"Talitha koum!" ("Little girl, I say to you, get up!")

In the fifth chapter of Mark there is a story recorded about Jesus going to see a little girl who has been pronounced dead. Upon his arrival there are morners and the family expressing their feeling for the girls passing. Jesus takes with him three of his closes disciples along with the parents and enters the room. He then took the little girl by the hand and said, "Talitha koumi" which means Little girl, I say to you, get up.

Over the past 5 days we have been very busy at the House of Hope in Bolivia. The first two days we relaxed and did a little sight seeing, just to get acclimated to the altitude and weariness of traveling for such a long time. We took the kids to El Christo, which is a large statue (120ft) of Jesus that is perched on a hill overlooking the city of Cochabamba. We also got to eat at a restaurant where they serve a $5 steak that makes a $30 steak in the U.S look small. One of the reasons for this trip was to see how the kids would adapt in a different culture. They have been enjoying there stay so far and have been hard at work help us host the youth group of 18 from Parkersburg, WV. This past Tuesday we went to look at the sight where the group was going to be doing some work. The place is called the Koum Center (I will write about this place in a moment).

The group arrived on Wednesday and we will be hosting them until next Wednesday. There has been so much work in hosting the group. We have to make sure that they are fed breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also, make sure that they they have all the supplies for the work that they are doing, their laundry, and basic needs of the group. Our day usually begins around 6am and does not end until 10pm. Yesterday Boyden, Mario (our missionary), and myself took the supplies to the group at the Koum center, about 45 min away, and as we were getting them settled in we were short 8 paint brushes and our ladders. So, Mario said that we would go back to the House of Hope and get the ladders, but we would have to stop and buy the brushes. On the way, he asked me how comfortable I was with my Spanish, and I told him, "not very". He then asked me if I would like to try and negotiate with the clerk at the paint store market? He told me that he would tell me what to say; I agreed. What he failed to tell me is that he was going to park two streets away and he was not going to go with me. He told me not to pay more than 12 B's (Bolivianos) a piece and I was to get 5 brushes. My heart was racing around 1000 beats per minute and I entered the street market. The clerk wanted 15 B's and by divine intervention, I must have looked upset at his price, he dropped to 9 B's each for a total of 45 B's; success! We then drove to another store to get outside paint brushes and he told me the same, no more than 12 B's. I went into the store and asked for the brushes (I had to use a lot of hand gestures and props to get him to understand) and the clerk said 45 B's and in my excitement I said yes. As I was leaving the market I realized that 45 B's were good if I was buying 5 brushes, but I was only buying 3; that's 15 B's per brush (live and learn).

Adjusting to the culture has been very interesting and we have found much enjoyment in the experience; however, there have been some sad and eye opening moments in the adventure thus far. As I mention, one of the places that we have been working is the Koum Center, which is located in a small village on the outskirts of Cochabamba. There is a young lady there who has been a student in the local Seminary college in the city. She has a brother,Dillion, who is handicap. Let me explain a little about how those with disabilities are treated within the Bolivian culture. If you have a child who is born with a disability, it is considered a burden and in most cases, the child is put in a room in the back of the house and is given food, water and bathed, but no social interaction. The young lady was inspired, by the workings of the House of Hope, to open her house to those within the community who had children with disabilities. Here, she builds value into the children and gives them a sense of self worth. See, as missionaries, we are not called to change people in the culture, but we are called to point them toward Jesus, and let the Holy Spirit empower and inspire them. I have realized that this is everywhere. The bible says that when Christ is lifted up that he would draw all men unto him. (John 12:32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.") This trip is teaching me to let God be God and Keith be Keith.

Yesterday, we went and bought about 200 pieces of clothing in the open market and today we are headed to a community to wash babies. My prayer is for God to help my family see the children and adults at the community the way that He sees them...."Give me your eyes for just for just one second. Give me your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missing. Give me your love for humanity. Give me your arms for the broken hearted, the ones that are far beyond my reach. Give me your heart for the ones forgotten. Give me your eyes so I can see." -Brandon Heath