Another day in Cochabamba....

It was good to be back at our ¨home¨ in Cochabamba today. We started out by having a little meeting with all of the MAP staff. They told us who they are and what they did and we sang together in Spanish. Then we had a time of prayer together which was very meaningful. We are all so amazed at their committment to helping the people and their dedication to sharing God´s love with the people around them. We then piled into a bus and headed to CUBE (the sexual abuse center) and we heard a presentation about the center, the impact it is making in Bolivia, and had a tour of the center. It was very difficult to hear about the situation that many children face, but it is amazing to hear that much progress has been made in the last three years. After the trip to the center, we had lunch and celebrated Miriam´s 22nd birthday with some delicious cake that we all appreciated! We then went to the school to look around at the science fair that the kids had. They made beautiful projects and it was fun to talk to them about what they made. In the afternoon we split into three groups: two groups worked on houses and the other group worked on the chapel. As always, we finished the afternoon with sore backs, a bit of sunburn, and all of us were covered in dust. However, it is wondeful to work together with the people, talk with them as we work, and see the progress that is being made. Tonight we had a presentation from the MAP workers who deal with disabilities in the community. Usually disabled people are rejected from society, but MAP tries to teach people to respect them and tries to give the people and children with disablities purpose and self esteem. After the presentation, they gave us each a little gift with this poem inside that we want to share with you:
Who is Disabled?
If you don´t see the person
without just seeing the disablity
then who is blind?

If you can´t hear the cry
for justice of your brother
who is deaf?

If your heart or mind
is not moving towards your neighbor
who has the mental disability?

If you can´t communicate with your sister
but instead push her away
who is disabled?

If you can´t stand up
for the rights of all people
who is the paralydic?

Your attitude towards people with disabilities
can be our biggest disadvantage
and also yours.



Please continue to pray for all of us as we are learning about the hardships that these people face daily. It is difficult to face reality, but we are also learning that there is hope and we are amazed at the strength that the people have. Please pray for our health so that we can fully engage in our last few days here. Especially pray for Allison who has been sick for a lot of our time here. Thanks for all of your support and prayers.