Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Bolivia Bound in 3 weeks!

I have had a few people ask for updates and prayer requests while I am away. I am hoping to be able to put in a few blog posts down there; we usually get some decent wifi at the hotel in the evenings.  I leave 3 weeks from today.  So a few items of prayer and praise:

- I asked MMI for my remaining total to pay for the rest of my trip and someone has paid the rest of it for me!  What a great surprise!! And thank you to the others who have helped sponsor this trip!  I feel so privileged to be able to go!
- Flights: getting them, surviving them, (Kelowna to Toronto to Miami to La Paz to Santa Cruz and then 2 hours on a bus) and getting through customs with all our medical equipment is always a bit of an ordeal at the Bolivia end of things.
- That our team would be united and work well together.  A few of us are returning which makes things run smoother, but also to be open to the newcomers and use everyone's abilities to their best use
- That God would heal when medicine can't.  We are often limited in what we can do.  If you have time for a great read from our team surgeon, I'm hoping we get to see Lazaro running and smiling this year after some tough times last spring.  https://noroomforcream.wordpress.com/2016/04/30/lazaro-rises/
- For the relationships that we continue to develop ~ especially with the nurses who work at the hospital year round... and then we come in and invade their space and use all their sheets and make a big mess for our time there.  Wishing I were fluent in Spanish, but hugs work pretty well.


- Safety traveling back to La Paz for a bit of adventuring and then to the wedding of our dear friends Ramiro and Ali!  Blessings on them as they tie the knot!
- Shared grief together as we lost a dear friend Dr. Franz last May and it will be very different without him there. He joked about marrying my beautiful daughter a few times enough that we got her on video to say hello.  An amazing, amazing humble person and always laughing!  This post tells the depth of his heart. https://noroomforcream.wordpress.com/2016/06/14/my-friend-franz-and-the-condition-of-his-heart/