On Sunday, I was asked to share my testimony in church, as each of us interns will have a chance to share one Sunday while we are here. They asked me to go first, as I am the first intern to leave! Sharing my testimony in front of our church in Spanish seemed a little daunting to me! But, this was when I really was very thankful for the many times my Spanish professors have had us share our testimonies in class during my time at NWC. :) I thought it went well, and it was a neat experience. After sharing, people laid hands on me and Gustavo prayed for me. I am so thankful to be a part of this church community while I am here. It's a neat experience being able to worship each week with such a small, intimate group of people.
After church, we went out to eat like we do each Sunday with the Quiroga's, Porter's, and Gustavo. The World Cup was even being projected on a big screen at the restaurant! At the restaurant we discussed going up to El Cristo shortly after going home. Isaac, my 15-year-old brother, and Natasha, their cousin and the Porter's daughter, said that they would come with us!
El Cristo de la Concordia is the largest statue of Jesus Christ in the world! It sits on San Pedro Hill and is in the center of the city, so from up by the statue, you get to see all four parts of the city to each side of the statue! So cool! I definitely was excited I took my good camera all the way up because the views were amazing!! The statue is over 860 feet above the city of Cochabamba and is over 9,000 ft above sea level! I can still definitely feel the altitude difference here no matter where I am, and it was really crazy that high up!
We took the cable car up to El Cristo, which was so much fun, yet so scary!! Swinging back and forth on a cable car way up above the city was absolutely breathtaking! I, being not such a fan of heights, was a little freaked out but I made it! Once we got to the top, we walked up some steps to El Cristo. Then we were able to pay a couple Bolivianos to go up inside of El Cristo. The first staircase was so narrow one person could barely make their way up it! After that it wasn't as narrow, but we took about 8 or so more spiral staircases up. On each level there were small holes cut out of the cement so you could look out of the statue at the city on each side. The only light inside of the statue was the light shining in from those holes to the outside! As we kept going up, the view just kept getting better and better. We could walk all the way to the point of Jesus's arms and then you could walk a little ways in the arms. Such a neat experience and probably one of the coolest things I have ever done/seen! After coming back down on the staircases, we made our way outside where we walked around the statue some more and took lots of pictures and admired the view. I can now say I've been to El Cristo! They really are proud of it here, as you can see the statue from pretty much anywhere in the city! Anywhere you go at night, you can see it lit up all pretty and we can even see it from the roof of the Quiroga's house. So I'm glad I could finally go and see it up close for myself!
After spending some time up there, we decided we should probably climb down before it gets dark, as we hear the trail can be dangerous at dark. We got some ice cream and ate it as we walked down. We decided to take the stairs down. So crazy! It's apparently 3,333 steps to come down, and by the end of it our legs were definitely shaking. We do a lot of walking here so on a normal day our legs can be quite tired, but that was quite the trek! We made it before it got dark, though. It was really such a fun day with Isaac and Natasha and the other 3 interns! We are already making plans to go back and walk UP all the way on the steps! I don't know if we are making a death wish, but we so wanna say we accomplished such a task! :)
Yesterday I was able to Skype and FaceTime my family for the first time since coming, which was such a blessing! It was just so great to be able to hear their voices and speak with them for a little bit and see a few different people who were around for Father's Day! This morning I was able to sit on the roof and relax a little bit while reading and doing my devotions. Spending my free mornings on the roof is probably one of my favorite things to do here. I love breathing in the fresh air, looking at the amazing view of the city, and taking in God's creation. It is just so peaceful up there, in the morning especially. I am looking forward to another amazing week here!
Prayer requests:
1. Continued good health and safety for us here
2. Our time at El Centro this week (only Tuesday and Wednesday this week as Thursday is a holiday)
3. The "fair" we will be having at El Centro for the kids on Friday! Not quite sure what this is all about, but pray that preparations would go well and it would be a great day for the kids!
4. We are looking forward to VBS the first week of July, so prayers that our preparations and planning would go well and that we can really bless the children that week.
5. That I would continue to feel God's love and peace in my life here, and that I would continue to learn so much and see what He wants me to see in my time here.
Thanks again for all of your prayers and support! I really feel them. God is GOOD!
Adios y vaya con Dios,
Breanna
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| Me, Emily, & Bekah in the cable car |
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| The 4 Center Interns :) |
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| Leah, Bekah, Emily, Me, & Natasha in the statue |
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