In Cochabamba

What a tease, to be in Cochabamba for so little time :) We went to our first Sidewalk Sunday School the same day that we arrived, got the bus stuck in the mud, walked all around the neighborhood in the rain, and then put on a great show in a tiny one room church! After the exhausted team went to bed, I headed into town with a Bolivian friend to eat anticuchos (cow heart on skewers with peanut sauce). SOOOOOO GOOD!! On Saturday we went up to a great park to play and hike with the boys. It’s my favorite park ever because of the river and waterfall. In the evening we went to the Youth Service. I was so happy to be back in my tribe and see so many friends! I even presented the team on stage at church in Spanish without a translator.

Luis was so helpful with his big smile!

We were back in church Sunday morning and after lunch we headed out the BLC for some quality boy time. Somehow a water balloon fight broke out :) Nothing is better than 70 little boys verses 13 gringos! In the evening I took them to El Prado, which is downtown Cochabamba to treat them to icecream. Some Bolivian friends joined us and I had a great time plotting with them.

Serious game faces!

Monday we explored Quillacollo, exchanging money, making phone calls home, and walking through the plaza. Then we got right to work sanding and painting the Pequeños dorm room. This team is full of painting beasts! The whole room was sanded, painted, and cleaned in one day! That night we headed downtown again just to explore the plaza, like true Bolivians :)

Tuesday morning we headed back into the Pequeños room and painted the ceiling. We got the whole thing done in just one morning! That left us with some time to hang out with the boys before getting cleaned up for the WEDDING! Pastor Jorge had been our official bus driver up until Monday at lunch when we finally sent him home to get ready :) Jorge and Vanessa are now married!!

We made a brief stop at the reception for photos and some hanging out, then headed off to dinner at Bufalos…where we ate way too much! Wednesday was our last day in Cochabamba and none of us was ready to think about leaving. We headed to the top of the Christ Statue…

PBA Team from the Christ Statue with the city of Cochabamba spread out below.

…and then made a stop at La Cancha (largest outdoor market in all of South America!) In the afternoon we went out for another Sidewalk Sunday School to a village that had recently been devastated by flooding. The children were so beautiful and welcoming and the pastor of the small church took me all around showing me the damage from the mud as well as all that the church was working on and planning. It was the only church in the area that welcomes children (the others claim that children are too young to waste their time on).

Straight to the airport after that!