Wow, it’s hard to beleive I’ve already been in Bolivia for nearly 3 weeks! Time has been flying to say the least!
I’m settling into life here slowly but surely. When I arrived there was a total of 5 volunteers (including myself), but in my short time here two volunteers have gone home, so now we are down to three, Allison, a pre-med student from Georgia, Katie, a nurse from Illinois/Missouri and myself, as well as our host family. Needless to say, the house is nowhere near as busy as it was last time I was here (with 16 people!).
Every week day morning I go over to the Hospital to work in Cafe Xelda with Elba. After being closed for a couple months it took us a while to get the cafe up and running, but I think we’re finally getting the hang of it, and patients as well as doctors now realize we are open again, so more and more come to ask for coffee everyday.
I’m so excited for the potential the cafe has to serve the community while I’m here. It’s going to take a little while to get to our ideal point, but it’s a good thing I have 10 months!
At my first South America Futball match! Aurora (Cochabamba) vs. Bolivar (La Paz). Final score? 3 to 3, tie!
Most of my afternoons thus far have been spent pursuing my visa extension, which is proving to be a very complicated task, so I haven’t been able to do much ministry, but I have been able to visit a local orphanage called Casa De Amor 1. The orphanage is home to more than a dozen toddlers, who, like most toddlers are full of energy and love to play! We are also currently pursing getting ID’s for Moviemento Sonrisas, which will allow us to visit children in the pediatric ward of Viedma Hospital, which, if you’ve read my past blogs, you know was one of my favorite ministries the last time I was here!
I even got to wave a flag at the game. Go Aurora!
During these first couple weeks I’ve also been privileged to take part in a couple incredible adventures (one which you’ve read about, the other you’ll hear about soon), which I’m so grateful for, but now I’m looking forward to really digging in and getting involved in Cochabamba in every way I possibly can. That being said, if you could keep my visa pursuit in your prayers. It has the potential to be a very long and costly process, so pray for favor with all of the officials (Interpol, Police, Immigration, etc.) and that everything will happen quickly so that I can stop making trips into the city to get my paperwork sorted out and instead use my time in ministry.
Blessings!
***Also, I’m still in need of $2,200 to complete my 10 months of ministry here in Bolivia. If you or someone you know would like to support me visit my Donate link at the top of the page to learn how. Thanks!***
A Life Extraordinary 