Culture Shock is for whimps

"Only 6 months, culture shock is for whimps, I'll be just fine" - I told myself.  I think I hadn't quite realized just how much God has been changing me during those 6 months away.

My first day back home my mother wanted to go Christmas shopping because I  had never responded to the 2 or 3 e-mails that asked what I wanted for Christmas.  I never responded because honestly I had no clue and it was summertime in Bolivia, felt like Christmas was months away.  When I stepped off the airplane in Chicago and could see my breath the reality of December and the different worlds I had been living in hit me for the first time.  I had set foot in my homeland and there was no turning back - a new chapter of life to begin.

So as my sister, mother and I drove through the neighborhood I gaped at the "big" houses while my sister commented how small they were in comparison to the ones in California.  Lisie and I were both home for Christmas from opposite sides of the worlds and with different perspectives of what it means to be materially rich.  Strange.

As we pulled into the mall parking lot, I saw all kinds of cars, the NICEST cars I had seen for months and that is when whimpy Alison began to cry.  I hadn't even been inside of the mall yet and I was crying!!  Why in the world was I crying?  I was trying to pinpoint the feelings I was experiencing as those tears just kept rolling and the most I could come up with was a feeling of pure injustice and the realization that my Bolivian friends were no longer around the corner.  "I don't want to be here," I mustered through my tears.  My mom calmly looked back and said, "Alison, this is where God decided to drop you on the earth, this is where you grew up, and we can't explain why he dropped you here and dropped all your friends over there - but be thankful that he has given you a new way to see everything here."  Since childhood I have struggled with why God would have me be born in the United States with nice parents and a nice home, and I was by no means complaining, I just wondered why I always heard the stories of kids who were abused, or orphaned, or starving, and why they didn't get the same opportunities that I did.  My mom's explanation brought back all those moments of pondering and those tears showed just how upset it made me, but the difference from my thinking now and my thinking back than is that I have seen the difference that Christ has on the lives of those in poverty or facing oppression even in those darkest places.  I have witnessed the joy and hope that he gives and have met people that he is using right now who were raised in the most unlikely circumstances.

I still do not know what God is doing in my life or how much more this change back to the States will affect me.  It is amazing how only 6 months can change so much.

This morning one of my best friends from Bolivia, Devon, sent me a link to a prayer that is so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes.  She told me that she would be praying for me and asked if I could pray for her as well.  This song is the essence of what God was beginning to teach us during our time together in Bolivia.  Through all the ups and downs we were learning that Trust and Love were two of the most important things that we were called to do even among the uncertainties.  Take a listen and I encourage you to make it your prayer too as the New Year begins.

Pray - Kendall Payne  - Thank you Devon, I miss you!

Right before our trip to the mall, taking a picture to show my Bolivian friends the snow in my front yard, even though it is little.

"God why don't you make me incredibly wise so I know how to make good decisions." - Francis Chan

Goodbye Bolivia

Wow. Wow. and Wow.

Tonight was unforgettable.  Tonight I said goodbye to so many good friends.  A chapter of my life is coming to a close and a new chapter is beginning.  How crazy that it is all defined by a plane flight.

I will write more when back in the States recapping everything, but here are a few photos of the past three days and goodbyes that have been made.  I am so grateful for these past 6 months, how I can put it in to words... I'm stumped - I"ll try some other day.  :D

four kids from the Casa de Amistad ministry - we went swimming!

My best girlfriend here - DEVON!  going to miss her SO MUCH

The kids from the orphanage - a trip to see the christmas lights, i will see these kids one last time today

A beautiful ministry is held here called The horita Feliz for kids that live in a brick laying neighborhood

Maria and Franz making pizza

The friend to the left of me (caleb) surpised me with his mariachi band tonight.  I could never to make it to see them play so he brought the party to me! :) 

Miriam's son and I

My last night at Plaza Principal on a Tuesday night.  I am blessed to know them and am going to miss this ministry

Goodbye prayer time

This is how my face looks right now....I suppose it's time to go now - what will the next 6 months bring?

And now begins today - no time for sleep, time to pack and get ready for one more day in Cochabamba.

Goodnight

WOO - I am tired.  I should be in my bed right now trying to catch up on some sleep, but I am not.  In the past two days Devon and I have had two sleepovers.  The first night was with the kids from the orphanage and the second was with girls from the church. We are beyond tired.

Tonight was my last night at homeless ministry.  This time we all hung around a bit longer to talk and one by one they all told me their goodbyes.  I was told that my plane won't be able to leave because they are going to lay down in front of it.    One man pulled out a little notebook and showed me my name written down explaining that every night he prays for me and some other people that he has written down.  However, a really good point was made that although I am not able to be there with them physically, I am able to be there with them spiritually through prayer.  I am really going to miss the people from plaza principal - I can't e-mail them, call them, facebook them, or send them mail.  It is a new kind of goodbye that is bittersweet and makes me want to return to Bolivia all the more.

Tomorrow night will be my final goodbye gathering as friends from church and different ministries gather to wish me a safe trip home.  I am so excited about the evening and seeing everyone together in the same place at the same time.  In order to be fully present, I suppose the wise thing to do now is to get some sleep.  Sleep well and have a good rest of the week.  See you soon.

Alison Garza

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that is we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him. - 1 John 5:14

Sons and Daughters

Visiting Micael - Compassion International

This morning I got back from La Paz - an 8 hour bus ride away - where I visited Micael.  The first time I saw Micael was through a photo at a concert last February.  Compassion International had made the call to raise your hand and sponsor a child.  At that time, I wasn't sure whether or not I should go to Bolivia or Greece or just stay in the States and continue to work.  After hearing more about Compassion the previous Sunday from Wes Stafford, I reasoned that perhaps I could help kids using my financial assets instead.  I raised my hands and a volunteer handed me Micael from La Paz, Bolivia.  Bolivia!!!  It was at that moment, that I had decided that I would go.

10 months later and here I am with one week left in Bolivia.  Yesterday I finally got to meet Micael face to face.  Micael is 7 years old and lives with his grandparents and 4 siblings.  His mom has been in Argentina for the past year but has recently become very ill and is unable to return home.  I was greeted by a member of the compassion staff , Micael, his grandma, and younger brother and sister.  At first, Micael was shy but our trip to the zoo quickly showed his active and bubbly side as he and his brother ran from animal to animal.  It was their first time to the zoo and the animals they seemed to like the most were the birds and monkeys.

After the zoo we headed over to a restaurant and ate A LOT with some bonus ice-cream at the end.  His grandma liked the ice cream presentation so much she asked for a photo with it, it was HUGE and designed all pretty.  Time was flying by so we took a 40 minute taxi ride up to his town to see the compassion center.

I didn't know what to expect, all I knew about Micael's living situation was described briefly through Compassion.   We arrived to a place full of kids running around and others sitting in classrooms.  The staff was so friendly and for the first time in a long time I felt like a foreigner as the kids stared at me.  They were willing to present me to any classroom so we visited Micael's classroom and the room with the oldest girls (18).  One of the girls stood up and explained to me the impact that having a sponsor in her life has had and described the joy that each kid has when they receive a letter or small stickers from their sponsor   About 400 kids attend the center on a weekly basis where they learn about God's word and receive a nutritional lunch.

The town where Micael lives is way up high in the mountains, where the clouds rest at eye level.  It is cold and paved with dirt roads and humble homes.  Micale's house consists of one room with a couch in the middle and small beds around the corners.  8 people live in that one room.

After visiting Micael and seeing the impact that the center has on the lives of so many kids, I walked away greatly encouraged and in awe.  It is crazy to think about the different pieces of the puzzle - Compassion International (the organization), the translators in the letter writing process, the tutors at the center, the sponsors and the child, and a bunch of people in between that I didn't mention.  Above all else it is amazing to see the many different ways that God's love is demonstrated through organizations such as Compassion International.  I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to meet Micael and see the impact that small donations and letter writing can have.  

Micael and I above his city

He wanted to carry around my bad "no heavy, it's light!"  Not true.

His grandma and younger sister with ice cream!

Grandma and younger sister

turned out blurry, but Micael and some of his classmates with their christmas baskets for good attendance

Micael's younger brother, he is crazy and full of energy

Micael running up the stairs to the roof of the center building

 

Micael really takes care of his younger brother and sister

The Compassion center

Below is La Paz

HIs family and I in their house

Micael wanted to show me a frog he found

Before the visit Micael was the boy in the photo that I send letters and money to - now I see Micael as a beautiful boy surrounded by love through various people and a God who will continue to grow and love him through the good times and bad.  I want to encourage you to consider sponsoring a child, it has been one of the biggest blessings to see how something so small can have such a big impact.  If you are already sponsoring and you have the means to visit that child someday, I say do it!  It is a once in a lifetime.

One week left, here we go.

Light in the Darkness

This afternoon was the talent show at Casa De Amistad.  The kids were adorable and super excited to be showing off all their hard work.  Following the program we handed each kid a small gift and they went back to prison.  I remember seeing a girl of about 7 years excited to get the gift, putting her hands out all ready to grab one when an adult said, "Once you get the gift, you have to go back, do you want to go back to the prison?"  no! she said and stepped back to stay a while longer in the celebrations.  At that moment, the reality that these kids are living really hit me.  On my first visit the social worker told me that a majority of the kids have been sexually or physically abused within the prison.  It is one thing to hear about it, and another to see the faces and interact with these children.  Today, seeing them present their skits and dances and recite scriptures was a blessing.  The Casa De Amistad is truly a place of refugee that is breathing God's word into their lives and transforming who these kids will grow up to be.  I have seen light in the darkness and it is a beautiful thing.

The kids danced to this song too - it is beautiful  Creere ( I will believe
)

Trust in God will all your heart, lean not on your own understand, in all of your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6

Pre K kids

Kindergarten - superheros

ye yea!

Spent the last few days wrapping 112 presents.  Mcdonalds toy, candy, and crackers

P.S. i tried to add a video but it was taking forever and the internet kept cutting out.  :(

Beautiful Children

Today as I was crossing the street to enter the woman's prison a little girl came running up behind me and asked me where I was going and what I was doing.  I told her I was going inside to do the weekly bible study - ok - she said and continued to walk with me.  "Are you going with?" I asked her.  Yep.  "You won't be bored?"  Nope.  Ok.  So I took her into the prison with me, not knowing anything about her except that she came from the afternoon program for kids that live or have lived in the prison with their parents.

She sat next to me the entire time, looking up verses along with everyone else and when she got bored singing worship songs under her breath.  We held hands as we all prayed and peeked at each other once in a while.  On our way out of the prison she began to tell me more about herself.

"I live in the other prison with my dad.  We have a kids room and a laundry room and soccer field, it's much bigger."  She said.  Wow - I had thought she lived in this prison, but I was mistaken, she lives in the male prison and explained that she didn't have to re enter until 4 p.m.  It was 3:45.  So we decided to go back to the center - during the walk I learned some more about Mariol.  She is 9 years old and has been living with her dad in the prison for 2 years.  I asked her how much longer.  "20 years.  But maybe we can lower it to 15 or even 10!"  She talked about her life as if it was normal - to her it is normal.  I held her hand as we walked back and all I could think about was how amazing this little girl is.  God has been moving my heart these past few days as I meet more people and get to know ministries better.

Just yesterday I met another little boy whose parents were glue sniffers.  Both of them are deceased and he now lives with his aunt and grandmother in a very poor neighborhood.  His clothes were torn and shoes well worn as he joyfully showed me 5 puppies that him and his friends take care of.  They take care of the dogs so well, making sure they are fed and held well.  They worry about the dogs and want to keep them safe and when I saw this I was amazed at how God uses animals such as these to keep these boys so happy and occupied.

Ariel - "I LOVE dogs.  I want 10 dogs when I am older"

Just today we were hiking a hill with the kids from the orphanage and the entire time they worried about their dogs and giving them water.  They even brought a separate water and bowl for the dogs because they knew from previous experience that I wouldn't want to share our "human water" with the dogs until all "humans" are fed.  They like to argue with me that dogs are more important than humans.  I didn't like pets before I came here, but they are growing on me.  They can be used in such amazing ways to lift the spirits of people and give kids that don't have much something to look forward to and good reasons to be joyful.

I don't quite know what God is doing in my heart, but he is doing something big.  I feel overwhelmed with joy and instances such as those described above have really touched my heart.  While I am excited to see people back home, there is so much need here, and I am just beginning to see how God might use me.  I don't quite know what this all means, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to hold hands and share smiles with these kids that God loves so much.

Alison

Franz getting tired

I think I was swinging her around like a doll

Jonny climbing a tree

Maria

Viviana in front of Cochabamba