Our
week-long Easter break was April 14th–18th and it worked out for my roommate, Jill, me,
and some of our friends and youth from church to visit the Casa de Esperanza.
The House of Hope is in a town called Caranavi, which is in the Amazon Basin
and is about a five-hour drive from La Paz. The orphanage is an incredible
ministry and at this time there are 67 children living there from ages 2 weeks
to 18 years. There are 8 houses on the compound and each has around 8 or 9
children and 2 tias (aunts- which they call the 2 ladies who live in each house
and care for the children). Missionaries from Holland founded the orphanage
twenty-two years ago. It is now run by an amazing couple, Fidel and Charro. It
was incredible to see how they treated each child like family. Charro told us
that many of the kids who graduate come back for holidays to visit and that they
are welcome back anytime because the Casa de Esperanza will always be their
home.
We arrived
on Monday around 5pm. After settling in, a group of us went into town to eat
dinner. The orphanage is located at the top of a mountain, so it is about a 30
minute drive from town. The view from the compound is just absolutely
breathtaking. We rode in the back of the truck bed. There were metal bars and a
plastic covering, so we rode standing up. It was a blast! Some of the memories
I remember most clearly from different countries I’ve visited is riding the in
back of trucks. I think it’s the adventure. J
After a delicious dinner of pollo, papas fritas con mayonesa y ketchup, y
platanos, we stopped by one of the tiendas to get some groceries and then
headed back up the mountain. We stayed at a compound about a quarter of a mile
down from the orphanage called the CEC. We had two rooms with bunk beds,
bathrooms, and a kitchen. It was a really nice set-up. The CEC is where people
stay who are taking training courses or Spanish classes. We were the only people there last week
though.
On Tuesday,
we went up to the orphanage early and Charro gave us a tour. We were able to
visit some of the houses and see the other buildings. Then, we went to the main
meeting area where meals are held and we got to meet the secretary, Veronica,
and she had the newborn baby, Abigail Grace. I wasn’t sure if we would be able
to hold her, but she gladly gave her to us to watch for about an hour. Abigail
came to Casa de Esperanza when she was only 2 days old and was only 2 weeks old
when we were there. Her mother was mentally/emotionally unfit to care for her.
What a blessing that the orphanage received her so soon after her birth so she
could be cared for adequately and properly nourished immediately. Then, one of
the tias brought over the 3 month baby girl and Jill got to hold her. Before
arriving at the orphanage, we joked about being perfectly content holding the
babies all week, and we definitely got our wish that day. J We ate lunch with all the kids and staff and
then went to work. While the boys “mowed” the tall grass with machetes, we
sanded doors to get them ready to be primed.
On
Wednesday morning, we finished sanding the doors. After lunch, we rode down in the bus with the
kids to the school. There is one session
of school in the morning and one in the afternoon. It is common for Bolivian
schools to have two or even three sessions of school each day due to the large number of students. On the way down the mountain, I was sitting
next to three upper elementary aged boys. A Toby Mac CD was playing and each
time a new song came on, they would ask me to translate. My initial reaction
was to tell them that I didn’t know enough Spanish to translate, but then I
decided to push myself and at least try. Even though I was nowhere near able to
translate each line of the songs, I was able to explain the main meaning of the
songs and that was enough for them. It was one of those moments where their
eagerness to understand English and my determination to speak Spanish were
driving forces to allow us to understand each other and communicate reasonably
effective with such a major language barrier. After dropping the kids off, we
were able to go to one of the tiendas to get some groceries and see more of the
town of Caranavi. Then, we headed back up to the orphanage. That night, Linda
and I went down in the truck with a large group of kids from the orphanage to
go to town. The kids were going to a Bible study and we were going to town to
pick up Pastor Dan and Dani from the bus station. We were so glad that they
were able to join us mid-week! On the way down, while standing in the truck
bed, one of the teenage girls, Raquel, asked me if I liked One Direction. I told
her I had some of their music on my phone and we proceeded to play it and sing
along with about 3 other girls. Never thought that could be such a bonding
moment. J
On
Thursday, Jill, Linda, and I woke up early to catch the bus around 7 to head to
school with the kids. The Christian school where the kids from the orphanage
attend is called Vida y Verdad (Life and Truth). When the bell rang, all of the
kids gathered in the courtyard/gym area. The school pastor said a prayer and
then the students were dismissed orderly to class. So neat! The wonderful
director, David Hiller, gave us a tour of the school. After the tour, I was
able to help out in the kindergarten classroom. I felt right at home, even with
the language barrier…kindergarteners are still kindergarteners even with
cultural/language differences! I got to help the kids with the letter books they
had made and when I would tell them what the pictures/words were in English, they
just loved it! Then, the teacher asked us to introduce ourselves. It was fun to
share about myself in Spanish. Next, we went to visit the pre-kinder classroom.
They were eating their snack, so I got to visit with one of the teachers. We
talked for about 20 minutes in Spanish. Our conversation made me realize that I
really can understand and express thoughts in Spanish now (beyond the normal
small talk). I apologized for my awful accent and she said, “No, es muy dulce”
(No, it’s very sweet). Haha! Even though I have a long way to go, this trip was definitely a stepping stone in my journey to speaking Spanish well. Before heading
back to the orphanage with the kids at 12:30, we were able to go on a little tour of
Caranavi. It is a beautiful, quaint little town. After eating a lunch of liver,
rice, and plantains at the orphanage, we went on a hike to a waterfall. We climbed up the
waterfall to a little pool of water. The cold water felt so good on such a humid day in the
jungle! Fidel and Charro invited us up to their home for dinner that night. We
had delicious chicken, rice, and ensalada de papas (potato salad)! The whole
family was there…they are just so wonderful! It was so fun to talk with them in
Spanish. I expressed how badly I want to return to serve for a longer amount of
time and take Spanish lessons at the CEC as well. I hope that wish can become a
reality! After dinner, we stayed up and
made bracelets with a kit Jill had brought for the kids. Jill and I felt like
one of the kids with Levi, “Billy”, and Kristen. J
It never ceases to amaze me how closely people bond on mission trips like this.
We headed
home on Friday after lunch. After we ate, Charro called all of us up to pray
for us. Even our driver, Julio, stood up with us as she prayed. We were truly
blessed to have Julio drive us there and take us back home. He is such a
positive, warm-hearted person with a contagious laugh. J It made the 5 hour drive so
much more enjoyable! As we were heading toward the mini-bus, Raquel ran up to
me and gave me a beautiful red and purple bracelet that she had made for me
that morning. She tied it on my wrist and I told her that I loved it so much.
Then, she said something to one of the tias, Lily, and Lily told me that Raquel
said to tell me that she loved me. It just melted my heart and meant so much to
me! It’s truly amazing that these incredible kiddos, who have overcome so much
in their short lives, have so much love to give and readily show it! We got
back to the parsonage around 6:00 and hadn’t quite had enough of each other. We
all went out to dinner and then watched a movie together. It’s a blessing to feel
like I have a “Bolivian” family here. J
Looking
back on this incredible week, it’s amazing how much I learned and grew. As the
semester continued, I was beginning to feel like I was just going through the
routine, but this trip kind of “woke me up”. It helped me put things back in
perspective and gave me a renewed outlook on life in general, but also on my
purpose here in Bolivia and why God has called me here. I’m beyond thankful and feel so blessed for
the opportunity to visit the orphanage, travel mercies all week, relationships
formed at the orphanage, and relationships that now feel like family within our
group. The children and their stories of redemption have
forever touched my heart. Their
stories of hope, faith, and overcoming impossible odds are truly inspiring.
“He has
rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of
the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption…” -Colossians 1:13-14
The group that traveled on Monday! (Me, Jill, Kristen, Linda, Levi, William)
Enjoying the waterfall…so much fun. :) Only about a mile and a half or 2 miles from the orphanage!
