First Day

After a three hour trip to Miami some of the team went and visited Miami Beach and enjoyed a nice dinner on Lincon Ave. When our six hour layover came to an end, the team finally boarded the last leg heading to La Paz, Bolivia. After a night of watching Hotel for Dogs and going to the bathroom every hour (because of the medicine we were taking for altitude sickness) we finally landed in La Paz at 12,000 ft above sea level. Thankfully nobody had any immediate problems with the high altitude, though most could feel the lack of oxygen. After showing our passports and different papers about ten times each, the group headed to meet up with Dr. Huang, or so we thought. With one door to go before the travel was over we were pulled over by security people at the airport who searched our bags. Unfortunatly, when they opened some of our suitcases, all they saw were medications we were bringing for the children at Kaya. Obviously this raised some suspicions, but Dr. Chi Huang saved the day by telling them that he was a doctor and that we were going to be giving these medications to children who need them for free. Driven by one of the older boys at Kaya, the group headed down 2,000 feet to where we would be staying. During the drive, Dr. Chi Huang told us about what we were seeing and a little bit about Bolivia from his perspective. For example when we passed by, what I thought was a sewer, Dr. Huang informed us that this was the second dirtiest river in the world, but also a place where people would bathe. Also, as we passed under a bridge, he would point to ledges in the corners and say that this is where many boys in Kaya would sleep. Coming into the trip I was expecting these kind of things, but when you are experiencing it, it feel much different.

After settling into our lodginh, and taking a nap, everyone headed over to Drs. Huang´s house, which is only a few blocks from our lodging, for a BBQ luncheon. Then, led by Grace Huang, we headed down to a super market to buy lots of bottled water and snacks. Even after a rest before, most people were still tired from travel, so the group crashed again in their hotel rooms. Then, though it seemed later after such a packed day, at 7:00 we, once again, headed over to Drs. Chi and Kristen Huang´s house for an evening devotional. By the end of that it was evident that everybody was tired so we came back and, finally, went to sleep. Overall, the day was busy and tiring, but it was nice to experience a different culture for the first time. Today, and tomorrow, have been and will be more of adjustment days, to the culture and the altitude, before we start our work with the children at Kaya International. We look forward to the rest of the week and we will definitely keep you posted on what is happening here. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and please keep everyone, including our team, Drs. Huang and his family, and the boys at Kaya, in your prayers.

- Joshua Lee

PS. I was planning on posting the pictures I took on this blog, but I forgot the cord at home, so we will try to get ahold of one and put picutres on later in the week.