Bolivia Reflections by Hubert - A Photo Update

*The real names of the children will not be used in this blog to protect their identities.

First day of the clinic on the way from the Kaya center to the methodist hospital dental clinic. An unexpected bonding time with the kids who immediately warmed up to us and helped us with carrying our bags, etc.

Some boys from Renecer posing for a picture.

At the hospital dental clinic with Andrea, a local dental student in her last year who came out to help us out in the morning sessions.

Martie, our AWESOME interpreter helping us out as Tony gives oral hygiene instructions

to one of the children.

The winner of the best teeth award for the week! No cavities and very good oral hygiene makes a "muy guapo" man (to be explained in a picture later).

"Oh no I didn't brush my teeth this morning!!"

Restoration of his severely decayed teeth # 7 and 8.

Dr. Joe making origami cranes for Lily and Mari at Chi and Kristin's during our breaks.

Posing after our morning session with the oldest kids. Tony's eyes are very sensitive to the sun.

Brotherly love.

Afternoon with Mari.

And also with Lily.

Tony getting totally into his oral hygiene instructions.

Kids blown away by his enthusiasm.

Showed up late on our third day due to his military duties and still got all his fillings done. He left the clinic very satisfied and happy which made us all very happy, too =)

Lollipops after the dentist? These are sugarless and contain xylitol.

Who said dental appointments are scary and no fun? Plenty of fun to go around the entire room when Tony's present to entertain us or to be used for our entertainment.

One of the staff's daughters. She sat through the exam, cleaning, four sealants and four fillings like a champion.

Running full-force and enjoying every moment of it.

Anne-Milda and her project, a wonderful mural painting on the wall across the soccer field in the Kaya center.

A man with a great smile can wear anything and still look good. Nice to see children from different age groups show camaraderie.

Another shot of the mural painting and the soccer field.

An extra space for now -- maybe a dental clinic in the future?

The team minus Tony who unfortunately stayed home for the day.

One of the rooms in Bernabe. Very impressed by the way they kept the rooms there. Smelled good, too!

Innocent smile. Priceless.

One week flew by. Everyone on the team kept saying "it was more than what we had expected". It was more than just a humanitarian trip from which you come back elated, but that chapter (or page) of the book is finished and you move on. It was more than just treating the teeth of these children. It was more than just going overseas and experiencing being in another culture. We witnessed the reality of children given another chance to live the kind of life they deserve to live and the space in their heart that used to be filled with fear and despair of being out on the streets now being replaced with hope and love. Beyond the cultural and language barriers and time limitations, there was a mutual exchange of appreciation between the team members and the children at Kaya -- one thanking the other for the dental treatments while the other was genuinely and profoundly moved by the brightness of the spirit they displayed.

We also had special moments amongst the team members ourselves. The beauty of the team this year was the breadth of different generations represented, from budding, youthful high school students to a parent and overseer of the church. We had wonderful discussions and "pillow talks", ranging from very serious ones to ones we could not stop laughing. It was the perfect way to end the long, hard days of work.

On the personal level, I was humbled. Humbled by the maturity all of the children possessed and by the amazing work Chi and Kristin have been doing in all of these children's lives. One afternoon Tony and I had the chance to talk with the older kids in the waiting room outside of the dental clinic. Some of them had known Chi for five years, eight years, even eleven years!

We thank Kaya and everyone who's supported us to have this experience. We hope to return perhaps next year, we'll just have to work on our Spanish a little more next time =)

Pictures from the Trip so far

Two of the homes for the kids (Bataña and Bernabe)

Some boys at Bataña with their tio

Two boys at Renecer

The team at church on Sunday

Captain´s Log--Days 3 & 4--Dental

Logistics appetizer
The work at the dental clinic has been nonstop to meet the needs among the Kaya children. Each day begins at 9 and ends at 7. We have about 8-10 children/adolescents that have one appointment in the morning and one in the afternoon. In the morning we rent a space in a local hospital. There we do examinations and cleanings and plan for work we will do later on. In the afternoon we rent out a dental clinic where the more invasive procedures take place. We are providing care as well as teaching preventative measures to protect their teeth. The majority of the children have fair to poor dental hygene and many have problems that required more than we were able to give. Many suffer regular pain, gum disease and rotting teeth. Our hope and prayer is that we can enable Kaya to provide dental services that can act as preventative measures for protecting these childrens´ teeth.

Highlights main course if appetizers aren´t your thing
Amidst our busy schedule, there are still too many highlights to speak of here. The native people that we´ve encountered in our work have been a gift from God. Our translator Marti is great, and also Andrea and Ursula, two folks we work with in the clinics, have just been amazing to work with also. Not only do we work well together but we have shared tons of laughs (most of them at my expense).

Our shared joy opened up some really great dialouge. Today we talked at length about Kaya and some of its history as well as the work they have been engaging in. An impression was made, and Marti has already been inquiring about ways she could help Kaya long term as a volunteer.

Simple dental work has also made an impression. Julio had some decay in his front teeth and quietly asked if it could be fixed. We all shared in his excitement 20 minutes later when there were as good as new thanks to tooth colored fillings. Today, Henry missed the morning exam and cleaning and came late to the afternoon clinic hoping to get an appointment. Our dentist working at the clinic was able to stay so we ushered him in. After the work was done, we showed him the final product. The gratitude on his face was unforgettable, rewarding and beyond describable words. Though we ended up being late to dinner, all of us were thankful for the experience.

Personal Note dessert if thats what you want

The feeling of privilage to be here and participate in this cannot be overstated. I am jealous of these people we call Bolivians. They are the second poorest nation in the world but many of them have a joy I do not have the right currency to buy. People here greet with a little cheek kiss (its soo cool) and their warmth and welcoming spirits are truly touching. When I get back to the states that´s what I want to take with me. I hope that I will have the resilience to experience the joys that God has provided, regardless of the circumstances.

¨First shall be last and last shall be first¨. Its been an honor to rub elbows with the princes and kings of our next life. Those that this world have dismissed and society brushed aside, will be reminded by our Lord that they were never once forgotton for eternity.

Tony

Day 3 and 4

(Anne-Milda)
As Tony mentioned in the blog before this, it´s been hard to write everyday (mainly because the internet is very moody), so I will write about yesterday and today.
Yesterday was a good day for some and not too good for others. Josh was sick so I´m guessing that yesterday wasn´t his best day although he did get to watch movies all day so I don´t know...I got to have a Spanish class in the morning, but it was the last one for this week (thank goodness! I didn´t enjoy getting homework)
After a fantastic lunch I went to the Kaya Center to continue painting the wall. When I got there, though, I was so surprised to see how much other people had worked on it. It is so colorful. I am very excited for it.
So yesterday wasn´t the most exciting day but today was definitely my favorite day so far. We decided to cancel the Spanish classes because they took up the whole morning. By doing that, it freed up the mornings so I could see the kids. I was pretty bummed because I had been here for two days and I had yet to see and spend time with any of the kids. But this morning, Katia (a voluteer for Kaya), Josh, and I got to go to Hogar Renacer and see the youngest boys. We had such a blast. Even though Josh and I couldn´t understand pretty much anything the boys were saying, we just had a lot of fun taking pictures, playing Uno, and spending time with the boys. While we were there, we were supposed to interview the boys (just ask them a few basic questions) but we also had to take pictures of them. They all insisted on taking their showers and combing their hair to perfection before Josh took their pictures. I thought it was so cute, though, when one of the kids came out with a nice shirt and clean pants and was shining his dress shoes. After hanging out with them for a few hours we went with them to play soccer at a nearby field. Josh and I almost died just getting there though because we had to walk up a HUGE mountain.
In the afternoon we went to the Kaya Center and continued painting on the wall...it´s definitely getting there!
That pretty much sums up today. The dentists will hopefully write later this evening, hopefully...
Buenas Noches
Anne-Milda

Days 1 and 2

(Tony)

Thanks to a blackout Josh and I are now working on this blog. AMP who will be known anonymously as AM-Pu, wait no...how about Anne-Milda P, was originally supposed to do the blog tonight. During devotionals the power went out in Chi and Kristen´s home, where she is staying, but two blocks away, where we are staying, there is power and plenty of internet bandwidth (por una computadora).

No really, we are thankful for this chance to share with you how our time here has gone so far. We flew in safely to La Paz amidst some terrible news. Two of our dear friends on their way to a missions trip from Korea were involved in a tragic bus accident. One died during the crash and the other is in critical condition and may not wake up from his coma. All the people on our team have been deeply affected by this tragedy. Every chance I get I reflect on all the good times we had as well pray desperately for his recovery. I catch myself thanking the Lord each time I walk out of a taxi (there are no seat belts here in Bolivia, at least none in the vehicles we ride in) and other times I thank the Lord for no real reason at all.

Overall, though, for us our flight into Miami then to La Paz was smooth and safe. Unlike, last year, our supplies were not nearly confiscated and we went through security without a problem. The altitude, 12,000 ft in El Alto and 9,000 ft in La Paz, is definately noticable, but overall everbody is adjusting well.

On Sunday the highlight was the walking tour of downtown La Paz. After an all Spanish speaking church service in the morning, Chi brought us to downtown La Paz in La Plaza San Francisco. Chi explained a lot of things about the streets including his experience finding street children and showed us where they used to sleep. It was amazing to see what kind of lives these street children live, and how everyday is a battle for their life.

On Monday, Dr Joe, Hubert and Tony(thats me) started our first full day working at two different locations. In the morning we rented out the dental room at a local hospital. There we did cleanings, fluoride treatments and examinations. In the afternoon we went to a clinc that was high tech even for american standards. A sad moment in the day was when we asked the children what their birthday was. Half of them were unable to provide that information. I thought to myself about children in the US that all know and look forward to their birthdays. These children have no one to tell them when their birthdays are. My highlight working in the clinic was when a boy Jorge was being comforted by one of the other children in the room. Jorge was about to get a shot of lidocaine (an anaesthetic) and began to cry. Myself and two other spanish speaking adults attempted to comfort him to no avail. However, Adrian was able to comfort Jorge and give him the courage that he needed. Though these children do not have a family background they demonstrated that they indeed know what family is. Kaya´s staff have done a fabulous job with these children.

(Josh)

While the doctors were working on teeth all day, I got the pleasure of interacting with the kids at on of the homes of Kaya. In the month of October, Kaya is organizing a "Kaya Challenge", where participants will be challenged to raise $1,000 for Kaya. This is roughly the cost to bring in and support one child from the street. Every day, as encouragment for the participants, an email will be sent out with a picture and short biography of one of the kids currently in Kaya.

To help with this, I went to one of the homes -- La Casa Batana -- and took pictures and interviewed about a dozen of the children. Thankfully, some of the kids remembered me from last year, avoiding a potential awkward situation. It was awesome to meet and reconnect with some of the kids, and I had a blast while I was with them. The boys in the homes are family to each other, and I was amazed to see how close they were with one another, joking, hugging, and encouraging at all times. If nobody had told me, it would have been hard for me to tell that at one point these boys were living on the streets, fighting for their lives everyday.

During the interviews, I was touched by many of the responses the kids gave me. When I asked a boy,"if you could have one wish granted what would it be?", he responded, "una familia". Though most of the kids all wanted to be professional soccer player when they grow up and all admire Messi, many of their responses came from their heart and showed that there is more to them than many would think.

Overall, the time with the kids were awesome and I can´t wait to go back again in the days to come.

While I was doing this, Anne-Milda was working hard on a huge (I mean really, really big) mural for the new Kaya Center. Just recently Kaya rented out an old school as their new center, and while the whole school is spacious and has great potential, it still needs alot of TLC. So, with her painting skills, Anne-Milda prepared a mural upon the boys request of "animals playing sports". While this will definately help beautify the Center, this is also an oppertunity for some of the older kids to get involved, by helping paint what will be thier own wall. Though it is sure to be a lot of work, hopefully the mural will be finished by the end of the week, so that our team (but basically just Anne-Milda) will leave our mark on the Kaya Center for years to come.

It´s been great informing all of our friends and family how our first work day went. It was busy, but very productive, and hope to keep everybody informed throughout the rest of the week.

Gracias,

Tony and Josh