'Tis the season to be in Bolivia

It's been quite a while and there's a quite a good amount of things to catch up on. I'm gonna pull a "lazy Brianne" and make a list instead of being the professional little blogger I should be (although professionals never post about their diarrhea, I'm sure).

 

Me, super excited even though my sister fell asleep
on my lap while I was talking to her...



-First things first, my sister arrived! At an ungodly hour in the morning of December 10th, we met a groggy-eyed Candice coming out of Customs, extra suitcases and a sleepless brain in tow. The reunion was a tearful, exhausted one, and although us excited united family members talked excitedly the whole taxi ride home, all eyes shut the minute we sat down in the apartment. My whole family has been visibly happier with my sister in town, especially since all you can normally manage to do around her is laugh. Since her arrival Candice has gotten her fill of parties at the orphanage, salteñas, stomachaches, realizing the relationship between salteñas and stomachaches, rainy Lord of the Rings-on-the-couch days, preaching with her boyfriend at church, understanding the impossibility of wearing heels in La Paz, coffee at Vainilla's, coffee at Alexander's, coffee at Blueberrie's, walking through Montenegro, walking through El Prado, walking through San Miguel, walking through Ballivian... coffee and walking at all times, basically. She's also got to experience Copacabana with us, which brings me to my next point!

-This past weekend the Beatys (with their newly arrived Morgan) and the Broyles took the breathtaking three-hour bus ride to Copacabana, a beautiful and popular little town on the shore of Lake Titikaka. This lake is the world's highest navigateable lake, and it happened to be ridiculously huge (you'd think it was an ocean if you didn't know any better). We stayed in a cozy hotel in Copacabana with an incredible view of the lake. On Friday, we took a two-hour boat ride to Isla del Sol, a small island in the middle of the lake that was sacred to the Incas. While the moms and Jordyn took another boat to the opposite end of the island, Dad, Candice, Morgan and I hiked the length on an old Incan trail. Throughout the four-hour trek, we passed many Incan ruins, we stopped (a lot), we took pictures, we talked with other travellers, we prayed, and we witnessed the hand of God in the stunningly beautiful landscapes. At the end of the hike, reuinted with the others on the boat ride back to Copacabana, we came to the terrible realization of just how insufficient our use of sunscreen was. By the time we ate dinner that night, we looked nothing short of lobsters, and by the time we returned to La Paz, our faces were beginning to peel off. Eventually what had become handsome tanned faces turned flamingo pink once again. But despite the painful diseased-looking faces, our time together as the "Breaty" bunch or the "Beatles" at the lake was fun-filled and special.

 

Copacabana





Morgan sacrificing Candice's head on the Incan rock.
Healthy dating relationship.

-On that happy note, I'll bring you all down by notifying you that the Beatys have left Bolivia. Terrible, right? Nevertheless, the HOPE team (particularly my desperate English-speaking father) owes Lin and Jordyn our deepest gratitude and, literally, our lives and mental health for helping us survive the first few months here in La Paz. They were servants from the first day to the last, never letting an opportunity to reach out to a new friend pass them by, constantly encouraging the HOPE team and the church, investing heart and soul in their FAI work, and undoubtedly full of love at all times. For me, I can't explain how painful it was to see my best friend leave, but I'm confident of God's plan and I'm so thankful He gave me Jordyn to walk with me through our first steps in Bolivia. I've also been comforted by the fact that I'll live with her the minute I get back to the States, prayerfully! And so, after an encouraging family Christmas on Monday night, we bid our other halves goodbye amongst tears and "squeeze" hugs at 2:30am.

-And yet another set of awesome visitors arrived to La Paz the next day: Renee and Luke Walker! Matt's mom and younger brother couldn't have come at a more appropriate time--between the goodbyes and welcomes of so many casi family members, and right around Christmas time, neither Matt nor my family could've been more encouraged! Matt, like the Broyles with Candice, is visibly happier and so enthusiastic that one-half of his dearly missed family made the trek to Bolivia to visit him. And my soul has been uplifted to see another momma figure and one of my best friends visiting my new home of La Paz, as well! At this moment the Walkers are in Copacabana, but since being in La Paz I've gotten to spend great time with them, and when they return we've got Christmas Eve night and Christmas dinner planned with them!



In honor of how much I'll miss the kids... Jay took this
picture of me, amused yet frustrated, trying desperately
to get stubborn little Aaron to go to sleep.



-My work in the guarderías has finished, as now begins Bolivia's summer, so after yet another teary farewell (this time to those precious kids of mine graduating up to Kindergarten) I left Betaña and CEIKU. As of now, my profession has made the drastic change from wiping children's boogers in daycares to translating for my father in medical administrative meetings at the Hospital. In fact, it's from my little office desk that I'm writing this blog right now, sitting where Lin used to sit. (Yes, I do feel important!) Anyway, I'm just filling in as the bilingual executive assistant until John Basilio gets here, much to the relief of my dad, I'm sure. As much as I love speaking Spanish and translating, I'm sure the Dominican adult man will understand medical terminology in both languages better than my teenage self does! Come January, I'm planning on helping Gwen with her Nursing Assistant training program, but I'll explain all about my new job when (and if) I actually start it.



A girl recieves her family's
bag of gifts.



-Although it doesn't feel a bit like Christmas here in this warm and rainy Bolivian summer, we're all excited to be together and especially encourage the orphans. We've had tons of craft nights and movie nights at the girls' home, we've given food baskets and wrapped gifts to the impoverished families served by FAI, we've joined the whole church for a Christmas dinner and hilarious talent show (where Dad dressed up as the only white Santa Clause in the congregation and wished the kids a "Happy Navels" instead of a Happy Christmas), and we've got a big Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) party planned for the girls in the home. We also have our nice little fake tree at the corner of the apartment, which makes my heart skip a beat everytime I see it lit. Now I've just got to stand by it and find someone to slow dance with to Nat King Cole. I'm sure it'll end up being my mother.

Well, that's all for today, folks! (See what I did there?) Have yourself a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! (I did it there, too.) Please keep the HOPE team, the La Paz church, and the children of Bolivia in your prayers! (Sorry, that one's not a song.)

The HOPE team goes to Peru!

Today two big things happened: we made Christmas trees in the daycare (huge deal for me), and I got a letter from my dearly missed friend, Pari, in the States! It was the first piece of mail addressed to me (is that sad since it's been over three months?) and I was pretty thrilled to get it. So, just in case anybody cared about this tidbit of fact, I'll announce on my blog that it doesn't cost much to send a letter to Bolivia. :)

Now, on to what's been happening here in South America. Big things first: the HOPE team went to Peru! Two weeks ago on Thursday we headed to the airport at 7am ("we" being my parents, Lin, Jordyn, Matt, Gwen, Ashley, Mark, and myself) and took the short flight to Cusco, Peru. I'll split my documentation of the trip into the days to make it easier to follow:

:)

THURSDAY: The first thing we saw getting out of the Cusco airport: a McDonald's billboard. Jordyn, Matt and I being typical American youth, took pictures and vowed to fulfill our promise from a few days ago that we would go (naturally, Matt found out that Mickey D's was in Cusco, so we had our real freak-out session days before arriving). As we got into the city, we realized just how tourist-filled this capital city of the Incas is. It's a typical South American city with historic buildings, beautiful architecture, surrounded by breathtaking mountains and rampant with really cute latino kids, but I'd estimate about half the people we saw on the streets were foreign tourists. We'll see the occasional gringo or other tourist here and there in La Paz, but Cusco simply survives off tourism, so there's white people all around. It was incredible; as stunning as the city of Cusco was, I came to appreciate the thoroughly Bolivian city La Paz is. (Of course, there's tons of political comments I could make about the benefits of tourism and how President Evo is slitting the throat of his own country by egotistically prohibiting American merchandise and companies to infiltrate it and hence advertise the beauty of Bolivia to expats and visitors... but I won't say anything about it now.)

(Half of) Plaza de Almas

The "youngins" of the team

We spent the whole day in Cusco; we shopped in a market, ate lunch and dinner at different places in la Plaza de Almas (where Pizarro proclaimed conquest of the city back in the day!), went to a meeting with our tour guide, and mainly just walked around the downtown area. It's definitely a stunning city, but much less extreme than La Paz, in many ways. The best part of the day was probably sitting on a balcony overlooking the plaza at lunch and trying to guess where everyone below us was from. Determining Germans from Australians is harder than it sounds, really.

Cusco hotel

In Cusco we stayed in a breathtaking 300-year old house renovated into a hostel. Other than that morning I slipped down the entire flight of stairs, and Matt being sick the whole time, our stay there was perfect. (By the way, I still have bruises the colors of Barney and all his friends on my knee and thigh from that nasty spill on the death stairs, which my dad later stumbled down, as well.)

Lookout over the Sacred Valley

FRIDAY: Early the next morning, the groggy-eyed HOPE team clambered into a mini-van that would take us to the town of Ollantaytambo (they keep names short over there in Peru), where we would later catch a train to the pueblito beneath Machu Picchu called Aguas Calientes. On the two-hour van ride, our (really good-looking) tour guide named Edi described to us the historical significance of the Sacred Valley that we were traveling through. When we arrived in Ollantaytambo, which hosts the ruins of a small Incan city shaped like a llama (!!), we took a quick hike to look at an alleged Incan prison and some ancient storehouses. We passed time in Ollantaytambo (that's the last time I'm typing it), then boarded a train to Aguas Calientes. After two hours of stunning scenery and making puzzles and sitting in super comfortable seats and drinking "Inka Kola", the team disembarked at the tiny tourist-based town nestled at the feet of crazily dramatic and green mountains.

See the llama?

We spent that afternoon walking around Aguas Calientes, which really only featured a few streets swarming with desperate white-people-seeking merchants, shopping and eating pizza. Later, Ashley, Jordyn, Matt and I headed up to the natural hot springs (aguas calientes, get it?) and soaked for an hour in a lukewarm, murky pool that reeked of pee and was filled with flirtatious hairy foreign men. Needless to say, the experience was worth 10 soles, as we laughed the whole time at our typical luck. And we completely lost it when we are accidentally flashed by old French women (no pictures of that, don't worry). That night we went out to a nice dinner with the entertainment of my parents and Mark and Lin dancing to Andean music. Naturally after that full day of traveling and walking and swimming in pee-stench, we all collapsed in exhaustion the minute we got back to the hotel.

Starting to clear up

Still super foggy

SATURDAY: At four in the morning, Gwen, Dad and our new German friend/travel companion Toby began their trek on the thousand-stair passage up the side of Machu Picchu's mountain. The rest of the team was not so willing nor energetic, so we took a bus at 5:30am, zig-zagging across the misty mountain, until we reached the site's entrance gates. There we met the sweaty hiking trio as well as our friendly tour guide, Darcy. The first thing you see after entering the site grounds is the recently redone part of the city, where 90% of the stone buildings we saw were majorly reconstructed by scientists and archeologists. Our first hour in Machu Picchu was spent listening to Darcy talk about the history of the lost Incan city, and we sat in the same place without walking around because, at six in the morning, the fog was still thick over the site. At some points early on you could barely see ten feet ahead, but as the sun rose higher and the fog began to lift, it became clearer and clearer that we were standing in one of the world's greatest wonders. The severely sensational mountains all around us slowly became apparent, as well as the enormity of Machu Picchu itself with all its stone walls and farming pastures and guard houses and temples and astronomy/astrology rooms and multitudes of tourists. As we roamed about, snapping pictures and listening to Darcy, it was impossible not to be in awe of the genius of the Incan people. So many things that we learned and saw left me with my jaw dropped. For example, one room that never supported a roof was declared an astronomy room for the priestesses (since the moon was a feminine god while the sun was masculine). In the middle of the floor there were two circular figures raised in the stone that served as looking pools; water that remained on the surface of the circles stilled and functioned as mirrors reflecting the night skies. Another thing that amazed me was the irrigation system--little fountains all throughout the city that haven't ceased their flow of water to this day. I also won't forget to mention the colossal sundial, the carved boulder exactly replicating the appearance of the distant mountain range behind it, the thirty-six angle rock, the twelve month stone calendar, and beautiful ancient red flowers sprouting up all around the ruins!

Here's what we saw when the fog cleared!

Mark, Mom, Matt, Jordyn, Me, Ashley

Templo del Sol (Temple of the Sun) with altars and what not

Needless to say, the city of Machu Picchu itself was breathtaking and awe-inspiring, for both historical and aesthetic reasons. After we had walked through almost all of the city, the lot of us minus Mom, Lin and Mark trekked over to the foot of Waynu Picchu, the huge mountain next to Machu Picchu that hosts more Incan ruins at the peak. The hike up Waynu Picchu is notoriously arduous, but who could go to Machu Picchu without getting the full experience? So Dad, Gwen, Ashley, Matt, Jordyn and I began our journey up the steep ancient mountain. It took over an hour to reach the peak and thirty minutes to descend. Those two hours consisted of me stumbling all over the place (typical), ripping my dad's rain jacket (typical), getting rocks accidentally kicked on me by Argentine men above us (typical), and then making friends with them (typical). As we ascended the cruelly steep stairs up Waynu Picchu and passed by exhausted victors clambering down, we were always encouraged by the passing groups that we were "almost there". Fifteen minutes later, still receiving "almost there"s. Fifteen more, same thing. An hour later, we were actually "there", sweating and angry at all the liars who had happily descended past us. (Of course, when we later went down the mountain ourselves, we encouraged each struggling hiker we passed that they were "almost there," despite their being ten minutes into the hike.)

View from Waynu Picchu

My water bottle's there
somewhere...

The view from the peak of Waynu Picchu is one I'll never forget. Albeit, there was limited space on the few boulders to sit on at the top, and it would've been all to easy to take the terribly nasty fall off the mountain, and I did drop my water bottle down the side (once again, typical), but none of us minded any of that. We sat for a few minutes and were overwhelmed by the exquisite scenery--alongside tons of other foreigners--and shortly thereafter it began to pour down cold, fat raindrops (yet again, typical, as right when we reach the summit and before we scramble down the slippery stone steps it starts to rain). The rain inevitably made our descent a lot more interesting and forced us to be extremely careful (I fell many times, I assure you), and various times on a very narrow path, someone in the group would being singing "I'm coming up, Lord, and I'm coming up soon!"

Jairo and I

So, the experience in Machu Picchu was unforgettable, and when we boarded the bus to leave the site we were all cheerfully exhausted, accompanied by our wet ponchos and Machu Picchu-stamped passports. I also made friends with a whole class of Peruvian teenagers on the bus; the girls exchanged emails with me and the boys took individual photos with me. By the time we arrived back in our cozy hotel in Aguas Calientes, I felt that I'd had a thoroughly awesome experience in Machu Picchu, which had been one of my dream trips for many years. A cherry on top of it all was the new friend I found in Jairo, the five-year-old son of our hotel owners in Aguas Calientes! Because nobody was energized enough to do anything when we got back, we all sat in the lobby together, watching Independence Day in Spanish and ordering cafe con leche after cafe con leche; I got lots of great bonding time with Jairo playing 52 card pick-up over and over again.

HOME: That night we took a train back to Ollantaytambo, then hopped on a van back to Cusco. Late Sunday morning we flew back home to La Paz, weary, grateful, filled with experiences and glad to be home.

So there's my take on our voyage to Peru; I'm sure another HOPE team member has an even better account of it all. Of course, there's tons of things to catch you all up on from these past two weeks in La Paz, but I'll save it for a later post. Thanks for reading, and please remember to keep the La Paz church, the HOPE team, and the children of Bolivia in your prayers!

A Bolivian Thanksgiving

This morning, my stomach has made noises that I don't think a bulldozer can manage to rev up. Seriously, it's sounds like there's a civil war going on in there, with bombs and cannons and little 18th-century military drums and everything.
P.S. I scattered random pictures of FAI kids throughout this whole thing, in random order and in random places, for the sake of having photos in a text-heavy post. They're cute, huh?

Santiago, 2

Obviously, today is a sick day for me (the Hospital thinks it's salmonella!), and I had to stay home from a workshop with all the volunteers called "Realismo bolivano"... I'll understand what that means when Jordyn, Ashley and mom get home and explain it to me. Today also happens to be Thanksgiving, as I'm sure you're all aware of, unlike everyone else around the world. Because Turkey Day is specifically an American holiday, it's clearly not celebrated in Bolivia, hence everyone is at work or school this Thursday, going about their usual business. That working crowd includes the HOPE team members, who are all desperately craving a day sitting among family, watching parades and football, and stuffing ourselves with pounds upon pounds of good ol' Southern cooking.

Since that's not gonna be the case for today, us patriotic gringos, refusing to let pass a year without an enormous turkey, are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night, and inviting a few close friends to join us and learn about the American holiday. We'll also have a devotional on giving thanks and, I'm sure, tons of long monologues gushing gratitude to what God's done for us in our lives (the best part of any devo). There's a colossal turkey sitting in our freezer and waiting for its doom, as well as cans of green beans and sweet potatoes and those little crispy onion things (what are they called?) stacked in our cabinet. I'm definitely excited about celebrating this awesome holiday with my new HOPE family and Bolivian friends, although in the hearts of every team member here are the cozy family times we're missing back home. 

And for that, a big shout-out to: Candice, Morgan(!), Aunt Renee, Jesse, Paulina, Drew, Marie, Heather, Gabriel, Alea, Aunt Jean, Uncle Bob, Stewart, Garrett, Aunt Pat, Ronnie, Carol, Curt and Delaney, and a kiss on Petey's nose. Also to: Uncle David, Aunt Harriet, Grandma Rita, Uncle Ed, Aunt Jane, Dylan, Trevor, Uncle Scott, Aunt Veronica, Andrea, Jamie, Raymond, Matthew, Randy, Mary, Brendan, Elizabeth, baby Jewel, Kristen, Jeremy, baby Ty(!!!), Alaina, Lexi, Karen, Logan, Uncle Dean, Aunt Elora, and anyone else I'm missing from that ridiculously huge side of the family. Also, to Rachel Bailey, since you're basically blood. I love you all and Happy Thanksgiving! I wish we could be there with all of you!

And in honor of El día del acción de gracias, I was going to write a list of things I'm grateful for (very original, I know) but instead I'll write a list about what I'm grateful for in each HOPE team member! Here goes...

Dad: The big boss goes first on the list, of course. It's so obviously God's doing that Kevin Broyles is my father because my dad has qualities that I desperately need to learn from. The most obvious one being his  dedication to hard work. When Kevin has something to do, Kevin does it, no matter how much he may not want to or how inconvenient it is at the moment. My dad is the most disciplined and organized man I know, and the way he sacrifices his time and energy to do the tasks God sets before him blows my mind. I'm so grateful for the example my father sets in what it is to be an orderly and persistent man of God.

Yasmin, 4

Mom: Where can I start with my mother? Her passion for righteousness, godliness, and bringing Christ's love into this world simply oozes out of her every action and word. For those of you who know Noelle Broyles, you'll understand when I declare her to be one of the greatest reflections of Jesus' love to people on this earth. She never compromises or settles when given an opportunity to touch someone's life; she looks them in the eyes, she takes a genuine interest in their welfare, and manages to melt their hearts with her sincere compassion. I'm so grateful for the example my mom sets in what it means to be a living sacrifice; the woman is the world's greatest mom, servant, encourager and "impassioner", and she does it all with one leg!

Lin ("Titi" to me): Many of you know Lin and I'm sure all of you that do have been moved by her in some way. Titi's whole life has been declaration after declaration of God's glory and power. She's the kind of woman who constantly reminds everyone around of just how fiercely and deeply God loves us all. Titi's a true inspiration all around the world; her and her husband, before he passed, planted and strengthened churches in various corners of the globe, and her love and passion melts hearts wherever she goes. What I'm grateful for most about Titi is her impact on contact, just like Jesus', with every person she meets. Whether it's a new face or her oldest friend, Titi's love warms the soul and leaves you wanting to do the same with others. I'm so grateful for the example my titi sets in her overflow of the Father's powerful love.

Jordyn: Here's another person that's a little too incredible for description. God gave me Jay as my best friend, surely, because we are "perfect counterparts", in her words. Jay, like my dad, has a standard of excellence and a sense of utter godliness in her work that takes my breath away. She never takes "no" for an answer, she never settles or compromises with any task set before her, and she also never ceases to bring a party wherever she goes. Jay is loving, compassionate, kind-hearted, hilarious, and completely enchanting. Jay understands me (and puts up with me) in a way other people in my life don't (or won't). I'm so grateful for the example Jordyn sets of an intensely loyal, steadfast and lifelong friend.

Gwen: This woman is one of those people that totally stops you in your tracks with her utter gentleness and kindness. Gwen has walked with the Lord for many years, and it's very clear that each year has impressed in her a profound love for God and wisdom in His word. Gwen is incredible, in every sense of the word. She gives her whole heart to everything set before her, whether it be work-related, church-related, people-related... lo que sea, she's always whole-heartedly loving and giving. What's more, Gwen has this certain peace that just radiates from her; it's very clear she walks with God, and closely. I'm so grateful for the example Gwen sets in servitude and gentle love.

Matt: I claimed to adopt Matt as my big brother the moment I arrived in Bolivia, but there was no need--he has fulfilled the role completely on his own! Matt's love for people and passion for righteousness are made obvious through his kind words and thoughtful actions. He's graciously taken up the role of a kind of bodyguard with Jay and I, whether that be escorting us home in a bus or even walking to the grocery store with me, he's ready to protect us from even the silly paranoias we have. Matt's very gentle, easy-going, and humble, which are all such stellar qualities for brother in Christ to have in this arrogant world we live in. I'm so grateful for Matt's example as a young man of God that walks righteously, with integrity, honesty and wisdom.

Yocelin, 3

Ashley: I can't even begin to explain how much I've come to cherish Ashley so deeply in my heart these past couple months! Ashley's one awesome combination of humility, tender-heartedness, kindness, compassion, deep love and tons of fun. She is always positive-minded, sees the good in people, dwells on the lovely things of the world and is passionate about the godly things. Ashley has become a beloved big sister to me in this short time (...which will hopefully be extended... hint hint...) and I have loved every minute of goofing off with her, learning from her, watching her profound love for others in action, and always laughing with her! I'm so grateful for the example Ashley sets of Philippians 4:8--always thinking of the noble and lovely and admirable, and always acting in truth!

So there's my two cents about the team, and what an awesome team it is, as you can hopefully see. And today for me is an extra special holiday: I turn 3 years old! Three years ago today, my Father and Creator snatched me from the dark grime of the world, wiped me completely clean, and poured His Spirit into me. For three years I have walked hand-in-hand through life with the living God, just like Adam walked through the cool of the garden with Him, and every day fighting to know Him has proven to be the greatest adventure of my life. I have a constant Shepherd, Guide, Counselor, Protector, Encourager, Helper, Source of strength... there are no adjective in any dictionary in this world that could accurately describe my gratitude for the ability to know my real Father. The one who knit me together in my mother's womb continues to mold and shape my hard heart, by His grace, and pull be closer to Him in new ways every hour of my life.

Lian, 5

Here are some snippets of the passages I read this morning that reminded me of how good my God is (and I tweaked some words this morning to make it more personal):

"It is because of God that I am in Christ Jesus, who has become for me wisdom from God--that is, my righteousness, holiness and redemption." -1 Corinthians 1:30

"I was in slavery under the basic principles of this world. But when the time had fully come, God send his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because I am a daughter, God sent the Spirit of his Son into my heart, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So I am no longer a slave, but a daughter; and since I am a daughter, God has made me also an heir." -Galatians 4:3-7

"Because of his great love for me, God, who is rich in mercy, made me alive with Christ even when I was dead in transgressions--it is by grace I have been saved. And God raised me up with Christ and seated me with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to me." -Ephesians 2:4-7

Of course there are thousands of scriptures I would love to share on here, and more of those passages above, but for sake of blog space I'll leave it at that. Basically, I am one grateful, saved sinful wretch. I'm thrilled to celebrate that every day.

I was going to double the length of this post by recounting our whole Peruvian adventure, but I decided this will be enough for now. Next blog post: Machu Picchu! As for today, I hope all you Americans reading this have a special and encouraging Thanksgiving Day, filled with love and family and tons upon tons of juicy turkey! I'm thankful for all of you who are supporting us and praying for us during this time. Please don't forget to include the team, the La Paz church and the children of Bolivia in your prayers! Thanks and much love to you all!

"You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body." -C.S. Lewis

There's a monton of things I want to talk about in this post, but I'm sick again (surprise) and henceforth too lazy to write in an organized and creative manner. So here's a list of things to catch you all up on, in no particular order:

My little girl!

- Mark Ottenweller's in town! For those of you who know him, you understand what a delight it is to have him here in La Paz. For those of you who don't know him, I'll explain a little about the uniquely marvelous kind of man Mark is... Dr. Ottenweller is the father of three incredible (and all married since three weeks ago!) children, a widower of four years, and an inspiration all around the world. He's an employee of HOPEworldwide, specifically overseeing all of Africa concerning HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. He lived in Africa for over eighteen years--Ivory Coast and South Africa, to be exact--and has travelled all over the continent working with HIV+/AIDS-stricken populations, encouraging churches, and being the awesome servant that he is. Basically, before I go on a surely common Mark-O.-is-so-great rant, he's one incredible man of God and ambassador of Christ. And as much as I'd like to say he just came to Bolivia to visit my family (of whom he's a dear and old friend), the purpose of his visit is likely 95% because he happens to be dating Lin. The Mark and Lin Story has, of course, been told all around the world to the delight of every hearing ear, and for good reason. But I won't share it; I'll just say it's a testimony to God's glory, power, infinite plan for our lives and His sovereign wisdom.

Mark and Lin, being those cute
heroes in the faith that they are.

Anyway, he's here and he's encouraging all of us simply by his presence! He preached at church on Sunday about being motivated by God's grace, and later for our weekly HOPE family devotional, he shared about what it means to be Spirit-led, especially regarding working with the poor. Let's just say most of us were in tears at some point; I can't explain how my soul was totally uplifted when I was reminded that I'm not doing any of this on my own... in fact, I'm doing nothing at all! I'm being filled daily with the Spirit of the living God! This week, Mark will be seeing our favorite parts of La Paz with us (aka Lin) and will also be traveling with us to Machu Picchu on Thursday! That's right, MACHU PICCHU! Which brings me to my second point...

- We're going to Machu Picchu on Thursday! :) The whole HOPE team is going (minus James, unfortunately) and we're beyond excited! We fly to Cuzco Thursday morning, have some hikes and tours planned between the city and the site, and we're taking an 18-hour bus ride back Sunday evening. I'll be sure to make a blog post about it when we get back!

Some of the group goofing off, like usual.

- November 9th was my mom's birthday, and her being the selfless and ever-passionate Noelle Broyles that the world knows, all she wanted was to spend time with the girls in the orphanage (her job anyway!). We spend a couple hours on Sunday afternoon hanging out with the girls, playing with beach balls, playing "Uno", eating lollipops, goofing off, singing Justin Beiber, etc. But this time it wasn't just the normal group that went to visit the home; we were joined by Dad, Lin, and Mark. It was all of their first times meeting the girls, and it was a blast! It was animating to watch our whole HOPE family just being silly with these orphans... I especially couldn't help but laugh when, as always, Matt/"Mateo" was immediately swarmed by tons of teenage girls who always seem to be on the brink of declaring their undying love for him. What's funny is the fact that he lives in the orphanage and probably deals with this on a daily basis.

Ive (left) with two disciple sisters.

- Today Ivelisse left Bolivia. Heartbreak at its finest. That beautiful sister has lifted up the church and the team with her intense passion, sacrificial love, profound wisdom and unceasingly positive encouragement. She planted seeds and God watered them--as a matter of fact, two "seeds" that she planted resulted in baptisms! At the moment Ive is traveling to Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Chicago, Puerto Rico, and God knows where else. She is dearly loved and will be severely missed here!


- It's been on my heart to share about the individual kids that I'm working with, with photos and brief biographies and what not, kind of like what Matt did on his blog. I was planning on introducing two kids from CEIKU (the guardería in Casa de Paso) in this post, but due to my lack of pictures and wanting more information on their stories and (let's be honest) laziness, I'll wait until the next post.

- Thanksgiving is coming up and I'm bursting at the seams with excitement about it because it's also my third spiritual birthday. What an appropriate day of giving thanks. Because the holiday is only celebrated in America, no work or school stops around this time in Bolivia. In fact, all the FAI volunteers ended up having a mandatory day-long workshop on Thanksgiving day... even though the talleres are normally fun and enjoyable, the American crew is a little bummed at the choice of date. Nevertheless, the HOPE team is planning a dinner, and Lin brought back pumpkin bread mix from the US! And it's Trader Joe's brand, no less!

- I also want to ramble on and on and list all my mixed feelings about the month of December. But since you came to read about my experience serving in Bolivia and not my teenage girl emotions, I'll simple clarify what's happening. Bad part first: Lin and Jordyn are leaving. I've been dreading their departure since the day we arrived, but now that's it's coming closer and plans are being made and tickets are being bought... ahh! What a loss to Bolivia, the HOPE team, and my own desire for one of my best friends to be by my side all the time! Anyway, since that's not until December 20th, I'll cry about it on my blog after they leave.
And the good (no, GREAT!) news: my sister's coming in the beginning of the month until the end, and I could not be MORE anxious to see her. Alongside her on the journey will be her boyfriend Morgan, Lin's son and Jordyn's brother and basically my big brother, who will arrive with my sister and leave with his family on the 20th. And another recent piece of awesome news: Matt Walker's mom and brother are coming to visit for nine days, including spending Christmas with us! This especially pumps me up since both of them are special to me; Renee is an incredible woman of God who's like another momma to me, and Luke is one of my best friends. In other words, my sister, my casi big brother, my second momma, and my best friend are all coming to Bolivia within a span of four weeks! I'm thrilled and blessed!
And yet another big happening in December: the Basilio family is finally gonna get here! So yeah, yeah, John and Migdalia may be great spiritual inspirations and heroes in the faith and all, but it's their kids I'm most excited about! (Sorry, parents.) I've been craving to hug Gabriela, Ariana and Papito ever since I left the States and now I'm finally going to have them here in La Paz to hug at my disposal! :)

In conclusion, I'm feeling God's showers of blessings pouring down on us here in Bolivia, and I couldn't be more grateful or enthusiastic to be witnessing His miracles. To Him be all the glory, and please keep praying for the La Paz church, the HOPE team, and the city's children. Thanks for reading!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...

Some company has just left the house, and now I'm here on a Friday night, listening to Christmas music and looking through old facebook pictures... if anything makes me miss "the comforts" of home, this would be it! But really, I just want to dance next to a lit Christmas tree to Nat King Cole. Anyone with me?

Well, so much has happened in the last few weeks. First off, the TIPNIS marchers (2,000 indigenous Bolivians from the Yungas) arrived in La Paz last week after marching for about two months. These incredibly brave and passionate souls marched from the jungle area of Bolivia to the mountains of La Paz, as a form of protest against the president's plan to cut a road through the jungle straight to Brazil (for "economic purposes", aka coca). When the TIPNIS people arrived in La Paz, they were joined by about one million Paceño supporters in the last bit of their march through the city. Basically the majority of the Bolivian people, Paceños and TIPNIS alike, don't hold Evo (the pres) in very high regards, to say the least. Dad, Lin and Gwen were able to join the march right outside their workplace and experience the historic moment hands-on, while the rest of us were just incredibly inspired by everything going on. I tell you, I've never felt so politically opinionated about anything before, and I only officially became a Bolivian resident a few weeks ago! I got to have my share of political activity, but I won't explain too much else about all this stuff, except that it was a really beautiful moment in Bolivian history of the people uniting and fighting for their rights. Evo, after the TIPNIS spent several days of waiting for an answer--mind you, in a city completely foreign to them, with elderly and children and pregnant women seated in protest in the frost overnight--ultimately decided to still build the road, but use a different route than originally planned. Needless to say, it all was an unbelievable experience, and I'm so grateful to be truly living through Bolivian history (despite the fact that most of it is witnessing heartbreaking corruption).

The social projects have been going marvelous. There are no words in existence that describe my ecstasy in working in the guarderías (daycares)... I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! The kids in both guarderías stole my heart from the get go, but now that I've spent enough time with them each day to get to know the individual children... I am in love, to say the least. I wish I could write a long blog post about each kid, each being so unique, charming, opinionated and enchanting... but seeing that I work with about 85 children total, that's not gonna happen.

These are a few pictures from Casa de Refugio (the young mothers' home). These aren't the kids I work with daily (my mom's with them three days a week), but these photos do show just how darn cute Bolivian children are:

The other day I was sitting against the gimnasio wall with about six kids vying for a spot on my lap, and through the process of replacing Fabricio with Rodrigo on my lap, then Emilio with Heidy, etc., I couldn't help but think how blessed to have this as my daily work! Sure, it's definitely not always pleasant and easy; what with desperately trying to get restless children to nap, or finding my finger suddenly soaked in boogers, or especially when the baby I'm feeding decides to barf my hard work back up on me. There are times in the guardería that are just downright gross, but never would I replace a vomit moment or even the frantic shushing of a relentlessly screaming child. Sometimes I'm just speechless as I experience day in and day out that God-given joy that comes with kids. I love the hyper little "peanut-heads", as my mom likes to call all children.

MeryLaura and I on the bus.

Last week when I hung out with MeryLaura, an AWESOME sister from the singles ministry here, she took me to one of La Paz' most famous museums and historic streets. It was amazing to learn the history of the very ground I was walking on, to see Incan gold and precious jewels that've been preserved for centuries, to tour the house of Pedro Murillo--one of Bolivia's greatest revolutionary leaders and martyrs--and to read through an exhibit of inspirational women throughout Bolivian history. I had so much fun with MeryLaura, who is a native Paceña and also a tourism major (put those two together and you get one passionate and proud Bolivian!), and I was all the more proud to be here surrounded by such rich and beautiful culture.

This week, my dad is in Cambodia, Lin is in Haiti, Gwen is about to leave for the States and Ive is getting ready to leave for the Pampas. Basically, everyone's going in and out and we've realized it's never going to be any other way, especially with this group of travel junkies! There are ideas and plans and wishful thoughts flying around left and right concerning family and close friends visiting during Thanksgiving and Christmas. One thing I know: I can not wait to see my sister in December! Regardless of what happens concerning everything else, I know that as I sit here with my Christmas music playing, all I can think about is that magical season spent with CANDICE in BOLIVIA!

But first things first, Halloween. The actual holiday as we know it in America--with trick-or-treating and costumes and what not--is celebrated by some here, but the big deal in Bolivia (and almost all of Latin America) is Día de los Muertos, or Todos Santos. "Day of the Dead" or "All Saints' Day" is a day when, as it's believed, the souls of passed loved ones come back to visit earth for the night. Families gather around their deceased's burial site, set up a table full of the loved one's favorite food and drink and objects, play their favorite tunes, and welcome their spirit as it returns with walking sticks provided (since it's supposedly exhausted after the voyage to earth). It's a very unique and fascinating holiday. Today, we joined the FAI volunteers in a day of learning about Bolivian culture, and included in the day was a trip to the city's main cemetery to get an idea of what the celebration means, and to see where it takes place among the tight-knit graves stacked together on walls. Todos Santos is November 2 (no work or school!), widely celebrated throughout the country and a very meaningful time for those who participate. As for the HOPE team, we're hosting a Halloween party this weekend, and as long as my Saved by the Bell costume follows through, I'm a happy camper.

So, this post has been sufficiently random and not significantly noteworthy. There are tons of things I could rant on about, but I'll leave it at this, as usual: Please keep the HOPE team, the La Paz church, and the children of Bolivia in your prayers! We love you!

Aha, two photos I stole from my fellow volunteer in the Casa de Paso guardería:

Toño

Franco              

P.S. Sorry for any confusing language or errors in the post, it's almost 2AM now. I'm not going to edit this. :)

Coroico

Yet another sick day! I know there must be a reason for all these illnesses we're all getting. Maybe God knew I'd get in a car crash or run into a genocide if I went to work today, or maybe it's just character building. One thing I know: we're all gonna have the immune systems of Chuck Norris by the time we get back.

Last weekend my parents, Lin, Jordyn, and myself found ourselves in Coroico, a small town three hours away from La Paz that attracts tons of tourists and weekend travelers. The area surrounding the town is stunning; Coroico is nestled within gigantic green mountains full of exotic trees and plants, crazily-colored birds, happy local people and tons of delicious fresh fruit. It's amazing how contrasting the landscapes are between Coroico and La Paz, despite the very short distance between the two cities.

 As we were leaving La Paz, this is what you see:

(Here we drove through clouds for about 30 minutes,
we were at the highest point in Bolivia!)

And when we came out of the clouds on the other side of the cordillera...

It was like the Wizard of Oz--suddenly everything was in color! It was really awesome.

Our weekend in Coroico was a gift from a wonderful couple at church who had a room in the Rio Selva resort that they decided to give to us for the weekend. As a result, we had the most relaxing and enjoyable time in a breathtaking hotel right on the river, spending long mornings in hammocks with our Bibles and eating the juiciest fruit we've ever tasted. Needless to say, we were all pretty happy campers (except I got sick, but laying out by a pool in the sun does wonders, let me tell you).

My favorite part of the weekend was on Sunday afternoon, a few hours before we headed back to La Paz, and Dad, Lin, Jordyn and I decided to take a short hike up to a look-out with an amazing view. Jay and I, in a creative spur of the moment, decided to wear dresses and skirts with our tennis shoes, just for the fun of it. The hike was only about 15 minutes up the mountain, where a heart-stopping view awaited us. Truly, it was gorgeous, and tons of fun, especially when buckets of tropical rain began to shower down on us as we began the downhill trek. A memory I'll likely not forget: hiking down a mountain in a white lace dress, completely soaked head to toe, singing old songs with Lin, and laughing the whole way about the goofiness of it all.

So basically Coroico was awesome, but we were glad to come home to the capital and I was excited for another week with my wonderful daycare children. I kind-of just posted this update about Coroico for the sake of a post, but that was two weeks ago, so I'll post again soon.

Please, please, please keep La Paz in your prayers!

Random Ramblings

Two updates in one week! What good blogging! I'll probably just ramble.

We all finally figured out--and implemented for the first time--our set schedule for the rest of our Bolivian lives. Jordyn, who is slowly but surely catching up on her mountain of schoolwork, is finally getting to spend the day in the orphanages/daycares as her workload is lightening. She's basically got the same schedule as me, so as we go to the same daycares each day, we just split up and go at it with the adorable pequeñitos. This week Ashley stuck with me so that she could learn and get a feel for the different FAI projects; she went to both the Betaña nursery with me on Monday and that of Casa de Paso on Thursday. If you're interested, here's my weekly life as of now:

Monday and Tuesday: 9am-1:30 at Betaña nursery (the daycare based in one of the poorest neighborhoods of La Paz)
Monday night: 5-8pm visit at Niñas Obrajes (girls' orphanage) and help Ivelisse with her dance class
Wednesday and Thursday: 12:30-5pm at Casa de Paso nursery (where the majority of the kids' mothers are prostitutes)
Friday: flexible day, I either join my mom and visit Niñas Obrajes or Refugio (home for young mothers), or have a day "off" (which, naturally, doesn't necessarily mean "off")

Praying at midweek. What an incredible part of our
family here living in La Paz.

Often, throughout the week I'm in Bible studies (right now three or four, hopefully five soon! Pray for a certain 14-year-old girl who's eager but timid!), helping the oldER people with technology, midweek every Wednesday night, meetings with other volunteers/coordinators, FAI events, church events, exploring the city, going out to eat/trying to make good meals, an hour of in-depth Spanish once a week, hanging out with sisters, and of course watching Matt's movies! Plus, I really do enjoy running the everyday errands like walking a few blocks to the grocery store or to the RadioShack in the Montenegro shopping area. I almost feel Bolivian!

So that's kind of my life in a nutshell. Of course, that's not including all that I'm learning in my times with God... in all honesty, this past week was a lazy one for me, and I wasn't in the Word like I need've been. That totally affected every area of my life, inevitably, and just this morning I was hit with the realization (or reminder) of who I am without God. Selfish, lazy, angry, prideful, arrogant, and so much more disgusting things. I'm scared of myself when I'm not following the Spirit because, truly, I'm a waste of life and space and air when I'm following my own plans! It's funny how quickly I can forget that and lose perspective... thank God for His gift of grace.

Anyways, to sum it all up, I'm grateful that I have been shown my purpose in life and that I'm continually learning and re-learning every day. There's nothing like the Bible, seriously. Here's one of my favorite verses of all time, because it sums up my existence:
"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward." -Psalm 19:7-11

Beautiful and profound words. It's one of the psalms you read that make you wanna run down the street and SCREAM OUT HOW MUCH I LOVE GOD'S LOVE LETTER (Ps 119:32)... there's this well of passion hidden in the pages that kind of take you over when you realize the truth of what you're reading. (Jer 20:9) Whenever I think about myself and what I want to do, that passion goes away and I'm intensely miserable. (Ps 73) Unfortunately that happens often with me, but my Bible's always sitting right there, and I swear the light of life and overflowing peace fills you up when you put it into practice. (Ps 36:9, Philippians 4:9)

Alright, alright, I'll shut up. Go read, and anyone who wants to hold me accountable with my reading, please, for the love of God (literally), do so.

La ciudad de Coroico

Oh, and exciting news, we're going on a weekend vacation today! Vamos a Coroico, the closest "weekend getaway" to La Paz. The three Hospital musketeers (Dad, Lin and Gwen) desperately needed to relax and have some time to gather their poor brains, and since Coroico is only two hours away and everything is very reasonably priced, we decided on a whim to go. It's warm there, so we can swim and read next to the pool and fight off the Bolivian bugs and hopefully hike a little bit. We leave in an hour and I'm pumped!

Well, I hope this really random post was worth reading. Love you all and please continue praying for us!