Right now it’s 11:48pm and I’m looking out of the window of an airplane, somewhere in between Miami and Cleveland.  I, along with the rest of the team, have become well-acquainted with this view over the past 24 hours.  Our day of travel started at 2am, and when this plane lands, we’ll have spent about 13 hours in the air today.  Needless to say, we’re looking forward to getting home.

  One of the benefits of our long travel day was the chance to reflect on the time we spent together over the past ten days.  We talked (and laughed) today about the highlights of the trip, flipped through and shared our favorite pictures, and recollected our favorite Kep James stories.  If you haven’t read through any of the previous posts on the blog, I would encourage you to do so.  Each of the students did a fantastic job of providing a taste of our experience day-by-day.

I’d like to provide a punctuation mark to this blog and our trip with a few thoughts of my own.  I’m simply going to limit those thoughts to a list of 10 things I have been thankful for today as I reflect on our trip to Bolivia.

1.     I’m thankful for Eric Bean.

If you want the full story, go back and read our first post.  If it wasn’t for Eric flying to Washington, D.C. last week to commandeer our visas and passports, we wouldn’t have gone on this trip.  Eric, you are the real MVP. 

2.     I’m thankful that I live somewhat close to sea-level.

La Paz is the highest capital city in the world.  At certain points in our trip we were at over 14,000 feet altitude.  To give you some perspective on how high that is; Denver is less than a third of the altitude of La Paz.

As a result of the altitude, most of the team struggled through altitude sickness at some point during the trip.  Except for Tim.  Tim, who often reminded all of us that he was a ‘superhero’, stood tall and mighty among us mere mortals.

3.     I’m thankful for Bolivian coffee.

Before we had arrived, I’d heard rumors that Bolivia was the source of some of the best coffee in the world.  Those rumors proved to be true. 

Kep and Debbie took good care of us and made sure that we were well-caffeinated throughout the week.  Kep even introduced us to a special dark brew of coffee mixed with cow’s blood (!?).  I’m still not quite sold on the blood coffee, but I did make sure to take a couple bags of Alexander’s Coffee beans home to cherish those little delicious beans of joy for as long as I can.  

4.     I’m thankful for Buñuelos.

Buñuelos are basically fried donuts smothered in syrup.  Need I say more? 

5.     I’m thankful for Creation.

On almost every day of the trip, I said to myself, “this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”  And I meant it.  From the breathtaking jungle mountains in Yungas, to the shining lights arrayed along the cliffs of La Paz, to the crystal clear waters of Lake Titicaca, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the scenery, an undeniable illustration of Psalm 19:

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

6.     I’m thankful for Victor.

Victor was an incredible Bolivian man who drove us around in his mini-bus all week.  Not only did he drive us around for hours upon hours, but simultaneously tolerated Connor’s songwriting and rapping in the backseat.  I’m actually starting to think that he may have hit that one speedbump really hard on purpose.    
 

7.     I’m thankful for Patti.

Patti cooked food for our team for most of the trip and she crafted some absolutely amazing meals.  There wasn’t a meal on our trip where we weren’t well-fed with more than enough delicious food.  Patti also introduced us to Buñuelos.  God bless you Patti, God bless you. 
 

8.     I’m thankful for our team.

Philip, Joe, Tim, Trevor, Connor, Noah, Brandon, Colleen, Melissa, Allie, Anna, and Whitney: You are a super-team in the truest sense of the word, the Golden State Warriors have nothing on you.  Thank you for working so hard, for following your leaders, for getting along with each other, for loving your Bolivian neighbors, treating others as more significant than yourselves, and for taking ten days out of your summer to share the gospel with people who need to hear it.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. – Phil. 3:3-6
 

9.     I’m thankful for Kep and Debbie.

I grew up at Parkside, so I had always heard about Kep and Debbie, prayed for them when I came across their names in the prayer calendar, and had interacted with Kep a few times.  But on this trip I had the opportunity to really get to know both of them for the first time.

It was so clear, even in the few days that we spent with them, that Kep and Debbie’s lives are all about other people, and not about themselves.  We talked a lot with the students about having a Philippians 2 mindset throughout the week, and it was very helpful to have Kep and Debbie with us as a living illustration of what that looks like. 

Kep was our fearless leader, an endless fount of information, our all-time favorite storyteller, and a humble servant to our group and to everyone we encountered along our way.  Debbie was our sweet, kind, loving, and hospitable caregiver.  Thank you, Debbie, for helping so many of us weak Americans deal with our altitude sickness.

It was sad to say goodbye to both of you, but we are so thankful for the gospel partnership we have with you that was strengthened and enjoyed over the past 10 days.
   

10.  I’m thankful for the Gospel.

Solo de Jesus la Sangre.

Those were words that we sang on Sunday morning as we worshipped at La Comunidad with our Bolivian brothers and sisters.

Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.

How strange it is that there was a man beaten, humiliated, and crucified 2000 years ago in the middle east, and now, in places as vastly different as the United States and Bolivia, we sing of the blood that he shed?

How amazing is it, that the blood Jesus shed on that cross was poured out for Bolivians, Americans, Africans, Australians, Asians, of every tribe tongue and nation?

I’ve been reminded in wonderful ways this week that the good news of Jesus Christ, crucified, dead, buried, and resurrected is a gospel that knows no borders. 

The grace of God reaches out to every sinner, regardless of race, nationality, and geography.

My prayer has been and will continue to be for my students to be gripped by this reality and to live on mission, telling others of this amazing grace, and to share the good news that all can be saved Solo de Jesus la Sangre.

We go to all the world

With Kingdom hope unfurled

No other name has power to save

But Jesus Christ the Lord

Danny

Day 9 - According to Philip(pe)

Last day in Bolivia

Disclaimer: just because milk comes in a bag, it doesn’t mean is spoils any less.

This morning half of us drank sour milk. The car ride back to La Paz wasn’t very fun.

But after lunch at Burger King many of us felt good enough to go and haggle in the marketplace some more. Chris says that Burger King is a place for rich people, so count your blessings next time you decide to casually get a Whopper.

In the Market place Trevor and I followed Kep. He is an excellent bargainer, speaking the language helps I guess. But I still did pretty well with knowing only a limited amount of the language. However, I can say that I know way more Spanish now than when I first stepped in the country.

The Spanish I learned I attribute to my great teachers: Patti, Chris, Yas, Anita, Daniela, Kep, and Wh(ea)tney. By far the highlight of today was the time we spent at Patti’s house with Kep and Debbie, Patti, Chris and Anita, Yas, and Yas’ mother and little sister. We, the Gringos, taught the Bolivians how to play Signs. It was the best way to end the trip. Actually scratch that – the combination of bunuelos, api, the company of new friends, and Signs was the best way to end the trip.

Even though we only had the single acquaintance with Yas’ mother, we loved her. Her first time playing, she got caught with the sign because Danny took too long to send the sign to her. She yelled at him for being too slow. I believe her exact words were “Next time go faster, you baby.”

The hospitality Patti, her mother, her daughters, Yas, and Kep and Debbie showed us was the best example of my favorite word: xenodochial. I speak for the whole group when I say that we will never forget them, their Christ like love or their love for Christ.

At night, we met face to face with our biggest struggle yet: fitting everything back into our suitcases. But after the struggle we were rewarded with some dope games of One Night Ultimate Werewolf. Debbie had wanted to learn how to play since she heard it was such a fun game. In our last game, Debbie and Kep were the Werewolves: que romantico.

Ciao Bolivia y hasta luego amigos. Vamos a ver a todos cuando llegamos en Cleveland.

Luego en Miami:

Ahora en el Airopuerto nosostros esperamos por un (flight attendant). We’ve been waiting for five hours and our flight just got delayed. Brandon left us. More like A(Brandon)ded us. They overbooked our flight and Brandon volunteered to stay in Miami until the morning. At least in Bolivia, they had enough people to staff a flight. To board alone, they had like ten people helping get people in line.

To pass the time, Danny is pushing Connor around on a cart. Connor is yelling “Not my Airliner!” And Danny says that if he gets yelled at for pushing Connor around, he’s going to respond with “Then get me on my plane.”  Clearly we are the group with the most efficacy.

But our group is divided. There are those like Brandon who would rather stay here in Miami for another night and get wined and dined. And then there are those like Danny who will walk home if that is what it takes.

From experience we don’t underestimate the ability of walking. Last night, all of us except for Kep took a Taxi back to the church from Patti’s. As kep started walking and as we drove, we joked that it would be funny if Kep beat us. Then the cab driver got lost, dropped us off at a coffee shop we knew. We walked four blocks to get back to the church to find that Kep really had beaten us. He’s a beast.

Day 8 - According to Philip and Anna

OBB’s here… Original Bolivia Bloggers (excluding Rachel). 

Lake Titicaca (translated to El Lago Puma Poop)

Today we woke up really early so we could avoid Bolivian blockades. Blockades are their way to protest, and this was our second almost encounter with them. Luckily we passed without any problems.

On the bus ride we took a little detour into Peru. If you think standing in two states at once is cool, try two countries. The view from the border was too cool for the guys to resist, so they decided to pee off a mountain in Peru.

After checking in to the hotel, we took a boat ride to the Island of the Sun where we got to see Inca ruins, terraces and the Fountain of Youth. The boat ride was characterized by cold winds, beautiful views and much Spanish learning. On the island of the Sun we hiked up to an Incan palace, around the terraces and back down to the Fountain of Youth. Fun fact: you shouldn’t drink from the Fountain of Youth cause it’s diseased. Trevor, after drinking from the Fountain of Youth is medically incapable of writing this blog too.

By far the most diverse view was from the Island of the Sun. You could see the lake, mountains covered in snow, farmland, village huts and people, alpacas, and donkeys (which the Bolivians call burritos) (they call burritos, burritos too).

The Island of the Sun was super advanced in its agricultural technology. They had terraces and flowing water. They used the water from the lake to irrigate their crops, the only catch is that the water from the lake is salt water. The Incas used a layer of clay in their soil in order to filter out the salt of the water—that way they could water their crops without killing them.

And for only a few extra Bolivianos, we got to see the Island of the Moon. This was the island that the Incan King kept his harem. History details that any man who steps on the island would be beheaded. Fortunately, no beheading took place. But we did eat llama poop. Kep says it’s really high in nutrients.

Back in Copacabana, we took another hike to see a Catholic church and up the Fourteen Stations of the Cross. This trip was both amazing and sad at the same time. The architecture and the sights were only proving God’s great power and magnificence. But the statements written on the crosses, and the depictions in the church proved the absence of the Truth. But God is good, and He is the light – He has the power to raise the dead to life. He will not forsake his people, and he will call His own to Himself.

We watched the sunset from the top of the Stations, and it was nothing less than breathtaking. Future screen savers in the making.

After sunset, we headed back to the hotel for dinner, where we learned an important lesson. NEVER order food when you are hungry – three uneaten pizzas are the proof.

As we do every night, we’ll end the blog the same.

Lowlight: Cavs lost. Highlight: Kep is really good at One Night Ultimate Werewolf.

-- the OBBs Philip and Anna