To sum it up, it was one of the hardest times of my life, but also maybe the best time of my life.
(Chad on left shared this reflection from the most recent Bolivia trip
).
It was one of the hardest times of my life physically (at least when we were travelling to the villages). Our food was bland, but there was at least a decent supply of it, and I ate as much as I could, since I knew that the time might come when it would it would be coming back up and I wouldn’t be able to eat anything (and that time came). We often had to get up early. Sleep was priceless because, even though we had plenty of time where sleep was an option (like the many hours on the bus), it was just difficult to get to sleep. Most people were really tired when they got back from the trip and could get plenty of sleep in their own nice, warm beds. Most people seemed to have been in poor health at some point in the trip due to sickness, injury, dehydration, etc. Also, white people who have spent the last couple of winter months inside don’t do too well when they are suddenly put under the blazing Bolivian sun for hours at a time (next time I will bring a hat and some sun screen). We quickly ran out of clean clothes, and there were no showers or washing machines. Maybe I should have asked Rosa if she would wash some of my clothes for me (just kidding). The altitude was pretty rough too. I would get tired and light headed after a tiny amount of exercise, and a lot of times my head would start throbbing when I moved it (like it does when I have the flu). I’m not complaining; that’s just my honest opinion of how it was. But as bad as that all was, for me the good far outweighed the bad.
None of the insignificant things mattered much in the villages, like how a person's clothes look or how the person smells, or things like that. And we found ourselves caring less and less about these things, largely because we couldn't do anything about it, since we didn't have anywhere to shower or enough clean clothes. Instead we were caring less about ourselves and more about others.
We pulled together and shared our resources, since we each individually didn’t have everything we needed, but together we had much more. Actually, it was a lot like the early church in Jerusalem, as described in Acts 4:32, "Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common." The team got along very well, and everyone was willing to help. I got sick for a day or two, and everyone took great care of me when I was sick, and I think the same was t
As I listened to the testimonies, I realized that most of the people on the trip had gone through a period of significant spiritual growth sometime in the last few years, where they had turned their lives more completely over to God. It was exciting to see that it was a group of people who were not stagnant in their faith, but were passionate about the Word of God and about serving God.
Under those conditions, being stuck with the same people pretty much all of the time for ten days, we developed relationships very quickly. It strengthened my existing friendships, and I made some new friends as well. All of our different personalities seemed to work well together, and our differences made us stronger rather than weaker. We had a great time just enjoying each other’s company.
The time in the villages was a lot of fun, for us and for the kids we were ministering to. The kids loved the attention, the gifts, and the entertainment, and we loved spending time with them. The villagers were helpful and friendly. I sensed no hostility toward us or our message (but I also don’t speak their languages, so I could be wrong).
I must admit that I was a little skeptical about how effective this method of evangelism would be, but now I see the merit of it. The majority of our time was spent in playing with/entertaining the kids rather than explaining the gospel. But since the kids wanted to come and do those things with us, they did half of the work for us by spreading the word and getting people to come from hours around to gather in one spot. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to reach that many people in such a short amount of time.
It was convicting to see how little the people were content with, and how they were willing to walk for hours over the mountains to go to school or church, and how the teachers and pastors would choose to live that way so that they can teach.
Altogether, it was a great trip. It strengthened my existing friendships, and I made some new friends as well. I had a lot of fun. I got to see what life is like in another culture. I got to see Christians acting like Christians, and I got a little bit stronger, physically and spiritually. I would love to go back, and I recommend it to anyone who is considering it.
