Bolivia…
I read the story of Moses in Exodus…and found myself in the middle of Bolivia working with International Orphanage Union, a ministry focusing on providing homes for orphans in Bolivia. Their focus is to provide a family experience for orphaned children. Moses was an orphan.
Our first full day in Cochabamba brought us to the middle of town to take part in a ministry called Baby Washing. It is nearly exactly what it sounds like…we washed babies…in the middle of town. While it may sound odd, it really is a great ministry. It started when a missionary was leaving Bolivia, and handed some money to a local contact here to take some shoe shiners out to lunch…shoe shiners are typically boys who hang out in the plaza shining shoes…they’re the outcasts of the area in most people’s eyes. Many have their heads covered because it is considered a shameful way of life. After rounding up many of the shoeshiners and taking them to several restaurants, he was astonished that no restaurant would allow them in because the kids were all too dirty. Out of frustration, he took the kids and bathed them, cleaned them up, got them clean clothes, and took them back, to which he found a restaurant who would take them in. This kept happening, and formed into a weekly baby washing ministry in the heart of Cochabamba. The poor, the homeless, the lost, the broken, pretty much whoever wants can bring their babies or toddlers to the plaza on Saturday afternoons to make sure their children get a bath, and are given a clean set of clothes. We helped out with that on the Saturdays we were in Cochabamba.
We spent our next few days working with the two orphanages that I.O.U. has in operation in and around Cochabamba. Monday morning we walked down the hill from where we were staying, and went to the closest orphanage where we were going to paint and do some repair work. What was I expecting? The typical view of an orphanage (at least in my mind) of tons of kids, mostly sick, laying in bed moaning and groaning…to say the least, that’s not what I walked up to. The house looked like a nice house, it was clean and well manicured…and of course…there was only 8 orphaned kids with house parents. Had I not known that it was an orphanage, I would have guessed it was a middle class house in Bolivia. Hearing some of the stories of how the kids were taken in my the orphanage will break anyone’s heart. One girl was abandoned in the jungle of Bolivia, left to beg to survive, and somehow fell into a large fire (somehow…). She was badly burned, and news got to I.O.U. and they quickly went to the village and rescued the girl…knowing that in many of these villages kids aren’t treated well, and the girl would be left to die and no one would help her unless they quickly went…and they went quickly. After several surgeries the girl still has many ailments, but is functioning well and is on the road to recovery. She was given a chance.
Another set of boys was reported from some villagers to be roaming the area begging, and eating grass to survive….eating grass to survive. When approached about the situation, I.O.U. noted that they had room for all the boys to stay together (they like to keep siblings together whenever possible) and gladly took them in. The boys now live in a nice house, with nice clean clothes and good food, and are attending school…they are given a chance in life…
We also went on Saturday to go on a “Bread Run.” A bread run is where we went to a local bakery and got bread, the market and got milk, cereal, and fruit. We took the food to a local village about 40 minutes away from Cochabamba and handed it out to the people in the village. It was a great ministry, with kids and parents alike very greatful for the food and caring hearts that came with it…it was a favorite of mine!
Story after story meeting the kids that the orphanages house, clothe, feed, and love, I was convinced that no matter what our task here in Bolivia was, it was worth it. These kids have all been born into situations I couldn’t imagine…but I’m seeing. These are great kids that Jesus loves, and finally people are loving…the lost…the abandoned…the forgotten. It was a lesson for me when I heard the stories…after all the poverty I’ve seen…after all the kids I passed by without smiling…how could I ever look at the world the same way again???
To be continued…
