A New Team!

An incredible and energy packed team has arrived! I can’t believe that I am in my last week here in Bolivia, or that they year is nearly over. Almost all of the team is here for the first time, but they are going non-stop. They jumped right into helping the boys write letters to their sponsors and Sidewalk Sunday Schools.

Several of us took a morning hike with some of the grandes to watch the sunrise. It was cloudy, but the time with the boys was great. Not all teams can really connect with the teenagers, but somehow this team has been incredibly successful! We found giant flowers on the cactus plants all along the ridge and the boys were everywhere picking them for us :)

We had planned on having a chill “family visits for the holidays” kind of week, but our flooded volleyball court was filling with frog eggs and it is nearly impossible to keep our little boys out of any available water, so the team graciously spent an entire morning digging a trench to drain the water. Both strategic and back breaking! But it successfully eliminated that health risk. The team has also taken advantage of our relaxed schedule to open up the library every morning for reading and games with the boys. They LOVE the time and attention!

(sailing boats in the drainage trench)

Since I arrived earlier in the fall, I have been asking the boys how they usually celebrate New Years (it will be my first Bolivian NY celebration!) They haven’t given me much, and one of them finally just told me they don’t really do anything special. I’m determined to fix this, and the team is right in it with me! They are choreographing a dance and everything!