Projects, Pools, and Pequenos

Another great week here at the BLC!! I am afraid my time here will pass by too quickly... I feel like I just got here but am already almost to the halfway point of my time here!

Things are good here though- work projects have been pretty labor intensive-- we are currently (1) laying a rock foundation for a patio underneath the clotheslines so clothes will eventually fall off the line onto cement and not dirt (2) digging a 16 inch trench to lay a water pipe for our bakery, automechanic, and other lifeskill workshops, and (3) setting up a fence for the cows so there isn't caca de vaca all over the place =) Both last week's team and this week's team have really stepped it up by working hard and not complaining at all. We took the time to do the math to see how these work projects impact the BLC. Seeing as there is only one maintenance man on staff full-time here, if we had ten people do a week's worth of work projects, we complete a month of Humberto's work. And thankfully, the team sizes are large, so with each team we are accomplishing between 2-4 months of Humberto's work EACH WEEK! It is so exciting to see and understand how each of the projects really does improve the BLC.

The weather here is a bit warmer than it was last year, but I'm sure it doesn't even come close to the States. Funny thing is, even in Bolivian winter, pools are still open. Thanks to a group of the boys, I got to experience it firsthand again! We went to a wonderful park with a pool on Saturday, and the boys continued their tradition of dragging and throwing me into the pool. The water is FREEZING, I could barely breathe in it. The boys love it though. They get in for 3-5 minutes, then hop out quickly and try to warm in the sun on the hot ground. They are like little reptiles, it cracks me up. The park was great though, with an open area to play cards, color, throw a football and play ladderball, two volleyball courts, a basketball court, and a soccer field. I think we are going to take the kids back there in two weeks, when we will be in charge of all 62 boys with no Bolivian supervision!! The BLC Staff have a mandatory staff training meeting that day, and so a lucky group of gringos will be challenged to bring the boys back alive at the end of the day =)

Speaking of supervision, I got the privilege of a lifetime the other night! The tia of the pequenos is taking a week off, and so I snuck in to be their nighttime dorm tia! Abriel, a girl who is actually staying here for four months to assist the dorm tias, and I tried to hold down the fort as 15 pequenos bounced off the walls. Fortunately, the boys had all received new mattresses earlier that day. Unfortunately, the old ones had not yet been removed. Hence, pequeno heaven- a squishy jungle gym. After they jumped and bounced and flipped some of their energy out, Abriel and I miraculously found the winning recipe to put 15 boys to sleep within 10-15 minutes. It was so special to get to put the boys to bed. They are so special and so loved, by me, by everyone who comes, and by the good Lord.

I have really enjoyed my time here so far. Each of these boys makes me smile, whether it be from hearing Maximo laugh, watching Alejandro whiff a shot on goal, or watching Ervin plop on top of a pile of old mattresses. I have been praying a lot this week that these boys at the BLC now will be the next generation of influential men who will CHANGE the country and bring light to its foundations.

Les extrano!