Relief to Villa Alba

Tuesday I went with a group of people to the nearby village of Villa Alba to deliver food, clothing and give medical attention to those who needed it. It was an interesting experience and a very fulfilling one. As I previously wrote, it was a couple of weeks ago that we attempted to go, but couldn't due to bad road conditions and since that time the rain has not let up. However, over the past week we have had nothing but sunshine which has allowed the road to improve enough to be passable.

The drive out there was fine, but the last stretch of road we crossed some pretty gnarly tire tracks where people had gotten stuck. As we approached the village you could still see water covering some of the entry area. It was about ankle deep though and so the truck in the end was able pass through to a dryer area of the village that is now completely dry but was 1 meter underwater a month ago. Probably about 60 people received medical attention (illnesses and pain mostly) and about 50 families received food and clothing. We used the porch of a home for a makeshift infirmary and my friend Tony, who is a dentist, pulled several teeth with the people sitting on a stack of lawn chairs! We learned that this community had been flooded for two months. I can't even begin to imagine life in a flooded area for two months.

Pictures to come in my next update from this trip . . .

Weekend with Lidia

So it's been awhile since I talked about how things are going with Lidia, so here's an update. As I told you all at Christmastime, she has been at a YWAM school in Chile since September of last year studying counseling. Well, she returned to Bolivia this past week but it was a very brief visit because she has decided to return to Chile this time to be a leader at the same school so she only had two weeks to travel to and from Bolivia, visit her family, friends and church.

So, I made the journey to Santa Cruz this past weekend to see her for the first time since she left. We only had a brief time as it was a whirlwind visit for her and she had tons of things to do. We sat in the plaza in Santa Cruz and I listened to her tell me all about her time there. Then I surprised her by telling her that I wanted to support her financially with her return to her school. I also told her I had some leftover pesos from Chile/Argentina that I didn't use during my vacation there amounting to about $30. I gave them to her and as I did so she broke into tears. She said, "thank you, you have no idea how God is using you as an instrument in my life. I was beginning to think my decision to go back was a mistake and you were the person I least expected to give me money." So, after this I gave her a big hug and told her I was there for her if she needed anything. And then I prayed for her.

I feel good about where we are in our friendship, God is still in the midst of things and I can tell He has some work to do in her life, but I'm confident He will do it and in time we may be able to pursue a deeper relationship. In the end, I left Santa Cruz having more peace about where we are and with a greater trust in God to do the right thing with our friendship, something I have been struggling with. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us and continue to do so, your prayers are working!!

Attempt #1 to Villa Alba

As I mentioned last week, I went to Santa Cruz to help give a presentation and bring back food and clothing for people of the nearby village of Villa Alba.

Saturday, we made an attempt to go out to the village to deliver all of the donations. We were planning to go in the morning, but torrential downpours prevented us from leaving. After letting the roads dry a bit and having some lunch, we headed out at around 3pm.

Villa Alba is located not far from where the La Palmera Chaco is. We took the road towards the Chaco and then just before arriving at Miraflores, turned onto a dirt road and followed it for probably about 10 km. After this time, we encountered some serious mud, probably around 3" (8cm) deep. We tried to blaze through this, but after about 300 ft, the truck started sliding around and eventually we got stuck.

I climbed down in my sandals with one of the Bolivians and we tried to push the truck, but after pushing it about 10 ft, and seeing the long road ahead, it was obvious we would have to turn back. My feet/sandals were covered in mud and a nice chunk of mud was attached to my sandals, it felt like I had bricks attached.

Reflections on the Flooding

Monday, prior to my trip to Santa Cruz, I went with Pastor Carlos Hugo around town to look at the city. The situation is still very bad. There are tents everywhere, and people are collecting water in bottles, buckets, anything really since the water from the river is contaminated. You think you are ready to see these things, but driving past street after street that was flooded, watching people living in flooded homes, tents, I nearly broke down in tears. I think a similar sentiment hit the pastor, because he too was silent nearly the entire ride. We rode about 1/3 of the way around the ring road and there is still a significant portion of the road flooded/closed.

This morning in the paper, I read that they are predicting the current water level will last another 40 to 80 days due to rains that continue to fall on Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. This has got to be the worst flooding this region has seen in decades.