New Stars in the Same Sky // Annmarie Morrison

I have to say there are few places I'd rather be right now over where I am, on the couch with the last of this morning's coffee and one of the most beautiful sunny afternoon mountain views I've ever seen right outside the window. And though I love everything outside the house, what's inside might be even better--there's been music and laughter throughout the entire guesthouse all morning as members of the team have been preparing for the day, and we just finished a lunch of saltañas (a meat sandwich almost exclusively eaten in this region of Bolivia) and some of the best-tasting strawberries we'd ever had (even though they aren't even in season right now). Not bad for the first day after thirty-two hours of travel--which ended perfectly last night. As the plane lowered itself into the valley, all the lights of the town on the mountain welcomed us and made it feel like we were landing in a field of stars [rather than yet another airport]. Driving through Cochabomba felt surreal too, as we got to see restaurants fully lit and full of people, animals wandering the streets, and even street performers on stilts or twirling fire.

We were met at the guesthouse by an enthusiastic Joe, two other missionaries who had already been working in Cochabomba for about four months, and, to the delight of pretty much everyone, a little white dog named Coco. After dinner, Joe brought us to the back deck and pointed out to us the Southern Cross, a constellation that can't even be seen at all in the Northern Hemisphere. I can already tell that every minute of layovers and delayed flights is going be repaid in tenfold with the experiences we'll have on this trip.

If the excitement of being in a hemisphere of the globe that most of us have never even seen before wasn't enough, we also had the honor of being able to celebrate Richard's eighteenth birthday with him, complete with streamers, little gifts to unwrap, a pink tiara, and an entire symphony of kazoos. I also got to be on the team before lunch tasked with baking a chocolate cake for the occasion--following specifically high-altitude instructions and trying our hardest to avoid licking the spoons clean.

We have a few minutes now to rest a little bit before the real business of the day starts up. I'm especially excited for our our objectives for today, which are going to include our first VBS with the kids and a concert that a handful of team members have been working tirelessly to make perfect. Overhearing some of my favorite worship songs being rehearsed in Spanish has been super interesting for me, and I absolutely cannot wait to hear them sung tonight with some of the residents of Cochabomba and our team singing together. Another team has also rehearsed over and over today for a skit to perform a few times over the course of the trip about how though there are things in the world that are going to break our hearts, Jesus has the power to overcome any hurting and heal each and every one of us. Music has an incredible way of breaking language barriers and bringing people together, and before we've even started this concert I'm already getting amazing vibes just from the thought of all the joy tonight is going to bring.

It's going to be a long day full of lots of work, but I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to go through all of it with. The members of this team have the most uplifting positive attitudes and entirely selfless hearts that are here looking to give everything they have and devote the entirety of the next few days to serving others in any and every way they possibly can. I cannot wait to see the amazing things that are going to be done through us this week, and the relationships that are going to form and strengthen among this group.

-- Annmarie