The smell of Target

Everybody do us a favorite and take a nice, deep breath in the next time you go shopping at Target. Do it right when you walk in the door so you get the mixture of the scent of popcorn from the food court, the crispness of the air conditioner that hangs right above the entrance and that hint of new plastic. We bought our stroller and car seat for the baby the other day and at one point i had to close my eyes and pretend we were standing in the baby aisle at target under the bright florescent lights surrounded by dozens of styles and options for strollers and not in the middle of Bolivia's open air market with very little to choose from, store clerks trying to sell us things we don't need, all the while trying to ignore the smell of fried chicken, incense, and sewer. After three hours we were standing on the curb empty handed and trying to get a taxi home when Braeden decided that we weren't leaving without what we had come for, that this is what we had to work with and not a Target around the corner. By some miracle we found a car seat and stroller at the very next shop, completely different from anything else we had seen that day and we almost cried when he told us that we could have both for less than 100 dollars. i guess i can deal with the smell of chicken and sewer rather than popcorn and air conditioning if it means 100 dollars.

Baby blankets

Today was a very difficult baby washing. For the past few weeks we have been struggling to find clothes in the right sizes in all of the donations that we have packed in tubs at our house. Every week we go through what we have left from last week and try to refill it with what is left from donations. Bigger sizes for ages 7-10 have been the hardest to find and specifically boys shirts. Today i spent a long time going through every tub we had to find enough boy clothes so that no one would be sent away without at least one piece of a new outfit.

i could tell as soon as we began that we were not going to have enough of the bigger clothes for all the kids. Our volunteers were scrambling inside the tent to search through the clothes for the right sizes and i had to turn away so many little boys, explaining that we just didn't have their size this week. We have a few twelve year old girls that get their hair washed each week and they are so sweet, waiting to the side and not getting in anyone's way just to see if we might have a top for them. We had to turn them away as well.

Towards the end of the evening we were completely out of older boys clothes and their was a very slim selection for the younger ones. A mother brought her eight month old baby in and we were all relieved it was a baby because we have a ton of little clothes and to make it better, she was a girl. The baby got a diaper this week, which is an extra treat, and a pair of pink pants with a teddy bear t-shirt. She was also given a baby blanket, something we don't have every week but decided to bring since we were short on clothes. The baby was handed back to the mother and we were all happy that we were finally able to give an entire matching outfit complete with diaper and blanket to a child.

The mother wasn't satisfied, however, first saying that she didn't want her daughter in pants but wanted a dress. She sat in front of the tent for a good fifteen minutes trying to get the volunteers to give her a dress instead while i explained to her that we didn't have time to undress her baby and put an outfit on that she liked better but that maybe next week she could have a dress. Once she realized we weren't changing our minds she asked for a sweater for the baby. i again explained that we didn't have enough clothing to give mothers everything that they wanted, that these clothes had to last from Saturday to Saturday and she had already gotten an extra diaper and blanket. But the mother was insistent and refused to move until finally one of the volunteers tossed her a boys' sweater, one of the very few we had left. i was very stern with the mother then, telling her that she couldn't do this every saturday, that we had to make sure that every child at least got something but she didn't care to listen.

i had to step away from everything for a few minutes because i was so upset about the situation. it was so frustrating having to turn away all of those kids today without anything and this mother was walking away with extra things and a sweater that was desperately needed for a boy for next week. But at the same time i was angry with myself for being upset with her. if my baby was cold and there was an entire suitcase of clothes sitting right there, i am sure i would do the same thing. At home i had a whole crib overflowing with baby clothes for our new baby and i was frustrated with a mother who just wanted a clean sweater. We are surrounded here by mothers who don't care about their children, who abandon them, beat them, take the fruit we give to their children and eat it themselves. This was an example of a good mother, in a way, who wouldn't take no for an answer. Braeden and i saw this week that, like this ministry, parenting isn't always black and white. While she certainly shouldn't have demanded extra when she was one of the lucky ones today with a whole outfit and a dry diaper, maybe it was still right that she did try to demand more.

Bolivian Highlights

i know that many of you who read this blog have not had the chance to get to Bolivia yet so i thought i would make this blog about the highlights, both good and bad, in a typical week here. We have been feeling a little homesick, well, maybe more than a little, for Holland lately, so hopefully seeing the good that goes into a week here written out will take some of that away.

This past Sunday our church was running low on our family supply of coffee so after the service Braeden and i got in the car and drove around looking for the building where our coffee is roasted. We had been there only once but luckily we found it after only having to turn around once. We got to watch the roasted beans get ground and packaged and while we were waiting a new batch of beans was getting roasted so the whole room filled up with the smell of coffee. if you think JP's smells good, try standing next to a fresh batch of roasted beans.

On Monday we had a doctor's appointment for the baby. We have the sweetest doctor from our church who has her own hospital in the middle of town. The best thing about her hospital, her and her husband provide free care to patients who can't afford to pay. The worst part of the hospital, that means the waiting room is always full. We eventually got in to see her and she says everything looks good so far. She had a hard time finding the heartbeat at first because the baby was kicking so much.

On Tuesday we took our intern into town to purchase her ticket to go home and to souveneir shop behind our post office. Our intern wanted to mail a postcard so we figured out the process for doing that, which is surprisingly easy so everyone watch in the mail for some postcards from us!

On Wednesday we worked on, and are currently working on, how to get construction money out to the jungle of San Lorenzo where we are building the next orphanage. Unfortunately you can only fly by small planes into this area and the missionary pilot we work with is gone for the summer. Since my parents left we have been calling every few days to ask the hangar to find out when the next flight to San Lorenzo will be and we never get straight answers. We will call one day to hear that there are no flights that week and then call to re-check the next day and they will tell us there was a flight the day before. Our construction workers are getting frustrated and so are we.

On Thursday i was going to make homemade Chinese food for Braeden like i used to do back home but they had run out of every type of asian sauce at the grocery store and had no vinegar to make it from scratch. So we switched to tacos only to find that they were also out of every kind of meat. We had grilled cheese that night.

On Friday Braeden and i went for a walk around our neighborhood and found some piles of dead leaves that looked and smelled just like October in Michigan. Apparently Bolivia does get other seasons. That night we were invited to a teacher's house from the school my sisters go to. We did something i always try to avoid, taking a trufi. its the local transportation here, a bus that takes you along a specific route for only about 25 cents a person and you never know what kind of driver you are going to get. We got one that thought he was driving a racecar and not a huge bus filled with people standing in the aisle.

On Saturday we got ready for baby washing which includes loading the car up with four washtubs, a stack of large towels, a stack of small towels, four buckets with shampoo, soap, washcloths, gloves, a bag of hair ties, brushes, nail polish, five bags of oranges or bananas, two suitcases of clothes that have to be sorted every week to make sure that we have enough of each size for boys and girls, and six large jugs of hot water that Braeden fills up every week from the kitchen. Plus ourselves. Baby washing went well this week. We didn't have as much help as normal but our regular volunteers were so generous in jumping in where ever they were needed.

And that is a typical week here, each day fairly similar with all the phone calls and the same responses to frequently asked questions, but also refreshingly different with surprise visits to the coffee roaster and the water going out a day before baby washing. Today we are getting ready to pay the bills for the ministry which involves taking money out of ATM machines that sometimes eat your cards or don't have American dollars that day. i am sure we will have some interesting story to tell by the end of the day.

Mike and Bonnie need a hug

The next time you run into my parents, give them a huge hug. They deserve it. Braeden and I knew that running the ministry would take some effort on our part but we had no idea all of the time and energy that my parents have to put into each day to keep the ministry going. And we don't even have complete responsibility for everything. From organizing flights to delivering money to new orphanage sites, coordinating the intern schedules, trying to get doors varnished before they warp and keeping the Hacienda running, it has definitely been a busy two weeks since my parents have left. Not to mention the numerous phone calls a day requesting everything from information about a little girl's eye operation to payment for a load of bricks. It requires extreme patience at times, especially when you are trying to answer the question in a different language while you are in the car and the phone is breaking up on the other end. I have always felt that my dad is the most patient person I have ever met, but after these past two weeks, I am in awe that it is possible for him to be as happy and laid back as he is all the time and be dealing with the pressure of this ministry's responsibilities. Not to mention my mother, who goes day after day not knowing what new surprises will pop up from the water pump burning out and the plumber out of town, to mothers at baby washing asking for different medications for their children. What we have learned so far from doing what my parents do on a daily basis is that you have to seriously love and be obsessed with the ministry to continue on for eight years and still be as happy as my parents are.

Prayer Request

We have a prayer request for a missionary family that goes to our church here in Bolivia. For those of you who have heard the story of the long process our family has gone through to adopt Gracie, you understand how frustrating the adoption system here is and how it really doesn't make sense at times with the bribery and all of the meaningless paperwork and people you have to go through. We have had Gracie for six years and she still hasn't been officially adopted.

The Summerfields are a family here in Bolivia that have two adopted children in high school. They were adopted from Peru. For the past six months this family has been acting as a foster family for a one year old Bolivian boy named Angelito. The Summerfields want to adopt Angelito but they are over the legal age to adopt. There is a law down here that states that if a child has been with a family for more than two years, they cannot be taken away. The child is legally yours after two years and the Summerfields have been hoping that this is what would happen.

He has only been with them six months and he is already a part of the family. He is an enormous ball of energy, running around at church and all the school events like basketball games and school plays. Braeden and i went over to babysit one night and he is certainly a handful trying to keep him away from the stairs and out of the garbage cans. But he is the sweetest little boy, always smiling, never cranky and definitely not shy with anyone.

A few weeks ago the Summerfields were told that there is a Bolivian family who would like to adopt Angelito. if all of the court hearings go through, he will be leaving in July. Because it is a Bolivian family, the process will be much easier and there is a greater chance that the adoption will go through. it has been very frustrating to us to understand why the government would let a child be taken away from a family who desperately wants to adopt him when there are thousands and thousands who are in state run orphanages not being taken care of by a loving family. Mrs. Summerfield has called him her baby since she first got him and as Braeden and i get ready to have our very first in a few months, i can't imagine being told that your child is going to be taken away. Through all of this the Summerfields have been so grateful to God for the time that they have been able to spend with Angelito and are always saying that it is in God's hands whether he goes or stays. Please pray for this family, that there will be a miracle and Angelito will be able to stay with the Summerfields, or if not, that their healing will be quick and there will be understanding that God is in every part of his life.

Bath Time, times thirty

This blog entry is about the weekly Saturday baths down at the main plaza. Minus the bubbles. Minus the full tub and running faucet. Minus the rubber ducks, toy boats and mermaid Barbies. Minus the wrinkled fingers. These baths are more about necessity than about little fingers and toes splashing in the water and spraying shaving cream all over the tub. These baths are about scrubbing little feet coated in grime, rinsing off a week's worth of sweat and dust and cleaning out tangled, matted hair. Some cry out wildly at having to get washed and thrash around in the tub until its finally over. Some are surprised that the water is actually warm and not cool like the river water they are used to. Some thoroughly enjoy it, splashing the water all over the place and grabbing for the soap to help wash themselves, laughing when cups of water are dumped over their heads.

Seven years ago a man named Micky Camacho, a Bolivian that used to work at the missionary school here in Cochabamba was given a small amount of money to do any kind of ministry he felt called to do. Touched by all of the boys on the street who worked all day shining shoes for their families, Micky decided to use that money to take the shoe shine boys out to a nice restaurant. When he gathered them all up and walked into the restaurant, the restaurant turned them away because they were too dirty. Micky bought a bar of soap and a comb, cleaned them all up in the plaza fountain and took them out to dinner. He continued doing this every Saturday until the money ran out. More donations came in, however, and he was able to continue and soon baby washing was born.

Over the past seven years the ministry has grown from a bar of soap and a fountain to a full bath in a tub, a clean set of clothing, a glass of milk and a piece of bread and hair brushing for the girls. When in the beginning baby washing was inhabited by shoe shine boys getting a clean face and hands, now more than sixty children a week come, along with their mothers, to receive a bath and a clean set of clothing. Micky's ministry was truly blessed over the years. There have been countless mission teams volunteering their time and money bringing toothbrushes, clothes, underwear and diapers to pass out. A washing machine was donated so that the mothers could wash their old clothing. A tent was donated when the city complained that it was indecent to wash babies out in the open. Whenever a need arose, someone stepped forward to take care of it and it has been clear over the years that God wanted this ministry to both continue and to grow.

This past year Micky and his family have struggled with health and family issues and had to make the difficult decision to stop the ministry. Ever since the first Saturday we were in Bolivia my family has been a part of baby washing and Saturdays at the plaza have been a huge part of the teams that we host and visitors that come down to help. Because of this we have decided to take Micky's place and run Baby Washing.

Even with Micky and his family there every week, Baby Washing has always been hectic and now that it is my parents in charge over all the aspects, it has been overwhelming at times. in three weeks my parents will be leaving for the states for two months and Braeden and i will be in charge of Baby Washing. This past Saturday we got our first taste of what it would be like when my parents were gone for my sister's graduation in Chicago. What i was expecting to be an extremely stressful and disheartening experience turned out to be a blessing. When we arrived there were only two volunteers there to help us. We hurriedly set up the two tents, scrambling to get everything ready before the crowd of kids around us got too restless. it has probably been four years since i have actually had to go into the bath tent to wash because we always have enough volunteers who want to experience washing. This Saturday i crawled into the tent, nervous about kneeling down for two hours, getting nautious in the stuffy, hot, smelly tent and not physically being able to bend over the tub with my somewhat in the way stomach.

After about an hour i was so happy that i was able to wash. Scrubbing down, soaping up, untangling and rinsing off baby after baby was not only refreshing and a good sign that Braeden and i were certainly capable of running baby washing for two months, it was also a good reminder of why this ministry is so important. Having to scrub off countless pairs of feet that were black with dirt was the perfect example of how we can not only be Jesus to people in Bolivia by preaching and explaining the word of God but by washing the feet of his people like he did for his disciples. We were so thankful for the success of this past week's Baby Washing and ask for prayers for the next two months.

8 Saturdays X 60 babies a week X 200 pieces of clothing X 100 cups of milk X hundreds of braids= Two satisfying months

Women have to pee ALOT

We just got done with another team this week from New Hampshire

of three couples and five teens and we have to say that out of all the

teams we have had (college teams, youth groups, families, singles,

young, old, mother/daughter, construction) this team beat everyone

by far in the amount of bathroom breaks needed. And bathrooms

breaks were not an easy task on this particular trip because we took

this team to the rainforest for two days. Now the rainforest is about a

four and a half hour bus ride from the city and if any of you are

picturing a lush tropical vacation in a beautiful resort with refreshing

swimming pools and fruity drinks. . . you are wrong. The rainforest

is certainly beautiful but it is miles from a relaxing vacation in the

tropics. Think tiny hole in the wall restaurants, big spiders, invisible

bugs that bite you through your clothes,humidity so thick you feel

like you just stepped out of a steamy shower, no air conditioning

and, most importantly, a severe lack of convenient bathroom stops.

For your amusement here is the list of toilets we frequented along

the way: A pay per person stall along the road, a pay per toilet

paper stall at the checkpoint, a public restroom with a flooded floor

that required its users to dump a bucket of water down the toilet as

a way to flush, an open hole in the jungle, a river, the hotel

bathroom (not that bad except for a flooded floor) and last but not

least, a three stall bathroom with holes in the floor. Our team was

wonderful, though, in their acceptance of the lack of toilet seats

and air conditioning. While in the jungle we were able to varnish

and screen in the windows in one of our orphanages, visit with

the first completed orphanage and bring supplies for the parents

and donate radio equipment to one of the churches in the area to

broadcast Christian radio in the jungle. We also visited a monkey

park while there that allows you to sit and play with monkeys that

are being introduced back into the wild. They come up sit on your

lap, play with your hair and try to steal stuff from your pockets. A

great experience, i however, have done it enough times to not

want any monkeys hanging off me. i opted to stay on the bus with

the construction worker's wife and her sleeping baby. What we

quickly realized is that the monkeys liked to crawl through bus

windows. As the team made their way to the park area four

huge monkeys made their way towards the bus and we were

scrambling to shut all of the bus windows before they got to us.

We then spent a good forty five minutes in a stifling hot bus with

monkeys banging on the roof and hanging off the windows, trying

to get our attention and eyeing the bundle of bananas we had at

the front of the bus. With that wonderful description of what a trip to

the jungles of Bolivia entails, i am sure that no one is exactly

jumping to sign up for a trip but i do have to say that, while the

rainforest is personally one of my least favorite places visit here in

Bolivia,every time i get back i am so happy i went. Not many

people can say that they hiked through the rainforest, held

monkeys and swam in part of the Amazon river.