The Basics

Well, howdy there, first blog post! ...Probably not the classiest way to start a blog. But I'll just cut straight to the chase:

My name is Brie, I'm 18 years old, I just graduated from high school a few months ago, and this year I'm taking a "gap" year before university and living in La Paz, Bolivia. My parents--Kevin and Noelle Broyles--are both amazing people and disciples of Christ, and God presented them the opportunity of moving to La Paz! My father, a former Duke doctor and medical administrator, is now employed by HOPE worldwide and will be leading a small HOPEww team in collaboration with a program called Fundación Arco Iris.

FAI was established almost 20 years ago by Father Jose, a Catholic priest from Germany, who had a vision for social programs that would meet the medical, educational and emotional needs of the many (thirty-thousand, to be exact) street children of La Paz. FAI has become one of the most respected and cherished programs in the country, due to its comprehensiveness, the warmth of the employees/volunteers, the genuine interest in the kids' welfare, and the reliability of its services. The Fundación is divided into three parts: Hospital Arco Iris (which provides primary, urgent and intensive healthcare to the community), Social Programs (which include orphanages, pass-through homes, schools, and more), and Productive Units/Vocational Training for teenagers (i.e. Bakery, Carpentry Shop, etc.). All of these programs daily serve hundreds of kids from the streets, either with severely desperate home lives or none at all.

The HOPE team consists of:

Kevin and Noelle Broyles (mis padres)

Brie Broyles (me)

Lin Beaty and her daughter, Jordyn Beaty

Gwen Ellis

Ashley Perry

Ivelisse Cardona

Matt Walker

My dad will be helping with leadership development for the medical directors of Hospital Arco Iris, as well as facilitating the collaboration between Duke University and HAI. Alongside him, Lin Beaty (a women's ministry leader from Atlanta and an RN) will be exploring opportunities to open up Arco Iris-HOPEww satellite clinics in other parts of the city. Gwen Ellis (a sister from Triangle, NC and an RN) will be facilitating continuing education for nurses in the Hospital, as well as developing a Nursing Assistant Program in Bolivia.

My mom (a former nurse) is exploring opportunities to volunteer within the FAI social programs and help develop opportunities for other volunteers from the States. Ivelisse (a sister from Atlanta, originally from Puerto Rico) will most likely be focusing her efforts with the girls in the orphanage. Ive has a lot of experience in developing programs for kids that build their self-esteem. She's eager to instruct dance classes for the girls and simply love up on the kids. Ashley is an accountant, also from the church in Atlanta, and is excited to volunteer within the social programs with the kids.

Matt Walker, a 23-year-old brother from Charlotte, NC has been living in La Paz for over three weeks already, and is an FAI volunteer living in a dorm-like building with the other volunteers. Matt works with a project called Talleres in the Casa de Paso (pass-through house), where he helps kids create and build what they want to make.

As for me and Jordyn (16 years old and one of my dearest friends, a gift from God for me!), we're just here to love up on kids and serve our Lord!

I believe God is making this verse come alive in a new way during this time: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded." (Luke 12:48) I've grown up surrounded by love, deep relationships, people who have sincerely cared about me and invested in my well-being. Freely God has poured so much love in my life, and now I am eager to freely give that same love to these kids who have rarely (if ever) felt love like that. The prospect of bringing God into a seemingly godless life, hope into a seemingly hopeless life, love into a seemingly loveless life (you get where I'm going here...) excites me more than anything in the world. I am honored, humbled, and absolutely thrilled to be here and give as I've been given to.

P.S. This blog post is just the background of what we're doing... the intention of this blog site is to let you all know what my family is up to in La Paz, what God is teaching us, dreams we're dreaming and new people we're walking through life with. As I'm authoring this blog, the adventures that I document will probably have a personal twist, if you're okay with seeing Bolivia through the eyes of a teenage girl. I will try to update the blog at least once a week, hopefully more, since so much happens every day. I'm excited to fill you in on OUR lives, as long as we stay filled in on yours! (We're still on email and facebook, no excuses!)

P.S.S. Here are a few pictures...

La Paz, Bolivia... It's the highest elevated capital city in the world! The temperature is beautiful in the day (feels like 65º) and cold at night/early morning. The population is huge and the city itself is very spread out. La Paz is stunningly beautiful and we're excited to call it home!