Moments in Bolivia with Andrew

Dear Friends and Family,

I have been back in the states for three weeks now and I’d like to share some moments of my trip with you. I stole this letter format from another missionary I should mention. She went to Mozambique and her name is Katie Atkinson.

Most Beautiful Moments: Bolivia is gorgeous. We got to see the beautiful countryside while taking bus rides but my favorite part of Bolivia was the place where we had church camp. I and my team were small group leaders at a Christian high school camp. It was out in the jungle and the sunsets there were amazing. There were palm trees with parrots flying by and after the sun sets the night sky glows very brightly on a perfectly black background because there was no light pollution. It was special to get to see the stars on the southern side of the hemisphere.

Most Difficult Moments: The bad thing about church camp was we had to get up at 6:30 in the morning to do some exercise. One nerve-racking moment was when we had to give a short goodbye speech to the church entirely in Spanish. Very few Bolivians can speak English. Some of us had something prepared but I didn’t.

Silliest Moments: At the church camp they had amazing worship. Everyone dances around in circles like an Irish pub or forms a giant Congo line and runs around everyone else. Jonathan Presley (one of my mission team members) and I would go into the center of the circle and make up silly dances that all the kids loved.

Most Thoughtful Moments: We were blessed to have been invited to dinners of many families. Even though the church families didn’t have much they were so generous with us and provided the most delicious food. We got to know a few families fairly well. We were with the church pastor’s family most and he would tell us stories of God’s faithfulness in his life.

Saddest Moment: One day we were at the river just playing and watching pink dolphins pop out when we noticed a large group of people watching a few guys do something with large sticks. There was yelling and we thought it might be some kind of game but quickly we figured out that it was serious. Two brothers had fallen down into a deep part of the river where the current is strong and only one had been rescued. It was too dangerous to go and swim after him so the people yelled for the boats to come. The boats were too slow and the guy a few years younger than me drown. His body was never found and we went home that evening, staring at a beautiful red sunset, contemplating the frailty and uncertainty of life. We didn’t know that river was dangerous and it could have been any of us that made the same mistake.

Most Bolivian Moment: Twice we had to go to something called La Cena de Amnistad which means dinner of friendship. However I’m not sure if it was really friendship that was being promoted. You asked a partner of the opposite sex or a partner asked you to go with them or if neither occurred partners were assigned to a dinner were you would dress up and enter with arms locked like a prom and then the guys would bring the dinner to their partners. One of the dinners was with people 5-10 years younger than us and the other was with people our age. I did enjoy both of them however. For some reason during the dinner with the kids from camp they played weird/funny internet videos during the dinner. In Bolivia there are very into the dating scene.

Most Fun Moments: There was a lot of fun during this trip but a lot of it came when we were just playing with the kids. We played jump rope, volleyball, basketball, and most of all soccer. We played with the kids almost every day when we weren’t working.

Most Exciting Moments: Soccer is huge in virtually every country except the US. We watched the World Cup Final game in a small room with about twenty people with the game projected on the wall. I wanted the Netherlands to win but all the Bolivians were happy when Spain did.

Most Frightening Moments: The first was flying into Trinidad for the first time. We were on a small plane and for some reason the airport had old crashed planes off on the side of the runway where we were to land. The second was going into the river with the piranha for the first time. They only nibble on you if you have an open wound but we could see them jumping out of the water and sometimes they got pretty close.

My Favorite Day: I know this isn’t a moment but my Birthday in Bolivia was a very good one. It was a Saturday so it was a day off for us. We woke up early to get cow head soup for breakfast. They were out of eyes, brain and tongue even though we got there a little after seven so we had cow cheek soup which was very delicious followed by a banana milkshake. Then me and Jonathan went to the barbers and hand a clean shave from a straightedge razor. Then we went to the zoo which had free-roaming emus, deer, and a crocodile. I got close to the deer and he started licking my hand. There was also a giant anaconda in a large enclosure. I had a surprise cake with a huge firework thing on top and then I was tricked into having my face mashed into it which was a fun change.

Most Delicious Moment: The day before we left Trinidad we had an especially good breakfast. It was chocolate cake and Coca-Cola. They know how to live.

Brief Summary of Trip: The first week we were there we painted the entire outside of a lady from the church’s house. The second week we were leaders for the high school camp. From the third week on we were constructing a garage for the school’s bus they use to transport us around and the kids. We also went once to a small town to sing songs and preach Jesus to the children there and the parents that came. Then we played games with them and game them candy. We were unable to be leaders of the children’s church camp because bad weather delayed the camp. We were living at the church which is also an elementary school through high school, but most of the time we were there they were on vacation. We attended bible studies about 10 times a week but we had the weekends off from work and usually went to rivers or lakes and relaxed.

These are just a few moments and stories that happened. I had an awesome time. I got to know some more friends there that I want to keep in contact with. I want to thank everyone that helped make this trip possible for me and for your prayers. I have a very large desire to return soon to Bolivia.

Love,

Andrew