It is the end of the third day of our time in Bolivia, and if we didn't miss our families and church so much, we might all decide to stay here. Cochabamba is beautiful. Having never been to a third world country myself, I didn't quite know what to expect before we got here. And three days in, I am still amazed at the sheer beauty of this land.
Bolivia is not a wealthy country. But there is an amazing authenticity to the life and the people here. It is not glitzy or glamorous. It is not pretentious. It does not try to lure or entice. It simply is. The people are beautiful and the life is honest.
The land is gorgeous, and all of us "Paso kids" are mesmerized by the sprawling lights at night. Who knew Cochabamba was so big (pop: approx 800,000)? Tonight we enjoyed the views of the city and the "Cristo"from the 4th floor balcony of an Ecuadorian missionary couple who graciously invited us over for an incredible dinner and dessert, and amazing fellowship. We have been so blessed, and amazed by the testimonies and the kind hearts of every person God has put in our path.
We thank you for your continued support of this ministry. We feel your prayers daily in the unity we continue to experience, and the health that prevails among us. Praise God. You are as integral as we are in this trip; we simply could not be doing this without each one of you.
Our muscles are aching and backs are sore from days spent working in the hangar, painting (the girls) and welding (Josiah). But many hands make light work, and it is a blessing to work along side this entire team.
Tomorrow begins the 2nd component of our missions trip: we've already become quite well acquainted with the manual labor portion, but Thursday and Friday we begin our first Missionary Seminar here at the mission. We ask for your prayers, that the Lord would use Chris to bring encouragement to the full-time Bolivian missionaries. The rest of the team is on "child care duty" and will have the opportunity to speak one-on-one with nearly every person on the NTM staff (close to 30, if not more) throughtout the morning. We welcome your prayers for that as well. :)
As they say in Cochabamba,
Chau!
-Noelle
thank you for your reflection. i got to go to Argentina a couple years ago with Harvest and felt the same way about the people there. i'm so glad you and the group had the opportunity to experience the peace and joy that they have simply because they are alive!
ReplyDeletei'm praying for each one of you :)