tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29188145.post-1150067241979955002006-06-11T15:46:00.000-07:002006-06-11T16:13:36.143-07:00We´re here! Forty-eight hours after leaving our homes to travel to Ixiamas, Bolivia we made it here safe and sound around 2:00 Sunday afternoon.<br /><br />Punishing. That is the only word I can think of to describe the travel experience that we have all been through these past couple of days. Both of our flights went logistically well with no delays and no turbulence. We arrived in Miami around 9:30 pm and had a layover of about hours before boarding for LaPaz at around 11:15. I think the maintenance crew forgot to check the freon in the plane´s air conditioning system because that was one hot flight. It didn´t help that the flight was fully booked.<br /><br />We arrived in LaPaz around 5:30 am Saturday morning and all went smoothly as we processed through customs. Rachel from SIFAT and one of the interns - Lauren - greeted us as we disembarked. Some of us went to the Burger King in the airport for a cup of coffee before leaving. Our first casualty occured here as Jessica Stephens fell under the influence of the altitude and slowly slipped out of her chair bound for an unconsious meeting with the ground. Bill Huffhine (me) saw her going and grabbed her on her way down quickly followed by her brother Aaron who also grabbed her. The two of us brought her safely to the floor where she immediately regained consciousness. After a few moments time and a couple of tokes off the oxygen tank she was perfectly fine. Don´t worry Denise...all is well.<br /><br />We boarded the bus and began our journey toward Rurrenabaque. We knew it would be long and hard but for some of us it was punishing. Nineteen hours of rocky dirt roads through the Andes mountains with no more than 12 inches or so between the bus and the mountainside. Our bus driver is an amazing man! I don´t know how he did it, but he handled the bus beautifully through the mountains. Several times we would meet an on-coming vehicle and be forced to stop, back up, and let them pass. In all of our minds, our bus driver has achieved hero status.<br /><br />We finally arrived in Rurre at 2:00 am Sunday morning and checked into the Hostal Beni. I don´t think I´ve ever experienced a bed feeling so good. There was only one shower per floor and there were a lot of people staying at the motel. We had to jockey for position to get a shower during our brief stay; a shower that arbitrarily turned on and off on it´s own, usually at the most inopportune time. Sunday morning came though and we all felt great after a few hours of sleep and a great breakfast at Ristorante de Camilla´s. We boarded the bus again and spent the next four hours singing, blessing one another, and looking forward to all that awaited us in Ixiamas.<br /><br />We arrived at around 2:00 pm and have spent the last few hours playing with the children, touring the internado, and getting to know the interns.<br /><br />As I reflected on the punishing travel we endured I was reminded of a couple times in scripture where Paul talked about his hardships. You remember, he faced danger day and night, was shipwrecked, left on the open sea, went without food and sleep, was beaten and left for dead...etc. I very quickly began to feel bery grateful for a road, no matter how rough and dusty, for a bus, no matter how hot and loud, for planes that stay in the air, no matter how crowded and uncomfortable, and for water that pours out of a showerhead even if it is cold and unpredictable.<br /><br />God is with us. And our prayer is that the people of this town will come and walk with us not because of what we can give them tangibly, but because they see and feel the very real presence of God in our midst.<br /><br />They are having telephone problems in Ixiams, so please don´t worry if your don´t hear from us via phone. We may not be able to telephone until we leave Ixiamas at the end of the week.<br /><br />Buenos noches. Hasta manana.<br /><br />Oh....and the unruly pirates...you´ll have to ask Billy Gross about that.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/29188145-115006724197995500?l=ixiamas.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Ixiamas Mission Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01281411610920613120noreply@blogger.com4