ended up staying one more night.

We had our bags packed and we were ready to jump on a truck as soon as it passed. I woke up again around 7am to Magno making breakfast. We ate and intently listened for trucks to pass. The time had come. Magno ran outside, flagged down the truck, and yelled for us to grab our bags. We quickly gave our thanks and goodbyes to Magno and his father. We threw our bags on the truck and jumped in as the truck quickly departed down the bumpy, dirt road. Now, I don't think you quite understand how we travelled. We were in the back of a cargo truck (something that you might think chickens ride in) with about 50 indigenous Bolivian people. We sat on our bags and faught for any kind of room to get comfortable. It was a very interesting and cheap way to travel. Most of the other passengers thought we were crazy. Why would the rich gringos be riding with us in this truck? But it was such an experience and one that I would gladly repeat.

Well, we arrived safely back in La Paz around 330pm. We had returned to the hustle and bustle of the big city. Life in Magno's pueblo was quite different - very simple and humble, but incredibly interesting and enjoyable. It was such an honor to see and experience Magno's roots in the Yungas.

Project Serve Cochabamba

2006-07-11T19:09:00.000-06:00

Machu Picchu

2006-07-06T17:41:00.000-06:00

WHOA, CRAZY!

2006-07-06T17:21:00.000-06:00

So, as you may have noticed, I haven't posted a blog in over a month! So, so, sorry. I hope you have not lost hope. The last few months have been crazy! I unfortunately still have a crazy life, but I will do my best to give you the quick low down on the recent events of Bolivia. So, let's get you guys all up to date. First, my parents arrived in La Paz to visit on June 3rd. The next day, we hopped on a bus to Peru. It was an adventure-filled, fourteen hour bus ride. We spent the next couple days touring the epic Incan ruins at Machu Picchu. Totally sweet. Then we headed back to La Paz to enjoy the city. It was good to see my parents and attempt to show them what life's like for me in Bolivia. They left for the airport at 4am on the morning of the 17th, and at the same time, Ross, David, and I headed to the bus terminal. We caught the 6am bus to Cochabamba. Only a 7 hour ride, as oppopsed to a 14 hour ride. In Cochabamba we met up with a Project Serve mission team. We had a totally sweet team and had a rocking good 2 weeks. We worked on 3 different churches, painting and construction. We also learned a couple dramas which we performed in plazas and at schools in the city. It was an awesome experience to host the team and get a taste of Project Serve from the other end of things. On the 30th, we jumped on a night bus back to La Paz. Since then we've been trying to get back into our "normal" routine here in the city. We did our best to celebrate Independence Day in Bolivia, but it definately wasn't the same. On Sunday we are organizing an outreach event that will revolve around the World Cup finals. Can't wait to tell you about it! Now, to follow, enjoy some pictures from the adventures. Comments welcomed!

Block Party Birthday Extravaganza

2006-06-01T13:46:00.001-06:00

We had been planning this mounumental event for quite some time. The security guard on our street was turning 25 years old on May 29th. This was a perfect excuse to throw a huge block party and meet our neighbors. Other reasons to party included - my birthday on the 30th, a going away for the family that lives below us, and friends Keith and Ryan in town. We bought enough food to barbeque for 100 people! Pedro and Wilbert manned the BBQs. They started grilling around 6pm and the guests began to arrive around 7pm. Throughout the night I bet over 100 people made an appearance at the party. We had bought a ton of food, and by the end of the night - there were zero leftovers.
This night was an event I will never forget! We had invited some of our shoe shiner friends to be the band. A few of the guys we know play in a Bolivian folkloric music group. It was after 8pm and there was still no sign of the guys. I was still having a bunch of fun with everyone else at the party, but I was starting to get bummed that the band wasn't going to show up. Just a little while later they showed up! They went up stairs to practice for a couple minutes and then came down to give us a show. There were nine guys in the group. Instruments included: guitar, charango, cuatro, sampona, flute, drum, zapatillas de obeja, and clappers. The guys were great! They played their hearts out... and it was so cool to have live Bolivian music to celebrate my birthday! They put Jhonny and I in the middle and sang a birthday song for us! Some of the guests were able to show us some authentic Bolivian dances, so we danced to the awesome music. In the middle of the music, one of the shoe shiner guys, Alex, came up to me to talk. He told me that it is tradition to smash an egg over the head of the birthday girl. I immediately got suspicious... but soon forgot about the conversation and got lost in the music. A couple minutes later, Alex pulled out the egg, and smashed it over my head. His first attempt was unsuccessful so I ran away as fast as I could. He eventually caught me and smashed two eggs over my head... followed by a cup of flour! Gross. It was pretty nasty, and the concoction seemed to immediately harden in my hair. But what the heck, it's tradition and I wouldn't let that spoil my fun! The guys played a few more songs, and I felt so priviledged that they would play for our party! What a blessing!
The night continued on until about 11pm. I had a blast talking with friends, eating meat, and of course getting my face smashed into the cake! What a night!
This will be a 21st bday that I will never forget!

Caracas, Venezuela

2006-05-27T10:37:00.000-06:00

I just returned from an 11 day trip to Caracas, Venezuela! We went for a YFC regional conference. Ten of us came from Bolivia. There were about 45 people total representing the Latin America and Carribean YFC countries. We had about 3 days of intense meetings and then 2 days at a camp in the jungle to relax, reflect, and discuss the last few days of meetings. It was so great to get to know the YFC family! The group was so diverse, yet united in their love of Christ and their vision for the youth of the world.
While in Caracas we had to chance to take a gondola ride up to the top of El Avila. It's a sweet mountain overlooking the huge city! The views were awesome. On one side you could see out to the ocean and on the other side you could see the entire city of 8 million people!
On Sunday, many of the YFC national directors preached at different churches all around the city. That morning, before church, David, Ross, and I put on our shoeshining outfits and shined shoes at breakfast. We wanted to do this to share some culture of Bolivia and spark interest in some of our ministry activities. Everyone loved it. Donovan, the regional director of the Carribean, was so touched that he wanted to use me as a demonstration during his sermon. Donovan preached at the international church in Caracas and I tagged along to represent the shoeshiners of La Paz. It was great to get to talk to the church about what's happening with the ministry in Bolivia.
The 6 Bolivian gringos stayed in Caracas for a couple days after the conference to enjoy the city! We had the chance to make a trip out to the beach and enjoy the rays. It was my first time to swim in the Carribean sea! And of course, despite applying sun screen, almost all of us got burnt! Oh well, such are the joys of being pale white!
Caracas was a fun experience. It was great to make new friends and travel to a new place and culture! And, besides a couple of weird looks and comments, we didn't face any troubles being Americans in Venezuela.

Lustrabota Soccer Championship

2006-05-14T21:36:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, David and I had the privilege of playing in a Bolivian shoe shiner soccer championship! It was the guys that shine in front of the Bisa bank vs. the guys that shine at the post office. David and I played with the Bisa guys. We met early in the morning and caught a bus out to a small town outside the city. The town was pretty fun - there was a lake, horseback riding, 4-wheelers, carnival rides, paddle books, and food! My team arrived at the field around 1030am. The other team was no where to be found so we waited around until they arrived. We finally started the game when Freddy arrived around 1230pm! The post office guys were still short on players, so a few of our guys played with them in exchange for a free lunch. We played 10 on 10. The game was really fun, somewhat intense, and pretty dangerous. The field we played on was ridiculous! It was completely uneven, full of holes (some the size of trenches), covered in rocks.... and had 2 sheep grazing around midfield. Insane. But that's Bolivian soccer for you! Anyways, the game was intense. It went scoreless for about the first 10 minutes and then I scored the first goal, putting the young Bisa team ahead! The score went back and forth well into the 2nd half. Then Charlie got taken out by Freddy and we were given a penalty kick. We scored and jumped into the lead 4-3. We fought hard, and ended in victory 5-3! It was pretty cool to see the young Bisa guys come out on top! They should have bragging rights over the older post office guys for quite a while! Viva la Bisa! After the game we celebrated with our 18 2-liters of soda and enjoyed some of the local activities! We took a boat across the lake and a few of us took a short horse ride! All in all, a fun and victorious day!

Trekking the Andes - That's my Job!

2006-05-14T21:00:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we led a backpacking trip in the Andes with 20 Bolivian high school students. We hiked the Takesi trail. I led a group of 4 senior girls - Karina, Yustin, Rosmary, and Jasmin. We were known as team 'Tweety'. My girls were great! They were girly at times, but really hung in and dominated the hike! It was such a blessing to get to know these girls! The hike was beautiful and the weather really held out for us! Very different than my last backpacking experience here in Bolivia. All of the students were great, and they really enjoyed the experience. Pedro talked with each of the students individually and got some great feedback! The most encouraging comment was that the majority of the students reported that the hike encouraged them to return to God! We spoke a little bit about the gospel on the trip, but I think our interaction with the kids spoke the loudest! I am so thankful for these kids, and I look forward to getting to know them better and walking with them in this journey of life!

A Puking Good Time

2006-04-29T19:43:00.000-06:00

Last night we hosted our April outreach night. The theme of the night was "challenges" - which pretty much consisted of people puking their guts out all over the house! Ewww. The main event was about an hour of disgusting food challenges. The first was of course the famous gallon challenge. If you're not familiar with this common American pastime, allow me to enlighten you. The challenger is required to drink a gallon of milk (or in Bolivian terms, 4 1-liter bags of milk) in less than an hour and then keep it down for 15 minutes. If you couldn't already guess, this task is nearly impossible! Milk is just too dang hard for your body to digest. Anyways, on with the story. Four guys competed in this challenge - 3 shoe shiners and 1 Bolivian YFC volunteer. The voluneer, Kavil, was absolutely convinced that he could dominate this challenge, and had already made a bet with some gringos. Well, he and Loro quit the challenge before they even reached the halfway point! The other 2 guys, David and Jhonny, made a valiant effort! David started his 4th bag with about 30 minutes remaining. He decided to take a little break before continuing. He sat back in his chair, still and silent, with a queasy look on his face. Without warning... out came the milky, white chunks - the absolutely horrifying sight of failure! He didn't even move... he just sat silent, covered in his own milky bile! As you might imagine, the room quickly filled with a less than pleasant aroma. Haha... what a sight! The night was filled with this type of cheap entertainment. Hilarious yet quite revolting at the same time. Also, I assisted chef Wilbert with some authentic Bolivian dishes - Sopa de Mani (peanut soup) and Chuño (a strange black, de-re-hydrated potato w/ peanut sauce). All the guys loved the native food selection. We ended the night by watching 'Hoosiers', a classic Indiana basketball movie. I really didn't know if the guys would be able to relate to this gringo, Indianan, country-style, 1950's movie, but man, the guys were so into it! So fun! Welp, just another crazy day in the life of Bolivian youth ministry.

Lucky are the Unlucky

2006-04-27T21:43:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday night, I faced one of my biggest fears. About a month ago, we started a bible study within the shoe shiner community. It has been an incredible success. The guys are excited to come and learn and always ask great questions. So, a couple weeks ago, my friend and mentor, Janetta, challenged me to face my fear of leading and of speaking in front of a group. A couple days later, I accepted Randy's offer to lead a shoe shiner bible study. Man... what was I thinking? Not only do I hate speaking in front of people, but I would be speaking about the bible, and in SPANISH! Insane. Welp, my assignment was to lead a study on the beatitudes, the beginning of Jesus' famous sermon on the mount.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persucuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:1-12)

So, upon first reading this passage, it seemed pretty ridiculous.... blessed are the poor, the meek, the persecuted??? But after meditating and studying and reading, I discovered that it really is a beautiful concept and I was so excited to share what I had learned with the guys. I shared a couple stories from the gospels about some people that really impressed Jesus (The widow's offering - Luke 21:1-4, The healing of a leper - Mark 1:40-45, and The sinful woman - Luke 7:36-50). Even though these people may seem like they are in very difficult situations, feeling pathetic, desperate, or lost, these people are actually quite fortunate. When we find ourselves in very desperate times, the kingdom of heaven draws near. In our desperation, we are in a perfect position to accept the free gift that Jesus offers us - the gift of salvation, eternal life! Although we may not have much to hope for in this life, when we accept Jesus into our lives, a whole new world of hope is revealed. We can now place our hope in Jesus and the life to come. So, we should stop placing our hope in worldy, temporary pleasures, and instead live a life focused on the eternal rewards that are promised to us through Jesus.

Anyways, the study went pretty well. I was super crazy nervious, but I had to just hand over my fears and trust that God would use me for his glory. I really wanted to share this message with the guys because it seems so real and applicable to pretty much everyone. There were about 15-20 guys and they seemed to react pretty well. I was so thankful to have Randy sitting right next to me, jumping in whenever he could to answer questions and enhance conversation. What a blessing it was to share with the guys! All I can do now is hope that their hearts were open and ready to receive the message. The seed has been planted.

Come to Jesus Meeting

2006-04-27T21:15:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday morning, our usual gringo meeting got up close and personal. Randy had sensed some issues within the group, and decided that they needed to be brought to the table. We had some privacy and communication matters within the group to discuss. But also... we had to discuss the issue of Freddy. Over the last month or so, he has developed some major feelings for me. He is super "enormorado". I guess there have been some real misunderstandings between us regarding our relationship. The situation is pretty messed up. It sucks because this all happened because I was trying to be a good friend, an available ear, and a shoulder to cry on. Unfortunately, I was not aware of the general rule that girls should minister to girls and boys should minister to boys. Anyways, the team has come to the conclusion that I can no longer have any contact or communication with Freddy. This seems to be the only way that this issue can be nipped in the butt. I'm super bummed about the decision, but I am convinced that this is the best thing for me and for Freddy. Again, keep him in your prayers. He is very lost right now, and the only thing that can bring him true healing and happiness is a relationship with Christ. Also, pray for me as I attempt to find a new ministry focus. I need to be working with girls.... which is definately not the most natural thing for me. It's really hard for me to not get discouraged when I look back at the last 3 months of ministry. But I have to choose to see this as a part of God's grand, perfect plan. I will probably walk away with some incredible life lessons. It's also a great time to completely trust and enjoy intimacy with my mighty God. Later.

VaCa in Chile

2006-04-27T20:44:00.000-06:00

Hey y'all. Sorry it's taken me forever to finally get around to posting an update. We arrived back from Chile on Sunday evening. It was a nice trip. We mostly spent our time laying on the beach and playing frisbee. It was pretty uneventful, except when Pedro almost got washed away by a huge wave. David, Pedro, and I were walking around on some rocks near some gnarly waves. David was messing around and challenging the waves, when Pedro decided that he wanted to play too. As soon as he got out on the rocks, a monster wave completely overtook him. It knocked him off his feet and nearly washed him into the ocean. He played it off like it was nothing, but he got majorly scratched up from the jagged rocks... and now can bearly walk. He's tough though. Welp, that's about all. We stayed at a small little hostel, which Randy and Ross had scouted out a couple weeks earlier. It was run by a family of four with two daughters. It was a well known fact that the younger daughter was quite a hottie, and it was David's mission to get a date. It was a great time messing with David the whole time, but of course he was too chicken to even talk to the girl. Oh well, better luck next time. It's fun to get away, but it's always so good to be home.

Chillin´ in Chile

2006-04-20T17:15:00.000-06:00

Hey everybody! I hope you all are having a great day! My Bolivian visa was scheduled to expire on April 21 so me and the rest of the gang hopped on a bus to Chile! Pedro, David, Hannah, and I arrived in Arica, Chile around 2pm today. It´s pretty crazy! We got hooked up in a pretty sweet hostel and then hit the town. We ate an afternoon snack at McDonald´s (such a treat for us La Paz residents) and then walked along the beach. Arica is a beach town, kinda touristy, and crazy dry. I don´t know how long it´s been since this place has seen a rainstorm. Chile is definately very different than Bolivia, some good, some bad. The worst thing is that everything´s all expensive again. It´s like US prices again... but the currency is all crazy. It costs $2600 pesos to buy a big mac combo (about $5 US). I´m such a tight wad now because I´ve been spoiled by the crazy cheap prices of Bolivia. Welp, just wanted to fill you in! I´ll tell you all about the trip when I get back into La Paz. Chao, chao.

Lent Outreach - EXTREME

2006-04-15T08:02:00.000-06:00

For the last 7 weeks, we have been taking part in an extreme ministry opportunity. In La Paz, it is tradition to make an all night pilgrimage to a catholic church on Thursday nights during Lent. People gather in the streets and plazas near the church and mass is held every hour throughout the night. Thousands of young people participate in this religious tradition every week, but for only a few does it actually serve as a spiritual journey. Tons of kids are just out there to have fun, get some exercise, or party with their friends. So, we see this as an awesome opportunity to meet and chat with the young people of La Paz. A couple months ago, Omar and I were put in charge of organizing the events of this ministry. We came up with some sweet ideas and we were totally excited to carry out our plan. We organized a meeting with all of the YFC volunteers and staff as well as representatives from several churches in the city. We relayed our ideas and asked for their support. We got a decent response from everyone, but unfortunately, in Bolivian culture, it's much better to accept a request and never follow through with it than it is to refuse to help. So, due to a lack of volunteers and some opposition from the authorities, hardly any of our ideas came to pass. This was somewhat disappointing for me... but some good things definately happened. It was planned that we would have fun social events every week and then host one big event the last night with an Easter talk from Pedro. So, to spark interest and curiosity in the kids, we all wore homemade lime green t-shirts that say, "Estoy de Acuerdo con Pedro" - "I Agree with Pedro". Pretty sweet. Although most of what we planned never happened, we had a great time meeting kids. Thursday night was the last night of Lent and therefore the last night of our outreach. Instead of Pedro making a formal sermon... we opted for a more laid back approach. Randy and Jon brought their guitars and lead us in some sweet worship. We just played and sang in the plaza and in the street and let the kids come to us. It seemed like everyone really enjoyed the music! Also, between every few songs one of us or someone in the crowd would share what Easter means to us. It was pretty sweet. And a bunch of people came up to us and started some great conversations. Man, God is good. It's really good for me to get a lesson in letting God take control. He really can do greater things than I can even imagine.

Some Light

2006-04-10T17:13:00.000-06:00

So, my mom seems to think I need to write a follow up to my last blog. So, here we go. The problems and worries that I expressed last week are... somewhat resolved, taken care of, or still lurking. I met with Pedro yesterday to talk about all of the crap going on. It was great to talk with him. He really is an awesome father figure to me... and definately understood a lot of what I am going through. After talking with Randy, I don't think Kavil will be leaving the ministry anymore. And I am going to try to be more respectful towards him and his protective tendencies. The biggest problem right now is with Freddy. Man... I really screwed this one up. Everything's out in the open about the impossibility of anything ever happening between us, but the whole situation really seems to have messed with his head. I never should have of hurt him as I did while his is in such a vulnerable state. Also, he has been receiving a lot of crap from the other guys about spending so much time with me. So, he says that we really need to have a serious talk - I think about whether or not we can even be friends anymore - but when I went to find him today, he was no where to be found. One of the guys, Charlie, informed me that he was pretty drunk again this morning. He keeps getting stuck in this destructive behavior... and I can't help but think that I have a lot to do with it. He keeps saying that he has no motive to live and all he wants to do right now is forget everything that has happened. All I want to do is give him some hope, show him some love, show him some grace, and show him the light at the end of the tunnel. All I know how to do right now is pray. Please, please pray with me for my dear friend Freddy.

O Crap...

2006-04-06T11:21:00.000-06:00

The last couple of days have been a nightmare. Randy and Ross happen to be stuck in Chile right now on a visa renewal trip. Unfortunately, while they're out enjoying the beach... all seems to be going to hell around here. Most of my problems seem to be stemming from either cultural confusion of being a girl. Dang... it sucks being a girl! (If anyone can come up with some legitamite reasons that it rocks to be a girl... please let me know). So, most of the ministry I do around here is with shoe shiner guys. These guys range in age from 11 to 28 years old. The guys are a little rough around the edges, but they're a ton of fun and I truly enjoy their company. Unfortunately, the fact that I am a girl has recently placed a huge hinderance on my relationship with the guys. Tuesday at basketball practice, Kavil, one of the Bolivian volunteers, pulled me aside to discuss some 'serious' issues. He proceded to tell me that I need to be very careful about hanging out with the guys. That he's heard about some of the guys taking advantage of girls in the past. He told me that I am prohibited from going anywhere with the guys by myself, I am to have him, Randy, or David with me at all times. When I heard this news... I was shocked, annoyed, and probably didn't show Kavil very much respect. Kavil and I have had a good/really difficult friendship. We've been close... but have also had a lot of conflict. All of the guys have asked me if Kavil is my chico (boyfriend) because he acts super jealous and protective whenever I hang out with other guys. So, upon hearing Kavil's warning, a large part of me felt like he was just speaking out of jealousy and being incredibly over protective. I later learned that my disrespectful reaction may have played a large part in Kavil's decision to leave the ministry soon. Later that day, at lunch with the guys, Pedro (the big boss) came by to take one of the guys to the doctor. He decided, however, to first address all of the guys about an issue. He then proceded to very harshly reprimand all of the guys for bothering Hannah and I. He said that we're like daughters to him and that if he hears about anyone ever bothering us, he would personally handle the problem, physically. This came as a complete suprise to both Hannah and I. We feel like we have received nothing but respect from the guys. I have no idea where Pedro got this idea. After Pedro's intense warning to the guys... everything seemed to change. All of the guys were incredibly offended by the accusation and have been acting completely different and weird around Hannah and I now. Upon talking to one of the older guys, I learned how all the guys feel... and he feels like an explanation or an apology would be appropriate on Pedro's part. Then, yesterday, I went to the post office to take care of an issue. Freddy shines at the post office. He and I have been becoming pretty good friends. I have been able to be there for him whenever he needs to talk and vent about all of the crap in his life. Unfortunately, because I am a girl, he has interpreted my friendship as something a little more serious. He has been very friendly with me, and has been introducing me as his chica. So, I went to talk to him yesterday about this misunderstanding. I told him everything that I needed to say... but it didn't seem to be getting through to him. Instead of reacting to the news, he told me more of the details about the crap in his life. I don't know if it's due to a lack of language skills of what, but my way of comforting him has been physical touch. I would hold his hand or put my arm around him while he was spilling his heart to me. I was later advised, that as a guy, when you entrust someone with these kind of personal stories, a level of intimacy develops and it didn't help that I offered my hand to him as comfort. During our intense, long conversation at the post office, I looked up to see Pedro. He never came over, but I have no idea what his reaction was to seeing Freddy and I deep in conversation, hand in hand. In my mind, this was all completely innocent and plutonic, but I failed to think about how my behavior might affect a guy. I eventually realized the seriousness of the problem and was very frank with Freddy about the boundaries of our friendship. He has definately begun to act differently around me. Hopefully out of respect for me, and not out of heart ache. The biggest fear I have is to hurt Freddy, a great guy that has already experienced so much heart ache in his life. All I want to be is a friend that he can trust with all of his junk. Unfortunately, as a girl, this may or may not be possible for us. Last night, all of this crap came crashing down, and I had quite a breakdown. It seems like the crap is really hitting the fan and all of my relationships are falling apart. All I can do right now is trust that this is all in God's plan and that he will use all of this for good and for his glory. Prayers in all of this would be greatly appreciated.

The First Church

2006-04-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday night, we had our first shoe shiner church. In a word.... it was incredible! Randy has been growing real friendships with a group of shoe shiner guys for over a year now. Finally, at this point, we have decided to take our relationship to a new level. We had the meeting at the project building where the shoe shiners store their boxes, wash up and eat. This is a great location because of the convenience for the guys, and to meet and invite new people. Eleven of the guys showed up... honestly, much more than we expected. Randy taught out of Acts chapter 2, about the first church. For some of the guys, this is their first glimpse into the bible. For others, religion has been forced into their life, or has simply been a superficial tradition. At the start of the meeting, we asked all to leave whatever preconceptions they have about church at the door. Many have some very negative feelings toward the church. Religion around here has been made into a book of rules and a life of condemnation. From here we began to rebuild the name and the purpose of the church. According to the book of Acts, the church should consist of baptism, devotion to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer, miraculous signs, a common interest, provision for all who have need, praise of God, and enjoyment of all the people. We hope to take the next several weeks to explain many of these characteristics. Some seem quite foreign to our little community.... but others seem remarkably familiar. The guys are already, in many ways, a family and a real communtiy. We break bread regularly together, we share common interests, and provide for the needs of the others in our community. We support each other by going to funerals together, by visiting family members in the hospital, and by caring for each other in times of heart ache. We do life together. Our new goal should be to turn this great love outward... to people outside of our community and to God. We also took some time to study a great command of Jesus - "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13) We discussed a real love, a crazy love, a love that is willing to value others as greater than ourselves. This really hit home with a bunch of the guys. Within the small group present, there was some real brokenness. Among the guys were Freddy and Ismael. Freddy has already been introduced to you. He is suffering extreme loss and heart ache. He was incredibly betrayed by his family... the ones closest to him. Now he suffers everyday to find hope in ever being happy again. Another one of our buddies, Ismael, works hard to support himself. His parents died when he was very young. About two weeks ago, his nephew had a tragic fall that caused incredible internal injuries. He spent over a week in the intensive care unit of the hospital. Ismael's sister had absolutely no way of paying the ridiculously expensive hospital bills. We've been able to step in and help them out as much as we can financially. Almost all of the guys have also contributed what they can to cover the bills. The guys truly act like a family when any member of the community is in need. It was truly incredible to see how the guys reacted to the living message of Christ. I can't hardly wait to see how the guys grow and change as they learn more about their creator that loves them so intimately. Wow.

Comments...

2006-03-31T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hey family and friends,

What's up? I hope all is well in your lives. I hope that many of you have been able to share my experiences through this little online journal thing. It would be nice to hear from some of you once in a while. This can be a very simple task in the form of a blog entry comment. Simply click on comments to send me a quick greeting. Maybe, then, I can be confident that people are actually reading my blogs... and therefore, I might find the motivation I need to update my blogs more often. Now, some of you may be under the impression that you need to create your own BLOGGER profile in order to leave a comment. That is in fact not the case. All you need to do is leave an anonymous comment... and sign you name within your comment. View the first comment made on this entry as an example. I hope that helps, and I hope to read many wonderful comments in the very near future. Chao, chao.

Love, love,
ALi

Happy Birthday Freddy!

2006-03-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

On March 18th, Freddy turned 28 years old. Freddy is one of the shoe shiner guys that we hang out with. For his birthday I made him a cake and we celebrated at lunch after basketball practice with all of the guys. He's a great guy and really acts like a father figure to the others. He really appreciated the birthday surprise. It was great to see him smile, something that we haven't seen in a while. Freddy is going through a very difficult time right now. He has a wife and two kids. Just recently he and his wife separated because she had been cheating on him with his brother, for several years. Freddy is truly heart broken. He has such a big heart and loves his kids so much that he is willing to work through these struggles in order to stay in the lives of his children. Keep my new friend Freddy in your prayers.

If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!

2006-03-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, the international school where Randy and Jon coach basketball sponsored a huge fundraising event. The event was an authentic BDAB dodgeball tournament! All six of us YFC missionaries formed a team. We were known as "The Mechanics". One of our team mottos is as follows, "when you're serious about something funny, it's even funnier." We were quite successful in living out our motto in this particular case. Our team was complete with uniforms, plays, warm-ups, fans, and cheers. It was quite a sight. The tournament was organized in a round robin fashion, consisting of two pools of six teams. Each team would play 5 games within their pool and then be seeded for the single elimination tournament. We went out for our first game and got clobbered by 'Elder Force'. Man, it was pretty disappointing for us... especially since we had put so much into our team. And the audience definately let us have it for losing our first game to a much of middle-aged parents. Welp, after our first game we were able to adjust our strategy and really get our heads in the game. We won the next 4 games straight, taking us into the tournament with confidence and the second seed position. In the tournment we had some tough games... but managed to battle our way into the final championship game. The game just happened to be against some really great friends of ours from a small international school in the city, including the father of the family that lives in the bottom of Randy's house. These guys were by far our toughest competition! Going into the finals, we were expecting a one game match... but it turned out to be a best out of three situation.... thankfully. We lost our first game to 'Very Bueno' in a tough match. Then we switched sides, regrouped and played the next game. We were victorious in this match-up, earning the chance to continue in the tournament. The final game was crazy, and super intense. (We totally could have been in the movie next to Ben Stiller and rest of 'em.) After about 3 minutes of play, Ross Boone made an incredible throw towards their last surviving competitor. It was aimed right at his chest... he made a valiant effort to catch the ball and bring another teammate back into play... but the ball brought too much heat... bounced off his chest... and onto the ground! The Mechanics are victorious!!!! The crowd was so fired up for the entire last game and as soon as the final ball hit the ground, the fans rushed from the stands to celebrate with their team. All were invited to take part in one final cheer for the mechanics, "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!"

CARNIVALES!

2006-03-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

Here in Bolivia it is tradition to celebrate a holiday called Carnivales. Now, the concept is similar to that of Mardi Gras in the States. It's celebrated the week before Lent begins and mostly serves as an excuse to go crazy before the strictness of Lent. Of course there is the usual partying and crazyness... but Bolivia takes it to another, very different level as well. This takes the form of a week-long, nationwide water fight! I really don't think I could accuately portray this event to you through words. It's something you definately have to experience to believe. Everyone travels the streets packing some serious heat. Some travel armed solely as a form of defense, but others travel well equipped to start a water war where ever they go. Now of course with any game, there are some general rules and regulations. Number 1 - Everyone is fair game EXCEPT old women and very small children... that is of course UNLESS they are carrying any form of ammo. Number 2 - All tourists and gringos are worth 3 points. Number 3 - All girls are especially targeted whether they are armed or not. Number 4 - Couples acting in a romatic matter will be shown NO mercy. Number 5 - No one can be trusted!
This event is quite serious. I was sufficiently wet for the majority of the week. I had witnessed some pretty intense stuff through the course of the week... but had chosen to avoid getting involved in any crazy wars. But... realizing that I would only be here once to experience this unique celebration, I decided to take part in a very serious battle on the last day of Carnivales. Ross, Rolando, and caught transportation down to the southern zone of the city to meet up with Jon. Jon was the veteran of the water balloons scene, especially in the southern zone. What happens is people gather on opposite sides of the main street and just unlease on eachother. Now, to throw a water balloon across 4 lanes of traffic, you gotta have some skill. Also, the balloon are unlike any others I've seen. They are only filled to about golf ball size and then tied incredibly tight. This allows for optimal distance, accuracy, and damage. In the heat of the battle, I was mostly standing in the back and observing the war... but casualties are inevitable in this environment. Although I realized what was about to happen, it all happened to fast for me to react in time. Just as a bus drove by, I saw the wind up. As soon as the bus passed, I saw a balloon headed right for me at about 70 mph. I could do nothing but anticipate the pain that would soon be felt. Within nanoseconds the balloon made impact with my stomach, creating a loud noise for all to hear. Everyone around turned to me in shock realizing the force of the blow. I keeled over in agony and wobbled behind a sign to take cover. The pain was pretty extreme and I would have a nice red welt on my stomach for the next 3 days! The Carnivales experience was definately crazy... but one that I'm glad I took part in.

BBQ, Bolivian style

2006-02-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, all of us joined Randy's small church for a BBQ and day at the park. We started the day with some worship songs and a breif sermon on the beauty of God's creation. Then... it was all about having a blast in the park. David set up his slackline right next to the canyon below the park. (A slackline is like a tight rope but a little wider and less tight.) It was a huge hit with all of the guys. Then we all got together to play some games on the futsol court. (refer to previous blog for definition of futsol) The games were kinda fun... but the real fun began when we all split up into 3 teams and played some incredible games of futsol. Of course my team, "Los Patos" ("The ducks"), completely dominated! It was a blast. After the games we enjoyed some ice cream and then all hell broke loose! This weekend just happens to be a crazy holiday around here. They call it Carnivales, and it's pretty much a crazy party to satisfy all of your sinful tendencies before lent begins. Which of course includes a week-long, country-wide water fight! More on this concept to come soon. Anyways... all of the kids and a few of the adults came very prepared for a very intense water war! Within minutes everyone was completely soaked! In this type of situation it ususally works out to be all of the Bolivians against all of the gringos. This was the case to an extent... but really it was everyone for himself in this game. Man was it crazy... I've never been so wet in my life. (And of course I decided to wear jeans that day... Idiot!) When the water war finally began to wind down... the BBQ was served. Man... can Bolivians eat. Everyone got an incredible steak, two baked potatoes, a sausage, a huge ear of corn, and a salad. Whoa... it was great! Another sweet cultural experience in Bolivia.

Noche de Basquet

2006-02-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

On Friday night we planned a crazy event.... For our monthly outreach, Randy invited all of his basketball teams to an entire night of Basketball! The festivities were to began around 8pm and last until 6am the next morning. The night was full of fun and adventure, but of course many things did not go as planned. First, when we arrived at the gym to set up we realized that the gym had been double booked and we wouldn't have the court until 10pm. This wouldn't have posed much of a problem because there was another court outside that we could use to keep ourselves occupied until the indoor court was available. Unfortunately, as soon as we arrived, the rain began. It was raining harder than I've ever seen it rain in Bolivia. The roof of the gym just happened to be made out of tin as well, so... as you can imagine, the rain created an incredibly loud racket in the facility. The players slowly began to arrive and the rain let up soon enough. We began our first round of b-ball games around 10pm. There were 43 athletes, ranging in age from 8-24, that made up 8 teams. Also, all players, coaches, and volunteers were put onto two major teams - Green or White. All of the events of the night were assigned a certain point value. All night it would be a point battle between the white and green teams. Also, a captain was assigned to represent the two teams. At the end of the night, the captain of the losing team would be forced to completely shave their head. Ross represented the white team and a Bolivian volunteer Kavil would represent the green team. I was on the white team and coached a young team of shoe shiner guys. They were totally fun, but not fantastic b-ball players... it also didn't help that their coach knew less than they did about the game. We were the first team to play... and we lost pretty severely to a younger, but more experienced team of guys. This seemed to be a common pattern for the white team... and it was not looking good for the future of Ross' locks. My team was more into playing futsol (which is a small-scale version of soccer). So, between games we would sneak out to the outdoor court to play some good ol' futsol. It was super sweet! Around midnight we reconvined in the gym for a game of old school dodgeball - green vs. white. Again, the green team dominated! Next, we all gathered around to watch a homemade film, featuring our own Randy Davis. It was an awesome video that told about his love for basketball and how it has affected his life and his spiritual journey. It also invited anyone interested to lunch with any one of the YFC volunteers to discuss what they believe and what we believe. Some of the kids seemed a little to young and immature for the video, but 3 of the shoe shiner guys (William Wallace, Ronald, and Oliver) accepted the invitation and plan to meet with Randy soon. After the short film and a little talk from Randy's dad, the Parillada comensed. (Parillada means BBQ) We grilled up 50 sausages, and had a great feast. After the BBQ, the second round of games began. This time my team of guys faced an eclectic team of female athletes. Incredibly, we finished on top with a pretty decent lead, thanks to the amazing shooting skills of a little guy named Wanka (Juan Carlos). It was a great victory. The last game of the night featured the two youngest teams of the crew... and just to keep things interesting, both captains played for their teams and the point value was upped! The winner of this game would be the ultimate champion of the night! It was a very tough match, within one basket most of the game but... in the end, Kavil and his little green team pulled out the victory. So, as promised, Ross was subject to a very public head shaving! Man it was funny... but Ross looks alright without any hair. To close the crazy night, we started a movie, "The Incredibles" around 430am. Almost everyone slept through the flick... but what would you expect? The movie ended a little after 6am and we had everyone out of there and the place cleaned up by 7am. It was a crazy adventure, but so fun!

DANCE PARTY!

2006-02-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, we went to a crazy dance party in downtown La Paz. It was hosted by a Christian organization and featured some local dance teams. It lasted from 4pm to 12am. Man... we danced the night away to salsa, rigaton, rock, techno... and more. I don't think I've ever danced so much in my life!!! I love to dance, so this night was such a blast. I don't really understand the Christian culture here in Bolivia. A bunch of people go by the standard that Christians do NOT dance. (Which was definately a huge bummer to me!) But then there are activities like this that totally go against the norm. Whatever... I don't understand, and I may never get it, but all I know is that this was an amazing dance party, that will go down in history!

English Classes

2006-02-20T15:52:00.000-07:00

This week we begin our third week of teaching english classes here in La Paz. Ross, David, Hannah, and I teach at Randy's tiny church in the middle of downtown. We have about 30 students ranging in age from 5 to 45. Our students are mostly composed of members of the church, shoeshiner boys, and YFC volunteers. It's quite an experience... especially since none of us have any experience in teaching. Sometimes class is a little bit rocky and chaotic, but we seem to be getting through to the students... and we are making some friends in the process. Everyone seems very eager to learn, which makes our job that much easier. Tomorrow we are splitting the class into two levels to cater better to the students. We will have to plan twice as much, but I'm excited to see the progress of the students, especially in the more advanced level. Pronunciation seems to be our biggest hurdle. I never realized how illogical english pronunciation is until I was asked to teach it. It's crazy... but so fun and rewarding as well. The picture shows Ross giving a short lecture to the class. More updates to come.

Check it out...

2006-02-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

Hey, if you haven't noticed, I have added various links to the side of my blog. Check them out if you desire. They may give you more insight into life here in Bolivia as well as give you a new and different perspective. Enjoy.

Introducing my Team

2006-02-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

So, I realized that most people reading this blog probably don´t know who I´m working and living with down here in La Paz. I´d like to take this opportunity to introduce everyone! The Youth for Christ ministry here in Bolivia is run by the director Pedro Villarreal. He is an awesome guy... and a second Father to me. He has a beautiful wife named Andrea that works full time as a Portugese professor to support the family so Pedro can work full time as a volunteer with YFC. They have four awesome kids... Pricilia, Debi, Lucas, and Matteus. The ministry functions with the help of about 20 volunteers with varying levels of involement. Everyone is so great. They love to help and be involved with the events, but they also have very busy work and school schedules. Finally, I am joined here by 5 other american missionaries.... all of which happen to be from Colorado.... 4 of which happen to be from my home town of Parker and my home church of PEPC. Randy is the veteran here. He lead the YFC trip that I was on about a year and a half ago. He has lived here in La Paz for just over one year now and has built on awesome foundation of relationships and ministries. His main ministry is coaching basketball. He coaches a team of shoe shiner boys, a varsity team at an international high school and a team at a christian school, and just accepted a job as the head coach/program director at a huge basketball club. Next, there is Jon. He has been here for about 6 months now. His main ministry is in the southern zone of La Paz with the international school and church. He leads a bible study and youth group and helps Randy coach the basketball team. This week he is working at the school as a substitute PE teacher, so that´s pretty sweet. Finally, 3 other kids came down with me in January - Hannah, Ross, and David. All of us are still discovering where our ministries are here in La Paz. I love my team and I am so excited and blessed to have them here to share in the adventure. The top picture here shows the guys - David, Randy, Jon, and Ross. They're goofballs, but I love them. The bottom picture is at one of our meetings. There's a bunch of the volunteers as well as all of us gringos. So, if you didn´t know them already, hopefully you will now be able to picture everyone as they are discussed in other blogs. It´s been a pleasure, Chao.

Denise Rucks...

2006-02-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

This message is intended for the eyes of a Mrs. Denise Rucks. If you are reading this, please email me, because I seem to have lost your email address. Thank you so much for your blog comments. I would really love to answer your questions, so please email me soon. I love you and miss you. Send my greetings to your students. I hope all is well. Chao.

To all others reading this message... Thank you so much for the comments that you´ve left. It´s so fun to hear from everyone and hear what you have to say. I hope you are enjoying my blog entries. I love you all, ALi

An Incredible Fiesta

2006-02-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, Pedro gave all of the Youth for Christ volunteers a task to complete. All were entrusted with 20 US dollars, which they were to treat as talents. (If you don´t know what I´m talking about, refer to The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30). They were asked to work creatively to increase their talents. Just as Randy and Jon were beginning to run out of time in their assignment, the idea arose. To increase their talents, Jon and Randy decided to throw a crazy party! It would be a night full of Mexican food and Country dancing. After much preparation.... we managed to pull it off. We all worked together to make this party a success. We printed out invitations and invited everyone we knew. Yesterday around 3pm we began cooking and assembling 120 miniture burritos with a team of about 8 people. We just finished as our first guests arrived. Man, the party was awesome. We danced, we laughed, we ate, we demolished a homemade piñata... good times were had. All in all we ended up having about 45 guests. Just enough to make a slight profit on our 10Bs cover charge. The funds will go toward the construction of the best stinking camp in Bolivia and the memories will last forever.

Our New Place

2006-02-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, Hannah and I moved out of Randy´s apartment to live on our own. We now live about a block down the road. Our place is small, but it´s nice to have some privacy and get away from everything if I ever need to. We rent from a cute older woman that owns a bakery underneath our apartment. We pay a total of 600Bolivianos each month for rent... which works out to about 38 US Dollars each. So that´s pretty sweet. Pictures to come.

The Sun is Relentless at 12,000 feet

2006-02-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

So.... through experience, I have learned that at 12,000 and above, the sun is crazy strong! Not only do you have to put sunscreen on anytime you step foot outside, but you also have to reapply like every hour! I am sunburnt on several random places on my body... my ankles, calves, forearms, triceps, and nose. I now take extreme precautions whenever under the crazy Bolivian sun.... even if it is completely cloudy and rainy. Just thought you'd like to know.

La Casa

2006-02-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

Right now, I live in Randy´s apartment in Sopocachi, La Paz. This is a very quiet and tranquil neighborhood. The apartment is great and we often open it up to our friends and ministry. We also have a gaurd that patrols our street at night. I feel very safe and comfortable in our new home. Next week, Hannah and I will probably be moving to an apartment around the block. It is very close to the guys place and we will probaly be over there a lot to hang out and use their kitchen. The picture here shows Randy´s place.

Backpacking the Andes!

2006-01-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday morning, I set out with my team here on a 3 day backpacking trip in the Andes mountains! We started at El Cumbre and hiked a portion of El Choro. Let me just tell you, this is one of the most difficult things that I have ever done, but it was also very good for us as a team. We hiked for three days straight for probably about 6-8 hours a day. The terrain was very strenuous and the weather always seemed to be against us. It was overcast and foggy the entire time and it probably rained about 60 percent of the time. Not to mention that we woke up to three inches of snow on the third day. When it was bright enough to see, we realized that our tent wasconcaved in about 30-40 percent. Needless to say... our team got very close that night. We were all squished together and did our best to stay warm. On the final day, we planned to hike down to a very small village and find transportation back to La Paz. The hike proved to be much longer than expected. By the time we found the town, it was nearly dark. We had sent David and Jon ahead to find the village and search for someone to give us a ride back to La Paz. When the rest of us arrived, they were no where to be found and we couldn't find anyone that had a phone we could use. We ended up talking to a few of the locals and discovered that the other gringos had been through the town a couple hours earlier. On our way down to the next town in search of our friends.... a minibus passed us on the road very slowly. It stopped, and to our amazment, David and Jon jumped out! For a hefty price, relatively, they had found a local with a minibus to drive us back to La Paz. Exhausted and wet, we finally arrived back in La Paz around 10pm on the third day! Wow.... what a crazy adventure! Even though we faced a lot of challenges and crazyness, the trip proved to be incredibly valuable. We bonded as a team and learned how to work together like crazy. We learned to rely on God fully and to be faithful in prayer. We also discovered that we can endure much more than we think. We are strong, and we can do much as a team, especially when God is at the center of it all. Thanks for letting me share our crazy adventure. Mom.... don't worry, we are totally fine and home safe and sound. Enjoy the pics. I love you all! Chao.

He Llegado!

2006-01-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

"I have arrived!" After 24 hours of travel, I arrived here in La Paz, Bolivia on Saturday with my team. Travel was smooth and uneventful, which is always nice. La Paz is beautiful and I feel so blessed to be here. We are staying very busy and I am learning so much already! Be in touch, I would love to hear from everyone! I will be on an orientation/training backpacking trip the next 3 days, so I can't wait to tell you all about it when I return! Chao.

Still Broken

2006-01-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

Welp... I went to the doctor on Tuesday to find out that my broken wrist is only beginning it's recovery. I have now been in a cast for almost 7 weeks, and it looks like I will be in it for another 6 weeks. I was really hoping to be able to travel to Bolivia with a healthy wrist... but what can you do? It seems like such bad timing... my only broken bone in my whole life happens just as I'm about to start my adventure in Bolivia. Oh well, I'm really just so blessed to get this chance and I'm sure that I will have a great time, even with my silly cast. Later.

Am I a blogger?

2005-12-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Blogging is a pretty crazy concept. I must be crazy to post my thoughts and life events on an online public forum.... Oh well. So, I have given in to the modern technological world in an attempt to share the details of my adventures in Bolivia. I will be leaving my Colorado home in January to be an intern with Youth for Christ in Bolivia for 6 1/2 months! I am so excited, scared, anxious, hopeful, and nervous for the journey to come. I hope you enjoy the news and pictures from Bolivia! Chao, chao.