Playtime in Peru

After Christmas, Steph and I took a thrilling bike ride down the "Death Road" near La Paz. It was super fun, and more exhilarating than I expected. The ride started at a pass called the Cumbre, at over 15,000 feet, and descended over about 30 miles toward the town of Coroico, which sits at less than 4,000 feet. In addition to being a fun bike ride, the road is incredibly beautiful, winding through distinct and drastic ecosystems. Amazing!

A couple days later Steph and I traveled together to Peru to celebrate the new year and hopefully find a nice beach. We stopped at Steph's house in Puno, then continued onto Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru. We really enjoyed our days in this city. It is appropriately nicknamed "the white city" due to it's beautiful colonial architecture. But my favorite part of the city were the mountains and volcanoes that surrounded it! 

Determined to get to a beach and enjoy some warmer weather, we made a quick trip out to a beach called Camaná. It was definitely nice to sit and chill and soak up some sunshine and warmth. But the beach was a little weird - in the middle of a huge desert, full of crabs and jellyfish, and an apparently strong tide that caused several people to be rescued by lifeguards! We also learned that everyone heads to the beach for New Year's. The hostel prices were going to double or triple for New Year's Eve. So, feeling like we got our fill of the beach, and looking to save some money and avoid the craziness of the beach, we decided to head back to Arequipa to celebrate the new year. 

We had a very chill New Year's celebration. We considered going out to one of the popular salsa clubs in search of some good dancers. But the distance and less-than-safe neighborhood deterred us. Instead, we walked around the downtown area a bit and than enjoyed a few beers at our hostel. We ended up meeting some guys from our hostel that were in town performing with their folkloric band. They were really nice and played a few songs for us! At the turn of midnight we got onto the roof of the hostel and we were wowed by the amazing amount of fireworks being shot off all over the city! 

The next day we got to meet up with a good friend of mine from Denver! It was so fun and refreshing to see her! She and a few other cool Denver peeps happened to be traveling around the area at the time, so we decided to tag along for a bit! Together we decided to do a trek through Colca Canyon... supposedly more than twice as deep as the grand canyon! We decided not to take the typical guided trek, but instead attempt to do the hike on our own. It turned out to be very straight forward thankfully. And it was super amazing and beautiful! We hiked down and through the first day and then slept at the "Oasis" - a group of hostels without electricity, but with pools and good food and drinks. Then the next day we hiked out of the canyon. It was a very strenuous hike, straight up the wall of the canyon. We started around 530am to beat the heat and it only took us about 2 hours, but by the end we were beat! 

We were eager to get back home to rest a bit before heading back to work, so we ended up leaving the rest of our group in the dust as we bussed back into Arequipa and then back through Puno. I left Steph behind and finished the journey back across the border and into La Paz. What a joy to return to my beloved Bolivia! And it was super fun to show the authorities my official Bolivian ID card, feeling like I really belong here. ;)  

Christmas in La Paz

This year I made the difficult decision to stay in Bolivia for Christmas rather than buying a plane ticket back to Colorado. For me, it was a matter of principle, a demonstration of my commitment to my new home, and an attempt at identifying with my new friends and my new culture. It was difficult to see many of my friends heading back to the USA for the holidays and feeling a mix a jealousy and homesickness. I am so thankful to have a loving family that understands my calling to Bolivia. I am so thankful to have celebrated my first Christmas here in Bolivia. It was truly a wonderful time with friends and new family.

One of my friends from Colorado, who currently lives in Peru, made the bus ride over to La Paz to spend Christmas with me and my community. On Christmas Eve we made the journey to the south side of La Paz to attend the Christmas skit at my co-worker's church. The skit was very unconventional and very hilarious. Then we went back to her place for the traditional Bolivian late night dinner and gift-opening. The typical Christmas Eve dish is called picana and it couldn't be more Bolivian. It's a soup like dish with 4 different types of meat, potatoes, corn, a bit of wine, and of course accompanied by the traditional Bolivian hot sauce, llajwa.

I ate picana until I was in pain and then we opened presents. I was super surprised that my co-worker bought me a nice big rug for my new apartment! The next morning we woke up and ate a huge, delicious brunch and watched my co-worker's little girl open her presents.

After brunch, my friend Steph and I made the ride up the hill to the other end of the city to have Christmas lunch with my friend Ramiro and his family. Since it was our third huge meal in about14 hours, we could hardly finish our plates... but it was a great time of sharing the holiday with good friends and in a totally different setting than the previous night.


We finished our Christmas by hanging out at a coffee shop in the city and Skyping with our families. While it is very hard at times to be so far away and disconnected from my family, I am so, so thankful for the technology that allows us to remain present in each other's lives. Overall, it was a wonderful Christmas, and I hope it's not the last that I celebrate here in Bolivia!

Thankful for Lice

Last week I discovered that I had head lice. It had already been a pretty overwhelming week, so the lice sort of put me over the edge. I felt icky and frustrated and ended up having a good cry.

Immediately after realizing I had lice, a particular scene from one of my favorite books came to mind. The book is called The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom, and it relates her and her family's story of faith during World War II and the Holocaust. They felt it was their duty as Christians to hide jews from the Nazis in their home. They were eventually found out, causing the Nazis to send the whole family off to concentration camps along with their Jewish friends. Corrie and her sister Betsie eventually ended up in the same barracks at a harsh extermination camp in Germany called Ravensbruck. Despite the many hardships and dreadful conditions, they shared the bible with many other prisoners, bringing the hope and light of Christ into the darkness.

Despite being stripped down to nothing and being heavily searched, God miraculously helped Corrie to sneak her small bible past the guards. Shortly after arriving at Ravensbruck, the sisters were assigned to the same barracks. The place was nasty - dark, filled with a rotting stench, and swarming with fleas. In their frustration, the sisters were reminded of the bible passage that they had read earlier that morning. "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). They decided that God was calling them to give thanks for every aspect of their new barracks, even the fleas. At first Corrie thought it was ridiculous to be thankful for the fleas, but little did she know how thankful they would be. Due to the serious flea infestation, the guards never visited their barracks. Because there was little to no surveillance, Corrie and Betsie were able to hold multiple bible studies each day. The fleas had truly turned out to be a huge blessing!

Now, when I discovered my lice friends, I definitely was not feeling very thankful. I felt annoyed and frustrated and dirty and upset. But as I reflected on this scene and the verse from Thessalonians, God slowly started to change my heart. As my roommate picked through my hair, a subtle smile came to my face. I felt so thankful to have such an amazing friend that was willing to pick lice and nits out of my hair. We were already close, but this unique event brought us even closer. The next day I was supposed to go to a sleepover with some of the women from the ministry. I felt gross and didn't want to infect anyone else with my friends, so I decided not to go. But when I told the girls why I didn't want to go, they insisted that I change my mind. The evening of the sleepover, it poured rain, deterring many of the women from coming. I was the first to arrive and the gracious host and her daughter offered to inspect my scalp. For at least half an hour, I laid on her bed, with my head in her lap, as they patiently combed through my hair. Once again, a wave of thankfulness washed over me. Not only were they not grossed out by my unfortunate situation, but they were eager to serve me in such an intimate way. We too were brought to a deeper level of friendship.

So while I have much work to do in my heart before I can honestly give thanks in every circumstance, today I feel thankful (at least a tad) for head lice. This is God's will for me in Christ Jesus. And while head lice didn't seem like such a great thing at first, the Lord has shown me the hidden blessing.

Hiking the Takesi

Last weekend I went backpacking! We hiked the Takesi trail, a pre-Columbus Incan trail, that starts in the mountains near La Paz and weaves its way down into the Yungas, a high-elevation jungle.

While I have become quite the city girl, it's always such an amazing blessing to get out of the city and connect with nature. And Bolivia has some AMAZING natural beauty. I hail from Colorado, which is an absolutely beautiful state. But there is nothing like this in Colorado. The landscape goes from barren, rocky mountains (over 15,000 ft at the pass summit) to lush, green jungle with huge blue rivers. From random llamas and donkeys to parrots and toucans. And the transition happens so fast! The hike takes about 3 days, at a very leisurely pace, but it feels like you're walking from one world to another.

Here's a couple photos for you to enjoy, but there are many more on Facebook that you can find here: https://www.facebook.com/ali.fraze/media_set?set=a.10101901688338223.1073741828.10211349&type=1

A Resurrection People

"There are Christians who have hysterical reactions,
as if the world would have slipped out of God's hands.
They act violently as if they were risking everything.

But we believe in history;
the world is not a roll of the dice going toward chaos.
A new world has begun to happen since Christ has risen…

Jesus Christ, we rejoice in your definitive triumph…
with our bodies still in the breach
and our souls in tension,
we cry out our first 'Hurrah!'
till eternity unfolds itself.

Your sorrow now has passed.
Your enemies have failed.
You are a definitive smile for humankind.

What matter the wait now for us?
We accept the struggle and the death;
because you, our love, will not die!

We march behind you,
on the road to the future.
You are with us
and you are our immortality!

Take away the sadness from our faces.
We are not in a game of chance…
You have the last word!

Beyond the crushing of our bones,
now has begun the eternal 'alleluia!'
From the thousand openings of our wounded bodies and souls there arises now a triumphal song!

So, teach us to give voice to your new life throughout all the world.
Because you dry the tears from the eyes of the oppressed forever…
and death will disappear…"

-Written by Jesuit Father Luis Espinal who was assassinated on March 22, 1980, in La Paz, Bolivia, by paramilitary forces. He wrote this meditation shortly before his death.

A Perfect Bolivian Weekend

I've been in La Paz now for exactly 2 weeks. It has been another difficult transition time, but also an exciting and life-giving time. While I struggle to find my place here with friends, ministry, church, housing, etc, I am also just so thankful to be here, to make a longterm commitment to this place that I love so much. I have a pretty random schedule these days as I have to stay flexible in order to work on my residency process. But this flexibility has allowed me the time to wander around this amazing city and spend time connecting with old and new friends.

This past weekend was super full, but with so much goodness. On Saturday I met up with a Bolivian friend that works with the ministry here.  The current hope is to look for an apartment in her neighborhood. For one, it's on the border between El Alto and La Paz so it provides access to work in El Alto as well as to fun and friends in La Paz. Also, there are several young single women that live in the neighborhood. The biggest question around housing has been whether it would be possible to have a tight and encouraging community that is also close to El Alto, in order to get to know the lifestyle of the people and be close to the women we work with. Anyways… on Saturday, my friend gave me a tour of her neighborhood. We also got to visit a few available apartments. Most were really small and dark, but we saw one that was brand new and sunny and nice! We'll see what happens with it… Then we went to a family's house that my friend knows from church. We ate lunch and enjoyed fun conversation with the whole family.

Saturday also happened to be Day of the Dead here in Bolivia. You can read more about the tradition here. A friend of mine invited me to accompany him and his cousin to the cemetery. They brought flowers for their grandma's grave and prayed for their friends and family and all the people at the cemetery. The place was packed! Flowers and bread everywhere, fervent prayers recited aloud, and bands playing and singing to honor the dead. It was a pretty crazy experience, but I really appreciated it. I think it's so cool that time is set aside to remember loved ones that have passed away and honor their memory. I was thinking about my grandma that passed away a year and a half ago… and my granddad that misses her so much!

After wandering through the crowded streets, we eventually found streets that were open to traffic. I found a minibus and made the journey to another friend's house on the other side of town. Her husband is out of town, so she hosted a girls night. We played some board games, had some wine and chocolate and watched a movie. It was really nice!

Sunday I went to church and got to connect with old friends. After church, I went to lunch with some great friends and made some new ones. We laughed and ate and had a great time. After lunch, the guys went to go play soccer. And while I really wanted to join them, I didn't have any shoes with me. So instead, I got to join the girls for an impromptu visit to the zoo! The zoo here is actually really big and has mostly animals native to Bolivia. The jaguars were my favorite. We walked and walked and eventually had to rush home. Unfortunately, it took us quite a while to find transportation. Finally, a random minibus driver had pity on us and agreed to take us back to civilization.

I made it home around 6pm, and was totally exhausted, but also so thankful for a fun and beautiful Bolivian weekend. (Really wish I had pictures to share with you… sorry!) I'm looking forward to next weekend when I get to get out of the city and do some backpacking!

Check it out!

Several people have expressed interest in sending care packages to Bolivia! I know it can be pretty expensive to send a package all the way to South America, but I cannot tell you how HUGELY encouraging they can be! And if you don't have the dough to send a package, a letter or postcard is also an incredible blessing!

In order to help you in your care package assembly, I have included a short list of highly desirable items. (Check out the new side bar to the right!) I will change/add/subtract items as needs/cravings change. To keep in mind... there is no guarantee that your letter/package will actually arrive within the estimated time or even at all, so please don't send anything extremely valuable or perishable.

Any other questions, please feel free to comment or send me an email! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!