Hi everybody,
Sorry for the delay in blogs. Last month I was in Apolo, a small town in Bolivia where there wasn’t any internet except for one internet café that was spotty at best so we have a lot to catch up on. In Apolo, the guys on the squad were teamed up to help a local Lutheran church. Some of our ministries included digging a trench, painting a house, preaching, and clearing a field. Apolo, while small, was very colorful and picturesque due to the mountains that surrounded it. Also, this month we had a translator which made my life a lot easier.
This month I also got to see what I consider the worst place in the world. For a weekend we visited a local village called Huaratumo. I have already written one blog about the truck ride there, and to be honest, the village wasn’t much more comforting than the ride. It was hot and humid. We slept on the concrete floor of the town council building and used the restroom in the rainforest. However, these pains were minor in comparison to the bugs. After Huaratumo, I am now looking forward to mosquitos. The bugs in Huaratumo would bite us all throughout the day without us really knowing, then at night we would notice little red dots all over our skin where blood had scabbed, and trust me they itched like crazy. No matter what we did or where we went in Huaratumo, we were uncomfortable. Our ministry in Huaratumo was to preach and watch the kids while the adults had a town meeting. The ministry was fun, just at times trying because we were uncomfortable, and the kids all only spoke Spanish. One good thing I will say about Huaratumo is they have a very beautiful waterfall.
After we left Apolo, we went and visited La Paz for a few days. Here are some pictures from my explorations.
From La Paz we set out for India. On the way we had a layover in New York City. We got our bags back and checked at 1:00 a.m. and had to be back in the airport at 11:00 a.m. (Side fact: I had gotten three hours of sleep the night before.) In that time, some friends and I decided to explore the city. We saw Grand Central Station, Time Square, Central Park, Wall Street, The Brooklyn Bridge, The Statue of Liberty, and went up The Empire State Building. Also in this time, I had 4 Red Bulls, a cup of coffee, and a large McDonald’s sweet tea. It was a great night, but unfortunately my phone died so I don’t have many pictures.
Next, my squad moves on to Asia. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
Happy Easter!
God Bless and Go Blue,
Chance
