So we arrived in La Paz, Bolivia at 5:30 A.M and fumbled our way through customs. We were told that many airport employees should speak English, but we found that none of the employees in customs spoke a bit of English. Therefore, there were some communication errors. For instance, I received a 40 day visa(which I'm not sure even exists) and one of my team members received a 30 day visa. Needless to say, we were a little shaky after going through customs, but the Lord provided for us in many amazing ways.
First of all, a very kind man helped us locate and transport our luggage. Sometimes people in the third world will provide such services to gringos(white people) just to charge them a gratuitous amount. However, this man was very helpful and did not pressure us into giving him money at all(though, it is understood in Bolivian cultures that you should at least provide a small tip for such services). This man helped us get all the way to the airport lobby, where we ran into a missionary from America named Kathy. Kathy's presence requires a small amount of explanation.
One member of my team is a girl named Rachel Holeman, and her parents were missionaries in Bolivia for the first 6 years of her life. Therefore, her parents contacted some missionary friends in La Paz, and those people contacted Kathy. Rachel had already booked a flight from La Paz to Cochabamba that left at 8:00 A.M, so Kathy helped her get her bags checked and pointed her in the direction of security. After that, she frantically ran around in an attempt to help us book a flight. I was so thankful to have her there, because we were discovering more and more that our Spanish skills were more limited than we had anticipated before our arrival. In the end, Kathy helped us get on a waiting list for a flight at 10:30. She also offered to take us down into the city while we waited on our flight, because she had another friend she needed to pick up and take to the airport. We accepted her offer and began to head down the windy streets of La Paz.
La Paz is the highest capital city in the world, and I have never seen anything like it. The airport was almost 14,000 feet above sea level, and the middle of the city was approximately 12,000 feet above sea level. As we descended into the city, we were surrounded by mountains and urban sprawl that was built into the side of the Andean Mountains. The city, though rugged, was very beautiful.
When we had finally arrived in the middle of the city, Kathy's friend had a lot of things that she needed to take to the airport, so Kathy left us with her friend's husband, Waldo. We stayed in Waldo's home for a few hours whie we waited for our flight, and I have never met a more hospitable human being than Waldo. One of our team member, Sarah, had terrible altitude sickness, so Waldo made her some coca tea to help her feel better. He was certainly not fluent in English, but he knew just enough to fill in the gaps that needed to be filled. Our time with Waldo was a great opportunity to practice Spanish in a very controlled environment, because he was very kind and understanding when communicating. We learned from talking to him that he has three children, one of which lives and works in Virginia as a doctor. His other two children were a lawyer and an economist.
When Kathy finally came back to Waldo's house, we had missed the flight at 10:30 that we were wait listed for, but she got us on a wait list for a flight at 7:00 P.M while she was at the airport. It was in this moment that we realized we would be in La Paz for longer than we expected. Kathy, however, was also very hospitable and took us to her home where we met her two dogs, Bailey and Cinder(short for cinderella). Bailey was a blonde lab and Cinder was a black lab. The two dogs were very vibrant and fun to be around. We sat and talked to Kathy in her living room for a few hours and learned about her life in La Paz. She grew up in Cleveland and was sent to La Paz through her home church. She leads and coordinates several Bible studies through a church that was started by another missionary family in La Paz. It was exciting to see someone from the United States who had set up a life for herself in Bolivia and was serving God to the best of her ability.
In the end, Kathy even took us out to a coffee shop and a money changer to convert our U.S dollars to Bolivian dollars. After that, we rode back up to the airport, payed for our tickets, had our bags weigh, payed the airport tax of 25 Bolivianos(approxiamtely $3.5) and went through security. Also, I should mention that we all knew we had over our weight limit in our bags, but for some reason no one made us pay for it. When we finally arrived in Cochabamba at 9:30 P.M, we were greeted by all of the other volunteers at Hospitals of Hope. At this point, we were very tired and all went to bed around 11:00 P.M.
Today, I found myself in a brand new place, feeling very disoriented and discouraged by a powerful language barrier. However, I discovered that God is most faithful when we are in those difficult places. Throughout the day, he constantly provided for my team and I in wonderful ways. We ended up getting to see a beautiful and exciting city and getting to meet one of the most servant-minded individuals I have ever met in my life. On top of all that, we did not have to pay extra for our bags, which were only over the weight limit because we were transporting clothes for orphaned children in them. Now, I am finally in Cochabamba and ready to serve. I thought that my adventure would begin here, but it will continue here, for it started in La Paz. I know from today that God will continue to be faithful while I am here and provide for me in ways that are beyond my imagination.
If you get a chance, please pray that I will have courage and be flexible while serving in Cochabamba. Also, please feel free to look up Kathy Maenner, who is serving with SIM(Serving In Missions). She is the missionary who was so kind to my team and I, and I'm sure she would appreciate your support.
That's all for now!
Kevin Quinby
La Paz
God is so good to us!! Praise God for all of the miralces He has provided so far, including the "free" luggage, Waldo and Kathy! Melanie
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