Final Work Days

I'm sorry for not updating the blog yesterday—it was crazy busy and we had to get up early today.

Saturday was our last day on the work project. As always, we were up early and off to the work site. Again, the locals had been hard at work in our absence. They had all of the rocks laid for the foundation, they had made forms, and the concrete was already flowing. I'm not sure if it was because they wanted the locals to do the work or if they thought the job was too technical for us, but FH had us doing grunt work. They asked us to clear one of the hillsides of rocks. When we had finished with that, they asked us to move rocks from one pile to another. After about 2.5 hours of moving rocks, the foreman said that there was no more work for us to do. So, we were off.

(In case it's not clear, I am pretty sure that they let us go because they had so many volunteers from the local community. They definitely didn't need all of us to do the work. So, given the choice of sending us away, sending some of the locals away, or having us all stand around with no work to do, they made the best choice.)

After getting kicked off of the work site, Natalia from FH gave us a tour of Uspa Uspa. Some of the locals invited us into their homes, so we got to see what domestic life looked like for the community. One house we visited raised goats. Their dung can be sold for manure and their milk can be used for cheese, but the primary role of goats and sheep is as a savings account. Should something happen and the family find itself in hard economic times, they can sell a goat or sheep for some quick emergency cash.

Natalia also took us down to the river where one family was doing laundry and another bathing their children. She and Ruben (another FH worker) explained to us that clean water is the biggest health need in Uspa Uspa. The river was polluted with human and animal feces, and yet the locals would use it as drinking water.

After the tour we ate lunch and then headed to the soccer court for the afternoon futbol activities. First, we supervised a tournament for the local children. The winning team got a soccer ball as a prize. Then, we played against a local church in a friendly match. We lost 4-1, but we were happy to have scored against them. Aundi Ragan scored our lone goal, earning her the nickname “futbolista” by the Bolivians.

After the soccer match, we met with Pastor Felix, the new pastor at the church FH works with in Uspa Uspa. We asked Felix about his experience with FH and his hope for Uspa Uspa. Felix recounted how as a youth he noticed that there were a lot of needs in Bolivia, and that some churches were doing a better job of addressing those needs than others. In order to get his church on the right track, he started volunteering and organizing new ministries, and eventually he ended up as the pastor. He partnered with some missionaries to complete a theological education certificate program. He was active in a church in Toro Toro (sp?) before moving to Uspa Uspa 2 weeks ago.

After a great afternoon with the residents of Uspa Uspa, we washed up in preparation for dinner at Julio's house. (Julio is the head of FH Cochabamba.) His wife and his nieces cooked us a feast of traditional Bolivian cuisine, and we had a fantastic evening of food and fellowship.

We got home late, but still had a lot of preparation to do for Vacation Bible School the next day.

Sunday morning started with a dedication ceremony at the computer lab that we were building. The work is far from over, but Bolivians like to dedicate things at significant stages in construction—not just at completion. The community leaders, leaders from FH, and leaders from Pro Justica all gave speeches to commemorate the new building. During the second speaker, I glanced down at the program and noticed that there was a slot for a leader from Believers Fellowship to do something. I couldn't understand what it was that they wanted the “representative from Believers Fellowship” to do, but the word was the same word was used for the leaders who were giving speeches. I guessed they wanted me to speak. Sure enough, a few minutes later a translator told our group that they wanted one of us to speak. I thanked them for welcoming us, for allowing us to partner with them on the project, and for taking it easy on us in soccer.

After the dedication ceremony, we went over to the church to put on the VBS for the kids. We had decided to do a theme of “trusting God” from Daniel and the lion's den. We acted out the scene from Daniel, taught them a song called “Why Worry?”, helped them to make lion mask out of paper plates and construction paper, and led them in a game we made up called “leon leon.” (They play a game called “pesca pesca,” which is basically tag.) We designated some of the kids lions and some angels. If you got tagged by a lion, you had to stand still and put your lion mask on. If you were tagged by an angel, you were unfrozen. The game sounded great on paper, but all 50 of the kids wanted to wear their masks, so it was impossible to tell who was a lion, who was an angel, and who was frozen. After the game, Chip shared his testimony about being raised by a single mom and how God took care of his family. He encouraged them that in Christ they were new creations and that their pasts didn't have to determine their futures.

After the VBS, we went to Miguel's house for lunch. (Miguel is a community leader. It took us forever to get them to explain what that means. Basically, he was an informal leader in the community before the residents of Uspa Uspa elected him to represent their neighborhood to the government.) Miguel told us his story—how he came to Uspa Uspa, how he got involved in FH, and what he hoped for the community. He identified clean water and education as the biggest needs.

I was introduced to a new product today—Imodium AD. I highly recommend it.

Lunch with Miguel represented the last “work” part of our trip. We have now met all of the key players in Uspa Uspa society, and have found out firsthand their hopes for their community. They are sending us back to the U.S. with a lot to think about. The rest of our trip will be debriefing with our team, debriefing with the FH workers, site-seeing and travel. Thanks for praying for us. Please continue to pray as we finish our time in Bolivia!

Day 3

Work day 2 (our third day in Bolivia) was even better than work day one! We spent our time doing construction, playing soccer with the adults, and assisting in an after school program for kids.

Again, we were up at 6:45 to hit the road by 8:00. Our driver Johnny is proving to be one of the most valuable members of the team, since the roads here are nuts! Traffic lights are mere suggestions, tailgating is the norm, pedestrians are unpredictable, and right of way goes to the most aggressive driver. Johnny has been fantastic—we are in awe at his ability to navigate the perilous streets of Cochabamba.

A surprise awaited us in Uspa Uspa. The locals had continued the work when we were gone and had made quite a bit of progress. It's amazing how they work. They don't use any of the tools or standards that we do, yet their craftsmanship is something to be seen. For instance, they measure distances by walking it off. When they need to dig a ditch, they eyeball it for straightness. They don't use rebar to strengthen their concrete work—they simply pour a layer, let it set a little, and then stick rocks halfway into the drying concrete. When the concrete is dry, the rocks will function as rebar. It's crazy!

We continued the dirt and rock work, and then transitioned to concrete. I expected to mix the concrete by hand, but they had a mixer that sped the work up. Consistent with their other methods, the measurements for the concrete were: 1 bucket of water, 3 shovels full of cement, and 14 shovels full of gravel. When all of the materials were in the mixer, they would eyeball the consistency and tell us what we needed to add. But, their methods worked. We were able to lay a foundation for the external walls!

We were supposed to work from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, but we finished early. So, at 11:30 we went back up to the soccer court for some futbol. These are some of my favorite times—not because I love soccer so much, but because it is a great time with the local Bolivians with whom we otherwise would not be able to communicate. We played soccer for about an hour and then headed back down the hill for lunch.

After lunch, we returned to the FH Uspa Uspa headquarters for the after school program. About 50 or so kids showed up for help with their homework. Working with the kids was a little frustrating at first because of the language barrier. Those who were able to speak a little Spanish could help the kids with their math or art projects, but the older kids studying geography or natural science were pretty much on their own.

When all of the kids had finished their homework, we started to play. This is when all of the kids lit up. We kicked around a soccer ball, played keep away with a basketball, jumped rope, and took lots of pictures. The kids loved seeing their pictures on the digital cameras. (I would upload more pictures or video, but the internet connection here is pretty slow.)

Thanks for praying for us. Today was an amazing day. Chip Maxson was able to pray with a girl named Ophelia—she is sponsored by the Believers Fellowship youth group. He prayed that God would take care of her family and help her get through school. She didn't have a Bible, so he gave her a Spanish-English one that he brought. She was excited to receive the Bible, but even more excited that it had English, too! When Chip finished praying for Ophelia, they were both in tears. It was pretty moving.

Please continue to pray for us as we interact with the people of Uspa Uspa. Members of the community join us for the construction projects, and we get to spend a lot of time with the kids. All of this means that we have a lot of time with unbelievers. We don't speak the same language, but we are able to communicate. Please pray that we will have a positive influence on them!

I am very impressed with Food for the Hungry so far. They are a great organization—very intentional and skilled in their work.

Work Day 1

Today was our first work day in Bolivia. What can I say? It was powerful.

We rose at 6:45 for a 7:30 breakfast, and then headed to the work site. The 45-minute drive to the site gave us plenty of time to take in the sights and sounds of bustling Cochabamba. Cars, motorcycles, vans, buses and pedestrians weave in and out of traffic without missing a beat. We were definitely thankful for our driver Johnny (not Juan; his name is Johnny) who took us through the city unscathed.

We also got our first glimpse of Uspa Uspa. There is a noted difference between the commercial district of Cochabamba, with its internet cafes, steak restaurants, and cell service billboards, and Uspa Uspa, with its make-shift housing, lack of plumbing, and rampant poverty. Food for the Hungry certainly goes to the hard places.

Our project is to continue work on a community center in Uspa Uspa. Eventually, our part will be a computer lab. Right now it is a dirt floor with a few rocks here and there. Throughout the morning we hauled bricks, rocks, and, and dirt in preparation for the upcoming concrete work. We were joined by members of a local evangelical church and also some people from the community. We worked well together and were able to level the floor to pour concrete later this week.

When we finished the work, Julio (the Country Director for FH Bolivia) received a call from another NGO saying that they wanted to meet us. We had some time to kill while we waited for them to arrive, so we headed up the hill to a soccer court (not a field) where we played some futbol with our new friends from Bolivia. It's amazing how a game like soccer can bring people together even when they don't speak the same language.

After the game, we returned to the work site where we met the representatives from Pro Justice—a Roman Catholic justice ministry working in Bolivia. Apparently, Pro Justice was responsible for getting Food for the Hungry into Uspa Uspa. Now, the two groups work together to improve the living conditions there. (Pro Justice works for child's rights.) Juan Pablo (our translator and team leader) explained to me later that the meeting we witnessed between FH and Pro Justice was significant. It is very difficult to get NGOs to work with FH because of their evangelical commitment (even Catholic groups can be hesitant because of the hostile attitude that many Protestant churches in Bolivia have).

After meeting with the folks from Pro Justice, we ate lunch and then spent some time at FH Cochabamba's office. There we met some students from Messiah College who were in Bolivia for the summer working on a clean water project. A professor from Messiah has brought some water purifying machines to distribute to the people of Uspa Uspa. They group tests the drinking water for the presence of fecal matter bacteria (they almost all test positive). Then they educate the people on clean water techniques like hand-washing and boiling. Some households also receive the water filters (they will all eventually get one when the study is over). At the end, they will compare a control group with an education-only group, and filter-only group, and an education-plus-filter group to see how well the filters and education reduce the prevalence of fecal matter bacteria in the drinking water.

In the afternoon, we went to visit sponsor children and their families. I visited Jesus Adrian (sponsored by the Believers Fellowship children's ministry) and Judith (sponsored by Aundi Ragan). It was amazing spending time with these families and finding out how child sponsorship benefits the families. The education FH provides these kids is really helping them break out of the cycle of poverty.

After the child sponsor visits, we ate dinner and debriefed. So far the consensus is that this is an amazing trip. We can't wait to get out there and work side-by-side with the people of Uspa Uspa tomorrow!

Travel Days

Well, it is Wednesday at noon Bolivia time (same as EST), and we are just getting settled into our hotel. I want to update you a little about our travel and what we have seen so far.

Monday, June 7th
5:00 PM—I take a shower in preparation for the long flights.

6:00 PM (shower + 1 hour)—I arrive at the church to finish last-minute details and eat one last meal with my family. Scott and Carina are at the church doing the same thing.

6:30 PM (shower + 90 minutes)--The rest of the team begins to show up. Spirits are high and excitement is in the air.

7:30 PM (shower + 2.5 hours)--The elders and deacons surround the team to pray for us and send us off. The team piles into three vehicles and heads toward SeaTac.

10:00 PM (shower + 5 hours)--The team boards our 10:30 Alaska Air flight to Miami. I am prepared with a prescription for Ambien and a new CD for the trip. I read somewhere that Jack White was the greatest guitarist of our generation, so I downloaded a White Stripes CD to see what all the hype was about. I put the White Stripes and Ambien to a face-off—would I fall asleep? The score after 1 round: White Stripes: 1; Ambien: 0. After 1 play-through, I turn off the music and doze off in my chair.

Tuesday, June 8th
7:30 AM EST (shower + 11.5 hours)--Flight lands in Miami. Everyone is excited to be near the beach and one step closer to Bolivia. We're all singing Will Smith's “Welcome to Miami.” Sadly, none of us know any other words to the song.

9:00 AM (shower + 13 hours)--We check all of our luggage for the flight to Bolivia and then jump on the city bus heading to South Beach. We find a spot on the beach and cool off in the water. Since I am preaching in a Bolivian church on Sunday, I decide I need to start working on my sermon. As great as South Beach is, it's not conducive to sermon-writing. I head off on my own to find a coffee shop.

10:00 AM (shower + 14 hours)--I ask a local if there is a Starbucks near by. The guy is understandably confused. It's 90 degrees. And humid. Everyone around me is tanning or swimming. I am looking for a hot cup of coffee. I notice that he's looking at me like I am crazy, and I say, “I am from Seattle.” Apparently, this makes sense to him because he perks up and directs me to a Starbucks within walking distance.

12:00 PM (shower + 16 hours)--I am in a Starbucks on South Beach listening to Bob Marley and writing about Romans 1:8-15.

1:00 PM (shower + 20 hours)--Lunch with the team at this sweet Cuban place. I have pulled pork Cuban style, rice, and plantains. I am not a plantain fan, but they taste great with habanero pepper sauce on them. While we are in the Cuban restaurant, it starts to pour. We decide to wait out the rain in the restaurant.

2:00 PM (shower + 18 hours)--We tire of waiting out the rain and decide to make a dash for it. There is a GAP across the street, and some of the people who went swimming need to buy some dry clothes. The last thing I say to Scott on the way in is, “Don't let me buy any jeans.” I leave with 2 pair (but they were only $14!).

3:00 PM (shower + 22 hours)--We wander Miami Beach checking out the shops and killing time. We all agree that Miami Beach needs a few more tattoo parlors. Somehow, we end up in a Starbucks.

5:00 PM (shower + 21 hours)--We return to the airport to wait for our flight to La Paz. I work on my sermon in a Starbucks. Others watch movies, read books, or wander the airport. Barb beats me and Scott in Bananagrams.

9:40 PM (shower + 25.5 hours)--We board our 10:40 flight to La Paz. We have all hit the wall travel-wise, and we are smelling pretty ripe (15 hours in 90-degree-90-percent-humidity Miami doesn't help). But, we are finally off to Bolivia. The feeling is surreal.

Wednesday June 9th
6:00 AM (shower + 34 hours)--We land in La Paz (elevation approximately 13,000 feet). The elevation sickness hits me immediately as I leave the plane. It's a combination of fatigue, dizziness, and nausea. I have never felt like this before. We meet up with our fearless leader Juan Pablo and his trainee Jorge and head to breakfast. We catch up with Juan Pablo and enjoy Bolivian cuisine.

9:00 AM (shower + 37 hours)--We board our flight to Cochabamba (elevation 9,000 feet). For the second time in my life, I get sick on a plane. I think it was a combination of high altitude sickness, dehydration, and lack of sleep. Fortunately, the flight only lasts 30 minutes.

10:00 AM (shower + 38 hours)--We land in Cochabamba. There to meet us is a group of kids from the Food for the Hungry sponsorship program. I recognize several of the kids from the packets we distributed at church. The kids are elated to see us—they give us all flowers and sing us a song. The director of the program tells us that they had been there since 9:00 and that the kids were enjoying seeing airplanes for the first time.

11:00 AM (shower + 39 hours)--We arrive at our hotel in Cochabamba. This really is a beautiful country and the people are wonderful.

Today we are just going to relax and recover from our flights. We will meet some of the workers from Food for the Hungry and learn about what the week has in store for us. Tomorrow the work begins!

Thanks for praying for us as we traveled. We didn't have any hiccups—no lost luggage, no hassles about visas—it was seamless. The representatives from Food for the Hungry are excited to see us and the team is eager to get to work. I will keep you updated as the week progresses. Right now, I need to take a shower!

Hardware Test

I am in the Gig Harbor Forza testing out my video and Wi-Fi capabilities. I figure that if this doesn't work at the Gig Harbor Forza, it's definitely not going to work in Bolivia.

Bolivia Mission Blog--Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to the Believers Fellowship Bolivia Mission 2010 blog!

We hope to update this blog while we are in Cochabamba so that the church will know how the work is going. I have been told that there will be Wi-Fi access in Bolivia, but I have also been told not to make any promises--so, no promises.

I am bringing a webcam down there, so we may even get a video blog!

Thanks again for supporting us and praying for us!