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!