This will likely be the last blog that I’ll write while I’m actually located in Uyuni, Bolivia. It’s crazy to think that we are ready to move to our next country! The second month will be in Peru and our entire squad will be together during that time. I’m excited to have everyone in the same place!
Before I get ahead of myself, I want to do some reflecting on my time in Bolivia and will conclude with 11 things that have really stuck out to me. We have been very fortunate with our ministry this month. Pastor Rolando is an incredible man who cares about us a great deal. The bulk of our ministry has been relational with church services, English classes, evening services, youth group, and several others. While it has been physically chilly, we have been richly blessed with a warm welcome and acceptance from the people here. It has all been about the relationships. The only part of ministry that was not relational was to help clear out the yard of the church to make room for the kids to play.
We were all talking the other night about our feelings about Bolivia. I verbalized that while the people have been great, it hasn’t exactly felt like home nor did I feel like I would be leaving a part of my heart behind. As soon as the words were out of my mouth I immediately felt convicted. It was almost like God was showing me that I had closed myself off from truly loving His people and creation. A song that explains how I shifted my heart is “Give Me Your Eyes” by Brandon Heath. Check it out, it’s great. The very next day, I began to feel like this was home. I’ve grown comfortable with our lodging and yes, even the bathroom. It’s amazing how much one can adapt to. Not only does our living situation now feel like home, but the people all feel like family. I realized how much of my heart will get left behind. Looking back, I cannot even believe those words came out of my mouth because I am now quite sad to leave Uyuni. Our relationships with Pastor Rolando, some of the youth, the congregation members, and our hosts have grown deep and it will be hard to say good-bye. I think that is the point of this whole journey, or at least part of it. We all came because we heard a whisper from God that this is where He wanted us for the year. This journey promises to be one of intense growth, healing, forgiveness, community, and above all, love. God sent us out to gain a greater understanding of just how much He loves the people of this world. For me to say that this place hasn’t captured my heart would be almost an insult to the call that I received to come. So, that being said, I will absolutely be leaving a piece of my heart behind. That is exactly as it should be.
Now for 11 things about Bolivia:
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Since we are at such a high elevation and located in an isolated town, we can see the stars so vividly every single night. Not only can we see the stars but I have literally seen the Milky Way every evening. It has made me ache to get a picture yet at the same time I’m happy that there are things that are just so spectacular that they cannot be captured.
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Along with the Milky Way, I have seen not one, not two, but three shooting stars. I don’t think that needs any further explanation.
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My alarm clock is a rooster. Our hosts have a chicken and rooster, fondly referred to our group as Arlene and Hank. Hank has taken it upon himself to use the gift of cock-a-doodle-doing each morning at varying times. We’ve considered trying to find a reset button because he also crows late morning, early afternoon, when he sees his reflection in a window, you name it.
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It seems appropriate that I would list the number of showers that I will have taken this entire month…four. Count ‘em. For any normal American, hearing that one had showered two days ago would lead to some serious questions about hygiene, but here, the collective response is one of appreciation over how clean you are given that it has only been two days.
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To further the bathroom conversation, I am a proud member of the one flush club. Yep. I can claim that I only required one bucket to encourage the gravity toilet to flush. Don’t judge, it’s a very esteemed group.
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Pastor Rolando. He is seriously the man. As ministry contacts go, he has been absolutely incredible. He doesn’t just like having us around here for ministry but also cares deeply for each of us individually. When we requested that there be lyrics for the half hour of worship consisting of what seemed like one extremely long song, the next service not only had lyrics projected but also had new songs. Pastor also took the time during one of the evening services to pray for our teams as we prepare to continue on in our journey. He called MC, the other team leader, and myself up to the front and prayed many things. He prayed for both of our teams as well as MC and I individually. For me, he prayed that I gain a greater understanding of Spanish as well as have a strong grasp of the languages to come. All I can say is that while I did not understand every word, it was one powerful prayer. I could feel it in my spirit.
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Churros are absolutely incredible. There are stands out on Sundays and Thursdays and these are not just regular churros, they have a sauce called dulce de leche which is similar to caramel. There are no words to describe because the sauce is also injected inside each churro.
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We have also discovered this delicious brand of mineral water called Viscachani which is “Aqua Mineral con Gas Sabor.” There are all sorts of flavors but my favorites have been green apple and peach.
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During our time here, there has been an organized protest over a new bus station. The government wants to put the new station in an already busy area of town whereas the people want to spread the financial love in other parts because many of them purchased land where they originally thought the station would be put in. As time has gone on, the roads have gradually been “blocked” with rocks or boxes, however, the blockades have become more serious the longer the protest has lasted. Prices have generally gone up and there is a shortage of gasoline. Since Uyuni is a tourist town because of the Salt Flats, many tourists have been able to get in for their supposedly brief visit but have had difficulties leaving. I’ve enjoyed being asked on many occasions whether I would like to join a group to fill a car to drive to various parts of the country. We’ve interacted with people from Germany, Holland, Australia, and several other places. It’s like I don’t look like I’m from here or something, ha. What has impressed me about all of this is that eventually a different side of the issue arouse where several hundred people marched peacefully around the city to say they were tired of the blockades. At one point I read that the mayor was going on a hunger strike. It has been neat to see so many people rally around a cause even if it means we have had to make special arrangements for our departure.
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Our hosts here have a pet dog named Dulce. If you’ve seen Anchorman, she looks exactly like Baxter. So, naturally, she and I have been kindred spirits and have exchanged comments to one another such as “Baxter, you know I don’t speak Spanish” or “Baxter, you know I don’t speak English.” Many people in our group haven’t been the biggest fans of Dulce, but I adore her. It’s nice to have a dog around even if it can’t be one of my own. Dulce is a champ.
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As I’ve said, the people here are what have had the biggest impact on me. We call the woman who is our host Madre (her actual name is Remoldina). She and Gabriella, who I posted about recently, have been inspiring women of God to me. They cry every time they pray because they are so passionate about it. I have enjoyed getting to know them and having their example of what it means to walk in faith in everyday life.
Phew. There you have it. I have much more that I have journaled about but I’ve given you the highlights If any of you have questions or want me to write about a certain topic more specifically about Bolivia, or the Race in general, please let me know.
This month I have two words: BOLDNESS and DAUGHTER. I mentioned this before but I had suspected that boldness would be my word early in the month only to have it confirmed with a text from my squad leader, Kelsey, that she had been praying for me and got the word boldness. A similar circumstance happened with the word daughter. I had been journaling and wrote down adjectives that I have used or currently use to describe myself. Upon finishing the list, I asked the Lord to help me use words that he would have me use for my identity. I wrote down “you are a daughter of the one true king.” A few days later, after sharing my testimony with the teams, Meagan, a teammate, told me that she felt like the word daughter was important to me. Crazy because I hadn’t told her about the previous journaling session! After a conversation with my other squad leader, Wes, he made the comment that I should own my identity, have confidence in the decisions I make, and claim the fact that I really do hear from the Lord. My God is with me and oh how true it is. Let’s see where daughter of boldness or bold daughter takes me.
I’m sad to move on from this month because I have really enjoyed the setting of working with my own team, Fearless Laughter, as well as Team Rak Chazak. We prefer to call our collective group Fearless Chazak. Being in Bolivia with Shannon, Rocky, Meagan, Whitney, Christina, MC, Josh, Chris, Chrislyn, Kaysea, and Sarah, or Dooley as I call her, has been incredible because I think we have all grown individually much faster with more people keeping us accountable. Rak Chazak is an incredible group as is my team. I feel blessed to have spent this month with each of the people I listed.
We will be leaving for La Paz on Friday where we will first have a four hour car ride to a “nearby” city and then an 8 hour bus ride back to La Paz where the rest of our squad will be meeting up. From there we will leave on the 28th to head to Trujillo, Peru which will be roughly a 36 hour bus ride. Yes, you read that correctly. We will then have a few days of debrief with the staff before beginning our next ministry in Peru!
Your prayers are appreciated. Please know that you have all been in my prayers as well because I would not and could not be here without you. If you feel lead, I still have roughly $5,000 to raise before I am fully funded. The third deadline of $11,000 is in October and while I have passed that with your support, it would be amazing to be fully funded by then or before that time. Thank you for all you do, including taking the time to read my posts!
