Hey everyone! Well, it's certainly been a crazy month for me in many aspects: spiritually, mentally, and even physically, but I'm super excited to tell you all about life at Bolivia Childrens Missions home in Cochabamba, Bolivia. When I first found out that I'd be living in an orphanage, I imagined being with sad kids and watching them slave over chores. I obviously watch too many movies and couldn't help but picture the movie Annie, with the red-headed orphan who sang "It's a hard knock life," while scrubing the floors for the evil care-taker. Thankfully, it's not like that here. I noticed this as soon as we first pulled up to the home, which had children lined up with hand-crafted signs and warm smiles to welcome us in. The children are taught responsibility and have chores, but because the home is Christian-based, the owners and "Tias" (Aunts) and "Tios" show the children the love of Christ and take them to church. It's even important for the children to be placed in Christian homes when adopted. The home is made up of thirty-one abandoned children, ages 4 to 17. It was founded by Australian missionaries, and you can find more information about this ministry at http://www.vivabolivia.org/bcmission/. All of the kids on the website are kids that I have grown close to over the past month. I finally have all their names and personalities learned and now have to leave them. Saying goodbye is always sad. That's the hard part about the Word Race.
Although, this is a Christian based home, not all the kids have a relationship with Jesus. Through personal conversations with a few of the older kids, many have struggles with not having a mother and father. I find it ironic that God has placed me in an orphanage in Bolivia, because since my last visit to Bolivia, I have became an orphan myself. With the current personal struggle of not having parents in my life, I'm glad that I at least have something to relate to them in. It has helped me to open up about my own struggles and tell them how Jesus has made such a tremendous difference in my life. I've grown to have a passion for orphans. A few years ago on my first overseas mission trip to Romania, God even placed the desire on my heart to adopt children who have been abandoned by their parents. I can already tell I am going to love being a mom one day.
One day we paraded thru Cochabamba with local orphanages to raise awareness of the massive issue of abused/neglected children. Little 4yr old Princessa sat upon my shoulders for the walk. =)
But on an average day, this was my team's schedule:
6am wake the kids up, help make breakfast get them looking half-way decent
7:30am drive them to school in our rainbow bus
8am breakfast of funnel cakes and hot chocolate, pancakes, or bread =)
9am physical labor, such as cleaning the animal pens, various painting projects, tilling a garden, and digging a pond. They are trying to become a self-sufficient place.
9:30am take the two youngest boys, Moises and Rodriguez, to school
12:30pm pick up all the kids
1pm lunch =)
2-4pm help the kids with homework
4-6pm play games with the children. (That's an intense action shot of me playing b-ball with the kids!) Haha.
6pm dinner! =) (Meal times get smiley faces because I love to eat.) Oh, and then there's the washing of dishes. Poor kid.
The rest of the night is free for watching movies and having enormous random dance parties with the kids! It's my favorite time of day. (That's a lot of family for one t.v.!)
8pm read Jesus bed-time stories and tuck the kids into bed. They'll all want kisses and will yell your name until you see each and every one of them.
It's hard for me to believe that I am able to be a part of such an amazing life. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have spent this quality time with such precious children. It's now time to travel to Europe for month four in Albania. Albania is predominately Muslim. Talk about the need for prayer! The change in continents, weather, language, (and as the person in charge of the team's finances) currency, is going to be major culture shock for the team. Please pray for safety during our many plane rides from Bolivia to Miami, from Miami to New York (woo hoo!!) with an overnight stay in the airport and expediton of the city, and from New York to Albania. But, I'm not complaining. It definitely beats the 60 hrs of bus rides that I've had to do for previous travel days. (Oh, and Bolivia will always be remembered for the country that I learned how to drive a motorcycle. What's cool is there is no speed limit! Yeahhh! Maybe I'll get one for Med school since I can't take my car to the island.)
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the
Creator of the ends of the earth. He will
not grow tired or weary, and His under-
-standing no one can fathom.
( Isaiah 40:28 *NIV )
As I mentioned before, this month in Bolivia has been very difficult for me. The living conditions have been great compared to my previous months spent in Ecuador and Peru. I've actually had a bed and experienced my first hot shower in over two months! But, after an adventure of climbing thousands of feet up mtns and drinking two water bottles full of water from a stream (I know, really dumb idea.), and being around sick children, I found myself extremely sick for about two weeks. Nights were spent not sleeping, but coughing my lungs up and meals were spent not eating, but sleeping. I found myself battling with spiritual warfare and not having the money to stay all 11 months was making wonder if I was supposed to have ever come on the race. I still participated in ministry with the children, but wasn't being very vulnerable with the team on how I was doing spiritually. After a much needed intervention with my worried teammates and nights of lying out underneath the stars and talking with God, I realized that not only was I not talking with the team, but I was not being very vulnerable with God either. I know it's easy for me to take for granted the fact that God already knows my thoughts and feelings, but even still, He wants me to share with Him. That's what you do when you are in a personal relationship with someone, you open up and give yourself to them; taking the chance of rejection. But, not once in fifteen years of knowing Jesus has He ever rejected me! And what's cool is that He even cares enough about me to surround me with a team that wants to know my filth and doesn't judge me for it. Instead they surround me in love and push me to grow in community. The trials in this month have even helped me remember my purpose for being on the race and for not giving up on reaching the world for Christ. I thought this little story from my daily devotional related to me quite well.
The Puzzle:
A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by
his little daughter, Kelly. Finally, he tore a sheet out of his
magazine on which was printed the map of the World.
Then tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Kelly, and said,
"Go into the other room and see if you can put this together."
He was sure that would keep her busy all afternoon!
After only a few minutes, Kelly returned and handed him the
map, correctly fitted together. The father was surprised and asked
how she had finished so quickly.
"Oh," she said, on the other side of the paper is a picture of
Jesus. When I got all of Jesus back where He belonged, then the
World came together…..
