August 25 & 26

We have spent the last two days here in Cochabamba at the Luz De Cristo the church we were in on Sunday morning. On Monday we ran two session of puppets, songs, games and crafts back to back- The children were so responsive and interacted with every one on the team. Bethany taught ´Dum, Dum Dotta´ to the kids and Emily led ´Simone Dice´ or ´Simon Says´. Great to see both kids and adults laugh at themselves, us and others as we rocketed through these interactive games. The team went on with assisting in making wordless braclets which communicate the gospel message in colors, after that we had the kids color and were amazed at their artistry.

In the late afternoon Adam, Greg and Joe led, with the rest of us, a training for pùppetry. Dan commented on how good we were considering what he saw and where everyone has to start to make these characters believable in their movements and lip-sinc. It is not as easy as it looks for sure. We also showed them how the stage was contructed so that each ministry could copy or modify the design for their own use. Our plan is to leave both puppets and stage for them when we leave next week.

Our team has been well cared for at the Ubb Center. Our cook keeps us full to over flowing and the facility is great. Our Bolivian host, Pastor Jhonny has been a terrific part of our team in every way, it has been a priveledge to get to know him and the other pastors of the area. They are held in very high regard here along with great responsibility!

Monday night Adam and Emily went and played Wallyball (no spelling error here) with the local Compassion rep, Daniel Guiterez. They had such a good time that they plan to play again this week. We teased Daniel as Emily came back with blood all over her shirt from a bloody nose sustained as they learned the new game (basically volleyball played in a racketball court with the walls considered part of play). Most of the rest of the team went for ice cream off the main square.

Tuesday we returned to the same church to help paìnt classrooms. The paint was being mixed and hand colored in the courtyard at the front of the church as we arrived. Each class had been able to choose their own color. Each church is alotted so much paint and their seems to be a contest to see how far they can stretch it! Watered down to get the most square meters as possible, seems strange to most of us who started painting as if one to two coats would do it and found ourselves at 4 coats most of the time. Splatter was the decoration we all wore for the most part. We finished 3 rooms total and a good part of the 4th as well. Luis, Josefina, Pastors Eddy and Freddy assisted us and added to the fun. Even the new believer Miguel that we saw baptized on Sunday morning was their painting. Each Bolivian leader seemed to have a plan, however communicating it was interesting to say the least.

Each day the church provides the same lunch that Compassion provides for each child and we bring our own table service and drinks. We have been told that the easiest way to avoid getting sick is avoiding things that cannot be pealed or sticking to things that have been cooked. Also, with our own clean table service we avoid another point of possible contamination. They treated us with cold Coca Cola for which Colin was extremely thankful! He has not had any of the nectar since leaving the states but has remained calm and level headed. He can quit any time (Or so he says).

The end of Tuesday afternoon a few of us once again taught a puppetry session again to local church and compassion leaders. Average height here is significantly smaller than in the states so stage heights can sometimes be a challenge. Each participant has a great attitude and we are told that this kind of ministry is really affective here and easily duplicated in the area. One lady brought a puppet she had made that looked professionally crafted and definitely more culturally relivant.

Towards evening the pastors presented us with gifts and their thanks for what we have accomplished over the last 3 days here. They were looking ahead to what the ministry we have provided might be multiplied in the future. They also had a cake in honor of Trimmie´s birthday as well as one of the pastor´s daughter. This evening some went to a Christian folk concert while others joined Emily and Adam with Daniel Guiterez again at Wallyball.

Our times of team worship, devotion and prayer are the part of the day that keeps us grounded as we face full days and new experiences. We also share our ´strikes and gutters´or highs and lows for each day. God has obviously blessed us all with each team member as we relate to one another. We been especially graced with many Spanish speakers and people who love children.

Colin, for the Team