6:55am—Alarm goes off
This month we’re staying at an apartment-meets-college-dorm. All of the girls are in two-bed rooms on the first floor with a living room and kitchen except Bri, Ana, and I. The three of us are staying on a bedroom on the third floor. Also on the third floor is a German volunteer’s apartment and kitchen (we share his bathroom and have chosen not to shower there) and our ministry host’s apartment where he lives with his teenage daughter. The second floor is the administrative floor for the ministry we’re working with. Oh, and this month we have luxuries like beds, hot showers, and a washing machine. The heat is sketchy but we’re making due.
7:30am—Breakfast
Breakfast is really whenever you want it but I aim to eat around 7:30 each morning (8:30 on the mornings we don’t have to be at ministry until 9). Unless you buy something different for yourself, breakfast is the same every day: two rolls. Some days we’ve also got coffee, hot tea, or hot chocolate.
8am—Ministry Starts
We’re working at a rehab center where residents are divided into three houses: teenage girls, teenage boys, and couples in their 20s and 30s. I’m working at the teenage boy house with Allie, Lydia, and Karli. From 8-9 is their Bible study. Some days we attend, some days we teach, and some days we don’t. It all depends.
9am—Second Breakfast
This isn’t a guarantee so I always eat before I show up at ministry but the boys eat their two rolls and enjoy a hot beverage. Some days we join them for the whole thing, some days we only have one roll, some days we only drink the hot beverage, and some days they don’t accept the “I already ate” truth. It’s a fun time to fellowship with the guys.
9:30am—Manual Labor
I hesitate to put a time on this one because who really knows when we start doing manual labor. It depends every day on our assignment, have the tools needed, and space accessible, etc. We’ve been sanding and varnishing doors, washing walls, cooking, and doing other deep-cleaning stuff at the home.
11am—Church
On Friday mornings the three houses worship together at 11… or 11:30… or 11:45… or 12. Really, whenever everyone shows up. The service lasts about an hour. Lydia and I will be team-speaking about Identity on Friday, March 28.
12:30—Lunch
Like in the DR, lunch is the biggest meal of the day. “Firsts” is always a soup. “Seconds” is usually rice, potato, and meat. In generally, it’s pretty good if you stick to the theory of “Don’t ask; just eat.” We’ve been served liver, tuna, and sardines along with normal stuff like beef. I love the veggies even though every bite is covered with “Hey, Jesus, protect my stomach from this please.” Sometimes He answers yes and sometimes He answers no. Luckily, I’ve not been sick from the food… just uncomfortable at times. If there’s dessert, it’s fruit like watermelon, banana, or fruit salad.
1:30—Break
I’m putting this on the schedule because it’s supposed to happen but rarely does. If we get this break time, we often go to the internet cafe down the street because it’s not super crowded in the middle of the afternoon. It’s not really a break; rather a switch in projects.
3—Return
In the afternoons we’re supposed to socialize with the boys and build relationships. They’re hilarious. Some days we sit around the living room and make music (those are my favorite days), some days we play sports (not my favorite), and other days we go hiking or exploring. It’s like having 7 teenage brothers really. You never know when an f-bomb’s going to be dropped, you have to be very careful with your pronunciation both in English and Spanish (today we banned the word “beach” because it sounds like something else with a Spanish accent), and everything turns into a wrestling match (even making bread).
6:30pm—Tea
Two more rolls, another hot beverage, and the chance to hang out. One of the guys has this passion for asking about random English words. His favorite word has been “donkey” and goes around calling everyone donkey. He also asked me the word for “fox” and then asked if female fox was “foxa.” To which I explained that no, in English we don’t specify gender for everything besides, who’s really going to go see if it’s a boy fox or a girl fox? Does it matter? However, the nickname Foxa stuck.
7:45pm—Home
I don’t really know what happens in this last hour because we’re rarely home before 7:45, it’s a two block walk, and tea lasts a half-hour max. Whatever.
8pm—Team Time
Since we’re split up between the three houses, sometimes this is the first time we get to see our team all day. It’s really hard to do feedback in that kind of environment and takes more intentionality to invest in one another but we’re finding ways to make it happen.
10pm—Team Time Over
Only because we want to go to bed. This is when I do a little bit of journaling. I ran out of paper in my second notebook some I’m trying the digital journal thing. I’m willing to let it grow on me but so far not a huge fan.
Saturdays our considered our day off. We still eat at the house if we’re around but we usually go into La Paz for wifi (that may or may not work) or do something touristy.
Sundays we go to church in La Paz, eat lunch with the boys, then do something in the afternoon. This last week we shot a music video (that unfortunately we’re not allowed to put on YouTube).
