Our bus left La Paz after a short tour of a local missionary hospital. The American doctor there was great to speak with, and told us about his ministry there treating street kids. Once out of the city however, everything went downhill. Not in the bad way though, literally downhill. We descended into the jungles of Bolivia and have now ended at an elevation of approx. 5,000 ft.
Our bus pulled off the main road (which would only pass as a back road in the US) and we were dropped off with all our belongings and food items on one side of a shaky bridge. After crossing many times with all of our goods, we arrived. My first thought was, “We are in the middle of nowhere…literally…like no one would know where to find the bodies!” But, after I indulged in my dramatic side, I set up camp and met our host.
Our host Brother Lucho is the most pleasant person to talk with. He knows very little English, but luckily Spanish is like riding a bike and a lot of it is coming back to me. Here at the camp, our job is a step above grounds-keeping. There are many tasks that Brother Lucho would love to have completed, but he hasn’t had the time or resources. First and foremost, we are working on the walking paths. They are currently dirt paths, which turn into mud paths when it rains here. And being in a jungle means it does rain a bit. Our first task is to move river-stones from the river out to the side of the paths. Even with our assembly line practice in Haiti, we struggled a little…tricky when you add a fast moving river to stand in…haha. We have been moving rocks for 3 days, but they marked out plumb lines on the path, so in theory we will begin laying the cobblestones tomorrow. As we finished up today, I felt like we could move the mountains that surrounded us, one stone at a time! Brother Lucho says we have probably moved milliones! (though is estimate is a little gracious…ha ha)
I do enjoy a month of labor after a month so spiritually draining. And this labor is not futile in the kingdom by any means. By helping Brother Lucho here, we are bettering this camp. And tonight while I was speaking with him near the gas stoves, I got to see some youth playing their water games. It took me back to my own MFUGE camp days. I remember being so filled with a passion for the Lord and a love of community every time I left camp. And that’s what is happening here. The youth of Bolivia are being poured into and sent back out to make an impact in this nation. And anything I can do to make this place a better space to do that, then count me in!
