Big News: We’re going to Bolivia! 

…and you don’t even have to get a yellow fever shot to come along.  

As part of World Vision’s Boliva Blogger team, I’ll be headed to South America for a week (July 31-August 7) to be your eyes and ears on the ground as we get an inside look at how child sponsorship can change lives. We’ve joined together to support World Vision in the past, so this will be a great way to learn more about what they’re doing in this part of the world. 

Joining us on this adventure will be bloggers Matthew Paul Turner, Elizabeth Esther, Nish Weiseth, Joy Bennett, Chad Holtz, Jana Melpolder, and Deb Wolf, photographer Amy Conner, and World Vision representatives Michael Bianchi, Carla Swanson, and Lindsey Talerico-Hedren. To learn more about these folks, check out today’s post at World Vision’s sponsorship blog.

And believe it or not, the trip coincides perfectly with the womanhood project, as I plan to spend the month of July focusing on justice. I’ll be reexamining my spending habits, plugging into local charities, learning more about global poverty, and interviewing some fascinating women who have changed the world with their ideas. (Finally! A month that doesn’t involve cooking, dressing like the Amish, or talking about my period!)

As I thought about how to prepare for the trip and for my month of justice, one word kept coming to my mind: 

Simplify. 

How can we “live simply so that others may simply live”?

How can we throw off some of the excess in our lives so that we are free to do things that matter? 

What simple changes can I make to my daily routine so that Aracely and Nathaly, the little girls pictured above, can have the basics—healthy food, clean water, access to healthcare, an education?  

We’ll be tackling these questions together over the next few weeks, as I devote Monday posts to updates on the trip and articles/interviews about living more justly. Bring your ideas, your questions, your experiences, and your insights.  We’ve already funded an entire water project for Charity:Water together;  I can’t wait to see what we do next!

In the meantime, here are some questions I hope I won’t be asking on the trip (compliments of Google Translate):

¿Dónde está el hospital?
¿Alguien ha visto mi pasaporte?
¿Por qué es Matthew Paul Turner bailando?
¿Puedo recuperar de la fiebre tifoidea?
¿Porque Chad llevar un pañal en la cabeza?
¿a quien pertenece este cepillo de dientes?

So what do you think? Ever been to South America? Got any tips? Questions? Ideas?  

What sort of focus would you like to see this journey take for us over the next 30+ days?