Bolivian Dreams- Day 4- Baby Day!

   Today we visited the Compassion offices in Cochabamba and I was able to unload an entire suitcase of sponsor gifts for children there!  We toured the departments and of course I was most interested in the mailroom and how exactly the corrospondence process worked.  I was surprised and disappointed when I asked about letter frequency and learned that the children could write up to a maximum of 6 times per year if they had sponsors who wrote at least once per letter writing period but that 6 was the max.  We were able to see how the mailboxes were set up and I was amazed when one of the other sponsors grabbed a stack of letters from of the cubbies and I recognised a picture of my boyfriend's grandson!  It was a letter that I had written to my Luis in July and happened to be on the top of the pile for BO-435 which just so happened to be the pile that was grabbed.  Talk about serendipity.

Mailboxes in the mailroom at the country office

After the country office we headed BACK to the market, which was actually open today.  While I was not really interested in shopping, I was able to find some inexpensive postcards to send my other Compassion kids to tell about my trip, especially 6 year old Cyprian from Kenya who told me in his My Dreams template that he wants to go to South America one day.  Finally it was time for a project visit and the one I had been anticipating all trip.  The visit to CSP-01, the child survival program to see the babies!  When we arrived some of the children were very shy and one little girls started screaming and didn't stop the entire time we were there! 

We heard testimonies from several mothers, including one whose first child had died but who now has a little boy Israel who is alive and well due to the program.  We also were treated to several performances by CSP graduates who were the cutest things! 

One little group of girls were delighted to see themselves on video and made me play it for them 4 or 5 times in a row!

 

 When we were finally able to play with the kids I was in heaven, especially when someone handed me a tiny little girl in a pink hat.  She was so content just to be cuddled and when I readjusted her in my arms to be more comfortable she soon fell fast asleep.  I thought I could totally let my guard down this day, to love these children with total abandon because the US doesn't do sponsorships  for the CSP.  There was no way I COULD sponsor one of these kids so I didn't need to worry about willpower.  God has a way of letting us know that we are NOT as smart as we think.  After playing with all the babies we split up for family visits. Since a few members of my group were staying behind I joined another group and was assigned to visit Adelaida and her 15 month old son Eder.  A little girl was on the bus too but I didn't notice her much because she was sitting with another sponsor.  When the sponsor got off with the first visit group however I offered to have little Reyna sit in my lap and absolutely fell head over heels in love with her.  She turned out to be the 3 yr old sister of the baby we were visiting and I held her the entire bus ride and the entire family visit.  I don't know if it was her shyness, her cute little giggle or her poor rotten teeth that got my attention but I found that I could barely focus on the visit.  We learned that Adelaida is a single mom and that she didn't have prenatal care with either child and actually did alot of manual labor when pregnant with Eder.  As a medical professional I noticed that his head was very large for a 3 yr old and that he was not even standing which would be expected by that age.  He did have movement problems in one hand and there had been complications with his birth.  Even with all this, his mother feels he is doing far better than little Reyna was at that age in regards to his development, which was even more worrysome.  It was obvious that this mother was barely getting by on the odd jobs she picked up and when we returned I asked if Reyna was sponsored but learned she was not eligible due to there only being one child allowed in Compassion unless the family had 5 or more kids.  I was not to be rebuffed however and after speaking to Maria Elena from the country office did learn that exceptions were made if a willing sponsor were requesting a specific child be registered, and that the staff also felt there was a need in this family.  Unfortunately I was gathering this info literally as we were being pushed to the bus so they were unable to take down my info and Adelaida was back at her house where we said our goodbyes so they were unable to ask if she was willing to have Reyna registered.  As it stands I do have a few pictures of her and her mother's name and brother's center to identify her.  I will be able to send this info to the Maria Elena when I get home and if it meant to be she will be enrolled though it may take several months.  I can wait though since she is so worth waiting for!

CSP graduates

Before she fell asleep in my arms

Reyna playing before we were introduced

Israel



The sweet face I just fell in love with!

Bolivian Dreams- Day 3- Children are good!

Today we visited BO571- Dios es Amor for sunday worship services.  While I was ecstatic to be able to worship with this congregation I was quite disappointed when it soon became clear that many of the children would not be attending as it was not a project day and that there was not much time built into the day for socializing with the children.  I know many of my friends wanted pictures of their sponsor kids or to have a gift hand-delivered and I was not able to do this.  I was however able to leave gifts for Reyna who was identified as the project director and Ruben was in attendance so I know that Dayana his daughter and a newly sponsored child should get her gift today too.
  Today's service was an exercise in endurance.  I love worship music as much as the next person, but the praise and worship team were going strong for at least 45 minutes before we as a sponsor group were asked to come to the front and sing a couple of songs for the congregation.  Thankfully Mike was prepared with his guitar and copies of lyrics for two songs in Spanish so we actually looked like we had prepared though it was very much sprung on us as a surprise.  The message was about how parents can love their children better but also about how having children is good, very, Very, VERY good and that all good followers of Christ should have children. Lots of children. Lots and LOTS of children.  Most of the Bolivian women were smiling and crying praise while I simply squirmed uncomfortably  in my seat.  Please Mr. Pastor Sir, have mercy.  I have only recently beat my biological clock into submission, do not give it a better arguement with which to torture me.  After hearing about all the many reasons God says we must have children (I think he got to at least six before I was able to focus on a little boy pinching his brother) it was finally time for the next phase.  Apparently this parish does not do "baptisms" but child dedications for Christ and we happened to come on one of the days in the year that this is done which was a treat.  After the entire congregation blessed the boys who accepted Christ as their savior that day it was time for Communion and those of use baptized "by water" were allowed to partake.  We all took bread and then little disposable cups of wine.  I know the cups were small, only about 2 ounces, but the wine was either very strong or I was very hungry by the time Communion came along because I actually felt a buzz afterwards which was disconcerting and reminds me why I never drink.  The Quechua women sang a beautiful song in their native language during Communion and we gave an offering.  Church was concluded and I thought we would just part ways, but the congregation made a receiving line we had to go through like you would at a wedding.  There was a complicated "secret handshake" involved and after bashing my nose into one guy's face and accidentally kissing and old Quechua woman on the lips I finally got the rhythm "shake, shake, kissy kissy, shake shake".  Two shakes of your right hand, then (while still holding on) pull the person toward you, air kiss with right cheeks, air kiss with left cheeks, then back up one step and shake twice again.  If you make a mistake and forget the second shakes do not be surprised if the old women grab you and yank you back making you repeat the process.  This was definately one of the times I felt a tutorial should have been given prior. 

  When we finally got out of church about 10 minutes later we were able to exchange only a few words with the teen girls up front before having to get back in our bus.  They all wanted to know if we knew their sponsors and unfortunately I did not.  I was sad to leave but since I was slightly drunk from Communion, was happy that we were going to eat.  We stopped at a restaurant called Bufalo which initially looked like a typical buffet, however the waiter soon came out with a huge piece of meat staked on a 2 foot long knife.  There was a veritable parade of different meats, some quite odd looking but when one resembling beef came along I nodded and waved that I would like a portion.  The waiter came over but then stopped at my plate, handing me tongs and then spinning the meat on a little wooden board.  For the second time today I found myself totally lost.  I finally figured out after much prompting from the waiter that I was expected to wait until a delicious looking side came into view and then point at it and he would cut off a slab so I could grab it with the tongs.  OK, got it.  It was extremely delicious and while I was trying not to be a glutton, red meat seemed to soothe my nerves and there was much to be had.  After lunch we stopped at the local market to buy souveniers, however the planner must not have taken into account that 95% of the stalls were closed on sundays.  Since most of our group tried to cram themselves in the TINY shop that was open and even peeking inside made me clautrophobic, I remained in the alley with most of the guys, playing with the two random local toddlers who had appeared.  They ran from person to person grabbing our legs and enjoyed the crackers that Mike gave them, however the littlest one managed to cram an entire Ritz in her mouth without chewing it and for one horrifying second she was choking.   I was screeching "finger sweep!" as I ran toward her and think I scared her so bad she coughed it up before I even got there.  She was fine and laughing a minute later but a woman soon came to collect her.  Raquel our guide said that the poor women from the Andes villiages come down to market with all the children of the villiage since having children around helps then to sell goods.  Looking at their filthy and torn clothes and ill-fitting shoes I found myself praying that a center would open near them. 

Me sitting on the wall overlooking the cliff, trying not to look petrified

  After we (blessedly) left the market early it was decided to take a drive to the state of Jesus high on the mountain overlooking Cochabamba.  The drive up is a bit scary as the road is 2-way, winding and narrow.  Our driver seemed decidedly unhappy when motorists passed us in the opposite direction and he had to move over and an unhappy driver made me quite nervous, especially with the lack of guard rails.  On the top we were able to take several great pictures. I was totally surprised to see a stray dog all the way up there, he must have been a tough little guy.  When it was time to leave a group of 5 of us (4 of whom are distance runners) decided to opt for walking down instead of braving the bus.  The 1,399 step sounded quite doable initially but after about 5 minutes of progressively steeper steps with no railing I suddenly remembered my fear of heights.  I also remembered that I don't do these things not only because heights scare me, but because I get vertigo due to them and after about the first 500 steps or so, I had to lift my eyes every couple of steps (while making sure not to actually look down) because the stairs actually seemed to be moving which was quite unnerving.  We all managed to make it and actually arrived before the bus but my quadricepts were literally trembling from the exertion and I ended up sore for 3 days afterward.  I was quite proud of myself for trying though.  Back at the hotel we enjoyed a lovely plate of spaghetti bolognese before heading to the rooftop terrace for sharing and worship music.  I'm not sure if it was the after-effects of climbing down the mountain or the fact that the terrace floor sloped oh so slightly toward the edge, but every time I got within 10 feet of the wall I felt like I was going to fall over.  I plan to conquer my fear of heights one day, but today heights definately kicked my butt!

Overlooking Cochabamba

Me and my roommate Kristy

View of the winding path we walked down taken from the bottom

Bolivian Dreams Day 2- Surprise child visit



Jimmy and his dad

I was very nervous about meeting my sponsor children before this trip, but when I received my itinerary in the mail it stated that we would be meeting our kids in Cochabamba on tuesday, day 5 of our trip.  I figured this would be perfect as would allow me a few days to settle in and allow my sleep deprived brain to recover from the travel.  I nearly swallowed my tongue when Sean pulled me aside on the first day and told me that for those who had children living in Santa Cruz they were adding a second child visit on Saturday, DAY 2!!!  I was super excited but all of the sudden my nerves took over.  What if we didn't have anything to talk about?  What if I couldn't recognise my kids?  What if they didn't like me?  The original plan was for the kids to come to our hotel and for us to play in the hotel pool all day.  I for one hated the idea of being in a bathing suit in front of a group of strangers and I don't swim well.  Also, noone had really thought out whether our kids actually had swim suits and since this was a surprise I hadn't bought any as gifts.  Luckily we were able to convince Greg to change our outing to a zoo trip instead and it was wonderful.  In the morning after the rest of our group was off to their project visit I changed money and sat in the lobby waiting for my children.  I suddenly noticed that Susan was sitting with her child Reyna and her family and I felt like a total DOPE when a friend pointed out that the lovely Bolivian family on the other side of the room that I had vaguely noticed was actually my Noemi and her mom!  Our translaters had not yet all arrived but I hurried over and in my broken Spanglish and with the help of pantomime was able to convey that I was her sponsor and that no, I was not ignoring her.  Noemi arrived with her mother Isabella and a project worker.  Once the translater was there it was explained that Noemi's project has only been open a year but her mother had started as a kitchen helper and risen to the position of project director!  Noemi was very shy and it was like pulling teeth to get her to talk at first, the closer I leaned the softer she spoke until I basically caused her to go mute. The worker actually said she is known at the center as the quiet one and rarely talks.  She has a few close friends and loves reading, just like me!  Noemi is in the dance troupe at church however and is not shy there.  Her mother was quite talkative however and I learned Noemi is indeed the youngest of 11 and that all her adult siblings had finish high school.  Her mother is actually currently enrolled in University and hoping her children will follow her example.  This wonderful woman is a dynamo and actually had played soccer until 4 or 5 months pregnant with her 5th child.  Isabella made me a beautiful necklace, bracelet, and keychain.  

Jimmy the Brave

 

After chatting for quite a while I turned and noticed a quiet, sad little boy sitting with a man and woman.  I saw a name tag and squinted to read "Jimmy".  Since this child looked nothing like his picture it took me a second to realize he was my sponsor boy and I felt so bad.  I grabbed the translator and ran over and introduced myself to him and his father.  His father is 33 years old and works as a driver.  Jimmy is his oldest and has 3 younger siblings, his baby brother being 15 months.  Jimmy was shy and didn't say alot in the lobby.  I kept running back and forth between groups before I realized I was going about this all wrong so I called everyone together, introduced them all to each other and introduced the kids.  The bus soon arrived and drove us to the zoo.  Noemi sat near me but only because her mother also sat next to me and Jimmy sat with his dad.  It was at the zoo that Jimmy finally relaxed and started to enjoy himself.  We soon had  a game of "follow Jimmy" going as he raced from exhibit to exhibit as our impromptu tour guide.  He was so cute and apparently decided that because I didn't know Spanish, I also could not read because every time we came to a sign describing the animal he would read it to me very slowly in spanish and would not move until I repeated it back to him.  Jimmy apparently loves animals and wants to be a vet when he grows up.  I actually wanted to be a vet when I was his age but settled for practicing human medicine because schools are cheaper and easier to get in than vet schools.  Of course Jimmy's father also wants to send him to "football school" so that he may become a professional "footballer" and has also started the process of building a farm that he hopes to leave to Jimmy in another 15 years or so.  One thing that is not advertised about Compassion.  Not only does it give hope and the ability to dream to children, it allows parents like Jimmy's father who were not able to follow their dreams, to live them through their children.  You can tell that Jimmy's father is extremely proud of his son and though he made it clear that he has missed birthdays and holidays for work, he made sure to be present for child visit day.  He also told me that since Jimmy is so tiny (yes, even by Bolivian standards) that he is called "baby" by his classmates.  Though I am average height in Bolivia I am small by US standards and have been since the first grade, falling further behind by the year so I SO know what this child is going through.  It is amazing how God picked both these children for me and that we have so many similarities.  At the zoo Jimmy's sweetness came out and he kept giving hugs.  Noemi even got brave and at one point I had walked ahead with the two of then and they were chatting and I noticed Noemi's mom way up on the hill behind us.  Noemi's mom and the project worker had bought tortilla chips and wafer cookies and while everyone took one a piece my funny Jimmy took 3 and while he ate one he quietly slipped the others into his pocket which I thought was hilarious and SO 9 year old boy!  We bought him a small tub of what looked like dog food to feed to the ducks and very large fish in the moat around monkey island and it was like treasure to him though he did share with Noemi.  He was funny in how he rationed them and while the other kids were throwing handfuls he would throw in only one nugget at a time.  We had lunch after touring the zoo and while most of us had leftovers, tiny little Jimmy ate about everything on his plate.  We soon traveled back to the hotel and it was time for the kids to open their gifts.  They were super excited and so grateful and it made me so happy to see them happy.  Of course they both asked me when I would be back.  Jimmy's father who was quiet much of the day had the most touching thing to say however in his final statement, that I was part of their family now and that he would keep Jimmy in the project forever because that was the only way we would stay in contact and since we are family we cannot lose contact.  I love these kids so much and know without a shadow of a doubt that if something were to happen and they were dropped by their financial sponsors I would pick them both up, no matter what I would have to sacrifice.

 

Me and my kids with their gifts


 

Noemi and me



 

Me, Jimmy and his dad


 

Me, Noemi and Jimmy


 

Jimmy and a new rodent friend



Jimmy convinces Noemi the critter is tame

He was impressed with the big fish

Noemi and her mom Isabella

Me and Jimmy at lunch (yes, his mouth is full)

Jimmy and his gifts



Saying goodbye





Nearly too short to see over



Toucan Sam, I mean Jimmy



Our group with all our sponsor kids

Bolivian Dreams, Day 1- Santa Cruz


This is my first day in Bolivia and quite a relief after a full day of travel.  Since we arrived in the morning after only a few hours sleep on a red-eye flight I was tired, but used our short break to shower and change and was ready to roll.  Our first visit was to BO-361 where my mission was to find a child named Luisa Vaca for a friend of mine and give her a letter.  I thought this would be easy, but as soon as we entered the center we were whished into a large room for a presentation from the children.  They were so excited to perform for us and at one point even gave us all little hearts with our names on them to wear.


One of the teens giving me my heart with flair.

  I kept scanning the crowd and then suddenly I turned around and Luisa was there.  I was able to snap a quick photo and give her the letter I brought from her sponsor and we were separated again.



Shy little Luisa getting her picture taken.  She knew at this point that her sponsor would be able to see this photo.
 

I was able to get this video during part of the presentation.  In it you can see Luisa with her letter.

 

After the presentation and singing we broke up into child groups and I was able to go on family visit with a member of our group, Susan, who sponsored a little girl from this project named Reyna.  Reyna's mother and sisters were at the house when we arrived so we gave them a bit of privacy to visit after touring the home.  The house was not overly small as many in the area but each room entered into the courtyard area instead of being connected to each other which was a bit odd to me.  As soon as the neighbors learned that we were there people seemed to come out of the woodwork to see what we were doing.  Stray dogs also seemed to show up in droves.  One of the neighbors brought all of her children with her including an adorable little boy age 4 or 5.  He apparently was registered at the project but did not yet have a sponsor.  I didn't dare even take a picture of him as he is exactly what I usually look for in a sponsor child and I didn't need to be adding to my group.  At the end of the group visit I was able to take a photo of Susan with the family, all of whom were very shy but cried when we left.

Susan with her sponsor child Reyna(in the blue shirt)

 

 

 

 

Run, Run, and Run Some More!







Me and the giant Hershey bar at the finish!

So, with a marathon just over the horizon I have spent most of the summer training including running four half marathons in the month of September alone.  For October I really wanted to wrap up my more intensive training on a fun note so signed up for the Hershey Half Marathon.  Run in Hershey, PA with a mile of the course winding through the theme park it was supposed to just be a low-key training run, complete with the "chocolate aid station" at mile 10.  I happened to meet my running buddy near the start right before the race and though he could barely complete 5 miles when we started running together in the spring, he (being male and of normal height and leg length) had long since surpassed my speed at this distance.  We decided to cap off the season by running this one together and my nice easy training run turned into a true race.  

My Reese's Peanut Butter
Cup Finisher's Medal

I finished in 2:05:04.7 which unfortunately rounds up and EXACTLY ties my personal best made earlier this season of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 5 seconds which was really disappointing considering how hard I ran the entire time and how uncomfortable this was.  Sitting here over 24 hours later with stiff, aching quads I am glad I pushed myself because I am now more confident than ever that I will be able to complete this marathon and make my sponsors proud!

My Motivation: Thy Name is Bhagyashri



Bhagyashri

 This is Bhagyashri and she is my motivation to run when I am tired.  My reason to lace up my shoes when I get out of work late and I have a million things to do still at home. She lives in IN860 and this is my first letter from her

"Hello I am Bhagyashri.  Mother's name: Sumah, Father's name: Sharavan, Brother: Sujal, Sister: Nayana.  Her favorite color is pink, favorite food is rice and dhal, best friend is Kavita and she lives in a mud house. 
  The meaning of Bhagyashri is good fortune.  Mother and father are illiterate does not know how to read and write.  Father iron the clothes of the people of this community.  Mother goes to forest to collect wood to prepare food for children.  To get clean drinking water is a great problem; water comes only two hours in the morning every day.  Father sometime takes drink and fight in the house.  Bhagyashri likes English subject.  Parents are not in a position to send child to good school and purchase school supplies.  Bhagyashri says I love Victoria pleas write a letter to Bhagyashri".

For this child who says she loves me without even knowing me and who has to deal with countless struggles I will train and I will run a marathon.  For this child I will persevere even when my legs are screaming "NOOO!" so that she has a better chance in live and can hope for a life without illiteracy, unemployment, domestic violence or dirty water.

Running With a Purpose

Me at the finish of last year's marathon with a broken foot

When I first started running my purpose was to lose weight to win a competition at work.  It was a good motivator for a short while, but would not have been enough to sustain me through the pain of blisters and shinsplints.  Luckily, by the time the competition was finished, I began racing and adored the rush of the crowd, cheering spectators, free bagels...but again the adrenaline rush of a race would soon wear off and the reality of putting in mile after mile became daunting.  This was especially true after I sustained a stress fracture in my foot at mile 19 of a marathon (26.2 miles).  Yes, I finished but was sidelined in a walking boot for almost 3 months and when I was able to come back had to start my fitness from scratch.  It was at that point that I decided to combine my now love-hate relationship with running with my love of charitable giving.  I trained for and completed a race for Determination, to raise money and awareness for cancer since my boyfriend is a 3 time survivor.  My fund-raising was so successful that a seed of an idea was planted.  Running to raise money for Compassion, the child sponsorship charity that is my other true love.  I looked into the Team Compassion and is sounds wonderful but....impersonal.  The money raised goes to the needs of the child health fund, but I will likely never meet the children who benefit.  When my friend and fellow Compassion advocate Amanda began advocating for a new project IN860, I knew I had found my calling.  This project is located IN an Indian red-light district and many of the children have mothers and/or siblings who have been forced into the sex trade.  Girls as young as 9 are sold into brothels so when I heard that Compassion was working in this area I felt like I needed to do something.  I sponsor a little girl there but it did not seem like enough.  As a brand-new project I know this center must be strapped for resources.  The idea then came to me.  I would push my body so they won't have to sell theirs.  I am planning on running a marathon in November and an hoping to use the enormity of this venture to get people's attention.  I give my sweat, they give their money and hopefully at the end of this there will be enough for a wonderful project gift for IN860.  At several points I didn't think this was going to happen.  From horrible shin splints to a recent accident while running another race that let to a head injury and broken nose, it seemed like the road blocks were many.  I will not let this project fall through though.  The Devil has put a doubt in my mind daily that I am not strong enough, that I will get hurt again, that I will fail and be an embarrassment to myself and my supporters.  To be honest I did procrastinate in starting this blog because of those doubts.  But no more.  So please join me in the fight for the children in IN860 so that all these children, including my own beautiful Bhagyashri, can have a wonderful project that can act as a safe-haven from the hell they live in daily.  I will be placing a chip-in-button on my blog, please consider a donation.  Anything, no matter how small, will be greatly appreciated.