La Paz
This month we are in Bolivia, I have officially been her 1 week and 1 day! This country is vibrants and beautiful, there are luscious rainforest and soaring snow capped mountains. During this month the 11 gentlemen of our squad are all together doing ministry together for MANISTRY MONTH, its a great time for them to get away from the 46 girls on our squad for some quality bro time! Since our boys are all together that leaves 4 teams missing some of its members so they paired the groups of girls up to make new teams for the month. That means this month, Team Dunamis (my original team) and Team Awaken were joined together to make Team Dunken! Team Dunken’s members are: Team Leader Karissa, Cassady, Sally, Amber, Laura, Lauryn, Eva, Angela, Me and Our Interpreter Sara ( Sarita)! Yep 10 girls together doing ministry and it has been so lovely and wonderful.
Sara is Bolivian, and I will be sharing her story in my next Blog, she has a tender heart for the Lord and she is richly blessed with a servants heart, which over this first week in Bolivia I have been greatly a recipient of!
During the 18 hour journey
For ministry this month we first had to take an 18 hour bus ride through some pretty sketchy road that may have resembled the Former Death Road and we may have been concerned at moment that we were at the doorway of death, but we made it alive and well. The 18 hour bus ride took us to a sweet little village called Rurrenabaque, it is a tourist town due to it being well known for eco-tourism. This precious town is the place of the Casa de los Ninos day care which is our ministry this month. Our ministry host are Daisy and Frans along with their 2 sons, well lets be honest, their one son JJ is fully involved with us in ministry and the other one we see on occasion and I might not know his name! Daisy, Frans, and JJ are sweet, compassionate people that love Jesus so well. They have hearts to serve Americans and feel that God has open their hearts for us.
The first week of ministry was full of playing with kids and painting around the house that we are staying at. Our ministry host wants the house that also houses the day care to be more cheerful and kid friendly. So, we are in the start of that! promise pictures of final product will be on my next blog! But for now, we have painted a butterfly with shapes on the wings and other whimsical pictures popping up daily. During this week of ministry, it has been so special to collaborate with such creative women, and to be surrounded by such intense unconditional love.
JJ one of our ministry partner’s son
On Friday night, we went out around the village handing out flyers to the locals inviting them to a youth event on the following day, where there would be a movie about Jesus. Following handing out flyers with our group we stopped at the church of the people we were helping, and some where in translation, they were told we were a professional dance group and wanted us to dance at their event Saturday night. While we were at the church, some of the youth showed up and they encouraged us to teach our “dance” to the youth! Praise the Lord ! our squad had been taught a dance the previous month that we pulled out to use for the wonderful moment! I was so special to be able to dance and learn alongside of the Bolivian youth girls! They served us some juice that tasted like Sunny Delight and it was soooooo good!!!
Then on Saturday we had the day to our selves for the most part, we relaxed and caught up on some wifi while touring around our little town. While some of us were sitting at a little cafe waiting for the others for lunch this American guy named Ron, walked up to us and started chatting. He was inquiring if we were tourist and seeking out why we found our selves in Rurre. As the conversation progressed, us telling him we are missionaries, he telling us of him living in Rurre for 14 years and being a street evangelist. He is well versed in the Bible and its history. He also introduced us to his bake goods cart full of delicious treats. He said he had a street bakery and also invited us over to meet his wife and talk about Jesus! Of course we would take him up on that. Then in the evening we went to our youth event, watched the movie where the congregation handed out delicious popcorn, lollipops and more of that delicious juice! Following the movie we were called up to show our dance to the crowd that came, so we lined up with our Bolivian girls and we dance to our song about finding freedom in the Lord! Then the girls went back up and pulled out another dance! The pastor and his wife seemed to really enjoy us, and they called us up to share about the World Race and talk about what we were doing in Rurrenabaque (Rurre)
On Sunday we had another day off, the plan of the day was to go to the waterfall, and then go out on a motor bike for a grand adventure day. As the day arrived, I was not feeling so hot, not terrible just not up to a bunch of running around, so I decided to spend the day relaxing with some of my team mates. Later in the day 2 of my team mates rent motor bikes and go riding around with JJ ( our ministry brother), they come back and yell into the court yard saying they have 30 minutes left on the bikes, so we should come out. With hesitation but, following one of my friends I hoped on the back of the bike of my friend Eva. As we got start, Eva was saying that it was a little more unstable having two people on the bike, and it was noticeable in the driving but I still was not worried. We went to go look at the river and were about to head to another location that was suppose to be quite special.
The motorbikes by the Amazon River!!
We got home to startled team mates, calling our ministry mom (who is a nurse) to come check us out and see if we needed a Dr. We assessed the injures of the two of us, both of my knees were banged up and Eva had her whole left side beat up. Her pinky, her shoulder, her hip, her knee, and her toe. As we talked with Daisy, we found out that the Hospital is closed on Sundays as well as the X-Ray shop, so we were going to have to just rest and wait till the morning. We got up, feeling the pain growing so, we hobbled 5 blocks down the road to the local hospital that did not quite bring me much comfort. We went in and were seen quite quickly by the Dr which told us we needed to go get X-Rays , so we left the hospital walked across the street to get the X-Ray, then walked back across the street to get show the Dr the X-Rays that were only $14!! Yay 3rd world medical prices!
Eva and I at our first trip to the Hospital, waiting for the Dr. to see us after returning from getting our X-Rays!
So Monday, came around the heat outside was severe and I was worn out from the wreck, so I napped all day… if you know me that does not happen often! Well at one point in the afternoon I was napping in my hammock under our pavilion, while the rest of my team was doing ministry! When you can barely walk, or stand or at that rate stay awake it makes participating in ministry a struggle! So, I was napping, then I woke up to sweat rolling off of me and as I stretched my leg out there was a pop. I didn’t think much of it at first but as the dinner time came there began to be more pain in my left knee I had mentioned to Teresa my Squad Leader about going the following day to get it checked out, I walked away and was headed up stairs when an intense pain by my right knee shot up, so with my squad leader Teresa, our interpreter Sarita, and I started to grab a taxi to head back to the hospital! My team leader said that she would go with us since, because Teresa had a plan to meet with Ron our The baker of goodness and the proclaimer of the Truth and pick up a piece of his fresh pumpkin pie! Teresa told Karissa that, I was more important than Pumpkin Pie, grabbed her bag and walked out with Sara and I. While we were there, they pretty much told us to wrap it and take some anti-inflammatories and be on our way. They also said if we were still in pain tomorrow to go to the trauma specialist across the river the next day and see what he says. When we got back from the Dr. there was still time for Teresa to go visit Ron and get some of his splendid pumpkin pie!
So, the next day came with more pain, we caught the boat across the very very large amazon river to the next town. We come to the Dr.’s office to find a simple house where he has to keep the door open for light to come in because the electricity is out. He tells us to ice it, stay off of it, but he still can’t be specific, that I would need to go to La Paz ( that was the city we started at before our 18 hours bus ride) to have an ultrasound of my knees done. There literally is not one closer than La Paz. So, we decided with the pain, and modes of transportation that we would take the 30 minute plane ride out of town to go to La Paz!! Absolutely worth it! As this point arrived as we were deciding what to do, I looked at Teresa, and said I don’t want to take you away from our squad, being with the teams is what you are suppose to be doing now. Once again she reassured me saying, this is what I am suppose to be doing, and that “you Christina, are more important than pumpkin pie!”
Ron’s Pumpkin Pie!!
So, we get to this tiny airport, to catch a bus that takes us to the plane, which we were welcomed by a beautifully normal airplane just like many of the American Eagle airplanes I have flown in. The staff was pleasant and eager to help me with a wheel chair, waiting with me as Sara and Teresa got our bags. Then the lovely attendant wheeled me to our taxi. While in La Paz, Sarita was such a blessing, this is her hometown, so she navigated us quickly and efficiently through this city. She was contacting friends and doctors on my behalf to make the process of seeing the doctors much faster and easier. While in La Paz, we stopped for lunch, went to the first Dr. to get a Sonogram of my knees… which is an unusual experience and that machine is huge! The Dr. said his report would be done at 6pm and at this point it was 2pm, so we went back to the Hostel to rest. It was so nice to be in a bed with only my friends, resting and relaxing and not stuck at a hospital for hours waiting and waiting. Then at 6, Sara, went to the Dr. to get my report and called the other Dr. to secure a meeting with him. He said it was a stretched tendon. I stood there emotional over the whole process, he gave me another prescription and ordered me a leg brace to stabilize movement in my knee. He assured me I would be able to walk minimally on it and be able to get back to ministry.
Teresa (my Squad Leader), Me, and Sarita ( our interpreter) outside the airport in Rurre
The Beautiful Airplane!
World Racers are best at taking Selfies in Every Situation!
The VIP treatment!!
Getting ready to see whats going on inside of my knees!!! This is weird!!
So, here I sit at 3 am, in pain, my meds are not working, seeking out wisdom of the Lord, if the answers I have are correct. I find my self in a internal struggle, of what to do and feel. But, pain is pain, especially in the peace after the emotion has worn off. So I open the bible app and go to my favorite overseas scripture that I pray over the country and community I am ministering in. This time it fell more close to home finding peace that He is in control! I will heal and this journey of the World Race is not going to be stopped by a Motor Bike or an injured knee right now!
2 Corinthians 4:1-3,5-18
Present Weakness and Resurrection Life
4 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[b] Since we have that same spirit of[c] faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
