New Opportunities...Coming Soon!

The past few days have been pretty relaxed here in Bolivia. We actually got to sleep in for the first time this whole trip on Saturday. It actually was perfect timing. If you read the last post you would have seen that I ate cheese sticks for lunch. Well never again will I be eating Bolivian cheese filled anything. Thankfully I didn't get super sick, only nauseous....for about 12 hours. So needless to say I slept a very very long time...12 hours actually.

On Saturday the guys put up a new electrical wire to the house to help us get more hot water and power to the house. Then we all went to La Cancha, which is pretty much a giant market in Coachabamba. We spent a few hours there shopping around and exploring the city. After a few hours we headed down to my favorite activity which you should know by now is "kid washing." I once again got the honor of helping clothe little children, and distributing the dresses and clothing that were donated. After we finish every week, I look at what I have left over and try to find people who could use it. This particular week I had a few pairs of gloves and a hat.

I walked over to a section of little girls getting their nails painted to take a picture of a little girl in a donated dress. While standing there I noticed a girl about 14...15 maybe who appeared to be her sister or friend. I saw that she was wearing older clothes and looked a bit down. So I pulled out a pair of striped gloves that I had left over. I took them over to her and gave them to her. She looked like she was about to fall to the ground. She ran over and hugged me, thanking me over and over again. I have no idea why such a small action meant so much to her, but it definitely made my day to see such joy over such a small gift. I also gave out a few more small things, including a pair of shorts to a little baby boy with no pants. His mother was also very thankful. I can honestly say it is in the moments where I see that something so small has made a difference that I know I am in the right place.

Today we went to a bilingual church which was really cool. We sang in English and Spanish and the sermon was translated into both languages. I really really enjoyed the experience. Then we went shopping as a team. If it helps you understand how different Bolivia is, we actually split into 3 teams to shop. We all went to different shops and stores to get what we need. Here in Bolivia there is no such thing as walmart ;). After shopping and a bit of down time we had a big team meeting, which made me VERY happy.

Since our old volunteer coordinator left, a new lady has come in. Her name is Leta, and she is really cool. She has gone above and beyond making sure we all get to do things that interest us. I am excited to say that in a few weeks I will have the opportunity to work in an HIV orphanage, plan a VBS, help give check ups at 2 local orphanages and work in a giant hospital with kids. O and we are also now looking for more organizations to work with street kids. So I am so excited that I will finally get to do more with children, especially orphans and street kids. Oh and we are also gonna have at least 1 night a week where we have "Spanish lessons."So I thought I would let you guys in on all the new and exciting changes. So be looking out for some REALLY exciting posts in the near future.

As for the next few days I will be doing a few different things. Tomorrow I will go with some other to a church to put floride on kids teeth. Then on Tuesday, instead of shadowing at the hospital Rachel and I are gonna go hang out with the patients. I have wanted to do this for awhile and now that Rachel and I can go together I think we will be more successful. I really am starting to see that it really is the little things that make the biggest differences especially to people who are often poor, overlooked, and even sick.

Thanks so much for reading! If you have any questions feel free to ask :).

Anna