The Amazing Race!

Last week was my last week in Cochabamba.  I had originally thought that I would have a lot of time this past week to continue studying Spanish on my own, however God had other plans for me.  This is also my cousin’s last week at his school with his basketball teams, so he wanted to do a special activity to wrap up the year.  I found myself Monday morning at his school, mapping out a course for “The Amazing Race” activities.

Wednesday and Thursday after school kids who had participated in Michael’s basketball program gathered for these unknown activities.  We had 7 stations set up throughout the school, each with a different fun activity that promoted critical thinking, leadership, sportsmanship, physical activity, and teamwork.  The activities were as follows:

#1-Frisbee Toss.  A team worked together to pass the Frisbee from one soccer goalpost to the other and repeated this twice.

#2-How to Tie a Knot.  Each member of the team was connected to another team member by a short rope.  The team then had to think about how to tie a knot in one of the ropes without letting go and by moving various members of the team.

#3-Basketball Shootout.  There were 5 cones set up on the basketball court.  Team members had to take turns and make 5 shots at each cone before moving on.

#4-Hanging Nails.  A thin string was suspended between two chairs and team members had to balance the head of the nail on the string.  5 nails had to be hanging together before the team could move on.

#5-Oreo Eating.  Each member of the team sat in a chair and were handed an Oreo.  The kids them put the Oreo on their forehead and had to find a way to get it to their mouth without using their hands.

#6-Pass the Noodles.  Each team member placed a straw in their mouth and formed a line.  They then had to pass penne noodles down the line and place the noodles in the bucket at the end without using their hands or dropping the noodles.  They had to get 10 in the bucket before moving on.

#7-Rubber Band Shootout.  As the final activity, the team had 8 cups on a table that they had to knock off the table by shooting rubber bands.

            The kids had so much fun at each activity and quickly raced to the next activity in hopes of getting a prize for wining at the end.  The first team back to the starting point won t-shirts, shorts, and hats that my Aunt and Uncle brought from Michael’s high school.  When all teams were back, prizes were handed out and the kids had a dinner of pizza before playing one last basketball game with their coach.  Sadly none of my teams won, but we had fun completing the activities and I will forever remember their smiles as we raced around the school.

            I have now been at my own site, Okinawa, for 2 days and this truly is a wonderful village!  I continually am given many hugs from my future students and when I see them on the street the greet me with an enthusiastic "TEACHER!".  There is only one week left of school for the year so instead of jumping into teaching a class I am helping the other SLMs and the sisters until school ends.  After that we begin planning activities for Christmas camp but for now, time for recess!

Meet Bismark!

     I want to introduce you all to my new friend, Bismark.  He is 9 years old and lives in El Alto, which is a part of La Paz, Bolivia.  He has a wonderful, loving family including a father, sister, grandparents, aunts, and cousins.  He lives with his father, sister, and grandparents in a small house, sharing a bedroom with his father and sister.  Life has been hard, but his family is looking to the future.  He loves to play games, especially with his sister and cousins.  When you first meet him he seems shy, however it does not take long for him to run up to you and hold your hand and whisper jokes in your ear.  He laughs easily and has a smile that lights up your world.

           

     Bismark goes to a special school, Centro San Martin de Porres, because he has a learning disability and has ADD.  Public schools would not accept him because of his learning disability, so before attending this school he could not read or write but with the help from the teachers at this center he has made a lot of progress in his studies, including reading and writing.  This center is 10 years old and serves 120 special education students, provides physical therapy for 25 of those students, and provides physical therapy for those in the surrounding community.  This is the largest center in El Alto for special education students, and is one of few in La Paz.  The school provides lunch for all students every day and is funded primarily through donations from the parish and sponsorship programs.

The Physical Therapy room at the school.

Bismark was excited to show off
his classroom!

How did I come to know Bismark?  He’s my godchild through Christian Foundation for Children and Aging.  For many years I had a godchild in Guatemala, however a few months before my mission in Bolivia began, I received a letter from her saying that she has a job and can support herself and thanked me for my years of sponsorship.  I decided to sponsor another child, but I wanted one who lives in Bolivia since I would be living here.  I was looking through children on the website, and I would like to say that I chose Bismark, but his picture captured my heart.  Bismark chose me.

Feeding pigeons at a plaza in La Paz.

I decided to arrange a chance to meet him, and October 19, 2013 was the day!  The day started out at the La Paz Project office.  Some of the first words out of Bismark’s was “she’s tall!” and “she has blue eyes!”.  During breakfast he was shy, and only whispered what he wanted to say in his father’s ear, who then would repeat it.  After that we took a walk around La Paz, and within a few minutes Bismark ran up and grabbed my hand.  We found a Plaza where many people feed pigeons from their hands, and after Bismark ran through them, scattering them about, we went about feeding them as well and had so much fun.  A little later we headed to El Alto to Bismark’s house for lunch.  I was welcomed by the rest of his family at the door, his grandparents had tears in their eyes.  Bismark’s sister was quick to introduce herself and take her present from me (I had filled a backpack for her and Bismark with games, school supplies, and chocolate) and soon the whole family was laughing as we jumped rope together.  We ate lunch, and his family shared stories and pictures with me and thanked me for taking the time to come to meet them.  As I drove away in the trufi, Bismark chased after the car outside my window until he couldn’t keep up anymore.

Jumping rope with the whole family!

I knew I had to meet him, I just didn’t realize how much meeting him and hearing his story and his family’s story would impact me.  I read once that God has a way of breaking your heart, and now I understand what that means.  Sometimes, as you encounter life, your heart hardens a little to what is happening around you.  It is not something that you intentionally do, but nonetheless it happens.  God breaks our heart to help us in these situations to always have compassion and to more fully be able to share His love.  My heart did break as I got to know Bismark, and now it has given me a fire to do more, and not just for Bismark.  I also witnessed what it means to be there for your family, in good times and in bad times.  Bismark really did choose me, and by meeting him I have learned how important it is share love, because that is what impacts life.  As I go to my mission site this next week, I know that I am more fully capable of sharing Christ’s love because Christ will continue to break my heart.

Bismark and his family.  How BEAUTIFUL!

If anyone want’s to share Christ’s love with a child somewhere in the world, and would like to know more about Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, please visit: http://www.cfcausa.org

It's Game Time!

     I'm sorry it has been so long since I have written but so far my days have followed a similar routine and I don't want to bore everyone this early into my year.  I am still taking classes at the Maryknoll Language Institute in Cochabamba so life has been filled with charades, questioning looks, and lots and lots of studying!  I was able to travel with a few other students  and one of our professors to Copacabana, Bolivia.  There we hiked to ruins that date to pre-Incan times and we took a boat on Lake Titicaca to La Isla del Sol.  Lake Titicaca holds the record for being at the highest altitude in the world!  Both the city and the lake are incredibly beautiful and are a good reminder that God's beauty can be found in everyone and everywhere, even at 3,800 meters (12,600 ft)!
     What I really want to talk about is an opportunity I was blessed to have this past
weekend.  My cousin works at a school on the south side of Cochabamba where there is a lot of need.  He put together a weekend basketball tournament that hosted 26 teams from ages 8-18!  With having such a large tournament, there was a need for a lot of volunteers to keep the day running smoothly.  The goal was to build character, leadership, teamwork, and an awareness of social issues in Bolivia through the tournament.  It was a double elimination tournament for three age divisions with different team-building and social issues workshops for teams to attend between games.  Each team was given points at these workshops based on certain criteria like: working as a team, following directions, and are they attentive.  That means that there was one winner for each division, as well as an overall winner based on these workshops.  All day the kids played with their hearts in the game, and more importantly, you could see on their faces how much fun they were having and how grateful they were to Michael for arranging the tournament.  In a country where children do not have much of a voice, they were empowered through having different responsibilities throughout the weekend.
     The greatest lesson I have learned through my weeks here, and was made clear at the tournament, is humility.  What I loved most about helping at the tournament was being able to work with kids for two days.  It's been hard for me to remember my mission since I'm here in Bolivia and am not at my mission site, but this was a great reminder of my mission that every child I meet knows Christ's love through me.

It also was a reminder of how little Spanish I know when I tried to speak with the kids who flocked to my table.  I was laughed at for my English, for my Spanish pronunciation, for saying things wrong, and for the completely wrong vocabulary, however at the end of the day one girl told me entiendo (I understand) and I couldn't help but smile that I said something right.  I know I will have similar events throughout the year but I know that God (and a lot more studying) will get me through it.  I look forward to learning more of God's lessons for me.