Picture Update

CHILDREN'S DAY CELEBRATION

Bolivia celebrates Children's Day on April 12th each year. At Happy Hour each child got a balloon and a special snack. 

Halloween is heavily tied to dark spiritual traditions in Bolivia, so Children's Day is an alternative for dressing up! 

On special occasions we always have lots of kids at Happy Hour!
(Pay no attention to the sleeping child in the corner... it really was a fun day!)

GUITAR CLASSES

This month we have started guitar classes on Friday afternoons. The kids are learning to play guitar using the worship songs we sing at Happy Hour. 

It's a slow process.....

It's a great opportunity to meet some of the parents that don't normally come to Happy Hour in an informal setting.
(Homemade pizza is always a good thing too!)

HOME VISITS

Andres & Becky are expert bread makers, and they make fresh bread each week to take on our home visits. 

We have been working with a family this week that is struggling to provide for their grandchildren. Franco is TRYING to communicate with the great grandmother who only speaks Quechua. Needless to say, there was a lot of sign language. 

This particular family raises pigs, chicken, cows, and harvests corn, as you can see laid out in the background. 

Sometimes we get put to work cutting the corn stalks.... 

SUNDAY AFTERNOON BIBLE STUDY 

We don't have a picture of the adults, but this is the table in preparation... 

On Sunday afternoons we are studying the book of Acts with a few families from Happy Hour. The kids have their own class with Becky, and they are a lot cuter than the adults!

TRIP TO THE MOVIES

As a reward for memorizing bible verses, and having perfect attendance in her class at Happy Hour, "A" won a trip to the movies. We couldn't resist the $0.15 massage chairs, and she loved it! 

She's happier than she looks, I promise.

Outside of the movie theater!

BIBLE INSTITUTE IN CAMIRI

Franco spent two week in April teaching a class in his hometown in southern Bolivia.

OTHER NEWS

We are expecting another baby in late October! We are so thankful for this life, and continue to trust God daily (and hourly).

Curbside Pick-up... The Bolivian Way

Over the last few weeks, I have been thinking about how I could best share our life in Bolivia with our friends and family from far away. One of the biggest differences in daily living is grocery shopping (and prices!). It is a far cry from curbside pick-up, but I have grown to mostly love it. 

Because Cochabamba is one of the largest cities in Bolivia, we have a variety of options when it comes to shopping. There are two big chains of supermarkets (think Target and Walmart in the early 2000's), lots of smaller mini-mart type stores, and then traditional markets. 

Because we rely on public transportation, getting to the big supermarkets is usually more trouble than it's worth. We typically go when we "need" specialty items like tortillas, cream cheese, peanut butter, etc... 

On a normal week, we usually go to the market closest to our house for our groceries. About two blocks from our house, there is a bus that will take us to the market. The bus costs 1 boliviano each -about 15 cents.

When we get to the market, our first stop is to buy chicken! The meat section would definitely not meet any FDA regulations, and I try to hold my breath as we walk in. 

Each week we go to stall #15 and buy chicken breasts for us, and all the leftovers (chicken feet, head, heart, liver, intestines) for our dog. The chicken breast costs about $1.50 per pound, and the leftovers are about $0.30 per pound.

This week we had a small misunderstanding where I accidentally asked for 12 pounds instead of 12 chicken breasts. OOPS! Just when I think I've mastered Spanish, something always keeps me humble. 

Our next stop is the vegetable section! There are around 15 vendors with their individual stands, but we try to go to the same one each week. The quality of vegetables seems to be the best, and the lady is always very friendly. 

Franco was the official photographer for this blog, which is pretty risky because the vendors are very cautious about being photographed. He did a good job taking sneaky pictures, so any blurry pictures are a result of that. :)

The cost of vegetables in Bolivia is MUCH lower than in the United States, and they are all locally grown and organic. 

Our next stop is the fruit section! 

Franco thinks the Garden of Eden must have looked something like this!

After our shopping, we stop into out favorite snack place to re-new our strength and people watch.

I almost always order my favorite combo: a Tucumana (fried and breaded with llama meat, onion and peas served with a spicy peanut sauce), and a mini coke. For only $1!

With renewed strength, we make the walk to the bus. The bus leaves us about three block from our house, and poor Franco carries our groceries. (This is one of the nicest perks of marriage. When I first came to Bolivia I struggled with my groceries alone, and had more than a few embarrassing moments as my bags broke and I tried to maneuver my way in and out of crowded buses.) 

Almost home! We live across from the second light post.

I laid out the groceries so they were easier to see. As you can see, we mostly eat chicken and vegetables, accompanied by rice or noodles (we buy those in bulk). 

Milk & Coffee come in a bag! To serve, a small hole is cut in the corner of the bag, and can then be poured. (I could do a whole blog on all of the things that are sold in plastic bags here..... suffice to say that the gas station next to our house sells gasoline in plastic bags.)

In the last year or so I have discovered these bags or pre-cut vegetables and they make life so much easier! They come with cabbage, carrots, spinach, pumpkin, and sometimes peas. They are great to add to a soup or stir-fry! ($0.30)

This is  can of pineapple chunks. It is also a part of the government subsidy of food that every pregnant and breast-feeding mother in Bolivia is entitled to. "PROHIBIDA SU VENTA" means ""PROHIBITED TO SELL". Almost every time I go shopping I end up buying something from the subsidy. I guess its a good thing only the selling is illegal, not the buying!

18,000 + WORDS

This past July, I celebrated my anniversary with Bolivia. In July of 2012 I came to Bolivia for the first time, and in July of 2014 I moved to Bolivia with exactly 99.5 lbs of luggage and a backpack that probably weighed almost as much.

 As time has passed, the novelty of life here has faded. The things I once considered foreign have become [mostly] normal. I used to be afraid of getting burned when I lit a match, and now I light a match to start the stove several times a day. I used to cringe when greeting people with a cheek to cheek air kiss, and now I only cringe when the other person is especially sweaty or has prickly facial hair.

Over the last four years, Bolivia has become my second home. There are things about this country that are really beautiful, and there are also things that I am still waiting for the Lord to make beautiful.

I would love to share my second home with all of you, (please come and visit... we have a room for you!) both the beautiful things, and the not so beautiful things. But because that isn't very probable, I thought I'd share pictures from a typical week in Bolivia.

On Saturdays before Happy Hour starts, the kids start arriving up to two hours early to play soccer. The Happy Hour building and land is such a blessing, and our prayer is for it to be a local church in the near future!

While the kids are playing in the park, I get to talk to the women who come with their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, neighbors, etc...

This little boy is a monkey in and out of class. Last week he climbed onto a stack of tables, opened the window and jumped outside during prayer. I really should pray with my eyes open.

Worship time with the kids before going to their classes.

Each song has a visual aid for the lyrics (Forget projectors!) The kids love to be in charge of displaying the lyrics, so it is extremely ineffective, but they enjoy it. 

Singing "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back". We pray that this would be more than a song, but something real.

After worship, we have three different classes. Franco teaches the 10 years and older class.

I have the six and under class. We are learning about the miracles of Jesus this month.

As we have tried to become more involved in our community, we have been intentional about doing everything as close to home as possible so we can meet our neighbors. As I was getting my hair trimmed across the street (risky), we ran into a guy we had met a couple of times before. He informed us that he was going to get his dentures made, and proceeded to show us the dentures in his pocket. He then insisted that Franco take a picture of this sign with a phone number so that we can refer all of our friends that need dentures. (And I just thought getting my hair cut here was risky.) We actually do know a lot of people that need dentures, but I haven't found a polite way to suggest that just yet. 

During the week, we visit the families that come to Happy Hour. Sometimes our visits are quick, and sometimes we get to stay and share a story from the Bible and pray with the families. Many of the families come from a very close knit farming community. It is easy for us to see the families freshly bathed and in their best clothes at Happy Hour and forget the hard situations they are coming from.

The family that lives here comes every week to Happy Hour. There are six siblings, and the oldest girl (11 years) bathes all of her siblings and washes their clothes so that they can come.

They raise turkeys to sell, and everytime we visit I get excited about Thanksgiving!

Speaking of food, the grill we got from the jail for our 1st anniversary continues to be well loved. A couple time a month we have families from Happy Hour or church over for a delicious barbecue.

Bolivia has SO MANY holidays. Almost every week we are celebrating something. This was September 14th, Cochabamba's anniversary. We went with Franco's brother and sister-in-law to a park outside the city and enjoyed fresh air!

This couple became Christians a little over a year ago, and decided to get married! They have been sweet friends to us, and Franco was honored to get to be the master of ceremonies for their wedding. 

Remember when I told everyone that I was going to Bolivia to be a librarian?? Well four years later, I actually am! Three days a week I am helping with the library at Carachipampa Christian School. I love getting to recommend good books, and I especially enjoy spending time with the kids I have taught over the last few years.  

Checking out books to my first grade class of 2014! They are almost 5th graders now (because of the calendar change from American to Bolivian system) I don't know how much I taught them, but they are reading big books now, so that's a good sign!

Radical Hospitality - Sacrificing the Guinea Pig

For years, I resisted the trend. I laughed in the face of Pinterest. I thought it was like a grown up version of “playing house”.

Then, overnight I became a temporary first grade teacher. And Pinterest became my best friend.

It turns out, Pinterest is actually a great resource for teachers. It is also a great resource for new recipes, cleaning tips, haircut ideas, and just about anything else you can imagine.

Just like with anything, Pinterest can be dangerous if we begin to put our hope in what it can offer us. But, it can also be a tool to serve the Lord and to serve others.

So, one day, as I was preparing the extra room for guests I thought – “Why not see what ideas Pinterest has to make our guests feel welcome?”

It turned out, there were thousands of ideas. I found out that in order to be hospitable, I should:

• Provide water bottles in the guest room.
• Find a cute way to write the wifi password.
• Provide fluffy towels.
• Light a candle.

The list could (and does) go on and on and on. And I’m sure those would all be great additions to a guest room. But then I started to think about what makes me feel welcome in other people’s houses, and although I appreciate a nice fluffy towel, the towel can’t make me feel welcome.

Last week, we went to visit a family from Happy Hour. As we walked up to the gate, their dog ran out to greet us. The kids, cats, chickens, and even the ducks made us feel welcome. They carefully set up tree trunks for us to sit on, and took clean towels off the clothes line so that we wouldn’t get dirty sitting directly on the tree trunk. We talked for about an hour, as we drank Coca-Cola out of shared glasses. Before we left, they showed us their cows, and their guinea pigs. The cow’s milk is the main source of income for the family, and the guinea pigs are sold to eat. Later that afternoon, we received a pot of rice, potatoes, and fried guinea pig as a gift.

Our hospitable friends, and their cow, Juana. (Not pictured: our guinea pig lunch)

She wasn't that happy to see us.

While I would never suggest serving up your guinea pigs to make guests feel welcome, I think there is something we can learn about sacrificial giving and generosity from this family. I didn’t feel welcome because of the Pinterest worthy décor or accommodations. I felt welcome because they gave sacrificially of themselves and their resources.

Hospitality is defined as: the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers

So while there is nothing wrong with fluffy towels, or a nice candle, I am challenged to let my hospitality look more like this:

“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality.” Romans 12:9-13

So come and visit us in Bolivia, you may or may not get a fluffy towel and a guinea pig. ;)

One Year - In the Valley

In January of 2011, I went to a winter retreat with the campus ministry that I was involved in. I don’t remember most of what happened at that retreat. I can’t tell you the theme. I don’t remember the speaker’s name. I have no idea what he even spoke about. What I do remember is a verse we memorized together.

“The Lord our God is a sun and shield. The Lord gives grace and mercy. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11

I memorized this verse with the hundreds of other college students. I don’t remember why we memorized it, or how many times we must have repeated it together, but it stayed with me.

It’s a nice verse. We like to think of our God as a sun and a shield. A sun is powerful. Life-giving. A shield protects us. We like that God gives grace and mercy. We are in desperate need of both.  I think we really like the last part. NO good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. So, if I walk with the Lord, He will not withhold anything good from me? Sounds great!

But, then, a year ago today, our son was born prematurely at seven months.  Seven hours later, he was with the Lord.

That day our hospital room was full of visitors. The hospital must have waived the two visitors at a time rule, because at one point I’m sure there were at least twenty. We were surrounded by people that wanted to help in whatever way they could.

A family from church offered us a spot in their family burial plot, and the next afternoon I was being carried across the cemetery in a borrowed wheelchair to my son’s burial.

The next morning I woke up with this verse on my mind.

“The Lord our God is a sun and shield. The Lord gives grace and mercy. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11

Suddenly it didn’t seem like such a nice verse anymore. At least, not the last part. Over and over I repeated the second sentence in my heart.

NO good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

I wrestled with the Lord. So was my son not considered a good thing, or was I not walking uprightly? Why did it feel like God was withholding a very good thing, when I was walking with the Lord in the best way I knew how?

Over the last year, I have continued to wrestle with this question.  I have come to believe that my son was absolutely a good gift from the Lord. I also don’t believe that God was in some way punishing me for not walking uprightly. (Although I often do not walk uprightly.)

Instead, I believe that God in his grace and mercy has given us other good gifts through the loss of our son.

He has allowed us to know Him more in our suffering. He has been near, and comforted us as we grieve. And in that, He has shown just how merciful He was in sending His son to die for our sins, so that we might live forever with Him.

A few weeks ago I saw a post from a grieving father that said, “Where was God when my son died? The same place He was when His son died. On His throne.”  He is still good, and He is still in control.

So today we celebrate the life of our son, and we also grieve the brokenness of this world. We put our hope in the God that knows our suffering and promises to be a sun and shield. To bring grace and glory. And to withhold NO good things, even the good things that are painful.

My prayer  today is that we would rejoice in the good God who has not withheld the BEST thing, His son. May this song continue to be our prayer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BPaMhGNRkQ