Bolivia has been the most unstable month so far, but God has still been faithful. The chaos began during Chile Debrief when our teams changed, and I was asked to be a Team Leader. I felt sick for three days as I processed the role change, one that I resisted since Training Camp. However, I accepted the position and have since embraced our amazing team.
On the day we were supposed to leave for Bolivia, we were told that the bus broke down. Following that lovely announcement, a few of us scrambled to find alternate routes. We ended up staying the night in a YMCA, which was in budget, made apparent by my soaking wet bed and stained pillow.
The next day, we started on a two-day bus ride that had a bathroom you could only pee in. That made for an uncomfortable conversation with the worker. Due to the high altitude, many people on our squad got very sick, vomiting along the journey. Luckily, I only felt like my head might burst from an obese man sitting on my chest.
Before we transferred buses, one of our squadmates realized that she left her passport on the previous bus. She and a squad leader waited the entire day for the bus to return. Thankfully, they found it and made their way on a separate route to meet us later.
Meanwhile, at the Chilean border, we ran into more problems. We received a receipt upon entry of the country that was required to exit the country, but many people on our squad lost them. The man in charge put alerts on all of their passports, barking at how irresponsible it was to misplace a legal document.
The fun continued at the Bolivian border, where the workers told us that they only had 16 visas available. We needed 30 in total, so 14 of us received citations that stated we needed to obtain visas within 24 hours. With collective relief, we passed through the border.
After entering the bus, the drivers asked me to the front of the bus and demanded a fee for each person that crossed the border. They said that we would not have crossed the border without their help, which was probably true. We didn’t end up paying them, but it was a subsequently tense bus ride.
We stayed in a hostel for one night in La Paz, Bolivia. The next day, we were not able to get our visas due to a US Embassy visit and protest that closed the main roads. Fortunately, we were able to stay the weekend at a contact’s house. Although unplanned, it was a huge blessing to stay there as we were able to relax, adventure, and catch up on sleep. We attended a church cookout and went on an amazing hike.
On Monday, we went to Migration Office as soon as it opened, took numbers, and waited. When our turn came, an enormous process began. After hours of protesting, arguing, negotiating, translating, and objecting, we got our visas. I can now go to Bolivia for the next ten years. Yippee.
Then, our team took a freezing, eight-hour bus ride to our ministry site in Uyuni. I almost punched the speaker while it incessantly screamed Spanish at me. Finally, a few days late, we arrived and met our ministry contact, Pastor Rolando. Even though we were only able to be in Uyuni for a couple weeks, our time was full of church services, Sunday school, kid’s events, manual labor, house visits and classes for kids with disabilities.
Throughout the month, there were miscommunications about food, lodging, and schedules. I lost my voice for a couple days from sucking in frozen air. I received multiple phone calls and texts from the Migration Police asking me to WhatsApp them all of our visa information. You could say that I continue to learn the lesson of being flexible and releasing control.
On an Adventure Day, one of the church members took us on two-day tour in one day for an amazing price to the Salt Flats. Absolutely stunning. Overall, we have been very blessed as a new team in a new place. Next, we head to La Paz again for a Leadership Development Weekend. Then, we have a brief layover in the States and head to Bulgaria!
