Well, here we are, finally in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It is absolutely GORGEOUS here. We expected Bolivia to be cold and… well, that’s about all we knew about it. It’s actually sunny and warm and there are trees! (Peru was cloudy, chilly, and well, desert.) So refreshing! We’re working with an awesome newlywed couple here, working in local orphanages and bathing the poor children in the town square (sounds weird, but cool. i’m sure i’ll have an update!) Anyway, this month is looking AWESOME. For now, here are some pictures from our awesome road trip across South America. It was great, even with what I wrote in my last blog 🙂
The beautiful Peruvian sunset.
The floating islands we went to in Lake Titicaca.
They dressed us up in indiginous outfits, quite hilarious.
The girls… My hat’s kinda awesome.
How our bus crossed Lake Titicaca… yeah…….
Lake Titicaca from the Bolivian side, right around Copacabana.
Welcome to Bolivia 🙂
We start ministry tomorrow, and we’re SO excited about it. Be praying for our squad as well. One of the girls had her daypack stolen, with her computer, passport, camera, ipod, money, and everything else stolen. (We’ve had a lot of robberies on the race so far.) She’s perfectly safe though, praise the Lord! Also, we found out we are going to ALBANIA (next to Greece) and ROMANIA for our European countries. We are the first World Race squad to go to Albania, and we’re so so excited! Both countries are going to be FREEZING. We have our first Squad Debrief at the end of Bolivia, where we as a squad get together for about 3 days to pray, worship, process what we’ve experienced on this continent, etc. It’s hard to explain World Race Culture, so I’ll blog about it then 🙂 Then we fly on October 12th to Miami, then to NYC, and then over to Europe. Should be an adventure! Anyway, that’s all for now. Thanks for reading 🙂
Hi Steph,
I see now that my prayers for you and your team while on the bus were not fervant enough — with driving like that, perhaps the floor was the safest place to be and that good samaritan squadmate knew exactly what he was doing! (ha!)
The pictures were breathtaking — so like God to refresh you with the beauty of His creation.
Sorry to hear about yet another robbery. I’m sure it has broken that girl’s spirit. I’ll be praying for her (I’m sure God knows her name). Let us know if you need any contributions for her to replace some of what she lost (if that’s possible).
I’m concerned about Albania and Romania — do you have a coat and gloves and warm enough clothing? I hope you remembered to buy yourself a hat when you bought all those hats for the kids in Ecuador. I don’t think the hat from Lake Titicaca will do the trick (though you did make quite the fashion statement). And, bless your hearts about being excited to go to those countries — I would never be excited to know that I’m going to be FREEZING!
Remembering you in prayer daily,
In His Love,
Angela Martine
Hi Steph,
Yes I can meet you in NYC on the night of October 12, with whatever you need. If there are a few things for the squad, I can bring them also. Just be reasonable with the “load” so I can safely cary into the terminal. It will be great to see you, if only for a few minutes before you’re off to Albania and Romania. Glad you’re safe in Bolivia.
Love,
Dad
Hey Steph,
God is going with you guys, your experiences are fantastic and your pictures are gorgeous (Your Dad will be making paintings for 1,000,000,000 years with all those phenominal images!!!!! I may ask to borrow some!) We are praying for you and your whole team AND for those you minister to as well. I did a mission stint in Peru and Chile so many of those pics bring back some awesome memories (in Chile one of our guys got robbed, it was a bummer for a few days, but after a bit the joy of the Lord returned as we immersed ourselves in ministry.) I remember our modes of transportation were interesting too! Let the Lord warm your hearts as your FREEZING in Europe. Well, I’d better get back on my knees…….May the Lord REALLY bless you guys!
We love ya, SueMac