touching the clouds

i just returned from my trip to bolivia and lake titicaca. i have to say it was the most beautiful sight on earth...that i've seen so far. the Andes mountains took my breath away and lake titicaca was better than an oasis in a desert. for people who can never decide between the beach or the mountains, lake titicaca is the place to be because it's an ocean in the middle of a bunch of mountains.

one evening we climbed a mountain, which overlooks the lake and has the stations of the cross on the hike up. it was the most intense hike ever. as i walked up the mountain and read each station, i contemplated on the passion of our christ. taking breaks on the way up and overlooking the lake or the city behind us was really unbelievable. to know that the god of the universe created that view for me to enjoy just blew my mind...then contemplating on his sacrifice for me blew my mind even more. when we made it to the top of the mountain, our group of 11 read vesper prayers as the sun set. as soon as we finished the wind picked up and the clouds grew dark. we prayed it wouldn't start raining until we got back to the hostel...sure enough, it didn't.

our trip has too many things that happened to explain in this blog, but i'll give you a few. we all got sick (and some of us are still sick), i got my knitting needles taken away from me at the airport, we got left behind by our bus on the bolivian-peruvian border, and much more. we visited our friends in bolivia who are also part of Word Made Flesh. their ministry is in El Alto, right outside of La Paz, and they minister to our friends who prostitute. they have a center one block away from the redlight district. i learned a lot about their ministry and god really broke my heart while i was there. i met a woman who had been a prostitute for 30 years and is now living with two of the missionaries there and has completely changed her life around. she reminded me of my friend from L.A. who has a very similar story. it was amazing to hear more about the redemption of our lord.

another thing that really stuck out during the trip was how the shoe shiners differed from bolivia to peru. the shoe shiners in bolivia are seen as the lowest people in society. they wear ski masks to cover their faces while they shine shoes. it was so sad to see so many people ashamed of their jobs, jobs that keep them alive, jobs that are a service to tourists and people with shoes nice enough to shine...it broke my heart NOT to see their faces. while being here i've learned to put names and faces to poverty because i have met and become friends with so many of those who live in the midst of it. i want to continue to do that, but it's so hard when society tries to cover it (the problem) and them (the faces) up.

now that i'm back in lima and i only have 3 weeks left, i'm trying not to check out. it's been hard to keep my mind and soul focused on the here and now--especially when i'm so excited to come home and see you beautiful people. so prayer for my focus here would be much appreciated. i'm trying to love with all i have for the next 3 weeks and i'm trying to process the last 4 months, but i know that even processing is a process (ha) and it will take a long time. i get back december 16th for all of you who want to know. we watched Elf last night and got me really excited about christmas. god is good and life is short, i'm learning to live it to the fullest. i'm learning to touch the clouds.