Well I’ve been in Bolivia for about two weeks now, and I’m happy to say I’ve survived so far! This month, my team is working with one other team from our squad (team Rak Chazak) in the town of Uyuni, which is in the southwest part of Bolivia and famous for the largest salt flats in the world. Pretty neat! We are working with an Assemblies of God church in Uyuni, which I will talk about in my next blog. For now, I just want to share a little about what daily life looks like for us here in Bolivia. I’ll start from the beginning when we first arrived. We flew into La Paz (fun fact: La Paz has the highest elevation international airport at 13,000 feet) early in the morning on July 4. We were supposed to take an overnight bus to our ministry location that night, but due to some unforeseen circumstances (protests in Uyuni) we had to stay an extra day in La Paz. It actually worked out great because the delay gave us extra time to explore the city. We took a sky tram up to the top of the mountain where the town of El Alto sits and had a gorgeous view of the city and snow-covered mountains in the distance.
We left on our 12 hour overnight bus ride to Uyuni the evening of July 5, so we got there early the next morning on Sunday. We were told it would be a little cold in Uyuni, but I don’t think any of us were quite prepared for the arctic temperatures that awaited us upon our arrival. My first thought when I stepped off the bus was how I was most likely about to get frostbite and have my hands and feet amputated on day one of the World Race. We later found out it was 12 degrees Fahrenheit that morning. I wish I were kidding. I quickly invested in some llama gloves and a hat.
After waiting a few minutes at the bus stop, we piled into the bed of a truck and were taken to the compound where we are staying for the month. The compound is where one of the members of the church we are working with, Rumwaldina (we call her Madre), lives with her husband. The compound is known as the “casa verde” because the building is green on the outside. It’s pretty creative, I know. There are three bedrooms here for the twelve of us, so we all bundle up together on the floor in our sleeping bags at night to stay warm. It’s really cozy! We also have a dog named Dulce who loves to hang around us, as well as two chickens known as Hank and Arlene.
We have a nice little outhouse for our bathroom, but we don’t really have running water due to the cold because the pipes freeze at night. Also, because it’s so cold, our only option for showers is walking into town and using the public showers since they have warm water. So most of us shower about once a week. For laundry, we hand wash our clothes at the compound using big metal tubs (the kind that are used for feeding chickens) and then hang them out to dry.
We also cook our own meals for breakfast and lunch using a propane gas camping stove. There are a couple grocery stores and markets in town where we buy our food, and each team alternates days cooking and washing dishes. We usually have bread with marmalade and hot tea for breakfast and we cook eggs and/or pasta with vegetables for lunch. We usually eat out in town for dinner during the time we have between our afternoon and evening ministry. There’s one restaurant in particular that some of us go to almost everyday because the food is really good and pretty inexpensive and has free wifi! We’re pretty much best friends with the owners of that place now. You can also get really good, inexpensive food from vendors on the street. The other night I had a hamburger that has an egg on it and stuffed with french fries for 7 bolivianos, which is equivalent to about one U.S. dollar. It was delicious. I think it may have been llama meat, but I can’t be certain. For anyone who knows me, you know that’s a big deal because I usually don’t eat red meat, but it was definitely worth it!
I hope this gives you just a little glimpse into what life has been like here in Uyuni. Overall, it has been going really well. Despite the cold and somewhat rough (rougher than we’re used to) living conditions, our group has a lot to be thankful for. We are staying in a safe place, and we haven’t had any serious illnesses or problems. I’ll talk about the ministry we’ve been doing and what God has been teaching me in my next blog, and I’ll also try and post some pictures, so be on the lookout for that! Thanks so much for all your support and prayers!
