Kat’s Korner - October 1, 2022
Katherine (Kat) Mendoza, a recent Innovest employee, left October of 2022 to embark on a mission trip to Bolivia. Kat is teaching at the Hogar Maria Auxiliadora, an orphanage for 45 girls ages 5-18. Located in Itocta, the hogar is in a rural community a half hour outside the city of Cochabamba. We have her permission to share her reflections and adventures on her new life!
10/1/2022
“I was exhausted arriving at the Hogar yesterday morning, but as soon as I walked in I was attacked with hugs from little girls climbing on me. Even with the language barrier, the girls were able to make me feel instantly welcomed and loved, but this was short-lived as I had to pretty immediately go to my room and sleep most of the day. The altitude sickness here is no joke, but I will slowly but surely adjust! After sleeping, I was able to get up for a bit and play some soccer and hide-and-seek with the girls before dinner, and oh man they have a NEVER-ending source of energy. It was an exhausting, but really welcoming first day!
Saturdays are my free days, so I went into Cochabamba today. The second largest market in South America is in Cochabamba, it is so big and overwhelming! I tried a salteña, the national food of Bolivia, and some cheese bread. The street food here is delicious! This afternoon I am going to meet up with some other missionaries from other organizations to play volleyball before I head back to the Hogar.
There has been a lot of anticipation in getting here. Getting here has been a six-month process, but it wasn’t until the last few weeks when it really started to feel real. I have been finding a lot of comfort in the story of Therese of Lisieux. She embraced her “littleness.” My favorite quote from Therese: “God would never inspire me with desires which cannot be realized...” While here, I want to embrace my littleness. God would not inspire me with desires if they were incapable of being realized. I alone will not be sufficient for the girls, but by making myself smaller and increasing the space for God, my purpose here, whatever that may be, will be fulfilled. It is sometimes seen as odd that Therese is a source of inspiration of missionaries since her whole life was focused on “littleness” and she never “did” anything very big, but I think that speaks heavily to the disposition we are meant to have on mission: not looking to come and do something big ourselves, but rather being there in every small moment, embracing our littleness, and in that creating a large act of love.”