Endgame

The countdown is on. We’re in the endgame now (probably more of a millennial reference unless you follow box office records or hold stock in Disney. Also, I haven’t seen it yet and won’t until June so if you could keep the spoilers down that’d be nice, thanks). Seth has it down to the number of days, but I prefer to count with items out of the ordinary. According to my records, I am four packets of Pop-Tarts BITES away from departing. I only have a chapter test, a final review, and final test left to write for my classes. I saved one bag of trail mix from the States for the month of May, and I estimate I can take about a handful each day if I make it last; therefore, I have about 30 handfuls of trail mix to count down as well. If I play my cards right (i.e. stay away from salmonella-inducing foods), I have three more rolls of TP until I take off. Finally, I’ve just 550 Bolivianos remaining from my stipend with which to measure my remaining time. (~$80; may not sound like much for a month, but it stretches a long way. Just hoping I have enough to cover a souvenir or two; special meals, treats, and gifts for the kids; and extra luggage costs when I fly out of the Rurre airport).

I continue to struggle with the thought of leaving. It’s a roller coaster of feelings. One day I get really nostalgic and wish I could start the whole year over again. Other days I spend 30 minutes thinking about all the dumb things I can count down until I leave. As life goes, there are good days and bad days. We wish the good ones could continue forever, and do whatever it takes (including making countdowns) to get through the bad ones. I’m doing my best to enjoy the ride, because these days, good or bad, will never be had again.

Recently, things have been really good. It’s pretty routine around here and the boys have been relatively respectful of the rules and me as a volunteer. “Merrick”* seems to have found his niche and is a lot better behaved… most of the time. His 18th birthday was a couple weeks ago (or so he claims... I’m pretty sure he turned 17, though) and our house and some others whom Merrick invited got to celebrate with games and a piñata. I contributed in the form of my, now Familia Feliz-famous, cinnamon rolls, and as game planner. After the chaos of the piñata (credit to Tati for that idea and purchase), I had the kids do a dizzy race with the sticks we used for the piñata. Going two at a time, they had to spin around a stick 18 times with their forehead touching it. We then timed them as they ran to a trailer some 40 meters away, and rewarded the fastest time with an extra cinnamon roll. We also gave Merrick a good dousing from the balcony in the big house while everyone sang to him at dinnertime.

After such a successful birthday party, Gabi, another SM from Southern and director of activities, asked me to plan games for the following Saturday night. I decided to run (no pun intended) with my dizzy race idea and did an, “Amazing Race - Familia Feliz Edition”. With all the kids grouped into their respective houses, I had them race between different activities all over campus. First, they had to do a “dizzy relay” in the soccer field which resembled the game from the birthday party, only with six kids per house doing it relay-style. Then, it was on to the human knot where they formed a circle, linked hands with people across the circle, and then untied the resulting knot without letting go. From there, they ran to my house where I gave them shirts frozen into ice blocks; each team had to melt the ice without breaking it and present one team member wearing the shirt in order to move on. Next, they went to the big house for the licuado feo--gross smoothie. Each team had to finish a glass of Seth and my concoction of onions, bananas, tomatoes, garlic, oregano, parsley, mayo, mustard, oats, apples, and cucumber. Interestingly enough, most teams had one champion go and drink the whole thing as opposed to each member taking a sip--Merrick was the champion for our house. Following that was a banana relay, in which an overripe banana is passed using only the feet of the team members laying head-to-toe on the floor; and finally, a water-bucket relay in front of the big house, in which the teams transferred water from a massive pot into their team’s bucket by using bowls.

The kids seemed to really enjoy the race, even after my house finished first and won the popsicle prize (I was completely unbiased as the facilitator--they just happened to finish first.). The whole activity reminded me a lot of my days working at summer camp, which, leads to a very important announcement about my summer plans. Over the past few months, I applied for and later accepted the position of Boys’ Director at Camp Wawona. I was previously keeping it a secret to surprise some friends and family back home, but the cat’s out of the bag now, so I figure I may as well make it public.

My summers at camp have always had a special place in my heart, and I’m beyond excited to go back and serve in a more administrative capacity after all of the learning and experiences that have taken place here in Bolivia. I will be returning to the States June 7, and shortly thereafter road tripping from Tennessee with my brother and our friends, Josh and Sam Marin, out to Cali. After camp ends on August 4, I will be spending a week in Merced and preaching a sermon about my time in Bolivia at Olive East SDA Church on August 10 (Also doing a shorter presentation for the Spanish church in the afternoon, hopefully). From there, I will head down to Loma Linda area to stay with Corbin for a few days and do some doctor shadowing before driving back to Tennessee the week before school starts. If you would like to hang out, hear some crazy stories from Bolivia, hook me up with a doctor shadowing opportunity, or just say hi, leave a comment below, send me a WhatsApp message, or DM me on Instagram! I would love to see as many of you as possible!

I’m especially excited to preach a sermon (an item on my bucket list that has only technically been crossed off by some of the shorter sermons I’ve preached here) in my hometown church. It will be really nice to give back to those who have given so much to me in the form of friendship, prayer, support, and donations. Recently, my church’s service-project donation initiative, “Zest”, was able to send money to Familia Feliz for us to purchase honey bees and the equipment for honey production, as well as money for a disc to be pulled behind the tractor. I cannot express my personal gratitude, nor that of Familia Feliz as a whole, enough. Both of these items will be a major help in our agriculture program that may one day allow Familia Feliz to be self-supporting. Thank you to all who made these purchases possible. I also owe a huge thanks to my parents and the Barlow family for sponsoring the purchase of dairy cows and chickens which will move us toward self-sufficiency as well.

I have a lot to be thankful for in general. I have enjoyed great health ever since my trip to the hospital in January despite the presence of a few viruses being passed around on campus. A few weeks ago, after a wallyball excursion, Seth and I entered our room to find our window screen torn and some things moved around. We frantically located our money and valuables, and found that nothing appeared to be missing. I’m not sure if the perpetrator’s conscience got the better of him or her, if he/she heard something and was scared off, or if there was no malintent at all. I’m just very thankful that God had our backs on that one. Being robbed with only a month left would be pretty demoralizing. Additionally, by the time this is posted, we will have just received two new short-term volunteers, and will be midway through our week of prayer which is another reason to give thanks--it’s always nice having something to change up the daily grind around here.

To wrap up this post, I want to pull a quote from the beginning: “We’re in the endgame now.” This is true not only of my time here in Bolivia, but also of our time here on earth. Jesus is coming soon and, while I hear that a lot, I often don’t really know what to do about it. About a week ago, Jorge, the newest volunteer staying in our house, did a house worship on the law of God. It’s easy to view rules and laws as limiting, but Jorge’s perspective opened my eyes to my own ignorance. I’ve always heard that God is love and that His law is one of love, but I never understood the significance. Jorge pointed out the the laws of God written in the Bible are really just His guidelines for love. God is love, but He had to explain this love to mere humans who couldn’t understand the magnificence of it. The law of God shouldn’t be viewed as confining regulations, but as a written explanation of how we can show and experience God’s unconditional love.

My whole epiphany about love came as sort of a “duh” moment, but I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. To conclude, I’ve found out what I can do now that we’re in the “endgame”. I can show God’s character of love to others by following the guidelines in His word. In this way, they can feel His love, too, and see the transforming power that it has. I invite you to do the same.

TL;DR

I am now 4 Pop-Tarts BITES packets a review, 2 tests, 30 handfuls of trail mix, 3 rolls of TP, and 550 Bs away from leaving Bolivia--I’m just not sure if that’s a good thing. Things have been smooth lately, but there are always rough patches--I’m just trying to enjoy the ride. Merrick had a birthday which inspired me to create Familia Feliz’s very own “Amazing Race”. Big news: you’re reading the blog of Camp Wawona’s next boys’ director! I’ll be working in Yosemite all summer and then spending the first half of August in Merced and Loma Linda. Shoot me a message if you want to link up. I have a church, family, and life that I am very thankful for. I’m even more thankful for a God who teaches us to love by giving us guidelines: the Bible. We’re in the endgame, people; go out and love like never before.

*Not his real name