The not so fun part was that my hard drive crashed and I was without computer for most of the summer. Thankfully, I have a new one now. But that means that this will just be a summer brief.
Nick, Jess, and I arrived at the beginning of June thanks to the Beckners for driving us down to Miami. We had just 48 hours to settle in before the teams started arriving. I got to meet the new Administrative Director, Angel and liked him immediately! He has a good plan for the BLC.
Julie brought a team of her nursing students from UNCC for our first team. It was such a blessing to be able to complete all of the boys’ exams in one week instead of dragging them through the clinic week after week! I was so shocked with how well this all girl team bonded with the grandes. Looking back, I think that helped them set their tone for the entire summer. I guess that dance party was even more awesome than I realized! We also got to tour a small health clinic. I’ll admit, I was pretty intimidated about translating all of that medical stuff!
Two weeks of enjoyment. There was a bit of a gap before the second team, and we enjoyed it to its fullest! We had lots of good times with the boys, went out for a delicious dinner with the Sidewalk crew, and WORKED. I have to admit that it looked like a bomb had gone off in the donation room. But we fixed it. It took the whole 2 weeks, but by the end absolutely everything was organized. Not only were all the clothes sorted by type, but folded and stacked by size. We removed every single item that was not right or worthy of our children. Even the toys and sports equipment were sorted and bagged. It was gorgeous. This is also when I fell in love with Angel, Rodo, and Jorge. When I realized how much torn and stained clothing we were holding onto, I suggested we burn all the rags. All 3 agreed :)
Christ Fellowship sent a small team and nearly all were in Bolivia for the first time. I love newbies! I’m not sure if it just wasn’t the will of God, or if it was a full on attack of the devil, but Sidewalk had a really difficult time just happening. The day they arrived there was a blockade, so we stayed home for the afternoon. Later in the week, there was another blockade and we were told we would never get around it. And the last day, well, we had a little accident. One the way to Sidewalk a drunk driver cut across the road causing the car in front of us to stop suddenly. Our bus packed with people doesn’t have the same kind of stop time, so we bumped them. Apparently the big Volvo behind us had even worse stop time, because it plowed into us. Thanks to God, no one was hurt beyond a few cuts. Some of the older boys were with us, and this trauma clearly triggered stronger reactions because of their past traumas. It broke my heart to see how scared they were, even though none of them were even scratched. It really showed that no matter how good they are looking on the outside, they continue to carry scares. I’m so glad that there was a team there to surround them and pray over them and just sit with their arms around their shoulders.
Lake Forest Team 1 arrived on the heels of CF. They were a little smaller than usual, but God made them that way on purpose. I’m not sure how they did it number wise, but they laid a layer of love over the boys THICK! The grandes were all over this team and when a change in flight schedule kept the team in Bolivia 2 extra days (and no room in the apartment because of the incoming team) the grandes were thrilled to have the boys from the team join them in their dorm. Pajama party anyone?
Lake Forest Team 2 finally got their wish of seeing the first team before they departed! They graciously melted right into the first team and were all over the boys. LF always has great Sidewalk skits and neither team brought anything less than awesome! They also did some crazy ditch digging and their work combined with the work of the first team saw the pipe from the well pump laid all the way to the corner of the Life Training Workshops. Unfortunately, another change in flight schedule meant they had to leave us a bit early. I don’t think any of us liked that very much.
The Open Team is always dear to my heart. Nearly all are good friends and many are from my home church! This year the team was even bigger as we welcomed several people from North Carolina for the first time. They were such a fun bunch and I’m convinced that several of them will be found doing similar works full time in the near future. Such a blessing! This team plowed through the drainage ditch (with a little grande help) and finished the first half of the rock foundation under the clothes lines. I wasn’t particularly interested in seeing them go, but something about already having bought the tickets and them having to work forced me to take them to the airport.
I got to stay an additional 2 weeks after then teams, but I’ll tell you more about that soon since it involves all of the independence day celebrations. The brief description is: WOW!!
