Home Visits and Construction

It has been an amazing couple of days in Bolivia. On Thursday, we divided up into four teams, and between the four groups we got to visit the homes of about 20 kids sponsored by Believers Fellowship. Today, we assisted with an FH children’s program, broke ground on the guardaria (childcare center), and had dinner with the head of FH Cochabamba. Both days were unbelievable.

We spent all of yesterday visiting the homes of kids sponsored byBelievers Fellowship. First, I was partnered with Yvonne Simpson. We visited the home of Andrea (sponsored by Yvonne’s mom). I actually visited Andrea’s home last year in order to interview her older sister Berta. We showed Andrea pictures of Mount Rainier and Seattle, and asked her about her schoolwork and life in Ushpa Ushpa. Next, we visited Sergio Elvis (sponsored by Paul and Lucy Spadoni). I had also visited Sergio Elvis last year with the Spadonis—Sergio Elvis’ dad grew up in Potosi, but migrated to Cochabamba because he didn’t want his son to be a miner. (Potosi is a mining community—the only jobs there are in the mines and it is terrible work.) It was great to see how much Sergio Elvis had grown in a year—he was a lot more confident and engaging. After lunch, I was partnered with Aimee to visit the home of Marianne, my own sponsor child. Marianne is kind of a “success story” of Ushpa Ushpa. Her mom and three older brothers are believers, her brothers have all graduated school and have gone on to successful careers and families, and her mom has high hopes for Marianne. Unlike a lot of kids in Ushpa Ushpa, Marianne thinks about the future, not just survival. Marianne told us that she likes school (except the sewing class) and that she wants to be a doctor.

Visiting the homes of the sponsor kids is always a humbling experience. Seeing the lives of the people in Ushpa Ushpa really puts the things we complain about in perspective. In some cases, the poverty is bad. In other cases, it is dire. Just when you think you have seen as bad as it can get, you cross a valley and walk up a winding hill to where it is worse. And yet every family shows warmth and hospitality, and every family wants you to pray for them. It was also encouraging to revisit some of the homes I had visited in the past to see how FH has affected the families. The first thing I noticed about the kids in 2010 was that they all had sadness in their eyes and none of them smiled. That has changed. There is joy in the community. There is laughter. There is hope.

Today was a chance for us to work with kids and then start the construction. In the morning we assisted the FH staff in teaching a lesson on Ephesians 6:1-2 (obey your parents). The FH staff did a puppet show, and afterward we shared testimonies of how we learned to obey our moms and dads. We also told them that we can trust and obey God because he loves us, and we taught them the song “Jesus loves me.” It was great.

After lunch, we did some manual labor. One of the things we learned in the pre-trip training was that the trip is not about the work project. In fact,it is very important that we don’t do all of the construction work. The community needs to do the work in order to take ownership in it. So today, we helped by clearing away a space for the first wall to go up, a task that involved hauling lots of heavy rocks. We worked side by side with the Bolivians and it was an important act of solidarity. They will finish the work by December.

This evening, we had dinner with Marina, the head of FH Cochabamba. We get a dinner like this every year and it is always a highlight of the trip. Someone inevitably breaks out a guitar and we sing praise songs together—some in English and some in Spanish. I love these instances in which two cultures collide to worship God together. It was a holy moment.

Tomorrow we are visiting a local church. I will preach for the adults. Jim and Aimee with speak to the youth. Cathy, Carrie, Yvonne, Barb, and Laura have a children’s program complete with a drama, a lesson, a craft, a game, and a song. After church, we are going to meet with some church and civic leaders (and I think a group from the US), and then say good-bye to the Ushpa Ushpa team. Monday is a half cultural day before we fly back to La Paz. We leave Bolivia early on Tuesday.

Thanks for praying for us. We have had no major sicknesses or injuries (a first!). We have had several opportunities to share our faith with the kids in Ushpa Ushpa, and we got to pray with about 20 families. Construction on the guardaria has begun, but it will be finished by the Bolivians. Please continue to pray for us as we have a big day tomorrow. Our church program is pretty intense, and then afterward we will have a chance to share with some unbelievers how our faith has led us to get involved in Ushpa Ushpa.

New Faces at FH Ushpa Ushpa

Every time I go to Bolivia, I have a different experience. But every time I go to Bolivia, I have the same experience. Each year there is a different team and a different project, radically altering the nature of the trip. But every year I am amazed at the glory of God and the work that he is doing in Ushpa Ushpa.

Last year, I noticed an immediate contrast with the first year. In the first year, everything was new. But on the second trip, we flew the same flights, stayed in the same hotels, and worked with the same FH staff, so the trip was comfortable and we were able to hit the ground running.

This year is not like that second year at all.

A lot has changed in Ushpa Ushpa since we were last here. The biggest change has been the FH staff—there has been almost a 100% turnover. The city director in charge of all of Cochabamba has changed, as has the district director in charge of Ushpa Ushpa. All of the social workers are new but two, and only one staff member remains from our first trip (Rueben). Even though this is my third visit to Ushpa Ushpa, it feels like my first.

That being said, the new staff is wonderful and we are really warming up to them. The new city director is a woman with a background in social work, and the new director of Ushpa Ushpa is a pastor. I love both of these changes because they demonstrate to me desires to: (1) empower the women of Bolivia, and (2) strengthen ties to the local church. Both moves are great.

It is now my third day in Bolivia and this is literally the first time I have been free to sit down and write an update. We left early Tuesday morning, flew all day and all night, and then had a full schedule on Wednesday. By Wednesday night, I had gone almost 40 hours without sleep. We had another full day today.

The flights to Bolivia are brutal, but the welcoming committee makes it all worth it. One of the first things we noticed when we descended the steps from the airplane to the tarmac was an American flag hanging from the airport. There were people standing by it, so we waved. As soon as we did, the crowd raised a banner that said “Welcome dear brothers and sisters from Believers Fellowship.” It was the kids from Ushpa Ushpa! We got our luggage and the kids were waiting for us outside with flowers and hugs. That kind of welcome makes a day and a half of travel seem like nothing.

Since our welcome, we have had time meeting the new FH staff, reconnecting with the community leaders, and (of course) spending time with the kids. Time with the kids has been the best part. The FH sponsorship program means the world to them, and they are always so happy to see us. Today we helped teach a lesson on Ephesians 6:1-2 (our theme for the week is “God’s plan for the family,” so we were teaching them about obeying their parents) and then played soccer, basketball, and wiffle ball with them.

Tomorrow is another busy day—we start the home visits. It is always a humbling experience to be invited into the home of a child blessed by the sponsorship program. We will meet the families, find out about life in Ushpa Ushpa, and see firsthand FH’s impact. My goal is to update the blog every other day, but I may update it tomorrow.

The Ostlund's sponsor child
with a picture they sent her

Thanks for praying for the team! Please pray for our stomachs/health. If you don’t feel good, it is hard to concentrate on doing ministry. Also pray for our time with the kids. The child sponsorship program is the heart of FH’s work here. We want the kids to understand that God loves them and that he has a plan for their lives. A simple week like this can make a huge difference in a young kid’s life.

One last note—I was blown away by the level of participation in sending gifts to the kids. Over 20 people in our church paid to send a gift to their sponsor kid, and many more sent cards and pictures. One women’s group even made adorable dresses for the girls! It has been awesome to see the entire congregation rally around this impoverished community in Bolivia.

Thanks for reading. I will be in touch!

2012 Short-term Trip July 10–17

A team from Believers Fellowship will be in Bolivia from July 10–17 as part of our 10-year Community-to-Community (C2C) relationship with Ushpa Ushpa through Food for the Hungry (FH).

Our theme this year is strengthening families. The trip will involve teaching biblical principles about the family (Ephesians 6:1 for the kids, Deuteronomy 6 for the adults), visiting the families of children sponsored by our church, learning about Bolivian culture and life in Ushpa Ushpa, and assisting in the construction of a childcare center for the community.

The people of Ushpa Ushpa identified the childcare center as a high priority need. Many fathers are away for weeks or months working, while the mothers spend all day at the market selling goods to cover day-to-day expenses. Children are often left home by themselves—little ones in charge of littler ones. This arrangement puts small kids in danger and interferes with the older kids’ ability to complete their schoolwork. Because of this, the community sees high rates of victimization, gang involvement, drug and alcohol abuse, and school dropout among the youth. The childcare center will provide a safe environment for the kids in Ushpa Ushpa to play, do their homework, participate in FH programs, and break the cycle of poverty.

Please pray for the team while they are in Bolivia! Matt Edwards has set up a blog, which you can read at http://bfbolivia.blogspot.com/. You can find out more about Believers Fellowship’s C2C relationship with Ushpa Ushpa by going to http://www.believersfellowship.net/mission/bolivia. There will be a recap of the trip (along with a reveal of next year’s theme) on Sunday, September 2.