Please pray: I just received this email from one of my nurse friends on the Africa Mercy...There is no easy way to write this or to soften the words, but Anicette went Home to Jesus today. She came to the ship last weekend severely malnourished and got worse over the next week. She was so sick...probably from the same feeding intolerance she had when she was with us in Benin. You wouldn't have recognized her. I'm sorry... I'm sorry you have to find out like this and that the words are even necessary. Anicette's mom was so upset so please keep her in your prayers. This precious baby was so special to many…

Hearts are broken...Please pray...

Designs by Laura

In my brief moments of spare time here in Bolivia, I have been working on developing new skills and talents.  My most recent educational pursuit is fashion and clothing design. Or, maybe it is more correct to say clothing re-design. Take for example the shirt I am wearing in the photo to the right. Before my creativity and scissors hit it, it was merely an old Gecko T-shirt that I received as a hand-me-down over 14 years ago (thank you Zumwalt family). But, just the other day, when I was studying and working on my homework, I had an amazing moment of perspiration, oops, I mean, inspiration, well actually I had both, but you didn’t need to know that. Either way, as I was sweating, I looked up from my notebook and I saw the shiny metal of my scissors from across the room and I was suddenly filled with creativity and the need to revamp the T-shirt I was wearing. I ran into my bedroom and with the snip-snip of my scissors, I chopped off the sleeves of my T-shirt. My friend that was standing nearby took one of the scraps from my shirtsleeves and cut it in half, demonstrating that the scrap could make a lovely headband. I then cut another strip from the sleeve leftovers and proceeded to tie it around the neck hole and arm holes on my shirt, first the right side, then the left. It was perfect. The scraps tied around my shirt made a lovely little embellishment for my newly designed creation. I put on my new shirt and headband and looked in the mirror, “not too bad, if I do say so myself, an old T-shirt, transformed with the snip of my scissors into a new, fashionable, weather appropriate, masterpiece, with matching headband.” My old wardrobe is being transformed weekly and for free! If I get sick of nursing, I may start my own business, “Designs by Laura, fashion at the snip of your scissors!”

Los Niños de Tus Ojos

     I carefully climbed down the steep embankment of the canal, cautiously maneuvering my feet on the slippery surface, knowing that with one wrong step I would slide down the steep ridge and land in the murky, litter strewn, brown water below. I gripped the bottom side of the bridge to steady myself as I descended toward the canal. I stepped over the cement ledge and onto the dirt ridge under the bridge. Ever away of the sheer drop to my left, I slowly inched my way along under the trusses of the bridge on my hands and stomach. The space between my face and the dirt was too close for comfort. Old watermelon rinds and bits and pieces of rubbish were only inches from my face and I forced myself not to think about the human waste I could be crawling through. A voice from somewhere in the dark yelled “tengo hambre (I’m hungry)” and a few seconds later I heard other voices echoing the same sentiment.
     I continued creeping along the dirt ridge under the bridge and I soon reached a small opening where I could almost stand-up. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness around me, I saw a small platform about 3 feet wide by 4.5 feet long tucked back further under the bridge. On the platform I saw an extremely worn blanket and a disheveled figure. The figure stretched their hand toward me and I gladly took it into mine. I held the thin hand for a minute, released it, and breathed a sigh of relief; I had been wondering how this street person would accept our intrusion in her home and her handshake confirmed our presence was approved.
     After conversing with YWAM Bolivia’s Mercy Ministry Staff who founded “Operation Restoration,” a charity that works to help rescue young people from the streets that are imprisoned by drugs, addiction, human trafficking, and poverty, we learned that the woman we were visiting was pregnant, but she had been bleeding for the past few days. Our purpose for visiting her that day and the others living under the bridge was to offer them a chance at life, in Jesus’ name, no strings attached. We were prepared to offer the people we came into contact with free medical assistance if needed, food, lodging, education, safety, counseling, and most importantly, Jesus’ unconditional love. I was so excited about the opportunity to offer life, in every aspect; to the woman we were visiting.
     As a small breeze stirred up the smell of the rotting garbage around me I refocused my eyes on the young woman in front of me. I continued to listen to the homeless woman mumble in Spanish as my friend held her in an embrace. I thought I was understanding what the tattered woman was saying, but then my brain went numb for a minute, “did I understand the Spanish correctly, no, I must have lost something in translation,” the emaciated woman before my eyes, had just turned down a chance for life. She didn’t want to leave the streets. How could that be? Why would this obviously hungry, broken woman, want to remain on the streets? Why would she want to continue living without food, water, a toilet, electricity, and medical care? I could not believe it; I had heard correctly, the woman did not want to leave her life on the streets.
     We stayed with the woman a little longer, offering the only thing she would take from us, our presence, loving touch, and friendship. Next the woman asked for something that surprised me, she wanted us to sing a song called “La Niña de tus Ojos (the daughter of your eyes)” by Daniel Calveti. Thankfully, our group knew the song she requested and we started singing to her. We sang in Spanish- “You see me when no one else notices me, You have loved me when nobody has loved me, You have given me a name, I am the daughter of Your eyes because You have always loved me, You have given me a name, and I am the daughter of Your eyes because You have always loved me, I love You more than my life, I love You more than my life, I love You more than my life, and You have given me a name.” While we were singing, I caught a glimpse of my new friend’s face in the shadows of darkness and I noted tears were streaming down her dirt stained face. She reached for my hand and I held it tightly for a minute before, she reached to touch another one of my friends. We sat surrounding this broken woman with love and care and she wept. She eagerly accepted our offer to pray with her and we lifted up her needs and concerns to our Father in Heaven, the Father who sees everyone when no one else does, and the Father that gives us a name, and calls us the apple of his eye. What a powerful moment.
     A few more minutes passed with us crouched in the dark and then, with tears still streaming down her face, our new friend stood and hugged us good-bye. We took this as our signal to leave and we left with the promise to visit again. I carefully crawled my way out from under the bridge and I stepped into the bright sun light. For a second, I was totally blinded by the light and I remembered a few scriptures that I have heard a million times, but all of a sudden they took a new meaning for me- the light has shinned into the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it, the god of this age has blinded many… As my eyes adjusted to the light and I returned to the YWAM base, I thanked God for loving me and I prayed, “Lord, may your light shine into the canals and streets of Santa Cruz, so that los niños de tus ojos will be able to see the Light of the Son!’

I Fall Asleep the Second my Head Hits the Pillow!

Any of you wondering what I am up to? Well, welcome to my world:
Monday- Friday
 6:30 am Rise and shine (I understand the rise part, but shine?)
 7:00 am Breakfast (Get there on time or the boys eat all the food! Breakfast normally consists of rolls that have been bought from the store around the corner. The store is normally, a little shop in front of someone’s house. We also have butter and jam with little ants crawling all over the jar, yummy!)
 7:30-8:30 am- Quiet Time with God
 8:35- 9:35 am- Class
 15 minute break! One of my personal highlights of the day, but I normally have to spend my break time running to the bathroom (trying to remember my toilet paper) and filling up my water bottle. It is so hot, I need to drink a lot of water, I don’t want a repeat of kidney stones, and I have been out of school for awhile, so I struggle staying awake in class if I don’t drink water to stay awake! Speaking of water, that is another interesting topic. After a few days here, I learned that my room and board fees don’t include the cost of clean drinking water. Also, if I want clean drinking water, I need to find it and buy it myself. This has been a very interesting concept and cultural learning experience. The majority of the time, there is hot, boiled water for me to drink, with meals, but I am not big on hot beverages even when it is cold so, the last thing I want to drink when it is 95 plus degrees outside with about 95% humidity is hot coffee or tea! Holy cow! Praise God, I recently managed to connect with a water company and I am now having water delivered to my home here. I pay $2 USD for 20 liters of water. I was also able to rent a little stand from the company that helps me dispense the water so I don’t have to tip the huge jug over every time I want water. I then transfer the water into my water bottle and cool it in the fridge with my name on it. If I don’t put my name on it, it is as good as gone! Exhausting!  Many of you may be wondering why I don’t boil my water and then put that in the fridge.  Well, with the schedule I am currently keeping, I have little time to boil water. Oh, I know, I don’t need to watch it boil, and as my brother reminded me, it won’t boil if I watch it anyway, but if you store the boiled water here for too long, like 1 day, a funky layer of scum and white floaty things forms on the water, and yes, I am picky… I don’t want to drink water like that!
 9:50-10:45 am- Class
 15 minute break!
 11:00 am -12:45pm- Class
 12:45 pm- Lunch (I have been extremely relieved to learn that Bolivians don’t eat a lot of fish or goat! Praise the Lord! The main food here is chicken and some sort of pasta or rice! Not bad at all! The first week here, I was totally enjoying the food and the fact that I didn’t have to eat fish, so I didn’t notice we weren’t eating any fruits, vegetables, or milk products. I let a few more days pass, waiting to see if the missing food groups would appear, but they didn’t and that is when I learned fruits, veggies, and dairy products are not really included in the diet that I will be eating here in Bolivia, yet another interesting learning experience. So, to ward off osteoporosis and another pile of health problems, I have the privilege of figuring out how to get a supply of fruit, vegetables, and dairy products and I have to pay for them myself (also not included in my room and board). There is an amazing grocery store down the road, but having time to get there is difficult. I often use a large part of my weekend to obtain fruit.  Once I get it, I soak it in a bleach solution to make sure I don’t eat any nasty invisible bugs, if you know what I mean. Oh, I love the challenge of living in a foreign country!
 1:30- 2:45 pm- Daily work duties (We rotate jobs every two weeks; praise God, because my current work duty is cleaning the bathrooms! Yikes!)
 15 minute break!
 3:00- 5:00 pm- Preparation for outreach, learning dramas, writing puppet shows, sports, personal study time, or class (activities alternate daily throughout the week)
 5:00- 6:00 pm Prayer group or small group time
 30 minute break (During this break I am frequently found outside near the faucet, sticking my entire head under the water, just to cool off! My hair dries in like 2 minutes and then I am hot all over again, so I repeatedly stick my head in the water again and again for my entire 15 minute break).
 6:30 pm- Dinner
 7:30- 10:00 pm One-on-one mentoring, chapel, street work, or homework time (activities alternate every few days throughout the week)
 10:30 pm Lights out (As soon as my mosquito net is securely tucked into my bed, I turn my fan on, and I fall asleep the second my head hits my pillow!)

I Enjoy Working With Monkeys

Current Status:
1. Roasting...But thanking God for my fan! If I didn't have my fan, I would have already melted for certain...
2.  Enjoying my mosquito net... Current mosquito bite count...maybe one.. mosquito nets really work...go figure.
3.   Busy- I only get a few 15 minute breaks a day from 6:30am- 10:30pm, not much time to write, sorry.
4.   Speaking Spanish- More or less.. things are going really well in this area. God has blessed me with courage to put myself out there and use the words I have and I am learning new words every day. I haven't made any huge mistakes yet, but the other day, I told the pastor at one of the churches here that I am a nurse, so I enjoying working with monkeys. I meant to say my hands, but the word for monkeys in Spanish (monos) is very close to the word for hands (manos), my bad... we all had a good laugh.
5. Learning- I am learning so much. The class sessions I am attending are intense. I am learning a lot about God and a lot about myself.
6. Hoping- I am hoping to get the chance to actually write a proper blog again in a few days.
7. Blessings- To all of you! Thanks for your prayers and support. I love you all.

A Princess In Her Pink Palace

      My night of sleep was less than restful. The heat and humidity were relentless. I wanted to toss and turn, but opted for laying still, hoping in that position I would cool off and find some relief from the heat swarming around my body. It didn’t work. As I lay on my bed sweating and itching my mosquito bites I decided to get up and go to the bathroom, hoping if I emptied my bladder I would sleep better. I slowly walked through my bedroom, trying not to wake my roommates that were naturally more accustomed to the heat and were sleeping soundly. I prayed there weren’t any cockroaches or spiders lurking in the dark waiting to surprise me. I made it safely to the bathroom. I finished my business and then realized I had a problem. “Oh, man,” I said out loud. I couldn’t believe it, I had done it again! Once again, I was caught in the bathroom without toilet paper. Man, it was like the 3rd time in a matter of days. It wasn’t as if there was toilet paper in the hall closet and someone had forgotten to restock the bathroom supply, no, the fact was, I was still struggling to remember toilet paper isn’t supplied or provided for me here (room and board here in Bolivia doesn’t include toilet paper). There is no toilet paper on the dispenser next to the toilet, you have to provide your own paper and remember to bring it with you on each trip you take to relieve yourself. I will spare you of the details of what I did when I realized I had nothing to wipe with, but needless to say, my brief moment of relief and relaxation quickly left when I realized I had nothing to wipe with. Still hot and sticky, I stumbled back to my bed and attempted to sleep again.

     After a few days of being in Bolivia, I was getting better at remembering to bring my toilet paper with me everywhere, but I was still roasting at night, and not sleeping the best. I decided I HAD to find a fan. I contemplated attempting to be brave, strong, and like a real missionary, taking the heat, and making the best of it, but quickly dismissed that thought and decided if I didn’t sleep well each night, I would be worthless during the day. I determined my only free day for the week would be spent searching high and low for a fan! I also decided to put a mosquito net on my list of things to buy. Considering my current mosquito bite count was 50 (yes, I actually counted all my bites one by one!) 50 bites in less than 3 days!
     The days and nights seemed to pass so slowly, but finally my first weekend arrived. I was exhausted from the travel from the States, the sleepless nights, intense classroom sessions, and language challenges, and all I want to do was sleep for hours, but I shrugged off my tiredness for the greater good of obtaining a fan! I traveled to the market and praise God; I found a fan and a mosquito net too! Mission accomplished! I thought about exploring town a little more, but all I really wanted to do was return back to the YWAM base, to set up my mosquito net and fan, so that’s what I did.
     As soon as I got back to the base, I assembled my fan and obtained instructions on how to hang my mosquito net. I eagerly anticipated bedtime. Finally, a few hours later, bedtime arrived. I climbed into bed grinning from ear to ear. I turned on my new fan, that I had conveniently positioned at my feet, I tucked myself in, making sure my mosquito net was securely tucked around my entire bed, I was determined to ensure I would no longer be mosquito meat, and I rested my head on my pillow. Glorious! Awesome! I felt like a princess as I lay on my bed surrounded by my pink-mosquito net canopy, which coordinated nicely with my sheets, I might add. Excellent! And with the cool air of my fan sending soothing breezes in my direction, I fell asleep in my pink palace.