Family Project Bolivia

Project Full
Dates
December 20 - 30, 2018
Location
Bolivia
Participation Fee
$650 for Adults. $500 for Children 12 and under.
What's Included

* Maps may indicate region where project will take place, not a specific site location.

Overview

Maranatha offers at least two family projects each year that provide service opportunities for every member of your family, both young and old. This year, spend Christmas in Bolivia!

Volunteers will join together in Cochabamba, Bolivia where Maranatha is constructing churches for congregations in need. This group will be working at the Dios Proveerá Church. The congregation was started in 2016 after eleven people were baptized during an evangelistic campaign held during Easter. They started meeting together in a church member’s house. Three months later they had grown to 35 members and by the end of the year they were an organized church with 50 members! The group has been praying since 2017 for the purchase of a plot of land where they would build their new church. In August of 2018 the land was purchased and dedicated. The members are overjoyed to be receiving a church of their own through Maranatha’s assistance.

In addition to the construction, volunteers will also paint the nearby Chimba church which was constructed by Maranatha volunteers earlier this year. The group will also conduct children’s ministry programs and offer free medical and dental clinics for the community. Younger volunteers will have a chance to join the Day Camp during the project to experience different aspects of service and receive insights into daily life in Bolivia!

While this project is geared towards families and preference is given to family groups, individuals are also welcome on this project.

This project also includes an optional excursion from December 30th to January 2nd to La Paz and Lake Titicaca.

Scope

Church Construction and/or Painting

Community Outreach

Medical Outreach

Leaders
Claudio and Elizabeth Japas,
Project Coordinators
Itinerary
Thursday, December 20
Arrival in Cochabamba, Bolivia
Friday, December 21
Orientation and First Work Day
Saturday, December 22
Worship with the local congregation
Sunday, December 23
Work Days
Saturday, December 29
Worship with the local congregation
Sunday, December 30
Departure from Cochabamba or continue on Optional Excursion
Sunday, December 30
Excursion: Fly to La Paz. City Tour.
Monday, December 31
Excursion: Drive to Lake Titicaca. Tour Lake
Tuesday, January 1
Excursion: Lake Titicaca. Return to La Paz.
Wednesday, January 2
Excursion: Early Morning Departure from La Paz.
ARRIVALVolunteers will arrive in Cochabamba, Bolivia (CBB) in the afternoon of Thursday, December 20, 2018. Please wait for confirmation from Maranatha before purchasing your airfare to ensure there is still space on the project.
DEPARTUREVolunteers will depart from Cochabamba (CBB) on Sunday, December 30, 2018. Or volunteers can join the optional excursion at the end of the project and depart from La Paz in the evening of January 1, 2019 or early in the morning on January 2.
Travel Information

Volunteers will purchase their own plane tickets and from Bolivia. The itinerary could include domestic legs inside of Bolivia. The dates posted are the arrival and departure dates from the project, but due to travel time, you may need to leave a day or two before the arrival date. Maranatha representatives will meet volunteers upon arrival. Please wait for confirmation before purchasing your airfare to ensure that there is enough space on the project. More information including arrival and departure airports and time windows will be available in an information packet available for download above. Booking outside these windows could result in additional fees and missed portions of the project.

Travel Resources

CI Azumano Travel:
800-454-4099 or by email with Erle or Azumano Team at corporatetravel@ciazumano.com

Butler Travel:
503-879-5005 or by email with Nathanael at nathan@butlertravel.com

Kayak:
www.kayak.com

When contacting the Azumano or Butler travel agencies, make sure you mention Maranatha for discounted booking fees.

Excursions
La Paz and Lake Titicaca: $325

At the end of the project, volunteers can choose to join the optional excursion to La Paz. The excursion fee will cover all housing, food, ground transportation, insurance, and tours. It does not include the domestic airfare from Cochabamba to La Paz. Volunteers will need to book a specific flight number (see flight guidelines later in this packet).

On Sunday, December 30, volunteers will fly to La Paz, the highest seat of government in the world at an altitude of nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. Because of the elevation, we’ll start off a bit slower to give people time to adjust to the altitude.

On Sunday afternoon, we’ll have a light lunch and then a city tour of La Paz to see some of the colonial buildings, the gondola transportation system (teleferico), and the “Valle de la Luna” (Valley of the Moon), an area with topography similar to what you’d see on the moon. Then people can rest and relax or walk to several sightseeing options within a few blocks of the hotel including a souvenir market, cathedral, a large plaza with the capital building and president’s residence.

On Monday, the group will leave their large luggage at the hotel in La Paz and will bus (with a small overnight bag) to Lake Titicaca which will take approximately 3 hours. Lake Titicaca is the world’s highest navigable body of water and is famous for its floating islands. Unfortunately, most of the floating islands are on the Peru side of the lake, but the part where our group will visit has a small floating island constructed for tourists to see. On Monday afternoon the group will tour the lake area including a boat tour and a visit to a nice museum showing rural life around the lake, the history of the area, and how they make reed boats.

On Tuesday, January 1, the group will have a relaxing morning at the lake before heading back to La Paz after lunch. The group will return to the hotel in La Paz where they can continue to explore the town and enjoy a relaxing evening before a final dinner. Volunteers can choose to depart that evening or the following morning.

Bolivia Facts & Figures

CAPITAL

Sucre

POPULATION

10.97 million

LANGUAGE

Spanish, Quechua, Aymara

CLIMATE

Varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid

RELIGION

Catholic 77%, Protestant 16%

CURRENCY

Bolivian Boliviano

Entry Requirements
  • Passports valid for at least 6 months from date of intended return.
  • Tourist or Special Purpose Visa (for US travelers)
Medical Requirements & Precautions
Contact Us Want to speak with someone at Maranatha directly? Please call our office at 916.774.7700 to speak with a volunteer specialist. Alternatively, you can send us an email.

 

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