Final Thoughts

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!

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

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

Machu Picchu

WHOA, CRAZY!

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

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

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

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!

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!