The MANY Tender Mercies that got me to Bolivia & Day #1

Well I have almost been in Bolivia for 24 hours (not quite) the flights went well LAX to Panama then Panama to Santa Cruz...and while I will get to that its really the day before I left that I need to blog about...I made my 1st blog entry about this trip late Sun night/early Mon morning...I had so much to do seriously about  85 things on 4 different to do lists (CHOC, TT, Home/Family & Op Smile Prep) creating those lists was the last thing I did before I went to bed.  I only got about 3 hours of sleep that night & was running late but knowing that SO MANY things stood between me & boarding the plane I stopped that morning & prayed that I would be "helped" in getting thru all that needed to be done cause I knew I couldn't do it alone - despite feeling tired I felt peaceful & knew I would be taken care of.

I had a nearly full day of work at CHOC in front of me....& about 20 things on that to do list - I did 2 of them on the way to work...& went straight to a mtg - at the mtg I went to pull out the lists & cross those 2 things off & the lists weren't in my pocket - I really did panic - those lists were my "brains" & what would get me out the door the next morning  I excused myself from the mtg  hung onto that peaceful feeling from the morning & retraced my steps believing I would find the lists...in the stairwell of the parking structure leading to my car I found the lists which must have came out of my pocket when I pulled my phone out (Tender Mercy #1).  I had several back to back mtgs & told my asst some of the things on my list - as I finished a few mtgs she came in & had taken care of 3 or 4 things - activating my phone, getting handouts for a lecture I will be doing here etc etc (Tender Mercy #2) I was able to leave CHOC by 3:30 with everything on that list done.

A friend in Boise was sending me dresses to take & they hadn't arrived & were mailed a week before when I got home there they were (Tender Mercy #3) Once I was home I decided if I was going to get everything done I needed a "power nap" I slept from 5-6 & when I woke up felt energized & ready to go  I gave myself from 6-9 to pack & that was a challenge as I stuffed the suitcases with all that I had bought or been given to bring here (dresses, blankets, beanies, toys, etc) - I could have 51 lbs a bag & they were very overweight & I decided I would just pay the fee & when I spoke to the Dr I'd be travelling with from LA about meeting at the airport in the morning she told me she was in business class & could check a 70 lb bag - so Id check one of hers & she"d check one of mine  - after packing & repacking with Dougs help & weighing them at least 10 different times - we got everything in w/ one bag at 50 lbs & another at 70 lbs (Tender Mercy #4).  By 10 pm I needed to stat of my store list (TT) deposits, notes, emails etc & that took me til midnite, then I needed to start on the home/family list & I was going at the list line by line feeling totally awake & positive the entire time until I went to bed at 2:45 am (Tender Mercy #5) there is NO WAY i could ever stay up that late on such little sleep the night before & feel so positive & be so productive without heavenly help - needless to say despite how late it was & that I'd only get 2 hours of sleep I stopped to offer a prayer of thanks before I went to sleep.  The alarm was set for 4:45 - I got up 2 hours later, got ready feeling good & got the the airport & met Gayle & checked our luggage & went to our gate.  At that point I KNEW that the prayers of friends who I knew were praying for me that day plus my own prayers were answered & I had really been carried through that time for everything to fall into place to get me out the door  (Tender Mercy #6)

I slept a few hours on the 1st flight - had a row all to myself (Tender Mercy #7) had an hour layover & an uneventful 2nd flight & arrived in Bolivia at 1 am  We had to go thru immigration, get our luggage & then go thru customs & yes when I pushed the customs button I got a red light meaning all my luggage was o be inspected but the inspector only looked thru 1 of my4  bags - the one with all the stuff I brought   After seeing what I was bringing for the children of his country he didn't even open the others & let me go thru (Tender Mercy #8).  By the time we got to the hotel & got checked in it was about 3:30 am - we took an hour to unpack a bit & get settled & went to bed at about 5: 30 a.m. Bolivia time.

We slept til noon then got going & since this was one of only 2 days we have any time Gayle & I went into Santa Cruz to see what we could  Bolivia is larger than Texas but has only about 1/6th of the population that is in LA County - Santa Cruz is the most populated but even that is sparse.  There is a typical "Center of Town" that includes a central park & is bordered by Govt buildings & a church.  LOTS of people sitting in the town square.  Quite a bit of poverty is evident but we felt safe.  Gayle speaks fluent Spanish so that was a huge help.  The taxi driver that took us to town from the hotel (a $2 fare) just ended up staying with us for the 4 hours taking us different places including a traditional Bolivian restaurant - we ended up paying him at his request only about $20 for all he did...

We had our team mtg tonight - as always the team seems great - a mix of Bolivians & international.  Our wake up call is 5:30 every morning with the bus leaving for the hospital at 6:30. The next 2 days will be screening for patients & they expect we will screen 200 children tomorrow AND..I was asked to be one of the "Gatekeepers" again (I did this in Kenya) so 1 other nurse & I will review every patient to be sure they have had everything done & score them for prioritize base on all the findings & the Drs recommendation - its a BIG job so I better get to bed!

Sorry this post is so long...but i needed to mostly remind myself that YES I AM SUPPOSED to be here & all those tender mercies were clear reminders to me!  Oh one last thing...my cell phone isn't working so well but I have great Wi Fi in the hotel & have been able to get onto all the websites I need to for CHOC & otehr responsibilities I have to keep up on plus I signed up for a month of free Skype international calling so I got to talk to all my kids except Kimmi today :( plus Doug, plus CHOC & TT....I have complete peace of mind & can focus on the task at hand here :)   Good Night - wake up call is in 5 hours!