Monday, June 29, 2015
Home again
Thank you for your prayers!! We made it back safely and can't wait to share all of our stories with you all in the coming weeks.
relax + reboot + RETURN
We spent our last night in Bolivia at the Sun Hotel, resting and debriefing our trip. It was an incredible time as a team to reflect on what God did and pray for what He will continue to do in our lives and in Bolivia.
Here are a few highlights!
Now we are in Miami and headed through customs before our final flight back to Chicago. See you SOON!
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Last Day in Cochabamba // Paul Ankenman
This trip has been extremely busy and action packed, but today was very chill. We spent most of the last four days working to build the third floor of a church and today was largely a celebration of our progress.
Today, the church was having health clinic, so we would play with the kids of the parents who were receiving free health care. During the morning, not very many families were showing up, which is common in Bolivia where people will show up late to almost everything, so we rode 20 minutes through Cochabamba on the back of a pickup to pick up some cookies and bring them back to the church.
A small group of people and I also walked through the town to see the house that we finished building a few days earlier. Although the family wasn't there at the time, it was nice for because Claire couldn't go to the work day when we finished the house, so she hadn't seen it when it was finished.
-- Paul
Today, the church was having health clinic, so we would play with the kids of the parents who were receiving free health care. During the morning, not very many families were showing up, which is common in Bolivia where people will show up late to almost everything, so we rode 20 minutes through Cochabamba on the back of a pickup to pick up some cookies and bring them back to the church.
A small group of people and I also walked through the town to see the house that we finished building a few days earlier. Although the family wasn't there at the time, it was nice for because Claire couldn't go to the work day when we finished the house, so she hadn't seen it when it was finished.
-- Paul
Operation Pillow//Dylan
Today was our last full day in Bolivia and it was a great way to close the trip. Today, doctors and dentists came to the community center/church to offer free services to anyone who wanted help. I was able to help out the dentists by cleaning their equipment for them. I felt very bad for the child that had to have his tooth pulled as he was screaming during the situation. I think he felt better though when I handed him some popcorn and an apple juice packet.
-- Dylan
After lunch, it was my turn to pray over the people coming to the event and the church which was a little hard to stay on track since I had 20 minutes to do so before I got the next person. Praying was nice to have quiet time to focus on God and remember the reason for the event and clear my head. After my prayer time, I got to play with some fresh puppies who were just learning to walk. My favorite puppy was brown and named Lava (she looked similar to lava cake) and was the cutest puppy out of the group. Seeing a little kid dancing around, I decided to join him and realized soon that his energy never ran out. He was always ready for me to pick him up and swing him around again and again. He also had this huge smile on his face that was so cute and contagious that you thought he would have been on a cereal box.
We started to make balloon animals for the kids, but with my lack of balloon animal making skills and Spanish, I struggled to make acceptable creatures for the kids. To close off the day we thanked the Bolivians for allowing us to help them build a house and the third floor while being able to play with the community kids, beat them in soccer, and share the gospel. We prayed with them and waved goodbye as we left to go back to our last night at the guest house.
-- Dylan
Bittersweet Goodbyes // Emily Mangione
Hello!
Today marked our final full day in Bolivia, one that was both hard to let go of but full of gratitude. We woke up at around 7:15 this morning to the smell of fresh coffee and strawberry jam. I started out my morning with my bible and journal sitting in my favorite spot in the world. It is the first landing on the staircase leading up to our rooms. You can see the sun peaking out from right behind the mountains before it rises- a simple reminder of the beautiful places God has created for us to enjoy.
Today marked our final full day in Bolivia, one that was both hard to let go of but full of gratitude. We woke up at around 7:15 this morning to the smell of fresh coffee and strawberry jam. I started out my morning with my bible and journal sitting in my favorite spot in the world. It is the first landing on the staircase leading up to our rooms. You can see the sun peaking out from right behind the mountains before it rises- a simple reminder of the beautiful places God has created for us to enjoy.
After eating, we loaded up the bus and headed out to the same church/ community center that we have been working on to do a community outreach. This supplied doctors and dentists and their services for free to anyone who needed the medical attention. During their visit, the people were being preached the gospel which resulted in many people coming to Christ. While some people were working on the medical services, like cleaning the tools for the doctors, others were helping in other ways. For example, we were given a 6 foot tall bag of something similar to what we would know as popcorn. When I say 6 feet that is no joke- this bag was taller than I am. We then bagged the popcorn to give to the people receiving care and their children which mostly consisted of work ( and eating a lot of it....oops??) Then we ate a great lunch which consisted of rice, yucca ( a root vegetable that tastes like potatoes), and chicken.
After that we headed over to Teo's church and got to see the city which had the most beautiful flowers all over it. This car ride was on of my favorite parts of the day. When we got back we played with 1 week old puppies who all simultaneously fell asleep on us and snuggled into our warm and cozy t-shirts. It was incredible how trusting the mother was. She let us hold her puppies and just sat next to us calmly, only getting up to sniff them every so often. After that, we gave the remaining food to all of the children who beamed with joy. We take eating food and a full pantry for granted all the time, but these kids are always wondering where their next meal is coming from and if they are even getting one. It was so rewarding to give them some food knowing how grateful they are for it.
We then all gathered in the main room of the church to pray. The room was intermixed with us and the Bolivians, all singing together and praying. It is so incredible that even though here is this huge language barrier, we can still worship the same god together. The Bolivians are big on goodbyes and we took a long time to hug them all and show them our appreciation. They made us feel so welcome; we were family the minute we said hello to them. I have never met more kind and thoughtful people in my life who radiate Gods glory.
Their hospitality and kind hearts ares a wonderful reminder that you don't need to have an abundance of money or materialistic items to be happy. Saying goodbye really sparked my allergies (no, I wasn't crying... okay, maybe I was) because once these people touch your heart, it is hard to imagine living your life without them. I am beyond grateful that I had the opportunity to meet these beautiful people. Now we are sitting at home, playing games, and waiting for Dan to arrive with some really great pizza.
- Emily
- Emily
Hermanitos // Annmarie Morrison
On the flight from O'Hare to Dallas, I was reading a book that included the quote "every stranger is just family you have yet to meet."
I didn't know it then, but those words that I read less than an hour into this challenging exhausting wonderful journey of ours would serve as the foundation for so much of what I took away from my time here in Cochabomba.
I've loved every minute I've spent over this trip, even the ones in which I'd been lifting buckets of concrete for so long I thought my hands might fall off, and even the ones in which it was so hot out it almost made me dizzy, but especially the ones in which I was spending time with the Bolivian children and being able to experience their entirely trusting and completely unconditional love. Whether it was running or twirling around until I could barely take another step; pouring from my water bottle into little cups to share with the kids on the worksite; laughing as they posed over and over for my camera; or even just sitting on the floor asking about their favorite colors in broken Spanish; the moments I had with the local children were when I felt the most whole, the closest to God. Language barriers hardly even existed between us--all we needed was to enjoy each other's company and to know that love was real and thriving in that place between our team and the people we had the honor of interacting with here.
One of the most important lessons I learned this week came from a six-year-old, a missionary's daughter named Lola. One of the first nights on the trip she and I were playing on the swingset and I mentioned something about the two of us being friends. To my confusion, Lola shook her head at the word. "No, we're not," she responded, seeming almost surprised at my statement. "What are we instead?" I asked her.
"We're sisters," she said, beaming at me. "Sisters in heaven!"
I hadn't thought about it at all before, but she's absolutely 100% right about that. Lola and I are sisters, and we have thousands of other sisters and brothers all over the globe, made equally and loved equally. Every stranger is just family you have yet to meet.
Over the course of this week I've climbed to the top of a mountain, hauled a sum of hundreds of pounds of concrete up three stories using nothing but a rope and pulley (and sometimes Alex's help), and managed to remember every time I've gone to the bathroom to throw my toilet paper away instead of flushing it down the drain. But the hardest thing I'll have to do all week is say goodbye to the sisters and brothers, mis hermanas y hermanos, that I've been able to meet these past few days. I'm boundlessly grateful for the opportunity I've had to touch their lives, even for a moment.
What I would say to anyone reading this now is that outreach doesn't require thirty-five years of travel time, a passport, and somebody to translate for you. You have hermanos everywhere and somebody is always going to appreciate an act of love, no matter how small it may seem to you. So I want to encourage anyone this might resonate with to find family in a stranger sometime in the next few days, even if all it is is a smile when you pass each other in the cereal aisle of the supermarket. You never know how far it might go.
-Annmarie
((PS, Mom and Dad, miss you lots and love you more and I've been hardcore craving a strawberry milkshake like all week so we should definitely go get one of those when I come back to the States for sure))
I didn't know it then, but those words that I read less than an hour into this challenging exhausting wonderful journey of ours would serve as the foundation for so much of what I took away from my time here in Cochabomba.
I've loved every minute I've spent over this trip, even the ones in which I'd been lifting buckets of concrete for so long I thought my hands might fall off, and even the ones in which it was so hot out it almost made me dizzy, but especially the ones in which I was spending time with the Bolivian children and being able to experience their entirely trusting and completely unconditional love. Whether it was running or twirling around until I could barely take another step; pouring from my water bottle into little cups to share with the kids on the worksite; laughing as they posed over and over for my camera; or even just sitting on the floor asking about their favorite colors in broken Spanish; the moments I had with the local children were when I felt the most whole, the closest to God. Language barriers hardly even existed between us--all we needed was to enjoy each other's company and to know that love was real and thriving in that place between our team and the people we had the honor of interacting with here.
One of the most important lessons I learned this week came from a six-year-old, a missionary's daughter named Lola. One of the first nights on the trip she and I were playing on the swingset and I mentioned something about the two of us being friends. To my confusion, Lola shook her head at the word. "No, we're not," she responded, seeming almost surprised at my statement. "What are we instead?" I asked her.
"We're sisters," she said, beaming at me. "Sisters in heaven!"
I hadn't thought about it at all before, but she's absolutely 100% right about that. Lola and I are sisters, and we have thousands of other sisters and brothers all over the globe, made equally and loved equally. Every stranger is just family you have yet to meet.
Over the course of this week I've climbed to the top of a mountain, hauled a sum of hundreds of pounds of concrete up three stories using nothing but a rope and pulley (and sometimes Alex's help), and managed to remember every time I've gone to the bathroom to throw my toilet paper away instead of flushing it down the drain. But the hardest thing I'll have to do all week is say goodbye to the sisters and brothers, mis hermanas y hermanos, that I've been able to meet these past few days. I'm boundlessly grateful for the opportunity I've had to touch their lives, even for a moment.
What I would say to anyone reading this now is that outreach doesn't require thirty-five years of travel time, a passport, and somebody to translate for you. You have hermanos everywhere and somebody is always going to appreciate an act of love, no matter how small it may seem to you. So I want to encourage anyone this might resonate with to find family in a stranger sometime in the next few days, even if all it is is a smile when you pass each other in the cereal aisle of the supermarket. You never know how far it might go.
-Annmarie
((PS, Mom and Dad, miss you lots and love you more and I've been hardcore craving a strawberry milkshake like all week so we should definitely go get one of those when I come back to the States for sure))
Friday, June 26, 2015
Futbol and Coke // Mady Sensenig
According to our Bolivian friend Teo, it's our 8th day here in Bolivia and I can't believe it! This gorgeous country has felt like home the past couple days and it has been so exciting to see God work through our team this week. Today was especially cool as it was our last day of construction on the Iglesia Monte Sion, and we got to see most of our walls completed! Though it is tedious,dusty work, brick laying passed quickly as some of us tried to rap to Clint's beat boxing or figure out riddles. When Claire and I finished our wall I felt so happy that we got to be a part of this amazing project that touches so many people here in Bolivia.
This joy continued when I left our third story project to go downstairs and heard some members of our team worshiping as the pastor of the church's son, Moises, led them with his guitar playing. The team had heard Moises playing some worship songs on the guitar and slowly trickled into the room and sang along in English while Moises and his sister sang in Spanish. It was a cool way to see God's light shine through people of all different backgrounds, especially as we were working on a church that God has and will continuing using in so many peoples' lives. We then transitioned to a very exciting futbol game against a Bolivian team that practices in the field in front of the church. Jenna took over as goalie since Harrison sadly had to leave us yesterday, but she rocked it and we were able to celebrate a victory of 4-2.
Even more exciting was what followed, as Teo had the idea to buy some Coke to share with the other team after the game and used the opportunity to sit everyone down and share the gospel with them. It was the first time I had heard the gospel spoken straight through in a different language and the whole experience was so encouraging. It is crazy that something as simple as a futbol game and Coke could be used to share God's love to a group of people! We came home to a wonderful meal including dish duty afterwards for room 6 (that's me) ,and though I may have broken a plate and cup (sorry Joe!), our other new friend Ana made the chore exciting by playing some music. Our team time tonight brought us together and we were able to end the day with worship and hearing the different ways God has been working through Isabella and Teo as they shared their testimonies with us. I am definitely loving seeing God work through so many different people here in Bolivia and am excited for one more full day of service tomorrow before we start our long adventure back home. :)
-- Mady
Jenna is the Coolest // Sam Trammell
I want to start off by saying that this trip to Bolivia has been more than I could have imagined. My time this past week has been spent in many new and exciting ways, from climbing up --what seemed like a million steps-- to El Cristo while recovering from a cold, to being able to converse with and learn more about the Bolivians we have worked with and been able to serve. Today was no less exciting.
I started off my day just like every other: sitting on the steps, doing my morning devotionals, drinking a cup of coffee all while watching the sun rise from the window directly across from me. This might not seem very significant to most, but being able to take 40 minutes disconnected from the rest of the group and solely focus on God while feeling the sun slowly move up from my toes to my face is a pretty amazing experience. Post devotionals, however, was not a completely new experience (we ate scrambled eggs... it was good).
Onwards to when we drove the bus to the work site, being able to witness all different parts of Bolivia was something I, nor anyone else, will forget. The real fun began when we pulled up to the church and saw two of the little girls we has seen on previous work days jumping and smiling when they saw our bus.
Once we had greeted the people there, applied our sunblock and climbed the (completely terrifying) ladder to the third floor, we began out very, very long day of mixing concrete and laying down bricks. There were a few hiccups, such as that time Linzy and Trevor finished a very beautiful layer of bricks and soon after realized the beginning of a window had to be put in that exact spot, or the fact that the bus left our sight with all of our bags of necessities for the whole day, Even with these few bumps and though we were all exhausted by the end of it all, we all, I believe, felt a real sense of accomplishment.
With these last few days ahead before we leave for home, I am hopeful we will all stay encouraged and healthy as we have loads of work left and many flights ahead of us.
PS I love you mom and pops.
-- Sam
I started off my day just like every other: sitting on the steps, doing my morning devotionals, drinking a cup of coffee all while watching the sun rise from the window directly across from me. This might not seem very significant to most, but being able to take 40 minutes disconnected from the rest of the group and solely focus on God while feeling the sun slowly move up from my toes to my face is a pretty amazing experience. Post devotionals, however, was not a completely new experience (we ate scrambled eggs... it was good).
Onwards to when we drove the bus to the work site, being able to witness all different parts of Bolivia was something I, nor anyone else, will forget. The real fun began when we pulled up to the church and saw two of the little girls we has seen on previous work days jumping and smiling when they saw our bus.
With these last few days ahead before we leave for home, I am hopeful we will all stay encouraged and healthy as we have loads of work left and many flights ahead of us.
PS I love you mom and pops.
-- Sam
Thursday, June 25, 2015
The Lightning Thief // Tim Hotchkiss
So today we uhhhh... built some walls. It was pretty exciting. Some people went to watch soccer, but I didn't. What a rush.
Oh yeah. We had some meat and rice. For Dinner. Today,
Oh yeah. We had some eggs too.
Oh yeah. We had some potatoes;
I'm okay mom don't worry.
Powdered Mountain.
-- Tim
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
With Arms Open Wide // Isabella Stackhouse
As I sit on the 2nd floor landing to write, I feel at a loss of words. Not because today was boring but because today was so packed and amazing. I am so blessed by my team. As each person has headed to bed we've exchanged "goodnights." Alex just came by suggesting I title the blog "Good, Good Dad" our beloved Father's Day song. Grace tackled me in a goodnight hug. Dylan and Harrison just stopped by for a little chat as they headed up to bed.
Today we had a "fun day" because Harrison, Kitty, and Anthony are leaving tomorrow to start their journey back to the states. They will dearly be missed but our last day together as a team was incredible. We started off our day with a wakeup call at 8:00 (which we all thanked God for). After a delicious breakfast, we were surprised with a cake for Dan and Linzy's Anniversary. So Happy Anniversary to Dan and Linzy. Once we were all fueled up, we took the bus to La Cancha, a large market in Cochabamba. We split up into two groups based on room assignment. My room (Room 6) was with the boys in Room 5. Our group consisted of myself, Katie, Annmarie, Mady, Michelle, Kitty, Anthony, Tim, Jack, Dylan, and Harrison. We followed Seth, a pastor we had worked with a few nights ago, through the market. There were so many goods that were being sold ranging from fruit, football (soccer) jerseys, and even live animals. Many members of our team purchased the jerseys with much excitement (Harrison bought 3). The hardest part of the market was walking through the witchery section. I won't go into detail because experiencing it first hand was hard enough. My heart went out to the people who believed and relied on a mystic evil.
After that we met in part of the market that had true Bolivian wares and where many of us bought souvenirs. I don't want to give any spoilers but Mommy, Daddy, Philip, Nana, Zia, Mia, and V, you guys are in for some great gifts! One item I bought for myself was an alpaca sweater. Many of my team members also purchased one and we took a picture together when we got back. After we had shopped around we headed to a lunch of chicken, fries, and rice. We took a short walk for some of our team to buy the Bolivinita, a gem one can only find in Bolivia. Then, after a short bus drive, we stood at the base of El Christo.
The boys decided to be manly and run up El Christo. Everyone else took it at their own pace. For me and few others, that pace was slow. Our group consisted of me, Grace, Emily, Annmarie, Sarah, Linzy, and Theo. Grace, Em, and I stuck together as we climbed. A few selfies were taken, a few T-Swift songs were played, and a few claims of "I'm Dying" were uttered. As we climbed Linzy encouraged us to keep going and reach the summit. She did this by giving us 10 Lessons. Now I don't remember all the lessons, mainly because I was concentrating on getting oxygen, but two stood out to me. Have Christian Fellowship and Jesus is always waiting at the top of your struggle with arms open wide.
The first one I have received through this trip. Tomorrow part of our team will leave and I feel like we won't be completely whole without them. Our team has gotten so close over the past days. I have enjoyed getting to know each and every one of my team members. There are a few team members especially that I hope to continue strong relationships with after the trip. I've never really had Christian Fellowship and I've discovered the importance it holds and the love and encouragement it gives.
The second is one the struck me as I had finally reached the summit. As we climbed over the hill, Grace yelled, "I SEE JESUS! JESUS WERE COMING FOR YOU!" We whooped for joy and hi-fived Jack. Before me, arms stretched wide was El Christo. I felt so good reaching the top and seeing Jesus there saying, "You made it, you conquered that struggle and I'm here." Standing looking up at Jesus with his arms open wide, I have no words to describe this awe inspiring experience.
There was a little Ice Cream stand at the top and pretty much everyone hurried over to get ice cream. Grace and I shared Vanilla with Chocolate chips and it was delicious! After that we took MANY photos with El Christo and the view. We watched the sunset across Cochabamba and then headed down the windy roads on the bus.
We stopped at the house briefly and then had a steak dinner at a nice restaurant. After we got home we had some Team Time, sharing funny stories, shout outs to our teammates, and how we felt the Lord in our lives that day.
Everyone is in their rooms now (not everyone is in bed though, I can hear Harrison and Dylan talking). I will be heading up soon as well. Even though it's sad some of our team will be leaving tomorrow, I'm so grateful for the day we had together today. Tomorrow we will continue our work on the church. I pray we will be the hands and feet of God and that Harrison, Kitty, and Anthony have a safe flight. I'm sure if I missed anything, Harrison covered it in his post. Goodnight to you all back in the states. I miss my family, but I'm pretty content with the family I'm surrounded by right now.
Love,
Bella
Today we had a "fun day" because Harrison, Kitty, and Anthony are leaving tomorrow to start their journey back to the states. They will dearly be missed but our last day together as a team was incredible. We started off our day with a wakeup call at 8:00 (which we all thanked God for). After a delicious breakfast, we were surprised with a cake for Dan and Linzy's Anniversary. So Happy Anniversary to Dan and Linzy. Once we were all fueled up, we took the bus to La Cancha, a large market in Cochabamba. We split up into two groups based on room assignment. My room (Room 6) was with the boys in Room 5. Our group consisted of myself, Katie, Annmarie, Mady, Michelle, Kitty, Anthony, Tim, Jack, Dylan, and Harrison. We followed Seth, a pastor we had worked with a few nights ago, through the market. There were so many goods that were being sold ranging from fruit, football (soccer) jerseys, and even live animals. Many members of our team purchased the jerseys with much excitement (Harrison bought 3). The hardest part of the market was walking through the witchery section. I won't go into detail because experiencing it first hand was hard enough. My heart went out to the people who believed and relied on a mystic evil.
After that we met in part of the market that had true Bolivian wares and where many of us bought souvenirs. I don't want to give any spoilers but Mommy, Daddy, Philip, Nana, Zia, Mia, and V, you guys are in for some great gifts! One item I bought for myself was an alpaca sweater. Many of my team members also purchased one and we took a picture together when we got back. After we had shopped around we headed to a lunch of chicken, fries, and rice. We took a short walk for some of our team to buy the Bolivinita, a gem one can only find in Bolivia. Then, after a short bus drive, we stood at the base of El Christo.
The boys decided to be manly and run up El Christo. Everyone else took it at their own pace. For me and few others, that pace was slow. Our group consisted of me, Grace, Emily, Annmarie, Sarah, Linzy, and Theo. Grace, Em, and I stuck together as we climbed. A few selfies were taken, a few T-Swift songs were played, and a few claims of "I'm Dying" were uttered. As we climbed Linzy encouraged us to keep going and reach the summit. She did this by giving us 10 Lessons. Now I don't remember all the lessons, mainly because I was concentrating on getting oxygen, but two stood out to me. Have Christian Fellowship and Jesus is always waiting at the top of your struggle with arms open wide.
The first one I have received through this trip. Tomorrow part of our team will leave and I feel like we won't be completely whole without them. Our team has gotten so close over the past days. I have enjoyed getting to know each and every one of my team members. There are a few team members especially that I hope to continue strong relationships with after the trip. I've never really had Christian Fellowship and I've discovered the importance it holds and the love and encouragement it gives.
The second is one the struck me as I had finally reached the summit. As we climbed over the hill, Grace yelled, "I SEE JESUS! JESUS WERE COMING FOR YOU!" We whooped for joy and hi-fived Jack. Before me, arms stretched wide was El Christo. I felt so good reaching the top and seeing Jesus there saying, "You made it, you conquered that struggle and I'm here." Standing looking up at Jesus with his arms open wide, I have no words to describe this awe inspiring experience.
There was a little Ice Cream stand at the top and pretty much everyone hurried over to get ice cream. Grace and I shared Vanilla with Chocolate chips and it was delicious! After that we took MANY photos with El Christo and the view. We watched the sunset across Cochabamba and then headed down the windy roads on the bus.
We stopped at the house briefly and then had a steak dinner at a nice restaurant. After we got home we had some Team Time, sharing funny stories, shout outs to our teammates, and how we felt the Lord in our lives that day.
Everyone is in their rooms now (not everyone is in bed though, I can hear Harrison and Dylan talking). I will be heading up soon as well. Even though it's sad some of our team will be leaving tomorrow, I'm so grateful for the day we had together today. Tomorrow we will continue our work on the church. I pray we will be the hands and feet of God and that Harrison, Kitty, and Anthony have a safe flight. I'm sure if I missed anything, Harrison covered it in his post. Goodnight to you all back in the states. I miss my family, but I'm pretty content with the family I'm surrounded by right now.
Love,
Bella
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)