Bolivia: Is it safe?

Adreana & Federal police officers in Santa Cruz

My mom always says, “The safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.”  I felt like I was putting this saying to the test when Reed and I decided to go to Bolivia on a mission trip.

First of all, we had to get all sorts of shots, oral vaccines and pills to protect us from malaria, typhoid, hepatitis, tetanus, diptheria, mumps, measles, and rubella.  Of course, I was the first one to get a mosquito bite to put the malaria pill to the test.

Secondly, we had to fly into La Paz to unload passengers.  I got a little lightheaded at such a high altitude.  Some passengers had trouble breathing and needed oxygen.  But that wasn’t the bad part.  Then we had to rise to a higher altitude very quickly to fly over the Andes Mountains before landing in Santa Cruz.

Reed had already forewarned me about the taxicab drivers before we hailed our first taxi the next day.  He had read some excerpts from the U.S. State Department that cautioned us to use extreme care whenever we rode in a taxi.  Some cab drivers are unscrupulous and steal from their passengers.  Not only that, sometimes they kill their passengers and dump them along the side of the road.  Our missionary friend, Adreana (in the above picture), had not heard of anything like that happening in Santa Cruz, but it was still on my mind when I got in the cab.  I looked for my seat belt, but I couldn’t find one.  Then I noticed that the cab driver didn’t have a speedometer.  He was driving an old Toyota Corolla from Japan that had the steering column on the left side, but the speedometer was still on the right side. 

Santa Cruz traffic circle

On another one of our trips to and from the missionary compound one of the men on our mission team had to ride in the back of the car where the propane tank was rolling around.  This particular cab was operated by propane, instead of gas. 

We also noticed that the stop signs, traffic lights and yellow lines in the middle of the road were only suggestions.  The cab drivers honked when they got to a stop sign and kept going, even if they couldn’t see around the corner.  The other drivers were supposed to stop.  On a two-lane road the driver made a third lane right down the middle of the road.  The other two lanes of traffic were supposed to make room for him.  As if that’s not bad enough, most of the main roads are concentric circles.  It’s a major feat to cross from one circle to the next one.

I guess the scariest situation occurred when Adreana, the missionary we were visiting, didn’t have time to give the cab driver directions to the missionary compound where we were staying.  He just took off with three Americans who didn’t know where they were going and could barely speak his language.  Fortunately, I had just purchased a map of Santa Cruz and circled the locations of the Cristo Viene Girls’ Home and the missionary compound.  I remembered enough Spanish to tell him where we needed to go and showed him the map.  He drove around and around, but couldn’t find the house.  I was afraid that he would get frustrated and just dump us off.  It was nighttime so he flashed his lights at each stop sign, instead of honking his horn and kept going.  I was constantly praying that no one else was coming our way.  Finally we were able to contact the missionary at the compound, who had just returned from church, and he gave the cab driver directions that he understood.  I gave him a tract about Jesus, and we all thanked him profusely when he finally dropped us off at our destination.  Adreana was really worried about us when we showed up about an hour late. 

When we arrived at the missionary compound we noticed a brochure about the facilities on our coffee table.  In big, bold letters we were warned not to adjust the shower head under any circumstance.  We noticed electric wires running to the shower head.  Adreana, our missionary friend who worked at the girls’ home, said that she gets a “buzz” sometimes when she turns on the water!

Shower head

We went to the market to buy groceries and rode the micro.  We passed out evangelistic tracts.  It kept my mind off of the driving!  Every person who received a tract was very appreciative.  They thanked us, started reading them right away and took the tracts with them when they got off the bus. 

When we arrived at the market we bought the meat last.  I don’t know why because it wasn’t refrigerated anyway.  One of the customers knocked a chicken onto the dirty floor.  The missionary we were with just picked it up and put it back on the counter.  I was a little concerned about eating meat from that point on.

Cooking chicken at the Girls' Home

I noticed after our meals that the dishes were washed and rinsed in cold water.  They didn’t have hot water to sterilize their dishes.  Only one of our mission team members got sick, and I think it was caused by eating salad.  The rest of us stayed away from the salad.  I felt guilty about not eating it, especially when the girls were watching.  They were happy to eat it for us, though.

Washing dishes - no hot water

Adreana taught the girls how to bake bagels.  They sell them to people in the community.  They have a problem with mice getting into the flour.  I figured that they were safe to eat since they were cooked in a very hot oven!

Bagel oven at Girls' Home

We felt safe at night at the missionary compound with barbed wire at the top of the wall, bars on the windows, locks on the doors and a barking dog outside.  Actually, we knew that God was in control and He would take care of us.  We just didn’t know if he would take us on to Heaven, or leave us on this earth a little longer.  It really didn’t matter as long as we were in “the center of His will”.

Missionary Compound & Seminary

We went sightseeing and bought gifts in downtown Santa Cruz.  While we were shopping we noticed graffiti on the walls.  Most of the people in Santa Cruz are not happy with their president.  We were in Bolivia during their Independence Day Celebration.  We had been warned of possible riots.  We weren’t sure if we would be able to fly home on schedule.  Fortunately, there were no problems. 

Graffiti in Santa Cruz

In a previous story I mentioned all the wonderful things that happened at the Cristo Viene Girls’ Home, which far outweighed my concerns of safety.  A Bible verse (paraphrased by my dad) came to mind occasionally:  “Worry about nothing;  pray about everything, and God will give you peace of mind the whole world wants, but only Christians possess it.” 

Wonder where God will take us next time.  Adreana is already asking when we’re going to come back.  We’ll see…

Bolivia countryside outside Santa Cruz

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