Bolivia Update

Today we just received confirmation that our flights have been booked!! Huge relief!!! This was quite the ordeal since you cannot get a straight flight from Houston to Cochabamba. We had to get a round-trip flight from Houston to Santa Cruz, Bolivia by way of Miami. Then we had to get a second round-trip flight from Santa Cruz, Bolivia to Cochabamba, Bolivia. For the first round-trip flight we were able to book with American Airlines, but for the second round-trip flight we had to book with a local Bolivian carrier, so that part took a little longer than preferred.

We were initially planning on booking all of the flights on our own, but due to complications, we ended up using a missionary travel agent that was referred to us by the mission organization we are going with. This was such a great idea, because it made the whole process very very smooth and she was able to book our flights for half the price we were expecting to pay. So that was a huge blessing!!

At this point, the only things we have left to do is to get our letter of invitation from the missionary host family we are staying with, fill out our visa paperwork, get our second round of Hep A and B shots, and then pack! For the visa portion of this trip, we are actually not allowed to apply for it before our trip. We will have to bring all of our paperwork, documentation, and money with us, and then apply for visas when we land in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Then we can board our plan to head to Coch.

Once we arrive in Cochabamba, the missionary family we are staying with (The Timmers) will pick us up from the airport. Apparently they only live about 10 minutes from that airport, so it will be no trouble at all for them to pick us up and drop us off for our return flight! This is another blessing, because we really did not want to have to take a taxi when we got there, as there have been reports about taxi scams done to foreigners here. I am not really sure about the details of what we will be doing when we get to the orphanage homes, but I am sure we will be helping out in any way that they need us to.

Another remarkable thing that has happened, is that we found out one of the worship leaders (Lowell Ballew) of our church here in Houston (http://www.clearcreek.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=43779&PID=597368) is actually going to be moving his family to Cochabamba for a minimum of 2 years to do missionary work. They are going with the missionary organization called Ripe for the Harvest. The Ballew family will be working primarily with a church called Cochabamba International Church (http://www.cicbolivia.org/). He and his family were actually just in Cochabamba about a month or so ago for a 2 week visit to check everything out. Now they are back in Houston and are just working to raise enough support money so that they can leave for this missionary journey.

We were able to have dinner with them a couple weeks ago along with another couple from our church that has done missionary work in Cochabamba. We all shared stories about how we were called to Coch, and they also gave us advice with the processes of booking airline tickets, visas, etc. When we began this process a few months ago, we had never even heard of Cochabamba, and now there are 2 families in our own church that have missionary experience there, and one of those families is actually moving to Coch for long term missionary work. The Ballews are such a wonderful family and we are so glad that God brought our paths together. You can visit their missionary website here http://www.theballews.org/.

Another interesting thing about this is that Lowell asked us to check with the Timmer family to see if they have heard of Cochabamba International Church. I checked with the Timmers and turns out, this is their home church that they attend every Sunday!! In fact, Mrs. Timmer is on the worship team there and runs the drama ministry too. And they remember the Ballew family from their trip out there a month or so ago. Craziness!! So while we are there, I am hoping that we will get to visit this church that the Timmers attend and that the Ballews will be working at once they move to Coch.

Needless to say, it has been absolutely amazing getting to watch the LORD orchestrate these things. He has allowed this process to be a lot smoother than we thought it would be and we are learning to lean on Him for the uncertainties ahead. We are excited to see what God is going to be teaching us through this trip, and we pray that this will bring us into a more genuine, intimate relationship with Him.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we work out these last details. Again, our actual trip will be November 7-14.

Thanks,
Carissa

“Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:5

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