Details of travels to Bolivia in my last blog.
Below is a views from the ride to Bolivia. Such beautiful views most of the way!
After 57 hours of travel, we arrived around 10:30 pm to the bus terminal and were greeted by our friends at Santa Cruz JuCUM (YWAM) Eduardo and Cilvia. We took taxis, had some dinner at the house, and settled in. We had a full weekend the next two days helping to put on church services and invite hundreds of people to the services. We would get up at 7ish, breakfast at 8, leave for Mount Olivos church, hours of evangelism: prayer and invitation to church, delicious homecooked meals in the pastors home with his family, much socialization and laughter, cleaning the church. I played some worship songs one night and shared my testimony the next. We met so many people just ready to know God and to ask for prayer, wanting to know more about jesus. 🙂 the days were very long, we would have dinner at 10:30pm and get home around 11:30-12. Below is a picture with the group outside the church–i look ridiculously sassy lol
The next day we rested (Monday the 11th) but in the evening, we danced with Eduardo. It was so fun, learning a typical Santa Cruz type dance. It was super hot and the mosquitos are wicked here! That day we just mostly did laundry, and it rained which was a little counter productive.
The next three days were amazing! We spent all day at an orphanage for children 2-7 mostly with special needs. I had the most fun with these kids! Setting a blind boy on the slide, feeding children by hand who have difficulties eating, doing some play therapy, just holding the kids and talking with them! There were 13 kids there and we got to know each one. Pictures of their faces are not allowed for privacy reasons. One of my favorite memories was going to the park with the kids and we pushed the boys in their wheelchairs and played soccer, we held hands of new walkers and practiced for a relay race I think they have coming up, and going back I let a sweet boy ride on the back of a wheelchair and he was just loving not to have to walk–it’s the little moments like being on the picnic blanket and making them laugh, or helping with potty training/changing. I just loved the kids so much. James 1:27 has been a favorites verse of mine, Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to serve orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world–it was awesome to live that out!
Friday (12/15) we went on an “adventure day” to the main square in Santa Cruz. We met up with our new friend Juakeen whom we met when evangelizing that precious weekend. He showed us a few museums, shopped in the markets, went to the top of the “San Francisco cathedral,” had some good helado (ice cream), saw a protest happening. The citizens are displeased with their current leader for many reasons and thousands of people came out to have their voice heard. There were fireworks and the news crew was there. So glad I got to be there for that moment and get some understanding about the political situation. Very fun day all in all.
The next day we went with Eduardo to his church to help out on a vacation bible school day with games and dances and some teaching. An awesome time playing with kids! The next day two squad members Zach and Tim and our squad leader Charmagne joined us. They stayed back from ministry because they’d been traveling for days and just arrived for breakfast! we were at Mount Los Olivos again and we helped put together an evening service and prayed in the community again, such a fun time laughing and eating with the pastor and his family. Wonderful hospitality! The next day we rested, all day, much needed rest. Then Tuesday we started preparing a kids event with a different pastor and his family. We invited hundreds of kids in the area. Wednesday we set up and had the event–a really great turnout! Thursday we cleaned the building, and in the afternoon hung out with the pastor and his sweet family and swam in the neighborhood pool. Such an awesome time together! Eating achachairu–everyones favorite Bolivian fruit–enjoying homemade sushi and chocolate chip cookies. This time of relaxation was amazing! That night I shaved my head–something I’d been wanting to do for a while–a separate blog about that coming next. Then Friday the 22nd some of us went to Espejillos! Such a fantastic time! I slid down multiple waterfalls and jumped off a small cliff! I was in love with that place! It rained a good bit that day but I dont feel it changed my experience a bit. Driving out there looked like Jurassic Park. Huge hills with all great and many palm type trees. You woukd have to see it. We rode 14 people in the back of a truck, quite an experience.
The next day we helped one church put on two services, one for kids and one for adults. We performed two skits and played games with the kids and a few people shared testimonies and preached with the adults group. Then we had a huge meal and came home. On the 24th we mostly relaxed. We did secret Santa so all of us had one person to get a gift for. My teammate wanted handwritten notes so with the help of another teammate we spent over 5 hours making 12 little watercolor paintings and notes. A very peaceful and fun Christmas eve, I’ve never spent so much time on a gift, but it’s my favorite gift I’ve ever given! I did talk to a few of my favorite people on facetime, i felt the love from my folks at home.
We listened to lovely Christmas carols and had dinner at 11pm, lots of meat: sausage, pork, beef, and chicken hearts along with some salad and rice, yuca, fried banana, and homemade lemon pie. After dinner I found out that it’s normal in Santa Cruz for people to pop fireworks at midnight on Christmas eve, I saw them in seven directions!! Then we played a game of charades/truth or dare that was premade by some teammates. Then we had an awesome magic show from Mago Matias who is a really cool and talented guy who lives here at JuCUM. I was pretty impressed.
On Christmas we rested a lot and exchanged gifts. I got a flannel that I wanted 🙂 I handwashed some laundry and did a good bit on online shopping because we have a layover in Miami and my mom is coming to meet my team. I needed a bug net, proper rain coat, more essential oils, and many other cool things that will make my experience this year even better. That will be a nice visit. Mom is taking my team out to dinner and to a hotel to shower and hang out until the flight and is bringing us all stuff we ordered and sending stuff back home that we don’t want with us anymore. I should’ve known not to bring five pairs of shoes lol.
The next two days we spent at a special home for girls, only four live there currently but it’s a nice place and the staff are awesome too. The first day we stopped at a boys home to check it out, i was in heaven because they had a bunny farm and i looove bunnies!
Then we went to the girls home, and we played ping pong, cards, and had fun picking fruit and eating it. The second day which was yesterday we worked HARD in the extremely hot sun doing yard work but enjoyed fresh licked fruit also. We had mangos, achachairu, coconuts, and limes! My first time eating a fresh coconut!
Then a few of us on the way home went and got some groceries for the long long bus ride to Uyuni and on the bus back, it was CRAZY crowded!! Like brought me back to an ADTR concert crowded, two girls were pressed against me and I realized I GOT ROBBED!! Literally my purse was opened and my phone and pouch with money and cards was stolen! I am glad it happened here and not at a time when getting this back would be more difficult! I now know to wear my bag backwards so the flap is against my body, not to grab my bus money on the crowded bus–flashing my money and then allowing a bunch of strangers to see where I put it, or to keep it in my front pocket when I can. And to keep my different cards in separate places so I would only lose one. But I canceled the cards, remotely erased my phone, and should have new cards when I see my mom in a week. When we got home my team prayed over me and prayed that whomever stole from me would come to know God through this. My cards were in there with my prayer and mission on it. So who knows. I trust God in this. But I will certainly be more careful next time!
This month in general has been really great! I like Bolivia! It’s got a strong culture of it’s own! There are the Quechuan people who speak their own language and have their own specific dress which usually includes braids, skirt, an apron with pockets, and ofentimes a colorful bag for carrying items. Theyre agricultural and they sell handmade things, sometimes made of alpaca. Some people here do witchcraft and weird rituals.Below is a picture from the market. Baby alpacas are used for sacrificing.
The Quechua people are more indigenous while the others here are more westernized, dressing like we do and living similarly. The food in Bolivia was a lot different than Chile and Argentina. Sometimes I liked and sometimes not my preference but it’s been really awesome to experience this culture! Ive enjoyed how generally the buildings have been appealing to the eye and this place has more fresh food and chickens just running around than I’ve ever seen. It’s really tropical in Santa Cruz. I could live here aside from the driving situation which is basically like Mario cart. Driving safe here would be dangerous, you have to know how weave in and out like a crazy person and drive an inch from other cars.
Tonight we are leaving for Uyuni aka the salt flats! Gotta pack and clean this place.
