Day 30: It happened.

I woke up early this morning and decided to spend a few minutes in prayer before I grabbed my phone and scanned the headlines- something that has consumed a lot more of my hours each day than I'd like to admit.  It felt good to focus my heart on what is true before I was confronted with other peoples' perceptions of reality.  Then, I read the news.  Oh, it was heavy.  The last few days have brought more violence and nerve-wracking possibilities than I was ready for.  Before I even went downstairs to get a cup of coffee (you should never read the news before coffee), my heart was heavy and fearful.  I mentioned that to Scotty and he felt the same way.  I contacted several people I trust to ask for prayer and Scotty and I also prayed before heading off to church.  These days, I am appreciating the local body in new ways as we can band together in uncertain times and remind each other when troubles come of Who is in charge and Who has all the power and dominion.  The mood was so somber when we walked in.  There was palpable tension in the air.  We spent time in prayer, time worshiping and a message reminding us who we are as God's children.  It was refreshing and soul-reviving. 

After church we had some teachers over for lunch.  The kids loved having guests and it was nice to unplug from the news for a bit.  After they left, we saw on the news that our president was about to resign.  What??!!  This was pleasantly unexpected.  Sure enough, 10 minutes later, he and his vice president were on the air announcing both of their resignations.  Oh, the rejoicing!!  The country flooded the streets with celebration- flags, horns, dancing, chanting!  It was beautiful.  It was what I was hoping for on my Day 30 post!

But, it didn't last long.  Texts and news posts dropped immediately warning everyone that until the resignation is accepted by certain leaders in the government, it's not a sure thing.  Now, there are riots and looting happening in certain parts of the city as government supporters react to the news.  Emotions are running high. 

We pray and we ask for God's mercy and we choose to leave ourselves in His hands.  What else can we do?

Day 29: Division and Unity.

It's hard to put into words the things I'm seeing and hearing around me.  On one hand, the violence in all 9 departments (states) of Bolivia is increasing.  There are more clashes between pro-government groups and all the others who are asking for the president's resignation.  A lot of those riots are filled with the passionate, idealistic, brave youth of this nation.  One of those, a 20-year old man, lost his life in Cochabamba yesterday.  The other side probably has some people who are fighting for what they believe is right, but there are also many who are being paid by the government to show up and be aggressive.  What started as the majority of the country unifying to protest a fraudulent election and the desire to see democracy reign, has now been turned into a class war by a president who has convinced his supporters it's because of racist motives that there is opposition and push back.  What Evo Morales was able to accomplish in giving voice and rights to the indigenous people has now been flipped on its head.  Now, anyone who is not on Morales' side is claimed to be a racist and hater of the "real" Bolivian people.  It's heart-breaking to see, but it's nothing new to this country and maybe has been just under the surface for a long time, waiting to boil over with the right provocation.

On the other hand, I see the church uniting.  The more the country is breaking apart, the more I see the church clinging to each other and to our Almighty God, who alone can repair the damage done.  I joined a small group of men and women from all backgrounds and social classes last night at the local market to pray and worship God.  What an incredible picture of the way we become one in Christ, brothers and sisters in one family.  The barriers are torn down in our own hearts when we finally have eyes to see the heart of God and the compassion He has on a hurt and broken nation.  All over the country, the church is rising up to join the spiritual battle that is raging and we know that there is no help or hope outside of God's hand moving in this time.  So, we fervently pray for that.  For justice; for no more lives to be lost; for reconciliation; for peace.  Maybe my Day 30 entry will be the one where we can proclaim the victory!

Day 28: Pot-banging and more.

I'm 2 days away from completing my 30 day challenge of blogging!  Too bad it took more than twice as long as it was supposed to...

What does it look like for Bolivia to be in a time of turmoil?  Well, there are many answers to that question, but I'm going to stick with what I've seen so the answer will be more personal.  A few snippets of my life in the midst of protests:

- No school.  Although my kids have had a few days of school, since the elections, there's been more school cancelled than not.  This means groups of people have blockaded the streets that will get you much of anywhere and so we stay home.  Some days are great and the kids are happy and playing legos and being the best of friends.  Some days we are all suffering from cabin fever and stepping on each others' toes and grousing a lot.  So. Much. Tension.  The last couple days they've had school, only about 5-6 of their classmates show up cause parents are too worried about what they might come across on the way to or from school.

Besties! (Sometimes)

- Pot banging at 9:30pm.  This, apparently, is a south American way of peacefully protesting.  At 9:30 every night, those who are against the current government take out metal pots and bang them with metal spoons.  The first couple of nights this was supposed to happen, it was all quiet where we live.  There's quite a mixture of those who are for and against in our neighborhood and I think those who wanted to bang pots maybe hadn't gotten the nerve up yet.  However, I went outside armed with my largest pot and waited.  It was pretty disappointing.  I hear it every night now, but the excitement for me has worn off and I stay inside.

- Odd traffic patterns.  One day I really needed to get down to a fruit and veggie market and I heard things were pretty chill.  After picking up Moses from school, we drove down into the main part of La Paz that is closest to us (we live in a suburb of La Paz) and made it almost to the market before noticing the intersection was blocked.  I hopped onto a side road and followed the other cars who were driving against traffic to try to get where they were going.  After buying some stuff, we came out onto another road where a march was just starting.  I quickly dodged the crowd by driving through a gas station and got my car out onto the street right in front of the first marchers.  Then, I drove home watching cars carefully driving down the wrong side of a major street, crossing the wrong way on one-way roads and heading down ramps that you are only supposed to go up.  It was a bit chaotic, but thankfully, there were few people on the road and everyone was aware that all normal traffic patterns were to be thrown out the window when blockades are in effect.

- Social media saturation.  I'm a part of more WhatsApp (messaging) groups than I'd care to admit.  Most of them are through the church and the school and are the main ways information is passed.  During a time like this, those groups are absolutely saturated with comments, opinions, announcements, etc...  Because we don't have cable or TV antenna, the main source of our news is either on Facebook or the Bolivian newspapers online.  Facebook is exploding with posts, reposts, videos, memes, political satire, arguments, frustrations, etc...  My mind swirls as we try to make sense of it all.

- Protests.  We've been to a couple blockades and marches.  We've specifically chosen ones we knew would be peaceful because we were taking the kids along.  It is pretty amazing how easily you can be swept up in the flag waving, jumping and shouting and the pride one feels in fighting for what is right, even knowing that the result of all of this will never affect me in the same way it would affect a Bolivian national.  Although I mourn for what Bolivia is passing through right now, I believe it will be an incredibly important part of their history and so I'm grateful to be here to be a part of it.

- Sad stories.  My hair stylist told me about how sick her mom has been lately.  She found her passed out on her bed one day, barely breathing and explained how she had a doctor friend who lived nearby whom she thought could help.  He sadly explained that because of the protests, the clinic where he worked hadn't gotten its normal shipment of oxygen and they would have to try to find somewhere else to go.  With the doctor driving and the sick mom and daughter in the back, they had to cross at least 6 blockades where each time they had to beg to get through so they could get the woman to a hospital.  She made it, but barely.  I'm sure she's not the only one with a story like this.

So, that's life right now.  Thankfully, despite the rumors, we have water and we have food.  Where we live we are pretty removed from the most heated of the protests.  The kids are calm and have not felt any danger.  We have prayed more together as a family and collectively as a church than in a long time.  The church in Bolivia has crossed normal barriers to unite in a cry to almighty God who alone can work wonders in this situation.  There is prayer and worship in the streets.  He is definitely at work in all of this, in many more ways than we can see or imagine.