Saying Good-bye

I am sitting in a hotel room in La Paz reflecting on what an awesome week this was. My wake-up call is scheduled for 3:00 in order to catch a 6:30 flight to Miami. But, I have to put down my thoughts on our closing time in Uspa Uspa.

The water filter project was an amazing success. I talked to at least 20 women who thanked me (many in tears) for coming to their community and providing them with a tool to keep their families healthy. But, despite the success of this important project, none of the team members say that it was the most significant part of the trip. Instead, they insist that the trip was about a connection—a connection between two communities separated by thousands of miles that will make a difference in both.

When we were training before the trip, Anthony said that he would do anything except share a testimony. But when we were asked to share with the community during a parents’ workshop on the importance of the family, Anthony was the first to volunteer. He got up in front of 40 or so Bolivians and shared what his family has gone through in the last four years and how his parents have stuck with him. Laura followed him by sharing some of the pains of her family history. I followed them by preaching from Colossians 3 (the household codes). The point of the workshop was obvious—families are important. Whether you are Bolivian or American, families are important and God wants us to be faithful within them.

When we were done speaking, Marianne, the little girl Brooke and I sponsor, came up to the front to hug me and give me a gift (a beautiful alpaca scarf). Another woman approached Anthony in tears to thank him for sharing—I can only imagine what she must be going through with her own boys. As the community said “good-bye,” we couldn’t help but feel that we would be missed.

Throughout FH’s pre-trip training, they emphasize that it’s not about the project, it’s about the relationships. They couldn’t be more right. Water filters break, but a shared story can change a life. The filters are an inroad to a relationship, and a relationship is a vehicle for the Gospel.

I am returning to the States more excited than ever about the C2C. It is one of the best projects I have ever been involved with. I am already planning for 2012, and I can’t wait to see what God does as we continue to walk with Uspa Uspa.

See you on Wednesday!

Labor in the Lord

Today I ate dinner with a Bolivian family headed by two grown Compassion sponsor kids. They both work successful jobs (the father, Fermin, is the head of FH’s work in Cochabamba), they have 2 beautiful children, and a wonderful urban home in Quillacollo. We spent the evening eating pique macho, worshipping God while Israel played the guitar, and listening to Fermin and Naomi recount stories of the impact of child sponsorship and how it had helped them grow out of poverty. At the end of the evening, Fermin shared a verse with us: 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (ESV) There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

It’s hard to describe my time in Bolivia without comparing it to last year—new team, new project, new context. It’s different being here as part of a C2C—it feels more permanent. It’s different seeing familiar faces, taking in familiar sites, and tasting familiar food. It’s different not doing manual labor. It’s different being with a smaller team that I didn’t know as well as the team I travelled with last year. But, the biggest difference is that this year’s trip is clearly about child sponsorship and the child development coalition.

We are doing less work on “the project” and more work playing with kids and visiting with families in the community. I got to meet my sponsor child, Marianne, along with her mother and brother. I have been invited into half a dozen homes and have been allowed to video residents of Uspa Uspa talk about the water in their community and the difference that the water filters will make in their lives. I’ve seen how the child sponsorship program transforms a community, even in just a year. It’s been amazing.

Yesterday we met with some community leaders (including the president of Uspa Uspa, Don Miguel). We then received training on how to assemble the water filters that we brought with us in Bolivia. The afternoon was spent visiting the families of sponsored kids.

Today we visited more families, and also participated in some community training events. Together with the project coordinator Jose, we taught two groups of about 40 moms each how to put together and use the water filters. They were extremely grateful for Believers Fellowship’s generosity in bringing the filters to Bolivia. We finished the day with a soccer match against the local kids and then dinner at Fermin’s house.

So far I’ve taken about 30 GB of media—mostly HD video. The rest of the team has taken some great photos, and I can’t wait to share them with the team.

It’s been awesome to see God work in the team. Our debriefs at the end of the night have been amazing, and I think a number of the team members are finding what they were looking for by coming here. More on that later.

Tomorrow will be more home visits and more soccer. (By the way, soccer is an excellent way to bond with the locals since the language barrier isn’t an issue.) On Sunday, we are running the church program, and then the community will say farewell. I will be preaching at a church in Uspa Uspa and then the team will be running a vacation Bible school. Pray for us!

Thanks for being a part of this awesome work. It took a lot to make this happen. I know a lot of you donated money or time or prayers to help one or more team member make it to Bolivia. Believe me, in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Good night!

Break-downs and Lockouts and Blockades, Oh My!

Has a pleasant surprise ever turned a tiring day into a joyful one? Have you ever been at the end of your rope, only to be reinvigorated by something completely unexpected? That’s what happened to the Believers Fellowship Bolivia team today.

Saying that it’s been a long 48 hours is like saying that Justin Bieber has a few 12-year-old female fans. Traveling to Bolivia is brutal, and just about everything that could have kept us from a safe trip to Bolivia almost did keep us from a safe trip to Bolivia. The adventure started at 4:30 AM on Tuesday. I arrived at the church a half an hour before our planned 5 AM departure. One of our drivers arrived shortly thereafter and warned me that she wasn’t sure her car was going to make it to the airport. Not knowing what other plans we could make at 4:30 AM, I told her “I have confidence in your car. Let’s pray hard and roll the dice.” When we were stalled on the side of I-5 ninety minutes later, I started to second guess my decision to “risk it.” Fortunately a friend in Puyallup was awake and drove to our rescue. We made it to the airport by 6:30—90 minutes before our flight was scheduled to leave.

We made it through security a full 45 minutes before our flight was scheduled. The waiting room for our flight was full, so Sam Heath and I grabbed a seat in a neighboring gate to wait for the overhead announcement of our boarding. I checked the clock every few minutes as Sam and I chatted. Our 7:30 boarding time came and went with no announcement. I checked the clock a few minutes later—7:35 and still no announcement. When I checked again and saw that it was 7:45, I decided to look for the rest of our team. No one was in sight. “Something is wrong, Sam,” I said. “It’s 7:45, they haven’t announced our boarding, and the rest of the team is gone.”

Sam and I made our way to the gate to find out that we had missed final boarding and that the tunnel to the plane was locked. I have been locked out of flights like this before; it’s not a good thing. But it was only 7:45 and our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until 8:00. Fortunately, they let us on the plane, but as we boarded, one of the flight attendants said to me, “Oh, I see. This is the part of the flight where WE wait for YOU.” (Just kidding on that last one.)

Fourteen-and-a-half hours of flying, four hours of layovers, three time-zone changes, and zero underwear changes later, we landed in La Paz. Having made it to Bolivia, nothing could go wrong—except a crowd of protestors blocking the streets of La Paz.

Paul and Lucy Spadoni sponsor a girl through Compassion who lives right outside of La Paz. We made special arrangements for them to break from the team for the day to go visit their sponsor child. They got out of La Paz okay, but while they were away a mob blocked the road back to the airport. (We still had one more flight to catch later that day.) Fortunately, their driver was pretty savvy and got them back to the airport safe, sound, and on time for the flight to Cochabamba.

When we landed in Cochabamba, we were all exhausted. High altitude sickness had sapped us in La Paz, and the short flight from there to Cochabamba was bumpy and a bit terrifying. I found that it help to close my eyes before we took off and then not open them until after we had landed. I made it all the way without getting sick, which raised my average to 1 for 3 on that flight. Sam reminded me that not even Ichiro is hitting .333, but somehow I wasn’t consoled.

As we gathered our luggage and headed out of the airport for the final time, I was ready for a hot shower and a cool pillow. But, I knew that there was more work to be done in Cochabamba that day and that sleep would have to wait. I lurched into the main terminal pondering how I could possibly make it. But, just as I was about to collapse, I saw something up ahead. It was a crowd. Of kids. With banners and musical instruments.

Food for the Hungry had arranged for the kids from their Child Development Coalition to meet us at the airport with hugs and a song. It was just what we needed. The excitement in those kids’ eyes chased away all of the travel fatigue in an instant. We remembered why are here and what we have left to do.

Well, it’s 10:00 PM on Wednesday night. I slept for four hours on Monday night and I haven’t felt a bed since. But I can’t wait for our wake-up call tomorrow. Tomorrow we take the water filters to Uspa Uspa to begin the clean water initiative. In the afternoon we help with FH’s Child Development Coalition. It’s going to be awesome.

The team is pumped and God is already moving!

2010 Summary and 2011 Short-term Trip

We are gearing up for another short-term trip to Uspa Uspa! Thanks for checking in. I will update this blog from the field as often as possible.

We had an amazing experience on our vision trip last year. We were considering Food for the Hungry's Community-2-Community program, and we embarked on a short-term trip to see firsthand FH's work in Bolivia. We couldn't have been more pleased with what we saw.

Last year's project was to lay the groundwork for a community center/computer lab. The project was to pour concrete on a floor that would eventually become a meeting space for the local church, FH, and other community organizations. We also supplied the community with 2 computers. In addition to the project, we also met with key leaders and heard their vision for Uspa Uspa.

When we returned to the States, we immediately began praying over what C2C would look like for Believers Fellowship. The child sponsorship and short-term trip commitments are substantial, so we didn't want to jump into the project unless we were confident we could complete it. After much prayer and discussion, we decided to partner with Uspa Uspa through FH. Over ten years, we are committed to sponsoring 20 more kids every year, to visiting Uspa Uspa at least once per year, and to praying for the work that FH is doing there.

The second project under the C2C is a clean water project (the first one was the community center). Last Christmas, in conjunction with the Advent Conspiracy, we raised almost $17,000 to bring clean water to Uspa Uspa. Since the water project costs about $100 per family in Uspa Uspa, we sold water bottles labeled with the project description for $100 each. The idea was to purchase a water bottle to give to someone at Christmas instead of buying them a gift that they really didn't need. About 170 people chose to give a loved one a water bottle for Christmas and explain, "This year I got you clean water for a family in Bolivia for Christmas." It was awesome to see the congregation get behind the project like that.

In March, Juan Pablo Belmonte came to Believers Fellowship from Bolivia to update us on the field and tell us about "God's Surprising Solution to Poverty." While Juan Pablo was with us, we sponsored 24 children in Uspa Uspa, bringing our total to 58 kids sponsored. A few weeks later, we dedicated our Easter offering to the C2C (and other outreach projects), and the congregation responded by giving over $30,000. Praise God!

On Tuesday we leave for Bolivia to implement a project that has been a year in the making. Almost 200 families in Uspa Uspa will have clean water thanks to Food for the Hungry and the C2C partnership between Believers Fellowship and Uspa Uspa.

I can't wait to see how the field has changed, and I will update you as often as I can from Bolivia! I appreciate your prayers as our team is on the field!

Matt Edwards