One more plane ride!

We all made it to Miami and are waiting to board our flight to Chicago...hoping to be home by 2am!

Many Tongues, One Body(July 8 post)

Sunday morning we were able to sleep in a little before heading to the Cochabamba International Church with the Timmer’s.  This was a unique and wonderful experience to be able to worship alongside Bolivians and missionaries from all over the world.  There was even another youth group working in the city from Virginia.  Worship was a blend of English and Spanish with some songs entirely in English, some all in Spanish, and most a combination of the two.  The pastor from Virginia gave the sermon entitled A Donkey Like Me focusing on the Biblical references to donkeys and what they teach us from how God uses them.

After church we went up the mountain to see the Cristo statue up close.  The Cochabamba Cristo is the tallest statue of Jesus in the world standing at just over 33 meters.  The famous statue of Christ in Buenos Aries is 33 meters even, one meter for each year Jesus walked the earth.  The Bolivians justified making their Jesus just over 33 meters because Jesus didn’t die on his birthday.  Both the statue and the view from the top of the mountain were incredible.  Mike walked us around the statue and pointed out places we had been in the city.  It was there that we realized how big Cochabamba really is looking out at the sprawling buildings. 

After visiting Cristo, we met Bonnie and Gracie at the restaurant where we were able to try a traditional and popular Bolivian dish.  This dish is a platter of French fries covered in peppers, tomatoes, cubes of beef, cut up hot dog, and gravy.  When Mike told us what he had ordered we thought he was joking.  He urged us to try it and as bizarre as the dish sounds we all loved it.  Bonnie then surprised us by ordering two huge Oreo cakes from the bakery downstairs. 

We had one more stop for the day before heading home to enjoy some free time, the house in .  This was the Timmer’s first home they started in Bolivia. Marcelino  and Sofia, the house parents have huge hearts for the children and do a fantastic job raising the children.  The house is home to two sibling sets, two additional orphans, and  Marcelino and Sofia‘s two biological children, totaling nine children.   We were able to present the family with a laptop and camera, as well as some toys for the children.  The family was extremely grateful, especially Marcelino who came around to give all of us a hug and kiss on the cheek in thanks.  This was a fairly brief visit, but before we had to leave we were able to purchase some of the beautiful textile handcrafts  and  make.  We were stunned at their beauty and many of the team purchased items from them.  We were happy to buy items with a story we could share and we also helped to family to earn about $200 US dollars from our purchases. 

The rest of the day we were able to do things at our own leisure.  When we had left that morning we could barely get any water to come out of the faucets.  Mike told us it was probably because many people in the neighborhood were using water at the same time.  However, upon arriving we soon found out that this was not the case.  Mike helped us check circuit breakers to make sure it wasn’t just a blown fuse.  Having that ruled out he informed us that unlike in the States where we have water lines we share, it is too expensive to do  that in Bolivia so each neighborhood has a big tank underground holding all of the water.  Our tank had been used up and the city wouldn’t come to refill it until the following day.  Some of our guys went with Mike back to his house to fill the jugs of water used for transporting water to baby washing.  These were to be used to be able to flush the toilets.  When the students seemed a little hesitant about the situation we reminded them that they had been saying they wanted some cultural immersion.  We couldn’t have been much more immersed at that time!  While it was not the optimal situation, we were able to get a glimpse of what life is like for many Bolivians who do not have the luxury of running water. 

Baby washing (July 7 Post)

The start of our day third full day here in Bolivia brought us to the local market with Bonnie in search of supplies.  We were free to explore the market for an hour and purchase souvenirs.  This was a new and eye-opening experience for many of us.  While we are used to the abundance of produce, flowers, and baked goods at Michigan farmers markets, Bolivian markets have some …unique items.  Some of the students have referred to the experience as “emotionally scarring” when remembering the butcher’s block area of the market.  Not everyone was expecting to see various animal parts hanging on meat hooks.  We have deemed this one of our most interesting forms of cultural emersion. J

After the local market, the group split once again and the group that stayed to continue painting the Sacaba’s house were able to go up to the nutrition center to feed the babies.  They echoed the first group’s emotions about how moving the experience was.  The other half of the group ventured into La Concha, the world’s largest open air market, in search of some gently used clothes for baby washing that afternoon.  While this too was an interesting experience, I will wait until the entire group goes on Monday for a longer period of time to shop for souvenirs to explain the dynamics of this market.   Juan Carlos picked up the group from the nutrition center and the group from La Concha and brought everyone back to the Timmer’s home to sort the baby washing clothes by size. 

We left about half an hour later to help with baby washing.  Baby washing is something the Timmer’s do every Saturday afternoon.  They provide baths and clean clothes for children small enough to fit in a large storage tub and hair washing for the older children.  We also were able to provide a dental clinic for the children there with the dental supplies we brought with.  Some of us also played jump rope, painted nails, or colored with the children there.  This ministry was one of our favorites as the team.  So many mothers bring their children every week knowing that even though they live on the streets they can at least get a bath once a week.  There are many touching pictures from this ministry which will be posted on the blog at a later date when we have more reliable internet.

July 6 post

Our second day of working in Bolivia started at a local street side market to purchase supplies for our Bread Run early in the afternoon.  With Mike’s direction we purchased 250 oranges, bags of chocolate milk,  and bags of flavored puffed corn each to distribute.  We also stopped at Mike’s friend, José, who is baker and the place where Mike always purchases the bread for Bread Runs.  When we arrived though, we learned from José that there had been a problem with his ovens that morning and he did not have any bread to sell to us.  He gave us a short tour of his business and explained the process of baking the type of bread he normally sells to Mike.    

After a bit of a ride to the outskirts of Cochabamba, we arrived at Sipe-Sipe, a poor villiage on the edge of town.  We then proceeded to walk the streets for over an hour looking for children to offer the food to.  The pattern on each new street always was one or two children were outside when we came up the street.  We would give the child food “con Dios”  or of/from God and begin walking towards the other end of the street.  Suddenly, there would be another child a little ways behind us so we would stop and give that child food.  Before long, children would be coming out of the woodwork by the dozen.  Some of the mothers came out with the small children and we gave them food as well.  In just a little over an hour, all of our food was gone and many children could be seen scurrying around clutching fruit and puffed corn. 

We then took a winding, scenic dirt road up a mountain and stopped at the  Incan Ruins. We had then had several hours to eat lunch, explore the ruins, and take in the beauty around us.  Photos cannot accurately capture the beauty of the rolling hills, sprawling city, and snow capped mountains.  Mike showed us a short tunnel through the rocks which is believed to be the tunnel in an Incan legend. 

After climbing through the tunnel, we wound our way down the mountain to the Plaza to minister to the glue sniffers.  Glue sniffing is a serious problem in Bolivia.  It is an inexpensive way for the homeless people to get high.  Glue sniffing is not exclusively a problem among the poor, however once addicted they begin to spend their money on the glue instead of food.  We spent time talking to the glue sniffers who live in the park while two women with medical training treated some of the glue sniffers.  It was a very overwhelming experience for most of our group seeing how dependant on the glue these people are.  They spent every minute we were there with their jars of glue held against their noses.  Once we were back on the bus, Mike told us that while seeing these people in such a low state is hard, it is a reminder of why IOU Bolivia’s ministry is so important.  Most of these homeless glue sniffers lived on the streets as a child and turned to glue sniffing as an escape from their dismal lives.  There was one couple with a one year old boy who would occasionally hold one of their jars of glue up to the baby’s nose.  Mike told us this is fairly common for glue sniffers living on the streets as the glue helps curb hunger when the parents cannot provide enough food.  This feeds into the start of street children turning to glue like their parents continuing cycle with each generation.  By rescuing orphans and putting them in the homes they are much more likely to go to school and not end up back on the streets as an adult. 

We finished up the day with dinner and discussion at the Timmer’s house.  Bonnie cooked up some wonderful pasta dishes and we had some time to relax and enjoy each other’s company.  We then spent a length of time processing and sharing about what we had seen and experienced that day.  While it was the most shocking exposure and emotionally charged day we have spent in Bolivia, we all ended the day feeling like we also learned a great amount about the lives many Bolivians live as well. 

For an updated version of our prayer requests, go to the “Prayer Request” tab at the top of post.

Pictures will be coming soon!

Thoughts from the team about today:

For me the bread run was one of the best experiences on this trip so far. I couldn’t help but smile the entire time I was there. These children would have such huge smiles on their faces as you handed them food. You couldn’t understand them and they couldn’t understand you, but the one word “gracias” said it all. I loved seeing the little kids come running down the street to meet us, and there was that one kid who knew how to beat the system…He would come back around a third or fourth time and it wasn’t until the fourth that we realized we had given him food before. But no one cared; we were giving these kids food all in the name of con Dios or “with God”.

-Lydia

My emotions keep changing from overjoyed, to angry at God, to uncontrollably saddened as I meet and interact with so many poor and neglected/needy children.  The most noticeable trait that almost all of them show first is their need for attention.  They all beg for attention, although each differently.  For example, the toddlers and younger aged kids in the nutrition center cried for attention.  The older kids at the washing have much more varied tactics such as hand touching,   holding onto us, hugging, and following us.  But all of them, no matter their age, always lap up even the slightest amount of attention.  Anything from a simple smile, a friendly “Hola!” or a full out hug and cheek kiss.  Which is why I’m having such a hard time coming to terms with our wealth (both possessive and spiritual) versus their poverty (also possessive and spiritual). 

~Kaylee

On our way again

We are in the Santa Cruz airport getting ready to board.  Next stop Miami!

Smiling Faces & Full Bellies (Thurs. 7/5)

Our first full day in Bolivia lead us to the Sacaba house.  Samuel and Ilsa are a young couple who have taken in two girls for IOU Bolivia in addition to caring for their own.  If you are not familiar with the house parent style of housing IOU Bolivia uses you can find out more by going to www.ioubolivia.org.  Hilda is ten years old and was orphaned by her mother when she was 5 years old.  Fabiola is 18 months was  abandoned by her mother at the health clinic where she was raped by the doctor.  Since the father didn't want responiblity for the baby she was put up for adoption.  The Sacaba‘s three biological children are Ruth who is nine, José who is 4, and Rouss who is 15 month old.  We were able to paint their house as well as spending time with Samuel, Ilsa, and the five children.  When we were leaving we all said goodbye to them the customary Bolivian way; by hugging and placing our cheek against the other person’s while making a kissing noise on both sides of the face.  Even though most of us don’t speak much Spanish and they don’t know much English, we left them feeling like family. 

In the early afternoon, fifteen of us went up to the  to help feed the babies there.  The children at this center are malnourished and spend anywhere from one week to six months being nursed back to health by the staff.  These children range in age anywhere from newborn to four years old which is the cutoff age for children to receive help for this particular clinic.  There is also a daycare for children who have graduated from the clinic so their mothers can work and build up some money so they can feed their child.  Today there were around thirty children being cared for by the clinic.  We helped feed the children their food which is catered specifically for each child based on their nutritional needs.   After the children had finished eating we spent a good deal of time holding and playing with the children.  Most of these children don’t spend much time out of their cribs so being held and played with was something that made each child light up. All of the children are very small for their age and it was heart wrenching to see how close to starving to death they were.  Many of the children would reach for their food before being fed and would have their mouths wide open before we even had time to blow on the spoon.  Each of us seemed to find a child that tugged on our hearts a little harder than the rest to which we gave a little extra love.  Unfortunately many of us don’t know or remember many of the children’s names as we were quickly told the name by the nurse who handed us the child’s food and there were no name tags on their cribs.  When it was time to go it was difficult to see the look of desperation in the children’s eyes pleading us for more physical affection. 

Some of the team members wanted to share in their own words what their time at the nutrition center was like:

The nutrition center was a very heartwarming experience. I saw the eyes of the Lord in each and every child I held. Those kids are very fortunate to get a meal every day and have such wonderful staff that cares about them. All of the kids were from ages 1 month to about 11 months I would assume and they were very adorable kids. Every time I picked up a different kid I felt a warm good feeling. I pray for these kids every night that they become fully healthy and lead to wonderful lives.

-Derek

Walking into the Nutrition Center was a very life changing experience. My heart broke when I saw all of the hungry babies and the understaffed nurses. I held this little boy and he was all smiles, I have never felt that kind of happiness before in my life; it was an amazing feeling! Jacob and I got very attached to a little girl. She was very calm and didn’t cry unless she thought we were going to put her back in her crib. I was almost in tears when we had to leave. I am really glad that I had this experience at the center. Those babies have a special place in my heart. Feeding them was another experience, I have never fed a baby before and after a few spit ups, messes and re-adjusting I got the hang of it! (: For me, life stopped when I was with those babies. 

-Nicole

The group who stayed at the house was able to spend extra time bonding with the family and running a dental clinic for the children who live in the neighborhood.  Lori has training as a dental hygienist and was able to teach some of the team how to show the children the importance of good dental hygiene as well as how to brush their teeth correctly.    First the dental team applied disclosing solution to the children’s teeth which turned the plaque on their bright pink enabling the children to see the amount of plaque on their teeth.  Then they had the children brush all of the disclosing solution with their tooth brush while learning how to brush their teeth correctly.  Finally, the dental team brushed fluoride on every tooth in the child’s mouth and gave each child a toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste. 

Here is what some members of this group had to say about the experience:

The experience of hanging out with the family was amazing! At first the kids were really shy and didn’t really seem interested, but by the end every single kid was draped around one of our necks laughing and having fun. Cleaning the kids’ teeth was an incredible thing to do. It made us feel like we were truly helping those in need and it is something that I will never forget. It turned out that the father of the family played guitar so we pulled out two guitars and went back and forth “showing” the other some songs and how to play them. My Spanish is pretty limited so it was so fun to communicate with him through music. The hardest part of the day was saying goodbye to the kids that we became closest with, the tears were running on many. Knowing that my little friend José is being watched every second of every day by God makes it easier to say goodbye, but my heart is still heavy knowing what he has to go through in life. All in all day one is a success and I’m more than excited to see what God has in store for the rest of the trip!

-Kyle

Scraping, sanding, painting, playing, and cleaning teeth was what I physically did today. Emotionally I felt blessed to be able to help repaint the family’s house. I felt joy when playing and cleaning the children’s teeth! At first the kids stand at their mother’s side, but once we “tried” talking to them and encouraging them to play with us, they became more open. Showing the kids how to clean their teeth correctly was a bit of a struggle because communicating is how you teach someone how to do something and our Spanish is not the best. We had to demonstrate and try to speak some basic Spanish. The kids did great, out of about 40 kids only 3 kids cried! I was nervous in the beginning, I didn’t want to hurt the kids or make them feel uncomfortable. After a while, I got a hang of teaching them how to brush in small circular pattern, and cleaning their teeth. Hearing everyone’s stories was amazing but sad because the stories were heartbreaking! Learning about their lives and getting attached was why saying goodbye was the hardest thing I did today. While saying goodbye I could feel God opening my heart and eyes. Feeling God working with me is an amazing feeling! 

~Brittany

For an updated version of our prayer requests, go to the “Prayer Request” tab at the top of post. Pictures coming soon!

We've Arrived!

I am happy to report we got into Cochabamba right on schedule and were greeted from the observation deck by the Timmer family.  Thanks to everyone who prayed for our luggage to arrive because everyone has their luggage and nothing was confiscated from us at customs or other security checks.  Our luggage is put away in Casa Verde, our home for the next nine days, and we have been given a Bolivia crash course by Mike.  We were also able to present two of the laptops we brought down to IOU Bolivia's social worker and psychologist.  Both were extremely grateful and said how happy they were that we wanted to help the children of Bolivia.  We are currently finishing up the amazing 4th of July picnic the Timmer family cooked for us. 

Before dinner, Bonnie shared with us a Bible passage she has been thinking about this week in preparation to our arrival.  "
¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matt. 3:13-17.  This will be a key verse to keep in mind as we minister to the people of Bolivia.  While it is true that they need food and clothing, the thing we should strive most to share with them is the Gospel.

As we enter our first full day in Bolivia, we ask you continue praying for good health and rest, especially after our taxing travel for the past day and a half.  We also could use prayers to help us maintain a servant's attitude and patience as we go out among the people of Bolivia.  In particular for tomorrow please pray for cultural awareness and respect as we get our first taste of Bolivian life.  And finally, that we can remain in the present where we are and not to dwell on the things we miss from home.  Thank you so much for your support where ever you may be.  We truly appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we take our first steps toward the journey that awaits us!

Cam helping our driver, Juan Carlos, load the luggage on the roof of the van



The whole group at the Cochabamba airport





Casa Verde

24 hours of travel later...

We have survived the first 24 hours of travel and (hopefully) only have two more to go.  Everyone was able to get a travel visa and made it through customs without any problems.  We are currently sitting in the Santa Cruz airport waiting for our final flight which will bring us into Cochabamba.  When we switched airlines upon arriving in Santa Cruz everyone's luggage was here as well which gives us high hopes that we can expect everything to arrive with us in Cochabamba.  Other than being a little sleep deprived the group is feeling well and is excited to meet up with the Timmer's. 

The mountains out the plane window while leaving La Paz

On our way!

We are getting ready to board the plane in Miami that will take us to Bolivia.