Bolivia Day # 2 7-1-11

     Finally got to see the boys! driving into that gate on the bus and seeing them was crazy.  I knew I had missed them but the emotional response I got within my heart felt as if I was seeing a close relative I had missed every day for a year!  Except not 1, over 50!  These boys each have a special place in my heart.  I wish there was some way to tell or show them that and have them understand. Ricardo.  Last year I awkwardly got off the bus and was standing there amidst 60 Bolivian boys and we were all staring at eachother.  Ricardo came up to me and grabbed me by the arm pretty roughly, and from that point on we were inseperable for the rest of the week.  He can be a bit rough and mischevious, but I find it lovable, after all, we all have interesting behaviors weve developed, due to our pasts and we just need love. I love him dearly.

     It was great to see Allie again, this trip wouldnt have happened without her.  She connected me with Life Fellowship, http://lifecharlotte.com/  and fundraising and preparations would have been much harder without their church and team!  She is such a sweetheart and I respect her so much. 

Cant wait to see Alberto.  He became such a good friend on the last trip.  We were rushing to get our stuff together for sidewalk sunday school in the villages with the children, we planned to do a David and Goliath skit as a team and make witness bracelets with the kids, and give them coloring sheets with David and Goliath scripture and pictures on them.  Mona has been so wonderful getting all this stuff organized! It was a blessing in disguise that it rained (it rains in Bolivia??!?) and that sidewalk was canceled.  We were all exhausted from the extensive travel and needed to recooperate briefly.  I'm so thrilled that we were able to bring so many supplies! 

This is how you hook up a television in Bolivia. Look at this kid!  He's putting the cord out the window!!

     Seeing so many crazy boys and trying to catch the Bolivia Argentina game was awesome!  There were tons of children crammed in one small room with members of the staff and team, 3 televisions with lots of static, and all the kids were playing with wires and antennas to get the signal. It was awesomely entertaining and a great time for photos!  

      I really pray that Michael and Alyssa make it, their flights were canceled because of the tropical storms in Florida, and I think they are going to have to go through Argentina, I believe? and meet up with us later. Anyway I pray for their safety and cannot wait to see them again!

  I spent the entire flight reading "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey, and I cried my eyes out and was thinking how the story was so intense and beautiful, but that a lot of parts had to be exaggerated, or his withdrawal perspective of how he thinks things actual happened.  Anyway, on the last flight from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba Fred told me the story is made up and not a true story and that it was on Oprah and everything.  Which kinda ruined it for me honestly.  I mean, I picked up the story at my own yardsale, and was immediately interested in it, I find all types of addictions to be intriguing.  Embellished, exaggerated, whatever, the story is still a BEAUTIFUL and intense tail of addiction and abuse and I love it, its a very accurate portrayal of some of the feelings and perspectives a person could have, I was just pretty dissapointed to be told that after all the reading and crying on the flights!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Frey  Im still interested in reading his other books.  He is a great storyteller. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/celebrity/million-little-lies

Check out this miraculous holy coffee splatter Chris and Mona made today!  I'm pretty sure God and some dulce de leche were involved... 

Durante el Segundo y tercero Dia Bolivia 2011

7/1/11 mission with Children's Impact Network

     It already feels like it has been a week and we just arrived.  So much has happened.  Of course beautiful Ricardo was the 1st one to greet me when I got off the bus again.  It was dejavu from last year.  But more familiar and comfortable.  He is a lost angel.  I love him so dearly.  I'm so thrilled that we were able to bring so many supplies!





We were able to bring tons of school supplies, construction/work project supplies, and school uniforms!  Being part of a team in advance before you get to the site definitely has advantages, and in this case a big one was all the supplies we were able to collect and get donated.

Day 3:  7/2/11

     Devotions with the Colombian team was magnificent!  truly magical.  In some moments God simply drops all our guards and we become unbelievably comfortable and entranced by how majestic the current moment is.  I absolutely adore worshiping my Lord and Savior through song and instrument, and in my car, or the bath, or home alone while cooking, I am GETTIN IT!! but when I am in a crowd I have this strange anxiety and paralyzing shyness that always keeps me very quiet and reserved.  Every once in a while God will break through that paralyzing cloud, I forget everything but the current emotion, and I let it go.  Only every once in a while.


I love Ricardo.

And we had a blast at the park.  Broken toys to prove it!

Played Frisbee and flew kites, played cards and chess and ran around crazy and took a million pictures.

 Somehow I can't get tired of the fish eye effect.

Or taking photos.



What if I treated everyday like this,

even in America,

what if I acted as if my daily life was an exuberant adventure

and was excited to capture every moment on film

 as I do on these trips?




Life is a trip.

 The air feels different here and I don't think it is just the elevation.  I told everyone on the team I had a soul mate when they kept trying to set  me up with hosts and such.  It felt so good to be honest about it.  I miss him.  No idea where he is or what hes doing.  probably something epic. in the Congo? Rwanda? Tanzania. *sigh.  I simply cannot wait to see that face again.  It's weird to think that last year I watched the newlyweds and couples glazed on the bus and held my breath so I wouldn't cry because I missed and craved him so.  

This year he knows my feelings much more accurately.

I remember wishing he was there last year.

It was so deeply stabbingly painful.



We were going separate ways on separate paths and I wanted him to want to share my path.

I believe we have made a sort of path together in ways, but we are still continents apart at the current moment.

 Last year I craved his companionship more than I ever have while in Bolivia, and this year its even more but in a different way.

Then, I couldn't see a clear vision of us in the future, years, months, even days down the road, and I eyed the couples with envy as they smiled and stared into each other's pupils while pickaxing or riding the bus as if a magical Narnia was within their lovers skull.

It hurt deep down in my stomach as they prayed together and fell asleep on each other's shoulders.




It was refreshing to see these examples, to see this Godly young love up close, and to want to be a participant in this intriguing, mesmerizing partnership.  Now, I can see us in the future, I can picture us, and it is so beautiful, I am so impatient.

I always want the end result, and I forget to appreciate the process.  I see the destination, and I ignore the journey because I. Want. To. Be. There. and I want to be there now.  I want to be the best Christian, the best wife, the nicest person, the best activist, the smartest woman, but I want it all now and I don't want to wait.

But this is foolish.  I think every morsel and ounce of the journey with you would be euphoric and worth cherishing.
Even this emptiness and hardened pain in mi corazon.  Maybe absence does make the heart grow fonder.  Here we are again.
On separate continents in July.
I feel that this isn't the only time I will miss you and go through this in our lives.
I feel you missing me too.
This has happened before, It's happening now, and it will happen again.
Thank you God for the ability to feel.
To feel pain, longing, worry, closeness, to be able to feel someones heart from across the globe.
To really know someone and feel competent in understanding the essence of who they are despite distance.
I think we are going to make it.
For a long time.
The couples on the trip this year are also inspiring.
I love community and learning from others and their beautiful examples.
Maybe we will be one of these inspiring partnerships one day. : ) 

     I really love these boys and feel God on and in my heart.  I loved church.  It was so magical and holy.  John preached and my Spanish is awful but I could sense and feel the emotion in both his words and in all the souls throughout the room.  I caught bits and pieces of his message and was able to translate scripture in my Spanish English bible but I got the major points to be discussing the boys at the Bolivia Life Center and how their lives have been really difficult, but also how the people in this church have also led difficult lives and endured many struggles.  I could just feel a passion and compassion for all of the boys and for all of these beautiful strangers in the church and my emotions were sort of washing over me in an overwhelming manner. I could not stop uncontrollably crying and during a worship song, the elderly woman beside me who had also been crying just embraced me and gave me one of the hardest most powerful hugs I have ever received.  I didn't understand much she was saying other than Praise God and I love you, but the feelings I experienced I will never forget.  She was an absolute heavenly angel and I left her a rather impressive tear-puddle on her sweatered shoulder.  I needed that hug so badly in that moment and didn't realize this until mid-embrace.  Moments of absolute love and compassion with strangers always rejuvenate my faith in our absolute God.  I could feel that though we were strangers without many obvious similarities, we had each experienced much pain from the world, and also much love and healing from the Lord.  It was a comforting, sweet moment.

Thanks God!
Stephanie Mauvlyn Braun

*I had a pretty emotional week this current week in America, and I thought of this woman today, and wished I could redo this hug and this moment again.  Such a beautiful memory.  I hope to see her again in the future.  Even if not on Earth.  For now, I will hug her via prayer.

Bolivia day one 2011

I just returned from a mission trip to Cochabamba Bolivia with Childrens Impact International

http://www.cinonline.com/

and I am recording all my journal entries on my blog. : ) please enjoy the honesty and rambles.

6/30/11

     Today was jam packed with travel.  Car from Hickory to Charlotte, to stay at Jakes. I stayed up to call him on the calling card at 1am in Africa, and was only able to briefly utter a sentence or so before he lost signal.  I think he was traveling in the mountains.  Its been so hard without him.  How do I deal with having ZERO communication with my best friend?  This is why you are my rock, God. There will never be a time when I can't communicate with you. We will never make small talk or lose signal!

     So after staying up to talk to Jake for approximately 1.5minutes and being snapped at by the angry operator who had to help me dial the number I passed out at 2am, only to get up at 6am.  I showered and prayed, extremely stressed! and drove my car to Kaitlyns to park it during my time in Bolivia.  I then hitched a ride with Chris, who was extremely sweet to offer me a ride, and seemed super cool.  We had a great convo in the airport and I feel like we will definately bond this week!  It was awesome to be at the airport AGAIN  and I wished mercedes and Rachel were there to people watch and commentate with me.  It was crazy what happened next.  Everyone on the trip arrived at the airport and things got hectic immediately.  I instantly noticed ( I noticed a tad at the packing meeting but didnt think much of it) that nearly everyone on the team is a take charge, leader, type A personality.  Im not sure what this means for the trip but it has definately risen my stress level.  I am used to quiet, go with it, laid back travel and I already know this  trip will be anything but.  Lord please help me not to sweat the small stuff.  Help me to calm my frustrations and annoyance and learn from everyone, and accept everyone as they are.  I just want to love them and for us all to grow together.  I know they each have things to offer me, as I have things to offer them.  Please open our hearts Lord, and calm my shakes and nerves.  I need to know what I can do better in these situations.  You are ALL I need. 


     We headed from Charlotte to Ft. Lauderdale.  We waited for a train, and a tropical storm came out of nowhere.  So we are under an underpass wiating on the train and rain is coming in on us and our luggage, were soaked, and then we witness an arrest at gunpoint.  Two kids on bicycles were taken down to the ground with a gun and the officer was cursing and yelling at them!  I was shocked and for some reason I kept inching closer because I felt like something wrong was happening, they were just kids and he was threatening to put bullets in their brains!   It was all happening about 5feet away from me and it was very startling.  It was so unreal.  Rumors circulated among the team that the kids had stolen a weapon.  Being arrested is not fun.  Lord I pray for those boys and for those officers. 

     We took the train to Miami,(first train trip! nothing like Harry PotteR) then grabbed a bus to the Miami Airport.  I think another reason Ive been stressed is Im used to traveling with one bookbag.  But for this trip I have my bookbag, a small purse/bag, and a massive luggage.  Its wonderful we get to bring so many school supplies and uniforms to the boys.  But it was so hard to get all the bags on these trains, buses and planes!  I left my bookbag on the bus, the bookbag had all my clothing in it for the trip.  I was surprised at how quickly everyone prayed for me and helped me out.  They were searching buses in the storm with me and Jeanine and Terry were very patient and sweet to me which is what I need in stressful situations.  I am really interested in their dynamics as a couple.  I find them intriguing. We found my bookbag still on the bus, I had left it in confusion trying to get all the massive supplies luggage off the bus.

     It was nice to eat with the team in Miami, despite being stuck at the kids table(come on Im 24) and I was glad to meet our team member Adam, from Connecticut.  The flight from Miami to Santa Cruz took FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRR (6hours? I honestly dont remember it felt like a WEEK).  Do you ever notice how when you travel in groups everyone always trys to make sure you have people you know or people you are with to sit by? I always secretly pray to sit with strangers.  Most of the time they dont talk to me, and I can read and journal and pray and meditate without interuption or having to explain myself.  You know how when you know someone you have to explain half of what you do for whatever reason.... But I do enjoy my silence.  And everytime I have ended up in conversation with a stranger on a bus, train or plane, I have loved the conversation and made a new friend.  Strangers are not to be avoided in these cases, they are to be embraced.  Other than the time I passed out last year coming back from Mexico and woke up with my hand on my neighbors thigh. 

     Today was car, car, truck, plane, bus, train, bus, plane, and now a bus, one more plane and one more bus and I will get to see those beautiful boys again!!!!!!! : ) YAY!!! I want to make the most of this trip.  And never stop thanking you for making it happen.  Gracias Dios <3 SMB

"Friends Say Years of Abuse led Woman to Shoot Boyfriend"
http://www.wcnc.com/news/crime/Man-shot-in-the-face-dies-118420859.html

The Domestic Violence Advocacy Council is inviting the public to march on the Square in Uptown Charlotte in response to the most recent domestic violence related homicide in Mecklenburg County.  

Traci Annette Bell, 24,  was charged in the death of Andrew Alan Nichols, who was shot in the face. Police found his body in the yard of a house at Morningside and Mack streets, off Mount Holly Road. Bell is being held without bond in the Mecklenburg County jail.

The victim, Nichols, had pleaded guilty three months ago to assaulting Bell and was placed on probation. He also had a conviction for domestic battery in Florida.
The march is intended to broaden the public’s awareness that help is available, including programs and services offering safety planning. This is not a memorial.

When: 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, March 31, 2011
Where: On the Square at Trade and Tryon streets, Charlotte, N.C.
Free parking is available at the Hal Marshall County Services Center, 700 N. Tryon St.  A free trolley runs the length of Tryon Street every seven minutes and from the Government offices on 4th St.

This is the first Mecklenburg County domestic violence-related homicide of 2011.  Last year there were a total of nine people killed at the hands of their intimate partner or due to domestic violence.

The Domestic Violence Advocacy Council organizes awareness marches the Thursday following the determination that a death in Mecklenburg County was due to domestic violence. The council includes: victim advocates, child advocates, housing advocates, mental health professionals, police, prosecutors, courts, substance abuse providers, education professionals, medical professionals, batterers' intervention programs, shelters, animal control, legislators, colleges, local companies, local churches, survivors, and interested community members.
                   
For more information on the effects of domestic violence in our community, call Mecklenburg County’s Community Support Services Women’s Commission at 704-336-3210 or the Shelter for Battered Women’s 24-hour hotline at 704-332-2513.
For more information on the Domestic Violence Advocacy Council, visit their web site at www.DVACCharlotte.com.

I think I have a lot of people to pray for.

Dr. Seuss for Life.

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.

Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.

 

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

In my world, everyone's a pony and they all eat rainbows and poop butterflies!

 

I meant what I said and I said what I meant.

A person's a person, no matter how small.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own.
And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.

I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities.

Words and pictures are yin and yang. Married, they produce a progeny more interesting than either parent

Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way

Adults are just obsolete children and the hell with them.

All alone!
Whether you like it or not,
alone is something you'll
be quite a lot

  

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?

You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.

And the turtles, of course... All the turtles are free- As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.

 Side Note: I dressed as the cat in the hat for Halloween one year.  Gah I wish I had a picture!

A Revolutionary Way

Thomas Kelly

I am talking about a revolutionary way of living. Religion isn't something to be added to our other duties, and thus make our lives more complex. The life with God is the center of life, and all else is remodeled and integrated by it. It gives singleness of eye. The most important thing is not to be perpetually passing out cups of cold water to a thirsty world. We can get so fearlessly busy trying to carry out the second commandment, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," that we are undeveloped in our devoted life to God as well as neighbor.
Source: A Testament of Devotion
Add your thoughts at inward/outward

Our Visions Begin With Our Desires. Audre Lorde

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. ~Ralph Nader

Back To Life: A Womans Brave Story
[A womans personal story of suriving fistula in Kenya]
"Why should another woman continue to suffer as I suffered when the world has both the ability and the resources to end such heartache and pain?"
http://www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights/blog/back-to-life-my-journey-from-suffering/

<3

Stop Glenn Beck's dangerous attacks on Frances Fox Piven. 

"Glenn Beck has taken aim at one of our nation's most beloved and honorable advocates: Frances Fox Piven. Piven, 78, a respected professor of sociology, fought for the rights of the poor and encouraged voter registration in poor communities.

Glenn Beck's lies about this woman -- that she advocates violence -- have ironically resulted in threats on her life. "

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/557/671/232/?z00m=19936670



"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."  ~Christopher Reeve

NC Moms advocate for protection of essential childrens programs in this tough budget year

"On the morning of February 23, MomsRising members and our kids will board a trolley to the General Assembly wearing engineers’ caps and bearing messages from NC parents reminding our state legislators that “we think they can” find a way to protect essential children’s programs even in this tough budget year.

We want you to join us on board the NC Little Engine that Could for Kids! It's a fun, free event than will make a big difference for families in North Carolina."-MomsRising

http://action.momsrising.org/signup/NC_2011_Train_Kickoff/?akid=2529.688215.BxmeBk&rd=1&t=1

<3

Should Ohio mom be jailed for putting her kids in a better school?  Falsifying Records=Jail Time.

http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/should-ohio-mom-be-jailed-for-putting-kids-in-a-safer-school/question-1476483/?link=ibaf&imgurl=http://images.sodahead.com/polls/0/0/1/4/7/4/1/9/6/Kelly-Williams-Bolar-36092302870.jpeg&q=kelly%2Bwilliams%2Bbolar
What do you guys think? 

If you disagree with what happened, sign this petition below.
MomsRising:  collecting signatures for mother charged with felony!

"A mom in Ohio, was charged with a felony and actually went to jail for sending her kids to a public school near where her father lives, which was out of her home school district. Moms Rising and Color of Change are working on collecting 75,000 signatures on a petition to the Governor of Ohio asking him to change this extreme punishment. *Help them reach the goal of 75,000 signatures today!  Take a moment to sign on:  http://action.momsrising.org/go/642?akid=2521.250509.3L6fxT&t=5&akid=2531.688215.6LO_ux&t=2
Ohio mom, Kelley Williams-Bolar, was jailed for sending her daughters to a better school. Real justice requires that the punishment fit the crime.  By any measure, this is cruelly unjust. Tell the Ohio Governor to right this wrong.  Speak up for Kelley today! "

 <3

Eleven Women Murdered in the New Mexico Desert and No One Spoke Out

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2011/02/02/eleven-women-murdered-arizona-desert-spoke?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rhrealitycheck+%28RHRealityCheck.org%29

 

New USDA Guidelines Praise Vegetarian Diets

The federal government has issued new dietary guidelines that highlight the health benefits of a plant-based diet. "Vegetarian-style eating patterns have been associated with improved health outcomes -- lower levels of obesity, a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, and lower total mortality. Several clinical trials have documented that vegetarian eating patterns lower blood pressure."

http://www.care2.com/causes/real-food/blog/new-usda-guidelines-praise-vegetarian-diets/

<3

Nevada Comes In Last For Children's Health Care

According to a story published by the Las Vegas Review Journal,  "Nevada ranked 48th in access, dead last in prevention and 43rd in potential to living healthy lives in the future." 

http://www.care2.com/causes/health-policy/blog/nevada-ranks-last-for-childrens-health-care/

 THE VERY LEAST YOU CAN DO IN YOUR LIFE IS FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU HOPE FOR.

AND THE MOST YOU CAN DO IS LIVE INSIDE THAT HOPE. ~Barbara Kingsolver

Human Trafficking Awareness Day Today, 1/1/11!

http://sctnow.org/