Generally, Monday through Friday we are all on a random, rotating schedule. There are various places that we could possibly be, so I am going to take the time to tell you about each of the different places!
1. HOH (Hospitals of Hope): this is the hospital located on our property (a short 100 yards away from our house). When we work at the hospital, we usually shadow the doctors, watch surgeries, or help out in the ER.
2. CBA (Clinica Boliviana Americana): This is a hospital in Cochabamba (the nearest large city, we are in Vinto - a smaller town outside of Cochabamba). When we go there we also shadow doctors, help the nurses tend to patients, and watch surgeries... very similar to HOH! But generally, we are able to do more at this hospital which is exciting.
3. CDA 1 (Casa de Amor): This is an orphanage for babies and small infants ages around 0-3. A typical morning here includes feeding the kids breakfast, playing with them, helping the "tias" (the ladies who give up most of their lives to live at the house and take care of all of the children), discovering poopy diapers, and wiping their "moquitos" (boogies!).
4. CDA 2 (Casa de Amor): This is an orphanage for older kids around ages 4-12. Usually we help them with their chores, help them with "tarea" (homework!), and play games.
5. MS (Movimiento Sonrisas): This is another hospital in the city! but this one is a children's hospital. Most of the children here are either recovering from surgery, healing in the burn unit, being treated for long term illness, or they are babies needing some love.
6. The Plaza: Amidst the bustling city life, Plaza Principal houses over 30 people. The plaza is an open "park" where many homeless people live and become addicts to sniffing "glue." Every Friday afternoon, we bring sandwiches, drinks, wound care, Vitamin B shots, our Bibles, and love. Their lifestyle is different than anything we have ever seen before, but our time with the people who live their is extremely rewarding. We laugh, sing, pray, and really just get to know them by giving them the time of day. The people who live there are the outcasts of society and are considered animals. People ask us why we spend so much time with them, when really what we should be doing is lining up and shooting them. For many the plaza is MUCH better than their home - where they are beaten, raped, stabbed, abused, for others it is where they were born, and for the rest it is the only place they have friends. They use their "glue" to numb the pain in their lives. As Shelly and Rachel (the wonderful women who started this ministry) would say, these are the people that Jesus would be with if He were here today. **BIG PRAISE: Shelly and Rachel are nurses and intend on living in Bolivia longterm, helping the people of the plaza transition their lives and come to know God's grace and mercy.
7. Clinics: We will set up makeshift clinics at local churches and orphanages every once and a while! These tend to be some of the highlights of my week, taking vitals, checking for cavities, etc.
On Saturdays, we tend to relax, hike, and explore Cochabamba. In the afternoons, we go to a different plaza and bathe children, giving them fresh clothes and braided hair for the girls. On Sundays, we attend church and spend the day relaxing!
In order to reach all of these wonderful destinations, our day here consists of riding "trufis," which are vans full of people. Trufi drivers put a sign in their windshield telling people alongside the road where they are headed, and then we flag them down. It's a makeshift bus/taxi that definitely makes for an awesome experience.
This past weekend was a Bolivian holiday ("feriado") Thursday-Sunday. We learned that the President determines how long holidays are... based on how he feels? which seems very interesting. But, with this, there was extra help needed at the orphanages because the tias were celebrating with family and friends. So, Friday morning Jake, Andrew (a student from Messiah College in PA), Kyle (another student), and I arrived around 7:45 to begin assisting at CDA 1 - the baby orphanage. When we arrived, the kids were just waking up and we were there to greet them in their bedrooms. After getting shoes on all of them, we carted all 15-20 kids down to breakfast in their high chairs. It was quite a task feeding over 15 babies/infants eggs and bread with the four of us and only 1 tia! Somehow we managed and played with them all morning until we came back to our house for lunch. Because of the holiday, they had asked us to come back later that night again because their was a celebration happening. Jake, Andrew, and I all went back to the orphanage from 6-11 PM! Let's just say, Jake and Andrew had enough baby time for the day... so many overwhelming poopy diapers, loud obnoxious crying and screaming, hitting, pulling hair, whining, and the list goes on. But at the end of the day, walking away from the orphanage dead tired, we were all so happy that we could give the tias a day of rest. We were amazed that those women dedicate so much time into the children, even when they have their own families/children back at home. What definitely struck me most that day at the orphanage were the few stories that we heard about the children who lived there. One girl, Ruth, had just been placed in the orphanage because her mom attempted to sell her multiple times and was finally turned into the police. Another girl, Jhoselin, who was born blind, lives at the orphanage because her dad has AIDS and is unable to care for her various needs. Another little boy, Gillermo, has burn scars covering the right side of his face. He obtained these scars when he was very little. His mom was cooking in the kitchen with him strapped on her back and the stove somehow blew, killing his mother and leaving him scarred. The stories are endless... As I go about the rest of my time here in Bolivia and even when I return to the states, I see/meet/encounter so many different people from day-to-day. It's so easy to forget that everyone has a "story," God has uniquely designed each and every one of us all as His children through different experiences. Those little children need LOVE and we are there to provide that. My favorite moments here in Bolivia are showering the endless orphans with kisses, hugs, and "I love you's," and in return, getting to see their smiling faces. If only they could understand how much I love them, but even more, how much God loves them. The innocence and purity of these children and the love required to raise these children is such a good example of how we should live our everyday lives. If only I could take all of them home with me........ Cliver, Giovanni, Maria, Jhoselin, Ruth, Gillermo, Camila, Mindy, Pablo, Samuel, Fernanda......
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27.
Love always,
Brittany (with help and additions from the lovely Annika!)
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