2014 Farewell

We had a wonderful morning of worship on our final day. Pastor Katy preached, the children sang, and we had a full order of worship! 

We loved that everyone could sit in our newly built pews 

Here is a picture of our group with Pastor Daniel and his wife, Erica.

We will miss these two so much but we will hold then in our prayers.

Sweet girls, Andrea and Rosemary were sad to see us go. The feeling was mutual!

We lingered a long time just visiting and bidding farewell. 

Nora, Wilson and Antonio on our last night, wishing us farewell!

Delia and Priscilla cared for us, cooked for us, cleaned for us the whole week. We are so grateful! What servants. We will miss them and pray for them. 

We went up to the Christo that looks over Cochabamba as a way to say farewell to the city, it was a beautiful way to spend the Sabbath afternoon. This Christo is the tallest in the world and we love the way Jesus is depicted as the stong prophet and leader. 

Thank you, Jesus, for this magnificent adventure and experience of your Grace and Love. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven! Amen.

2014 day 6

One common question that always comes up about the Bolivia Mission Trip is, "What will you be doing while you are there?" Most of the time as the conversations goes on, it is clear that people want you to give them a list of tasks like: making pews, painting walls, etc. Then I try to explain that we don't know those details until we get there, sometimes until we are engaging in the task. This is a very hard thing to understand for most people. It goes against all our cultural norms of efficiency and productivity. A mission trip such as this isn't about what we "get done" but rather about letting God work in and through the encounter with our brothers and sisters in another culture. It reminds us that we are in partnership with Christians around the world, united by Jesus Christ. It is a mutually building-up of the Body of Christ as we infect one another with hope. So we don't just work, we spend time hearing each other's stories, joys and struggles. We learn about each other's lives 

We dropped in on the Emmanuel Sewing group in action. They were busy making treasures. 

Pastor Daniel was meeting with the youth in a small group!

We visited the school at Emmanuel Methodist Church. They serve children from 6 months to 6 years old. Because of the needs of the children in this community, the school takes a wholistic approach to education. Each child has a medical screening and check-ups during their time there. Many children come to them with stomach worms that cause them to be malnurished and therefore impede brain development and learning. So by having a Dr. at the school they can treat the child so that they are able to develop and grow in a healthy way. What a ministry! 

They also have a full dentist office. Most of the children have never owned a toothbrush so their teeth are crumbling. Each child has regular visits throughout their time there and all services are included in their tuition, which is a very small amount. Some of the money we raised is going to buy a new dental examination chair, which is very much needed because the current one is very, very old and broken.

We visited all the classrooms of the school. It reminded me of a Bolivian Trinity Day School. :) Because of the poverty level of the students, they are fed four meals during the school day. Many don't eat again until they arrive at school the next day. So again, the school recognizes that a child can't learn when they are sick or hungry, therefore they address those needs. The annual budget for the school is $35,000 and there is an UMCOR advance that is set up for donations. 

It was such a joy to see the work God is doing through Emmanuel Methodist Church! It is humbling to be a partner in their mission. 

Day five of work

Today we finished up the last pieces of the pews, sanded the edges and  lacquered them with two coats. This was a long multi-step process.

Pastor Daniel's wife, Erika, made us some amazing lemonade with the lemons from the lemon tree in the garden. It was by far the best lemonade I have ever had! 

Lisa H. made some filler paste with sawdust and glue to fill in little crevices here and there. 

Sylvia showed the sewing ladies how to make pew cushions and they made the very first one! 

Doesn't it look great! 

As we left the construction site/church on our last day of labor we were all a bit sentimental. We will be back there Sunday for worship, but we couldn't believe how the week flew by!  We were also amazed at all the friends we made and the progress we made on their building goals for the summer. We will miss the dust and fumes and mountain scenery backdrop! 

2014 Day four of work

We sanded the first finished pew so no fingers will get splintered. 

We touched up the green paint on the fence and sometimes had some shifty positions for the ladder. 

We laughed a lot during the tedium! 

The other pews needed to be completed so we got our glue and screw drivers and made an assembly line.

Patricia pretended to take a nap on it and  I hopped on it and told her we have to sit up straight, open our bibles and listen! No sleeping in the pew. We all had a good laugh! 

After all their children had a cut, the ladies of Luz de Vida had their turn this afternoon! The smiles on their faces was priceless. You could tell they felt more confident about themselves. What a gift!

On the wall you will see the final product of the spool holder we made with discarded wood and a dowl rod. By we, I mainly mean Lisa Hemmings, Lisa LaFosse and Jerome. :)

This evening we went over to Wilson and Nora's House and had a meal together. Antonio joined us and we got to catch up with him and how his life and studies are progressing. We were also celebrating Pastor Daniel completing a theological exam this morning. 

At the conclusion of the evening we all gave prayers of thanksgiving for our life and ministry together. It was a moment where all of us were keenly aware that God was right there in the middle of our circle. 

We give you thanks, God, for the privilege to serve you and know you in this way. Amen.

2014 Day three of work

This morning we began painting the first of two coatas of green paint on the gates into the church property. Last year we sanded any rust off and coated them with red rustoleum. I have to say, the green looks great! The ladies from Luz de Vida always come to join in the work! They are a lot of fun!

We had to find firm ground for our handmade ladders to stand on so that we could reach the top of the gate. Marian was a trooper!

Wilson cheered us on and held ladders when needed. 

Lisa got a chance to create a new hairstyle on a little girl named Rosemary. She had fabulous short hair.

She named it the Bolivian Stack!!

Then she topped it off with a fancy rubberband headband braid thingy. They loved it!

We had a mirror set up and it was a real source of entertainment for the children. Who would have imagined? It was also a joy to see their confidence go sky high when they saw their new hairdo in the mirror. Priceless.

Pastor Daniel is a busy man but he always makes time for the children, giving them extra attention. 

Little Daniel loved his new haircut!!!

The children loved the beanie babies we brought and were using their imagination playing with them!

We all took a break and ate some amazingly sweet tangerines! Yum.

This evening we visited the sewing ministry at Emmanual and heard some of these lady's amazing stories. Many of them are single mothers who have overcome a lot through their faith family's support. Through this sewing ministry they are able to have financial security, secure better futures for their children and give back to the church. What a beautiful picture of what church should be! Oh, and did I mention that we got to hold a bambina that is 2 months old, and a doll!

We are very blessed and thank you so much for your continued prayers.

2014 Day Two of work

On our second workday, we seemed to be getting into the routine of our schedule for the week. Our bodies are slowly adjusting to the altitude and our hearts are definitely falling in love.

Isn't the mountain scape behind the church breathtaking!!!

After completing the shelves yesterday, we bought some organizational containers and started creating a functional workspace for the sewing ladies of Luz de Vida. I wish I had a picture of the looks on the faces of the ladies from the sewing ministry when they walked in to see their new workspace. Priceless!

Lisa H. had the idea to make a panel of dowel rods to hang spools of thread. This required drilling and sawing of course. You can tell they are very excited. You will see the finished product soon! 

Lisa started sanding the spool holder.

Diana worked on a second coat of paint from our half-wall we started yesterday.

And Lisa performed the inaugural haircut on the grounds of Luz de Vida on Wilson Boots!

By the end of the day she had cut several children's hair. They all felt very guapo or bonita when Lisa finished. 

Some of the 6th graders from the school came by to meet us and practice their English. They were very good! Wilson went over the days and months and numbers with them. It was a beautiful sight!

Here are a few of the sewing ministry ladies with Sylvia and Marian.

Jerome, Amanda and Daniel worked all day on the first pew that will be our template.! It held all four of us! Yay!! Now we will start building more. 

Buenas Noches!