We’re back after a great week at Unless! Check out Kemet and his crew on the local news!
Hey all of you going to Unless next week, I just wanted to remind you to bring the following items. As a high schooler, you need to bring these items (in addition to what is on the packing list in your binder):
Having the right equipment will make the work easier! Going to be a great week!
Thanks to all who brought their cameras, here is a collection of pictures from our time in Bolivia!
Amy C. takes a ride through some jungle and into a gorgeous overpass on a zipline in Bolivia…plus a Jim Maenner cameo at the end!
To those who love us, pray for us, and have encouraged/supported us in this life-changing mission trip:
This is Jen here to tell you all about the last day of our trip. On the last day of our trip, after our long overnight flight, we arrived, very groggily, at the Miami airport. We then checked our luggage and made our way over to the beach. We were all very grateful for the opportunity to break up the 24 hours of travel and enjoy the sunshine. The waves beckoned us into the ocean and we had plenty of fun splashing around and soaking up the sun. It was Dave’s first experience in the ocean, and he will now unfortunately have pretty high expectations ; the beach was beautiful and the weather could not have been more perfect! After reluctantly returning to the airport we experienced a few scares: a supposedly (but not actually) stolen wallet, some (quickly resolved) ticket issues, and a shared belief that we were running late. We were not, however, running late. In fact, each time we looked at the screen that showed the departure time of our flight it was a later and later time due to weather. The girls passed the time during our delay eating candy, watching YouTube videos on Whitney’s phone, making friendship bracelets and much more. The boys mostly lounged (how boring!). Once we were finally on the plane we were surprised to see that for once we were all in the same area! At about 6:30 we heard the dreadful words that there were storms ahead and we would have to add about 400 miles to our flight in order to avoid them. Soon after that, we learned that we needed to stop in Cincinnati in order to replenish our fuel supply. However, we did not let this news dampen our spirits. Despite the fact that we had just spent the past 24 hours in flight or as a layover, we enjoyed ourselves! We probably annoyed the heck out the people around us as we reminisced about our trip, passed a bag of animal crackers along four rows of seats and had our own little dance party. Well… the last part was just Meagan and I. Though our spirits were high, we were all excited to come home and see our families. After our return to the states we have come to appreciate things such as flushing toilet paper down the toilet, drinking water out of the tap, not worrying so much about whether or not drivers will regard red lights and… breathing! We have also come to be more grateful for our supportive family members, our relationship with the Lord and the many opportunities we have to worship Him. My experiences in Bolivia have helped me to realize how much God has given me and taught me how to be a better servant to others. Thank you so much for your spiritual and financial support which made it possible for us to go to Bolivia, grow in faith, and serve the Lord.
Pray for our return to Cleveland today. Pray for the ongoing work of the Gospel in Bolivia and in our hearts as we reflect on the trip. (Romans 10:13-15)
Pray specifically for: Dave Schillero & Dan Southam
Pray for the deepening of relationships between our team and Bolivia believers, that we might continue to see one another as partners in the Gospel in the future. (Philippians 1:3-5)
Pray specifically for: Andrew Richard
¡Hola Amigos y Familia! Whitney here, reporting for today, Friday, July 16. We started the morning off at 9:00 for breakfast and devotions before Ramiro came to pick us up. He took us to a church in La Paz to debrief us on how to be a shoe shiner. I am guessing that most of you do not know what a shoe shiner is, so let me explain. As one of the most shameful positions in society, shoe shiners are looked down upon by the locals and are usually associated with poverty (drugs, alcohol, etc.) Ramiro and his brother proceeded to teach us how to shine shoes properly, but that did not fully prepare us for what we were going to embark on. After dressing up in face masks, caps, gloves, etc., we were put into groups and hit the streets. I was in a group with Dave and Ramiro´s friend David. Many people looked down upon us as we sat waiting to shine shoes. The first man that came up to Dave hit him on the head with a newspaper while my first customer repeatedly told me to shine ¨con mas fuerzo y mas rapido¨(with more strength and much faster). Right after that, another man came up to us, but not to get his shoes shined, he wanted some drugs. I was taken aback until he realized that we were gringos and obviously had no drugs. We benefitted from the experience and gained empathy for those who serve others continually.
After lunch at Ramiro´s brother´s restaurant, Ramiro wanted us to go to the park with 5 kids he knows. Meagan and I enjoyed pushing a little girl on a bike and watching the other kids eat ice cream until we found out that these kids (who were all under the age of 10) were shoe shiners. It broke our hearts to know that such young children have to carry such heavy burdens when we have so much. Our eyes were opened to the tragedies that are so prevalent in Bolivia and God really moved us to glorify Him through serving those less fortunate. We ended the night walking through La Paz and looking in some shops and ate a comforting meal with the James´ and some of their friends. It´s hard to believe tomorrow is our last day here in Bolivia. God has worked in our hearts a lot this week and it will be exciting to use what we have learned back home in the states.
Pray for time spent with shoe shiners in La Paz. Ask God to grow our hearts for the least & the last in Bolivia and in the States. (James 1:27-2:13)
Pray specifically for: Whitney Ohman
Hello everybody! This is Catherine, on Friday, July 15, 2011.
We´ve had some early mornings so far, but today topped them all. We woke up (sort of) at 4:45 to stumble through our morning routines before being picked up at 5:15 by our trusty bus. It was a very quiet and sleepy 3 and ½ hour drive to Lake Titicaca and Copacabana – an important religious center for many South American people. We took a boat across part of lake with the bus on a wooden barge, and ended up at the city´s main church. The majority of Bolivians are Catholics, with indigenous gods and religious practices mixed in. We watched part of a service in the main sanctuary, which was adorned with more gold than we had ever seen in one place. We then went to a tunnel underneath the church where people light candles and pray to the Virgin of Copacabana. It was a new and troubling experience to witness idol worship in such a tangible form.
Before walking back to the lake, we used a Bolivian public bathroom, which was – shall we say – quite the cultural experience. After our bathroom adventure, we headed down to the water again and took a boat to the Island of the Sun, where the Incas believe the sun was born from. A 200 step hike up the side of the island left us all feeling very out of shape, but a couple of rests was enough to fix that. We walked around part of the island, with a stunning view of the lake and distant mountains the whole way. Kep James played quite the trick on a few of us and proved most of the team extremely gullible. Feel free to ask for further explanation on our return! After eating lunch at a lovely little restaurant on the hillside, with lots of new things to try, we headed back across the lake to the mainland.
We had a brief rest, and then got ready to climb the 14 Stations of the Cross. Located on a large hill near the water, the stations are a destination for many pilgrimages, even from as far as Peru. Pilgrims carry rocks up the hill and place them at each cross, as a symbol that they believe cleanses them of their sins. We stopped at each station as Kathy explained the meaning of each and we caught our breath. We had a guide with us who also explained parts, and was a Bolivian Catholic. She spoke some English, and quickly picked up on the fact that we didn´t agree with many of the elements of the religion portrayed by the stations (salvation through works, not faith, for example). Kathy got to explain some of the gospel to her on our walk, but it was hard for us as a team to stay focused on the spiritual needs of the Bolivian people instead of our tiredness and personal distractions. When we got to the top, we decided to have Zach do his devotional there, so we all sat down near the 14th station. Of course, because God is amazing, the verses Zach had chosen were perfect for what we needed, and we were all challenged by Zach´s talk, and Dan, Kep, and Kathy´s reminders that the things we were seeing should cause us to long for the salvation of the Bolivian people and break our hearts because of how much they need the grace of God. Amy, Dan, and Zach prayed, and we were all so humbled by how awesome God is and how great our responsibility is to bring the gospel to those who haven´t heard it before.
After a bit of shopping, we headed home and were blessed with a gorgeous sunset ever the lake and mountains. We passed the time by singing songs, some silly, but eventually we ended up having a mini worship service right there on the bus. All in all, it was an eye-opening day, and we all have a lot to think about and be really thankful for! Well now that I´ve written a small novel, I´m off to bed. I hope you´re all doing great – see you Monday!
