Day 2 - La Paz

Our second day in La Paz consisted mostly of two meetings.

1) We were able to track down the one and only Church of Christ in the city of almost two million people the day before. We worshiped with them Sunday morning and were blessed by their welcomeness. After service, we sat down with Rufino and Luis, two leaders of the La Paz congregation, and chatted about the history of the church in La Paz.



2) We met with the Director of SIM missions, Greg Hurst, in La Paz who is currently living in the southern zone. The previous day we met with a ministry located in the poorest urban community, of the poorest country in South Amercia, El Alto. El Zono Sur, the southern zone where Greg works, is the wealthiest community in La Paz. Reid is the hairy faced guy on the left.



Randy, a Youth For Christ connenction we made in La Paz, was so helpful to connect us with the right people in to make our visit productive. Randy also provided accomodations for us while we were there. The time we spent in La Paz was incredibly formational, and will always be a contributor to how we strategize for the future wherever we end up.

La Paz

It's only 8:00 PM, but we feel exhausted. We have had a wonderful first day in La Paz. We have not experienced any severe altitude sickness; only a mild headache and major shortness of breath when climbing stairs or walking up hills. We took a lot of pictures today and would like to share a few of them with you.

Having some issue posting the pictures in reverse order. So . . . start from the bottom.


The "Word Made Flesh" ministry is a para church organization that is working in El Alto to help bring women in prostitution into the light. We had a wonderful visit with them.


A cute kid in the plaza entertaining himself with a bunch of nails.


Ellen and I outside of a plaza next to a government building.


Ellen and I on one of the most historical roads in La Paz.


The tranportation for the day was a contracted driver and minibus.


An early start to a long day.


A poor attempt to capture the spectacular view of the city of La Paz through the window of our bus. The city is like a giant bowl, lined with houses, and at the top of the cliff starts El Alto.

Tomorrow

----Tomorrow we leave on possibly the most defining trip of our lives. It is that "roller coaster felling". With excitement and anticipation we have waited, and now, it is our turn. Our stomachs are churning as we anticipate the experience on the other side of this ever so slow climaxing. The metaphorical "Click, Click, Click" as the ride slowly reaches its peak and a vantage point for what to come is made more clear.

----Many emotions are bubbling to the surface of our hearts right now. We are incredibly excited about what is to come. Please pray for this experience. Pray that God would bless our team with safety, clarity, discernment, and unity. Thank you for your prayers. We will try and keep you updated!

One Week

La Paz/El Alto
We arrive early early on the 26th to La Paz, Bolivia where we will spend the first 2 1/2 days of our trip. Accommoda-tions are still being confirmed but so far it appears like we will be hosted in homes by Christians in the area, which is super exciting!



Concepcion, Chile
The next three days of our trip (29th-31st) will be spent here. Just a one hour plane ride south of Chile's capital city, Santiago.

Temuco, Chile

And last but not least, Temuco, where we will be for 2 1/2 days (1st-3rd). Our flight leaves Santiago to DFW late the evening of the 3rd.





Kelley Grant will be accompanying us during our time in Chile, which we are very grateful for. Kelley is a veteran missionary in Santiago. Our prayer is that during this nine day adventure, God would lead our team to an unanimous decision about where we should begin a long term effort to help grow the Body of Christ.

Survey Trip

T-Minus Eight days and counting!

Eight days until our whirl-wind tour of South America. We (Jeremy, Reid, Deanna, Gary, and Ellen and I) depart from Miami at 11:30pm on the 25th. The first leg of the trip for most of us starts in DFW, departing at 5:20pm. At 5:30am the next morning our feet will be on Bolivian soil. Super exciting!

First stop . . . La Paz/El Alto, Bolivia. 26th -28th
Second stop . . . Concepcion, Chile 29th-31st
Third stop . . . Temuco, Chile 1st-3rd

More on this trip coming soon!

"Testing, 1, 2, 3"

Hello!

Ellen and I are super pumped about our opportunity to share what is transpiring in our lives. Ellen doesn't yet know about the blog, but she will soon. So I guess more accurately; I am excited to share what is transpiring in our lives. Ellen will be too, but later.

Anyways, I am an avid reader of blogs, particularly missionary blogs, and I become frequently frustrated when the authors of my favorites seem to go on vacation for a bit. I make no vow to be much different. However, this is a great avenue to share with our family and friends things that are worth sharing as well as occasional epiphanies that arise day to day.

I heard once that everyone craves the opportunity to share the story of their life with another. I think that's why blogs have really taken off in this world. So, to whoever's listening, here goes!