Finally here!!!

Picture 1 - Marie with Neomi, the youngest orphan at Talita Cumi. Picture 2 - Playing getting acquainted games with the children at Talita Cumi. Picture 3 - Mallory FINALLY met Juan de Dios! Picture 4 - Having lunch with the children at Talita Cumi. Picture 5 - Pushing the bus to get it started. Picture 6 - They had two micros at the airport to take us to the hotel. Here we are loading suitcases on top of one of the micros.

Wow more than 36 hours after leaving Cimarron we're finally getting ready to sleep. What a long day of delays in airports to running to meet the next plane only to sit and wait again. Then a 10 hour flight till Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Praise God We have wonderful bus drivers. But let me tell you it's nothing like how we drive. The first bus ride we all had to pile out of the bus before we tipped over. This was a true experience of Bolivian culture. Along with the next ride pushing the bus (Micro) to jump start it.
The day started off late and we hurried into our rooms for quick showers and then to orientation. Lunch was spent at the orphanage with homemade pizza made by the kids. It was wonderful. After lunch we played some get to know you games with the kids. This was a really great time for me. These kids are so affectionate. They were so excited to see us. We were all assigned children to pray for and they prayed for us. So today they had notes with our names on then and they were looking for us. I loved to connect with Juan Carlos and Fanni. These kids loved to be loved on.
Later we headed out to look at the job sites for tomorrow. This was also a great experience. Just to see the faith in God these people have and the gratitude for the help they'll receive.
Supper was had at a little "pollo" restaurant. Chicken, rice, french fries & fried bananas along with GREAT tasting coke cola!!
Now it's late and we're all ready to crash. It has been a very LONG day and we are all exhausted.
Please pray for tomorrow's activities we will be starting the first day of VBS and there's a chance for rain all day tomorrow. (the VBS will be held out doors)
God has been good and provide great things for us here. Pray tomorrow we will be rested and very effective as we begin our work and build more relationships with kids we can't communicate with. Although we do have some great bilingual translators following us! Good night and God Bless. ~ Laura

On our way!!!

We're at the Wichita airport and all checked in. Our fearless leader "Bob" set off the security alarms with the foil around the gum in his pockets! We are awaiting our flight which leaves at 2:30. Thanks for your prayers, all has gone smoothly so far - Keep praying!

The Time is Finally Here!

Bags are packed and we are meeting at the church at 6:45 am Wednesday morning to load up and drive to Wichita. We leave Wichita at 2:30 pm - fly to Dallas, on to Miami and then on to Bolivia arriving Thursday morning. We appreciate your prayers for the team as we travel - for smooth travel with no complications as well as smooth sailing through customs, immigration, etc. and health for the team. We'll update you more when we get there!

Send Off Sunday!

We had a commissioning and prayer time during our church service today. We also showed a powerpoint slide show highlighting all our fund raisers and preparations for the trip. After church we had lunch together and met to go over final preparations and instructions for the trip, as well as dividing up supplies to pack in our suitcases. Only 3 days left before we take off! :)

Wow - less than a week now! Suitcases are getting FULL! It is a challenge to know what to bring and what to leave home. We will have a commissioning time in our church service tomorrow and then eat together for lunch and meet afterwards.

One week from tomorrow we will be flying to Bolivia! In many ways it is hard to believe the time is upon us already! We met as a team last night to work on soccer drills for the soccer camps, but the weather nixed those plans for last night. Instead we discussed crafts & skits for the VBS and divided up preparation for those crafts. We need to have all the supplies ready and in baggies for 160 children for each day! We also divided up the Wordless Book colored soccer balls to put in our suitcases. Our suitcases are filling up fast without any clothing! Bob shared schedules with us last night which gives us an idea of what to expect for each day while we are there. Excitement is mounting as the final details are being worked out!

Praise the Lord our visas & passports arrived back yesterday! We are officially ready to go!

Please continue to pray for the final plans & details as we pack our suitcases. Trying to figure out what to bring and what to leave home is a challenge! Also continue to pray for health for the team.

Two weeks from right now we will be arriving in Bolivia! Hard to believe the time is already so closely upon us! Suitcases are being pulled out as the final preparations take place. There is a mix of excitement and anxiety as we embark on this venture as a team!

Praise the Lord!
Our visas & passports should be returned to us very soon. The last word was that our travel agent was receiving them soon!
We have exceeded our fund raising goal of $35,000!

Please continue to pray for the team as these final weeks of preparation bring reality and a certain amount of anxiety in various forms to each team member. Pray for health and strength as we pack and prepare. Also pray that all the details and schedules would come together smoothly as our team leader, Bob, works with the NC team leader, Donnie, and they work together with Heidi from Talita Cumi. It takes much coordination to plan for 40 people.

Thanks for your support and prayers. Please keep it up!