Philip here! First-ish day, although it feels like it’s been two. Currently Tim is acting like an ambulance and Connor is acting like a policeman. Tim is flapping his hands to his screeching siren sound. They both have to act in four different attitudes for a skit they are doing tomorrow –- from Tim’s siren it sounds like they are mostly some hybrid of a boo-ing crowd, a child who had too much sugar, and a whale -- but you can’t really tell with all his laughing. My description doesn’t do this scene justice, but let’s go back to how we got here.
Yesterday after you saw us off at the airport, our flight to
Miami was delayed by a half an hour – and at first thought, no biggie… But then
we almost missed our second flight, and were almost forced to run to the plane
with no food. If you know me, not having dinner is an epidemic. Luckily we found a café right by our gate to
grab a quick bite to eat. Unlike our visas, this problem had an easy solution.
A big part of my mission experience was the bracelets that
we made for both the Bolivian kids and for our youth group. The point of the
bracelets is to first give a gift to the kids we meet, and second to get the
youth group involved with our mission trip. We are making the bracelets two of
a kind, and the whole idea is a 3 in 1. Three wraps in one bracelet, three
persons in one God, and three people involved in the prayer, the American, the
Bolivian, and God. The whole crew was making the bracelets while we were
waiting for our first plane. Some of us even learned how to braid for the first
time. Connor was so proud of his first bracelet -- when he finally finished 5
and a half hours later.
On our second flight I got to give away my first bracelet.
Many people dread sitting in the middle seat on an airplane – me too. But the
girl that sat next to Connor and me was super cool, and is currently doing an
internship at a water treatment plant in Bolivia. Connor, whom I believe has a
life goal of drinking some kind of domestic water in Bolivia, of course first
asked her if she had ever drunk the water. Unfortunately, he found out that
even though he was inoculated for typhoid, it’s still not safe to drink the water.
After a neat conversation, a bumpy and long flight, we gave her a bracelet. Our
first connection was my highlight of the day.
Stepping off the plane, the altitude was readily apparent.
Denver is a mile high, 5280 ft high, and my family’s favorite volcano in Maui
is 10,000 ft high, but La Paz is 14,000 ft above sea level. Our crew originally
had a bet that whoever got altitude sickness first would write the first blog….
before you assume anything, Trevor is still medically incapable of writing this
blog.
When we arrived at Kep and Debbie James’ House, we were
happily surprised with an amazing breakfast. A welcome contrast to our previous
rushed meal.
Beyond just getting to Bolivia, we have already driven across
the country and are now out of the mountains and now in the heart of the jungle.
Camp Yungas was first founded by Kep, and the whole purchasing process of the
camp was a very interesting car ride story. The first attempt to buy land would’ve
had legality problems: the land in question was owned by about 120 different
people. The actual camp we are now staying on was the second try at buying
land. Today we prepared for a camp that we are helping host tomorrow. In short
it was a bunch of cutting of string, plates and yarn. We also learned a lot of songs
in Spanish and the motions to follow. I can honestly say that I think I learned
more Spanish today than I have in all my years in a classroom setting. My
favorite learned word: mashed potatoes = purre de papas aka the best mashed
potatoes I have ever had… Sorry Fawn.
After a long day, a hard game of volleyball (Bolivian
style), and a very happy birthday to our fearless leader Danny, we are happy to
go to bed. Well, at least after we finish playing this dice game that Kep is teaching
us. One that I’m happily winning currently. J
Best wishes and Good night,
Philip
PS Pardon any grammatical errors. Sorry Dad, I’m a little
tired.
Day 1 Part 2
Anna Larison Style:
Day one started at the airport. After getting through security we boarded our
flight from Cleveland to Miami, which was short and sweet in comparison to the
trip from Miami to La Paz. We were all spread out on the plane, which was
surprisingly full of travelers to Bolivia. We finally landed at around 5:15 am,
Tuesday morning.
Going through customs in Bolivia was a big concern for a lot
of us, but thankfully we made it through without a single problem. Directly
after customs, Kep James, our host missionary, was there to collect us.
Unexpectedly, Kep and Debbie treated us to a fantastic homemade breakfast when
we arrived at their home. After settling in, we took off for Camp Yungas where
we will be staying for the next few days.
I must say, the culture in Bolivia differs greatly from what
we know in America, but it is so beautiful. Today we drove in the mountains at
an altitude of 14,000 feet! These majestic mountains display God’s power and
his eye for beauty. Driving through the city before the mountains we saw
Bolivians in the markets and on the streets. Seeing these people was such an
eye-opening opportunity and helped to show the diversity of God’s creation.
We’re all thankful for God’s provision and his hand,
protecting us through all the difficulties of international travel and a new
culture. Even with one case of altitude sickness, Kep and Debbie knew exactly what
we needed and we are so blessed to have them.
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