SPY Trip to Bolivia: Day Four [7.20]

Stephanie, Olivia, and I got up at 6:30 and were all showered and ready to go to breakfast at 7. There was a lot of fruit, bread, meat, cheese, and yogurt. We left for our first distribution of the day at 8am.

We were in two mini buses (complete with fold-down seats on the end of each row) and we followed the truck that had the boxes in it. It was about an hour ride, which was filled with pumping up balloons and taking many pictures. There were about 50 kids from all over the small community...we were able to give all of them balloon animals or balloon swords, which was a joy. That made the kids happy before the program even started. Almost from the beginning, this little 3 year old boy in a camo hat was looking over at me...he very quickly caught my attention and I knew that I wanted to sit with him when he opened his box. He never said anything to me, but I could just see his joy when I pulled out the little toys and candies. Once one kid leaves, they all leave...but we got to see some of them showing their parents their boxes and lots of them walking back down the road when we were driving to the other distribution...one boy ran along with our bus for a little bit. It's amazing to see the way that these people live on farms and even from an early age, kids are entrusted with responsibilities like caring for the sheep.

After about 40 minutes, we arrived at the second distribution. At the second one, there were about 200 kids...I took some silly bands to give out, but forgot about them...I did, however, remember to take some video of the kids as they opened up their gifts. I sat with a few 10-14 year old girls who were very reserved, but once we looked through their boxes, they started smiling and laughing quite a bit. One of the things I have liked most is the fact that we pray before and after each distribution (at this distribution, we did not have enough boy boxes, so we prayed over the extra girl boxes to ask that the contents would be appropriate for the boys who received them).

After the second distribution, we came back and had group pictures and time to relax together at the playground near the lake. Lunch was pasta salad with alfredo sauce, steak (which I delegated to Abby and Nate), mixed vegetables, potatoes, and some kind of cold chocolate mousse. We had a few minutes before we left for the third distribution of the day.

That one had about 50 kids and several parents. All of those families lived on very isolated farms, so I was very glad they got to come together for a program like this. I sat down with a few 5-9 year old boys, which was such a blessing...they were very excited to see everything in their boxes and they seemed happy for me to be there with them...they talked to me quite a bit...and one of the boys had a letter that I took a picture of to send to the family.

We came outside for quite a while to play futbol with some of the guys who work at the hotel...and by "we" I mean five people at a time, never including me...although I am sure they would have appreciated the entertainment. We had devotions out by the lake while the sun was setting. Dan shared a few passages from Philippians 3&4...and then Anna shared her testimony about receiving a shoebox in Russia, being adopted, and living in the US. Everyone got emotional. For dinner, we had mushroom soup, lasagna, and cherry jell-o something or other. After dinner, it was time for small group time again, which was awesome. It's like God has brought all of us to the same place at the same time...Ian, Jill, Nate, and I agree on most everything and they have had some really good discussions.

Oh! I forgot about the story of Melanie's shoebox! As she and her mom were gathering the stuff for the "perfect" shoebox, it ended up that several of the things had ladybugs on them. She had been praying over her box since she had packed it, and knew that God was going to lead her to give the box to the right girl. At the third distribution, there was this little girl who was probably two or three...she was just walking around before the program and Melanie knew that she was the girl who was supposed to receive her shoebox. She told Joey and then went to get the box. She gave it to the little girl and then the girl's mom came over...then Melanie looked up and saw that the girl had a ladybug on her hat! God is good.

After small group time, Olivia, Stephanie, and I were just sitting around talking for a long while. It is astounding to me that God brought this diverse group of people together and allowed us to work so well together and not have drama.

At the second distribution, there were 208 kids. We had 100 boxes. Every child had a box. Loaves and fishes, anyone? Faith can move mountains.

SPY Trip to Bolivia: Day Three [7.19]

We got up at 7:00 to get ready for breakfast at 8:00. The restaurant wasn't very big, but the food was good: a doughnut, wheat toast with honey, hash browns with pepper sauce, and more coca-tea. We all headed upstairs for devotions, where Melanie led us in a few worship songs: Our God Saves, Everlasting God, and Oh Happy Day. Then Becky told us a story about a distribution in Ecuador last year. It was put on by a Christian orphanage who wanted to give gifts to kids in the community. The attitude of the hearts of the orphans knocks me down...even though they were to receive boxes too, they genuinely just wanted to share the love of Christ, which is all they have to give. She asked us to think of a time when we felt true love, which I think is a crucial thing to consider.

We then headed out to the bus to leave for Puerto Perez/Lake Titicaca...it was about a two-hour ride...and it was breathtakingly beautiful the whole way. I wasn't really talking to anyone because I was just in awe of God and the works of His hands. We arrived at Las Balsas hotel, which is adorable. Our group has the whole hotel to ourselves...the people here are so nice and hospitable. Olivia and I have a room on the second floor with a balcony and an amazing view of the lake. (They had a sheet of paper pinned to the door with our names and a daisy printed on it.) Then at 1pm, it was time for lunch...but not before April, Melanie, Nate, Olivia, and Anna burst out singing songs from Wicked. For lunch, we had vegetable soup, chicken and rice with fruit, and then a fruit salad with apples, banana, papaya, and cantaloupe. Oh, and I had some Coke...no ice. We went outside and played on the swings and took pictures before we had a briefing before the distribution.

The local team told us what to expect, and then we headed out to the square right outside our hotel where Jorge had the kids already lined up and ready for the program to start. They sang a few songs and presented the Gospel message before we began handing out the shoeboxes and "Greatest Gift of All" booklets. I was standing near the 10-14 year old boys and girls, who were not very talkative or expressive. I opened boxes with two sisters in that group, but my heart hurt a little when I saw them take everything out and immediately put it back in...sometimes in Bolivia, when kids bring shoeboxes or gifts home, their parents just go sell all its contents. I wanted them to know that these boxes had been packed just for them and God loves them, but they left pretty quickly...they did smile a lot when they were looking through the boxes, which made me smile as well. They didn't really want to talk to me...though I tried, with the little Spanish I know. The younger children were much more excited about everything, which was truly a blessing to see...the 2-4 year olds always bring me joy. One of the girls had a letter in her box, so I'm going to try to contact the person to let them know that I delivered the box! As a side note, every shoebox that comes to Bolivia is from Canada...that is a written agreement.

We had the rest of the afternoon (just a couple hours) free, before we learned some of the songs used at the distributions and had dinner. Dinner was asparagus soup, trout (caught in the lake), vegetables, french fries, and some chocolate pudding...and coca-tea, of course. (I see a pattern emerging.) After dinner, we had some small group time...my group is April, Anna, Ian, Jill, and Nate. We talked about why we wanted to come on the trip. Then we shared prayer requests with each other...that was a blessing. Everyone was talking about how we need to rely solely on the Lord for everything and realize that we are here for His glory, not our own. John 3:30. These people are such a blessing.

I'm praying that the Lord absolutely blows my expectations out of the water...both now and for the rest of my life. Stephanie's roommate is feeling very sick, so Stephanie has joined me and Olivia for the night. There is something exhilarating about sleeping under a sleeping bag and four blankets with the radiator on low and the cold air seeping in from the balcony door. Anything for our Lord.

SPY Trip to Bolivia: Day Two [7.18]

After getting a few hours of sleep (few being the operative word), we met in the lobby to go through security and such...during which time I was dying to go to the bathroom. We found our gate and then had a bit of time to do nothing but drink water. I got to say goodbye to the wonderful people that I wouldn't be able to talk to for a week. On the plane, it really aggravated me that all of the announcements were in Spanish before they were in English...we were still in America. But I have no room to complain...I would love to know more languages fluently.

One of our flight attendants had an Ixoye fish pin on...and it turns out that she is an OCC volunteer in Santa Cruz! God always sends people like that to remind us how big and deep and wide the body of Christ is. We stopped in Panama to refuel after 2.5 hours of flying. It was amazing to fly over the country from the other coast to the hills to the mountains and then to the coast, where the airport was. It's odd how we think we have seen all there is to see in the world and then the Lord sends a lovely reminder that the works of His hands are far beyond our imagining.

Several people came up to Barb on the plane to find out more information about Samaritan's Purse because they want to help! Jehovah Jireh. Our flight attendant acutally received a shoebox when she was 14 and she was telling Barb that she knows kids who are so impoverished that they don't own a pair of shoes, and then they receive a pair in their shoebox! On the flight from Panama to Santa Cruz, we got lunch and we took a Spanish quiz...we all did pretty well because we were working in small groups. We got to fill out several forms for Customs...which means we are getting close! I certainly hope so...because it is 4:36pm and we have been flying since 9:15am. And then I was listening to Jimmy Needham (of course) and looking out the window. "Part the Clouds" came on and the clouds outside began to thin out...then I came to write that down and started pounding my fist because the verse at the bottom of this journal page says "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." --Psalm 19:1. And we are essentially going to Bolivia to part the clouds and show the world the Son...as the song says.

We arrived in Santa Cruz at about 5:45pm and had to wait quite a while in Customs. We all had to fill out yet another form and have our passports scanned and stamped. We literally ran through security (where I was almost laughed at for trying to take my shoes off...yeah, I feel safe) and down to our gate, where the lady told us that we had the wrong tickets and the flight was full. We watched that plane fly away and went upstairs to find nourishment...if you can call it that.

Mr. Cafe was very gracious to make us ham and cheese sandwiches and some coca-tea to help us get used to the altitude. Harry Potter, MTV, and CSI:Miami were playing as we sat around and waited for the next flight. A few people in the airport decided that they did not need to go into the smoke room to smoke, so their exhaust circulated in the room...cue "puff, puff, puff that cigarette...". God is sovereign and His plan is perfect...the devil has no power over us. We belong to the Everlasting God, the Lord of All.

We boarded the plane at about 9:30pm and arrived in La Paz at 11pm. The airplane trip was fun...there was a lot of laughter, even though (or because) we are all so tired. I love flying at night...this was the only time it was completely dark on the ground the whole way...we didn't see any houses or street lights until we arrived over La Paz. That was marvelous...going from total darkness to light that concentrated...Stephanie said it looked like Christmas lights. We each received a 2 liter bottle of water for the night...now the hard part is remembering to use that to brush our teeth.

The half-hour drive from the airport was so pretty, even though it was night time. The architecture and building structure is so interesting. We turned a corner in the middle of the city and there was this astounding mountain of stone...I would have loved to climb it and see it in the day time. Above the mountain was the moon...half-full horizontally. I think that is remarkable. God is good.

SPY Trip to Bolivia: Day One. [7.17]

Well, I left the house today at 11am to go to the airport with Dad. We stopped in Mt. Holly at Chick-fil-a for my last spicy chicken sandwich and sweet tea. Got to the airport, checked in, and was the only one in line for security...Dad waved goodbye to me after I was through and then I called Mom. I people-watched in the rocking chairs for a while and then I got up to go to the bathroom and saw Hannah and Olivia (because we all had the same shirts on.)

They ate lunch and then we headed to beloved gate D13...we had about an hour to wait. None of us were sitting near one another on the flight. Oh, and we saw this lady who probably moved around 6 or 7 times in that hour time period...it was rather odd. On the plane, the who girls who sat beside me (we'll call them "the world") were talking about partying and their boyfriends and smoking and the fashion scene...because one of the girls was a model. The enemy tries to use the world to discourage us, but we cannot give in. I was reading Romans or Proverbs (I can't remember which) when they asked me what time it was...I wanted to just smack them with the Bible and tell them that all they need is God...not get drunk every night...but I refrained.

We got to Miami, picked up our bags, and saw April, who told us where the rest of the group was. We found them, and then a ten minute introduction/hugging session ensued. It was very helpful that we already knew a bit about each other...it cut out the awkward small talk. We hung around for a while and then Joey told us that instead of leaving at 10pm tonight, we would be leaving at 9am tomorrow. After that, we stood in line and checked in, then went to Chili's for dinner. It's odd how I suddenly become super quiet in settings like that...but I listened and learned. Oh, and my camera card won't work in my camera, but Jill gave me her extra! We got hotel vouchers and chose a roommate (Olivia) and came to the hotel in the airport...which is really sketch. The devil thinks that he has won something because we are getting there a day late, but we know that our God can do miraculous things regardless...and He transcends time. He created it...and He causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him...which we most assuredly do.

Care.

"If you aren't committed to someone, someone suffers." (That doesn't just mean the person that you're not committed to. It means you too.)

This summer, I have been absolutely astounded to learn about the implications of truly caring for someone...well, more than one someone. I've written before about the fact that everyone needs encouragement...and I guess this is coming off of that...but displaying Christ-like love to people is one of the most worthwhile things you can do. Once you know a few people so well that you can just tell when they are struggling with something, you can begin to learn how you can help and encourage them. But believe me, that process begins with simply caring for them.

"Care" in this sense is defined as: painstaking or watchful attention; regard coming from desire or esteem. As Christians, this is essentially what we are supposed to do. Even though he probably has no idea that I've picked up on this, I have really been impacted by the way my dad asks nearly everyone he talks to "Can I do anything for you?" Even if they say no, he has demonstrated that he sincerely cares for them and he is willing to do whatever he can for them.

John 21:15-17 is the conversation between Jesus and Peter when Jesus appears to the seven disciples after His resurrection. Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves Him...each time, when Peter says yes, Jesus tells him to care for His sheep, to feed His lambs. If we love God, we will care for the people He has placed in our lives, whether we think they deserve it or not. In fact, I will venture to say that the ones who deserve it least are the ones who need it most.

"Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly--not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God." --1 Peter 5:2.

Even though this passage is written to elders and leaders in the church, we are all ministers (1 Peter 2:9). We are to be concerned for the people around us...unselfishly. We gain the greatest reward for doing something that we will not get credit for.

"Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." --Philippians 2:3-4.

Show them Jesus.

Dusty Leaves.

So...I went with some friends to Twisted Falls today. It's quite a long and bumpy drive out there, so (me being me) I had a lot of time to think. When we were on the dirt road for a while, I noticed all of the leaves that were low to the ground...they were basically coated in dust from all of the cars that had left residue upon them. That's the second time in the past few weeks I have been on a road like that and thought the same thing. But today I was thinking: those leaves have no choice but to get covered in dirt all day every day, but they still choose to live. Wouldn't you think that after years and years of the same thing, they would eventually die off in those positions because they can't get the proper nutrients from the sun? And then it occurred to me...they are only dusty until the Lord sends the rain. When that blessed day comes, they are cleansed and renewed...they receive from the sunlight whatever they need, and they can thrive.

Those leaves are like us. We go through days and days of the filth of the world...just waiting upon our Creator to send His glorious rain and make us clean...then we can see the Son and learn what He has to teach us. This world is despicable...it is so fallen because of sin. But we have the Hope of Nations on our side, just waiting to cleanse us from all of the things of this world. I think of the time of The Flood...God sent rain for 40 days and 40 nights to purge from the world all of the people who had constantly demonstrated their contempt for Him and His laws. After that, Noah and his family were given the opportunity to start over. That is what we are presented with every time we immerse ourselves in God's Word...in prayer...in fellowship with other believers...in worship.

In the Old Testament, there are many instances of the Lord not sending rain to the people as a response to their rebellion...thus confirming its crucial significance. Rain is necessary for the growth of everything...just as rain from Heaven (Living Water) is essential for our spiritual growth.

"You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home, and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor." --Psalm 104:13.

"He covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain for the earth, and makes the grass grow in mountain pastures." --Psalm 147:8.

"Then the Lord will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your livestock." --Isaiah 30:23.

"Can any of the worthless foreign gods send us rain? Does it fall from the sky by itself? No, you are the one, O Lord our God! Only you can do such things. So we will wait for you to help us." --Jeremiah 14:22.

"Then the remnant left in Israel will take their place among the nations. They will be like dew sent by the Lord or like rain falling on the grass, which no one can hold back and no one can restrain." --Micah 5:7.

"'Seven days from now I will make the rains pour down on the earth. And it will rain for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the earth all the living things I have created.'" --Genesis 7:4.