Bolivia

Well it's been a pretty long time since I last posted on here but I have something pretty exciting to blog about. I went out of the country! Say what?! Yep, you read that correctly. I said Adios to the USA and packed my bags for a 3 week trip to Bolivia. It's a trip i've desired to take for a long time and I couldn't be happier with the way it went. This was my first mission trip and for this trip I partnered with the Children’s Impact Network. Founded by John and Maritza Hernandez, they are based in the West Palm Beach area.

While I was in Bolivia I stayed at the boys orphanage, Bolivia Life Center which is founded and funded by CIN. 

During the trip, I had the pleasure of listening to John and Maritza tell the story and the history of their ministry.  The vision for the BLC first took shape in 1996 when Maritza kept repeatedly had the same dream. In her dream she was on a large piece of property, there was a large building behind her and people were bringing children to her. Now at the time they didn’t know what this dream meant but she wrote it down and she prayed about it. A couple years later the Hernandez’s took a trip to Bolivia and while they were there they saw something they had never seen before; they saw homeless kids, alone. They see these boys sniffing paint which gave them a temporary high that made them forget their hunger, pain, and how cold they were. They knew they had to do something. They didn’t know where the money to fund an orphanage would come from, they didn’t know what capacity they should plan to house, but they didn’t let that stop them. They remembered Maritza’s dream from long ago, they prayed about it, partnered with other believers, and together took one giant leap of faith after another.

The Bolivia Life Center Orphanage

Today the BLC Orphanage houses 55 boys. And let me tell you the BLC truly is like a big happy family. When we arrived at the orphanage some of the boys ran to after our car yelling, “Papa John! Mama Maritza!” With John and Maritza responding to them, “My boys we’re here!” The family atmosphere is obvious, with all the adults working in the orphanage being referred to as either “Tia” (aunt) or “Tio” (uncle).
They also have a separate home they call the “Lifehouse.” According to the law in Bolivia, once the boys turn 18 they are no longer legally allowed to live at the orphanage. So CIN arranged the Lifehouse as a settlement for the boys. That way they can continue their education and get jobs. With the Lifehouse the boys get to feel independent but they aren’t actually alone.

During my stay in Bolivia we got to do a lot of fun things with the boys. After church on Sundays we got to take all the boys from the orphanage straight from church to a nearby restaurant called “Globos” for ice cream. I loved watching the boys excited faces as they received their ice cream cones and seeing how big their eyes got as they poured sprinkles onto their melting cones. I stuck with a pretty normal Cappuccino flavor for my ice cream but some of the boys weren’t as safe. “Oso Creamoso” was a popular one among the younger boys (translation: Creamy Gummy Bears). Another popular one was a flavor we’re pretty familiar with in America, but you wouldn’t know it because of the spelling, was “Sneackers” aka “Snickers.” I have to admit that kind of made me laugh but I guess that’s what Snickers sounds like pronounced with a Spanish accent!

With the youngest group of boys we got to have “Tickle Time” for half an hour before they went to bed. I loved tickle time! We got to play games with the boys, read them stories, pray with them, tuck them into bed, and TICKLE THEM! One of the nights 3 of the boys teamed up against me in the tickle wars. I went after the youngest of these 3 Musketeers to tickle him and the other 2 attacked me. Needless to say those 3 little tough guys won and I was pinned to the floor under their tickling mercy. Then with the older boys and the boys from the Lifehouse, we got to go see on of their favorite sports. SOCCER! If I were to show you all the pictures I had of the boys playing soccer it would take you all day’ that’s how much they love it. We got to go to a professional championship game, Wilsterman vs. Bolivar. On the way to the game the boys told us about how rowdy these games could get. They warned us that if one particular team lost we’d want to run out of the stadium because fights would break out and tear gas would have to be let out into the audience. So obviously when that team started losing we left the game early. But the boys had a great time making sure us “gringos” as they lovingly call us, knew everything that was going on.

As you now know, the boys love their sports. As a result of that, all the teams that visited the orphanage this summer have been working on constructing a Multi-Purpose Concrete Sports Court at the BLC. We sifted fine sand to create concrete, mixed concrete, laid rocks for the foundation, and poured cement. Thanks to all of our hard work the court is almost done! Soon the boys will have a huge concrete court to play on! :D

In the afternoons we had the opportunity to go out into the different cities in Cochabamba, Bolivia and minister to kids through Sidewalk Sunday School. Going up and down the streets with one of the guys carrying a speaker and one of the ladies calling out through the microphone. We had a pretty inviting team going up and down those streets. The kids that seemed timid at first eventually came around to liking us when we played with them. Sidewalk Sunday School was a hit with balloon animals, a nail painting station, facepainting, crafts, and sidewalk chalk. Then we would get into our program complete with songs, a skit, and a special prayer. One of my favorite songs that we sang with the kids was “Mi Dios es tan Grande. “ (My God is so Big). The lyrics in Spanish go like this,

“Mi Dios es tan Grande,
Fuerte y Poderoso
No hay nada que no puede hacer.
Mi Dios es tan Grande,
Fuerte y Poderoso
No hay nada que no puede hacer.
Los montes son de el,
los rios tambien,
las estrellas son echas por el.
Mi Dios es tan Grande,
Fuerte y Poderoso
No hay nada que no puede hacer.”

You may actually recognize this song in English. It goes,

“My God is so big,
so strong and so mighty
there’s nothing my God cannot do.
My God is so big,
so strong and so mighty
there’s nothing my God cannot do.
The mountains are his,
the rivers are his,
the stars are made by him,
My God is so big,
so strong and so mighty,
there’s nothing my God cannot do.”

Overall, I had an amazing trip! If I had to say I had any regrets it would be that I couldn’t stay longer. I loved getting the chance to not only work on something beneficial to the orphanage and establish loving relationships with the boys, but also ministering to the less fortunate kids in the city. I can’t imagine a better way to have spent my summer. Bolivia along with everybody there now holds a special place in my heart. I miss the boys and I can’t wait to go back next year!!

If you’d like to know more about the Bolivia Life Center Orphanage, or if you’d like to learn more about the Children’s Impact Network, you can visit their website cinonline.org