I wish I could portray the awestruck beauty of Chejje in a few sentences, but words simply cannot do this place justice.
This is a place of culture. A place of indigenous Aymaran women clothed in bright colored skirts and hair tight in braids. A place of breathtaking views filled with vast, green mountains and groomed, hillside farmland populated with sheep and cattle. A place of minimalism, but just enough. A place of intimacy, laughter, and gold smiles.
Here’s a glimpse of what our first day here looked like:
(side-note: Randy, Dale, and Phil drove us from La Paz to the remote village of Chejje the day before and spent the night here)
-Ate breakfast of popped corn, powdered milk, toast, and bananas while praying over the village and our ministry
-Hiked outside the church to see some fossils and listened to the geologist Randy talk about how the creation of Earth is both in line with science and scripture
-Said goodbye to the guys as they left for the trek back to La Paz
-Spent time looking over the valley and talking with Jesus. Felt the rain on my skin after praying for rain that morning. Realized there’s no way I cannot grow in intimacy with the Father when I’m surrounded by mountains that sing His name
-Brainstormed and prayed with the team over our ministry for the month in Chejje
-Worshiped at the sports court up the dirt road and cleaned the area. Met our first Aymaran friends who invited us to play soccer later that night
-Ate a quick dinner of spaghetti and tomato soup (no marinara sauce)
-Played soccer with our new friends in their traditional clothes. Were outplayed and out of breath
-Laughed with kids after they taught us some of their games and we taught them some of ours. Sang lots of Feliz Navidad
-Crawled into our sleeping bags on hay mats after a “baby wipe shower” exhausted, but hearts so extremely full
