La Vida Buena

Right now I'm witnessing the first rain I've seen yet in Bolivia. Somehow, God even makes the looming grey clouds look beautiful over La Paz (even though I've lost sight of most of the city). The winds are crazy! Anyway, besides the thrilling news that yes, it's raining, there's tons happening with the HOPEww team here.

My dad, mom and Gwen are taking Spanish lessons three times a week with Profesor Jaime, a man who not only speaks no English but enjoys the severely firm approach to teaching, as well. Needless to say, all three students' learning curves are completely vertical, and they're enjoying the Spanish language immensely. My dad says "La vida buena!" in every conversation. It perks us all up.

On Monday morning, another wonderful addition to the team made his way to La Paz--after a 23-hour layover in DC, mind you--James Jacoby! We were excited to welcome him to the team with a solid American pizza dinner, with a side of oreos and peanut butter. (We told him not to get used to the American food.) James is staying with a campus brother named Oswaldo and his family in Alto Obrajes, not far from where Matt lives with the other FAI volunteers. James is 22 years old, a University of Florida graduate, and hopes to stay in Bolivia for a year, más o menos.

Yesterday (Tuesday), James joined Ivelisse, my mom, Jordyn and myself to visit "Proyecto Escuela en la Calle", part of Casa de Paso's Proyecto Calle. This is an incredible project headed up by an FAI worker named Justo ("Justo Perfecto", he called himself), who has befriended a group of teenagers who live under a bridge right over a busy highway. It's extremely dangerous to swing down from the overhanging bridge into the little gap beneath the road, where the kids sleep, so James was the only one from our group who got to clamber down (despite Jordyn's and my desire to follow him).

See the boy hanging from the bridge? That's the "front door" to their "home". A group of about 20 young adults, between 15 and 20 years old, live in that little gap you see underneath the bridge.

James, probably freaking out inside as cars zoomed by underneath him.

Justo, having taken time to gain their trust, began teaching short classes for about 10 of the kids once a week. The goal is to have the government allow "Proyecto Escuela en la Calle" twice or thrice a week, but it will take time to get to that point. Yesterday, Justo administered a quick math test (in other words, we all just thought up random problems, and the students wrote the answers on their papers).

Some of the kids taking their test! (After being served a sandwich and hot
coffee, since they sleep all night in the freezing cold.)

After the school session, we rode back to Casa de Paso with the group of teens, who are all very involved with drugs (they especially like to sniff a mix of gasoline, shoe glue, and water to help curb hunger pains and chills). Some of them are involved with drug trafficking, and many sexually-transmitted infections go around the group, as most of them have open romantic relationships with one another.

Yesterday we also visited Casa Refugio, FAI's home for young mothers, between ages 12 and 18. 99% of the cases in el Refugio are inter-familial rape cases, especially between fathers and their daughters. After being impregnated by a family member, it's not safe or desirable for a preteen or teenage girl to stay in the home, so the Refugio welcomes the young mothers from these situations, providing social, legal and psychological assistance. There are 20 young mothers and their children who live in the home. While the mothers go to school for half the day, the children are taken care of, played with, fed, etc. The mothers are offered some vocational training (i.e. bakery) and taught the basics of being mothers.

Yesterday, we also visited the home of a family who's supported by FAI's Proyecto Social Apoyo Familial. The single mother, having been paralyzed from the waist down in a work-related accident, left her two younger daughters (11 and 12 years old) to the care of her 18-year-old daughter. Their home is one room and rather unexplainably heartbreaking. It was good to be there and simply love up on the wheelchair-ridden mother, as well as chat with the oldest daughter, who was very shy and sick with the chicken pox.

All in all, the things we've seen are intense and real, and I've been completely humbled by the impoverished lives of the majority of La Paz's people. We are honored and thrilled to be here!

Please keep FAI in your prayers, the volunteers, the HOPEww team, the La Paz church, and most importantly, the kids of La Paz. Thanks for all your love and support!

La Paz, looking stunning as always.