Hola from Bolivia!

Hi everyone. Thanks be to God for this wonderful experience - it is unlike anything I could have imagined. I have a hard time putting into words all of the feelings of the past few days - a mixture of excitement, nervousness, frustration, relief, etc etc etc.

I don´t even know where to begin... it seems like the others have done a good job updating on everything we´ve been doing! The kids are amazing...I haven´t ever worked with just boys before, and it is a totally new experience! They are fun and have so much energy!! There seems to be no sadness about their situation - the orphanage is a great program that instills values and self-worth in them. According to one of the men who work there, there is a pretty high success rate that the boys go on to become productive members of society...I am glad these boys aren´t out on the streets. It is hard for us, as Americans, to imagine such poverty and uncertainty. I sometimes find myself overwhelmed with the immense amount of need here, not just in the orphanage, but in Cochabamba too. I am interested to see the differences between Cochabamba, Concepciòn, and Cotoca.

One thing I am sure of - it is B E A U T I F U L here!!!! Everything - the mountains, the city, the people, the traffic! I love it! I am taking lots of pictures and can´t wait to post some so you can see. Tomorrow we are going to St. Martin de los porres (the orphanage) for half the day, then exploring downtown Cochabamba before we take an overnight bus to Cotoca/Concepciòn. We´ll be shopping :) :) which as many of you probably know, is one of my favorite pasttimes! More to come later on, but hello everyone and thanks for reading! Please keep our group, but mostly the people of Bolivia in your prayers.