Splurges

This week has been a week of splurges...not with money, but with our time. Because most of our friends have time off of work this week because of the holidays, we have been doing as much as we can with them, wanting the relationships God has gifted us with to grow deeper. I also had a food splurge today... From time to time, our local grocery store will get in products they usually don't have. A couple months ago, I saw blueberry frosted Poptarts, my very favorite from when I was a kid. I can't tell you when the last time I ate pop tarts was (probably when my mom sent them to me in a care package when I lived in Cochabamba), but I felt like today was a splurge day, so I had one. I have to admit, seeing those little colored sprinkles on top of the frosting actually made me smile. Oh, the little joys of life!

Wednesday was a splurge day with our friends Randy and Dani. We have been wanting to try the quadratracks (4-wheelers) that are for rent in Mallasa, our neighboring community. The four of us convinced the owner that we didn't need a guide and we knew the area quite well enough to feel comfortable on our own. He let us off with his beautiful, red 4-wheelers to zip about the countryside on an amazing, warm afternoon. We started up the cobblestone roads, weaving back and forth on the twisty trail, receiving smiles and waves from the people we passed by in the small towns we rode through. Countless times I thought how blessed we were to live in a country of such majestic beauty and how good God is to sustain us and provide for us in this home away from home.

And today, I am splurging by spending these few hours that Scotty is in Spanish class to check friends' blogs. Internet has become a splurge for us, something we can't take for granted anymore, now that we are living outside of the city and don't have access nearby. It is a joy to hear from people back home and catch up on your lives. We hope you all have a happy new year!

New Traditions

A tradition my family has had since I can remember is eating cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning to start out the festivities. This is one tradition I am happy to bring into my new family with Scotty, although we don't have the ease of popping open a can of rolls, but have to make them from scratch. This challenges my growing appreciation of cooking and I was happy to work on these beauties Christmas Eve, looking forward to celebrating our first Christmas together in Bolivia.

Most of the other activities we had planned this season were new traditions for us. One of our favorites is celebrating the holidays how Bolivians celebrate. This means staying up late on Christmas Eve, counting down until midnight (which is when they celebrate Christ's birth) and then enjoying picana, a meaty soup that is eaten at this time. Then you sit around with the family until all hours of the morning, or until you can't keep your eyes open anymore, which was about 2 for us and our friends James and Julie.

We were invited by close friends on our church-planting team, the Castellons, to spend Christmas Eve with them and get a taste of a traditional Bolivian celebration. We are thankful to have families like this that desire for us to become a part of their family and experience what they do.Christmas day was a great joy for us. We woke up semi-early to share breakfast and gifts together before friends started rolling in about 1pm.

Scotty is sporting his new Bolivian soccer jersey he received from me.

We had an eclectic southern/traditional dinner which included the old favorites like stuffing and sweet potato casserole, but included new foods like grilled sausage, baked beans, coleslaw and cornbread- yum!! Our friend Randy brought his guitar and we sang Christmas carols and praises to our Savior, whose birth we were so happy to rejoice in together. If you know us at all, you know Settlers of Catan is a must when we get together with friends, and even though we were twice as many for this 6-player game, we got a round going that lasted till the evening. Some scattered off, but the die-hards stuck around for silly youth group style games and a movie, wrapping up the day around 2am.


What an amazing way to start new traditions, ones we hope will last for years to come as we make life in a different country!

Nueva Entrada

I'm on a friends computer since we are still without internet and somehow all my command prompts have switched over into Spanish- new vocabulary lesson! It really stinks to not have internet in the house- we are realizing how much we depended on it to communicate with everyone back home, but we are also finding that there is a lot to do without it! These past couple of weeks have been quite busy setting up our new home and continuing with the daily obligations we have. We love our new home more every day and have had many opportunities already to invite people over and share life together. The Christmas season has been lots of fun and I've had several cookie baking parties with various girl friends of mine, enjoying the season together. Tonight, Scotty and I have been invited to our good friends house, the Castellons, to celebrate their big night with a traditional Bolivian Christmas soup eaten at midnight. The festivities usually last till 4 or 5 in the morning, but since Scotty and I want to have a little time to ourselves in the morning to celebrate together before a big group comes over at noon, we will probably not stay the whole time. Tomorrow will be our Christmas cookout, utilizing the barbeque grill we have downstairs, complete with pumpkin pie from scratch (that should be a challenge for me) and Christmas carols led by our guitar-strumming friend, Randy. We're excited about having the celebration in our home and making memories not only for us, but for those who have chosen to spend this day with us. More than anything, our desire is to rejoice in the life we have through Jesus Christ alone, who is the only One who can fill our hearts with true joy.

Keep praying that internet will reach us out in the country- it will inevitably come, we just don't know how long it will take. We miss being more frequent on the blog and hope to insert some pictures for you in the near future. All our friends are close to our hearts and in our prayers- we hope you all have a fantastic Christmas!

Pictures speak a thousand words...

...but I think I should explain this one just a little bit. I had a craving for brownies one night after dinner so I whipped up a batch and threw them into our oven (which is on the fritz) right before we started a movie. A friend came for a short visit when the burning smell reached our noses...a little too late. I tried to salvage my goodies, but the chunk I cut out tasted nothing short of a salty cocoa rock. Don't you hate it when that happens?

Step One: Fluff branches

Scotty and I bought our first Christmas tree this year in the market- it's taller than him! We waited until we moved to the new place to put it up with hopes that we'd bring some Christmas spirit to the place. It really brings life to the apartment and the cats have taken to climbing through the thick branches, and hiding near the base when I come at them with the spray bottle for discipline. We had lots of fun putting it together:

We're in!

Since we live in the “country” now, I’ve had the thrilling opportunity to drive into town on my own to pick up groceries, since there is now no grocery store or market nearby that we can walk to. I’m starting to enjoy the feel of a large truck, rumbling down the dusty paths out of the neighborhood and cruising down the windy roads that sit at the feet of the mountains. As I was heading toward the store today, I found myself really loving that there is no speed limit and then looked down at my speedometer out of habit, and realized afresh that it doesn’t work! I guess it’s a good thing there is no speed limit…

Our move went very smoothly, a huge answer to prayer from our gracious Lord. The day we originally planned to move, Monday, the apartment was still being prepared for our arrival. It rained hard that day and we saw the hand of God in causing us to wait for the next day. Tuesday was sunny and warm the entire day- a rarity here during the rainy season. Wednesday poured, all day. God is so good to us. Friends began to show up around 9 and we began the long trek up and down three flights of stairs to remove all our belongings. Amazingly, we got everything out by noon, loaded into 4 vehicles and one large, moving truck, and headed for our new home. Then we immediately removed everything again and hauled it up another three flights of stairs, enjoying impressive feats of strength and ingenuity by our hired movers who were in charge of getting our heavy furniture up to the house. It was all finished up rather efficiently and we talked one family into letting us take them out for a yummy chicken lunch as thanks. The others had prior engagements, but reminded us again that they were there for us whenever we needed it. Again, God has given us such great friends here that have more than once acted on their claims to help in any way.

So, I am sitting in our new office/TV room, enjoying the view of the lunar-like landscape of “The Valley of the Moon”- a natural tourist attraction that we are about a block from. The mountains rise up red and green all around us, creating beautiful backdrops from all windows. We’ve lost sight of our beloved, snow-capped mountains, but they’ve been replaced by a more rugged beauty of the craggy hills. One massive benefit to being 1000ft. lower than we were in Sopocachi (and having tons of windows) is that our house stays nice and warm during the day. I can actually exist in my house without socks! We’ve already taken advantage of living a mile or so from the international Christian school, Highlands, by walking over there yesterday so Scotty could give a talk to the 5th grade class, taught by one of our good friends, Julie. He also has plans to be a frequent chapel speaker, hoping to impact the lives of the upper class Bolivians and various internationals that attend this school.

Settling in to a new place takes time and tons of work to get all your stuff situated, as well as to buy what is lacking. It’s had its fair share of emotional toil as well, knowing that we are finally in the place where God has called us where we will start a new church, but trying to figure out how to walk ministry out practically, day by day, and exactly how we fit into the plan. We love this new home, but feel a tiny bit isolated, since we are outside of the city. As we all do, we will take it a day at a time, trusting God to reveal Himself to us as we seek opportunities to be involved in the lives of people around us. We’ve put up our 7ft. Christmas tree, so we’re officially ready to be hosts and hope to have many in our house to celebrate the birth of the One who came to give us life!

The week in review

This past week has been a pretty busy one, getting ready for our big move to Mallasilla on Monday. We started out the week on Sunday with another Thanksgiving meal, this one with our SIM family here in La Paz. Everyone contributed to this dinner, making it much less work than the one we put on for the avanzada team. We had a couple, Roxana and Javier, from our SIM team over for pancakes and games on Wednesday morning. We usually meet weekly with the whole SIM team, but they were the only ones who were available this week, so we enjoyed the opportunity to get to know them better and practice our Spanish and hospitality all morning. Tuesday we woke up early to make it downtown in order to wait in line for 3 1/2 hours to pick up some important documents for our car. Thankfully, we had another teammate and our friend Dani, who works for SIM and is on our church-plant team, waiting with us to help make the time less painful than it could have been if we were waiting alone for that long. As we made it to the (1) window that was functioning for a few hundred people, our dance of joy was stopped short when we were told we needed a smaller photocopy of Scotty's passport. We were allowed to the front of the line when we returned with this reduced copy, and then were delivered the news that we hadn't paid taxes on the car this year (being out of the country and all), and that we would need to return after lunch to wait in line again. By this point, we were so tired of standing and so hungry, that we gratefully left with thoughts of a large, Bolivian lunch on our minds. After being recharged by food, we returned with hopes of completing necessary transactions, and only had to wait half an hour or so before wrapping it all up. I think that morning was a reminder of the need to be patient and react "con calma" to unexpected situations that arise -because they will continue to happen quite frequently in this country.

We have also been frequenting the markets daily, comparison shopping for many appliances and other odds and ends that we need for the new house. Unfortunately, we were without camera when a small man of about 65 strapped our massive, Samsung refrigerator to his back and walked it to the truck we had hired to deliver it to our new apartment. There are some things you just have to see to believe, and that is one of them. On our way up to El Alto to order couches this morning, we passed by an attempt to recreate a McDonalds restaurant...notice the elegant terrace seating above. We drove by again at lunch, but apparently, McMoni's is not open for business at this time. A little farther down the road is a driving school, boasting the name "Indianapolis Academy of Driving". It's obvious when we're on the road that most of the drivers received their licenses from this school (or more likely, never got a licence). We're enjoying these last few days in our home, breathing in the breathtaking sunsets we see from our kitchen windows and making plans to eat in our favorite neighborhood steak restaurant before we say good-bye. As much as we enjoy this place, we know it is God's provision for us to have an open door in Mallasilla, being residents there and becoming part of the community.

Food and friends

Oh, Thanksgiving...a day for remembering all the amazing things God has done for us, and sharing time with friends. This day holds special memories for Scotty and me since we met 3 years ago at a missionary Thanksgiving dinner. The following year we spent the day together with Scotty's SIM team, and the next, we were married and spent the day with both sets of parents. Yesterday, a new tradition was started- Lisa cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the church-plant team. This was probably my first time cooking anything for Thanksgiving, much less the entire meal for a group of 14. I had a friend pick up our 26lb. turkey on Monday and send it to me in a taxi (I've never received a turkey in a taxi before). It spent the next few days thawing and spreading bloody, turkey germs to various other food products in my refrigerator. When the big day came, I had already planned out the menu and found recipes adjusted to serve 20 (thinking more of the team was going to make it). Our great friends, John and Michelle, came over to help us set up and get the turkey prepared for the long bake ahead. From sun-up to way past sun-down, we were on our feet cooking and cleaning and organizing the house. As is custom, the meeting started at 8, the last couple arriving at 9:30. This was one time I was not bothered by people showing up late, because the turkey decided it needed 7 hours to cook instead of 5...we blame everything on the altitude here. Finally at 10pm, we sat down to a classic Thanksgiving dinner that I had poured all my energy into, wanting out team to experience the day as we would at home. Thankfully, the food was pretty good and we loved sharing traditions and the history of the holiday with this group of new friends, feeling like they are becoming closer to us. We said our good-byes around 12pm, sending everyone off with a plate of food, did a little more cleaning in the kitchen, and fell into bed exhausted near 1am. I am thankful that God gave us the energy to make it through the day and bless our team with a good evening. I am thankful for a husband who loves and serves me, stopping to pray with me before I had a melt-down when realizing the turkey was not close to done when I thought it would be. I'm very thankful for all the friends in other places who will be reading this and thinking fondly of us- we are thinking fondly of you, wishing we could be with each of you that we love so much.

Adventures in Cochabamba

Scotty and I took a trip to Cochabamba, the city I used to live in, on Sunday. We decided to take the bus, since it only cost $5 each for the 8 hour bus trip. (By the end of this 8 hours, we decided it would have been much more enjoyable and efficient to drive our own vehicle...info we'll store away until next time) We chose our favorite panoramic seats, which are on the second story of a large bus, in front of a picturesque window that allows us to see just how very close we are coming to those cliffs we are driving next to. The views really are spectacular and we settled in with plenty of snacks, a Sudoku puzzle to work out together, and some books to pass the time with. Bolivian bus rides are notorious for showing awful, late 80's or 90's action flicks staring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Swartzenegger, or in this case, Jackie Chan followed by Chuck Norris. It's pretty bad that they're dubbed over in cheesy Spanish voices, but at least they're extremely loud too... On arrival to the smoggy, but lovely city of Cochabamba, many memories came flooding back to both Scotty and me as we passed my old apartment building and headed toward our previous Spanish teachers' house. Mauge and her husband, Jorge, quite excitedly agreed to be our hosts for a couple nights and we enjoyed the late evenings of eating, talking, laughing, and catching up on life. We explored the city, visited old friends, took care of some SIM paperwork, and managed to squeeze in an afternoon at the pool.

This morning we left early to see what bus we could catch and were blessed to find one leaving just as we arrived to the station. We hopped on, paid $5 in total for this trip, and settled in for another LONG ride back home. Our first sign that this was going to be rough was when they put Titanic on the TV. As if that wasn't bad enough in itself (sorry to you Titanic fans out there), the VCD skipped about 2 minutes into the movie and would start over again with a high-pitched Enya singing in our ears so loud that distortion was occuring and deafening decibels were being reached. That only happend about 9 times before someone informed the driver. So, the solution was to put on another VCD of the top Bolivian songs which also was stuck on the opening screen where you select which music video you would like to watch. This scene featured a man singing in a whiney drone, the same 15 seconds of his song, at which point it would start all over again. We were lucky enough to hear those 15 seconds about 20 times so that the music was burned into my brain for the next half hour. I'm afraid we were being brain washed and if I was to ever hear that song again, I might do something terrible. Soon after leaving Cochabamba, we came upon a bad wreck between a bus like ours and a large truck that had probably happened yesterday or sometime during the night. There have been several fatal accidents like this since we've returned and I was a bit nervous at the thought of traveling so far in the bus system, where drivers sometimes drive drunk or fall asleep at the wheel. In reality, there is a small chance that an accident would happen, we are safer going during the day, and God is in complete control of our lives, when we live and when we die. I settled comfortably with that thought and was thankful that whatever was to happen, I knew the Lord and did not fear for my life. We did have our own little blow-out as we reached Caracollo, the half-way, potty and snack-break point. As our bus pulled off the road, a tire blew, but was replaced in the time it took us to share a bowl of soup, buy a 2 liter of Sprite, some bananas, and the famous sweet bread we always see Bolivians buying at this stop. The rest of the trip was uneventful, I finished Don Miller's Through Painted Deserts which I had started at the beginning of our trip, and we happily welcomed the breath-taking La Paz landscape as we neared the city. Our kittens were sleepily awaiting us when we returned to the apartment, and it feels good to be home.
Wandering around Caracollo with my Sprite and sweet bread.

Open mouth, insert foot...

I had one of those moments last night where you think to yourself, "what am I saying??". We met with our church planting team for our bi-monthly dinner/prayer time and I was well bundled because of the prevailing cool temps brought in by the rain. At one point I was attempting, without success, to take off my jacket, which was stuck to my shirt. After fumbling for a few seconds and feeling quite helpless, I asked Scotty for assistance. Then, for some inexplicable reason, I said "This is why I got married, so my husband could help me take off my cloth..." Uhhhhhh....(Face turning red) I stopped talking just in time for everyone in the room to understand what I was about to say. Thankfully, instead of the piercing, awkward silence, everyone had a good chuckle, and I chalked it up to breaking the tension that we've felt a bit upon our entrance into the group. The night turned out well, several of the families were not able to make it, which actually gave us the chance to have more personal conversations with the others. Dinner is eaten here pretty late by our standards, and it seems to be even later than normal on these nights, as there is much talking and sharing before making it to the dinner table. I gulped down one fairly greasy hamburger at about 10pm and was satisfied, but the other tradition of coercing guests to eat more than they typically would won out over my comfort, and I was persuaded to eat another. Finishing the meal off with 2 glasses of extremely bright pink, thick, sugary fruit juice, and I was set.

Before the meeting began, we took a couple on the team out to survey the apartment we are interested in. They fell in love as fast as we did and without another thought, we agreed to rent! That was definitely the fastest important decision/binding contract I've ever made, but we are trusting this to be the Lord's provision for us. We're so pumped! The team agreed they'd help us move the first week of December- another fantastic opportunity to get to know them on a more informal level. God is answering our prayers left and right and in ways that are so obvious to us.

Today started out with our neighbors blaring Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 (why, I ask??) and holds much promise for Spanish classes, signing our rent contract, finally getting our vehicle inspection, and working on our newsletter in between. The sun is shining for the first time in several days and we are feeling blessed to be alive.

4th of July Hotel

Our friend and neighbor, Randy, lovingly named the building that we share as home, "4th of July". Knowing Randy, this is a bit of a surprise because his life as a missionary is almost completely submerged in Bolivian culture. Randy works with men and boys who make their living shining shoes on the streets of La Paz, most to feed families or pay for school. Where Randy is, there is always a crowd. We knew this already, but were reminded of it when we first arrived back to the city and found that there were about 12 people sleeping downstairs, most of whom were travelers on their way through that somehow had a connection with Randy. He recently spent a month in the states, and this was quite a quiet time for us. When Randy left, so did everyone else. Our only reminder of him and the craziness that follows are the Friday night game times when the shoeshiners come over and hang out. Today, we got up extra early on this cold, rainy morning to create a surprise pancake breakfast to welcome Randy and Hannah (another Youth for Christ worker) back after their short trip to the states. There was a group already waiting downstairs around 5:30am, decorating the house with balloons, streamers, napkins, and anything else that had the light blue and white colors of Randy's nemisis soccer team, Bolivar. He has a comrade in Scotty, who is a die-hard the Strongest (yes, "the Strongest" is their real name) fan, dressed to support Randy in his black and yellow ski hat and scarf. Even the cat had to sport the rival teams colors with balloons strapped to her neck (she wasn't happy). Amanda (a new friend of mine travelling through South America with her husband) and I had pancake duty. I haven't quite mastered pancakes in the high altitude, and even though I followed the recipe in an Andean cookbook, they came out tasting and looking more like tortillas. But, we smothered them in icing, and overall enjoyed the celebration that took place early this morning.

This could be the one!

We took a drive out to Mallasilla yesterday to check out an apartment we had heard was for rent. Scotty and I both had expected to stay in Sopocachi for many months, under the pretext of there not being anything available in the community where we'll be doing the church plant. But we've been praying so much that God would shift our hearts' focus to the ministry that He has prepared for us there, and this might be part of that plan! Because it was a holiday and the roads were pretty empty, I decided to be bold and attempt to drive our '86 Landcruiser. Our hopeful apartment is that dark red one on the leftIt's hard to describe traffic and driving conditions on a normal day, but I think the driving mentality is "every man for himself". Add that to the car stalling out frequently from the altitude and lots of steep hills, and you have a stress-inducing, but strangely fun driving experience. So we thought we'd go look at this apartment just to see what might be available in the future and what the rent might be like. After taking a quick spin through the house, where a family is currently living until December, we were in love. It is just the right size for us, including a guest room and future baby room, and a large dining/living area where we hope to share meals with the community we hope to be inviting over. There are windows everywhere, which lets in constant sunlight, and we are high enough (3rd floor) that we feel a sense of privacy, in contrast to the houses low in the valley that could be the object of spectators living on the hillsides. So, pray for us as we try to discern if this would be a wise move. The apartment is the same rent as what we are paying now (a huge surprise for us, knowing that it is a high cost area to live in) and it would be available to us the first of December. ..we're really excited!!

We also enjoyed an evening of laughter and catching up with the Maldonado family, where Scotty initially lived when he came to La Paz several years ago. Nancy and her children and grandchildren live in the heart of the market area in town. Scotty and I weaved our way through people and traffic, glancing this way and that at the plethora of products available in the streets. The Maldonados' door is located between two clothing booths and as soon as you walk into the dark hall that leads down to their apartment and close the door, you can almost forget you're in the middle of the craziness. A typical La Paz meal was served to us and we were welcomed again into the family with extremely loving, open arms. We are so thankful to have relationships like this with Bolivian Christians and pray they will become even more dear to us as time goes on.

A good day

Funny how it's the little things added together that make a really good day. I must say there have been some tense moments in the last couple of days, more challenges in the process of getting used to being a missionary in Bolivia, but also many reminders that Christians will suffer and as a result of those times be conformed more into the image of Christ. I woke up this morning praying that today would be better than yesterday, that I would trust in God for His provision and control over the events of my life- hoping to understand that they are for my good and His glory. I had planned on meeting a friend for lunch, a girl my age that I got to know a little during the women's retreat a few weeks ago. Scotty planned on visiting the boys home where he used to work, checking out the two new homes that they've built since we left over a year ago. We went our seperate ways, each anxious to interact with Bolivians in hopes of forming deeper relationships in our community. Giovanna and I met downtown and walked to a Brazilian restaurant and she promptly ordered the cow's tail special...ick. She encouraged me to try it, only after I turned down the chance to share a plate of pig's feet, fried pork, and deep-fried, shredded llama. How could I turn that down, you ask?? For the next couple of hours we shared stories from our lives, lessons we've learned about trusting in God and being satisfied in Him, and much about our families. I left feeling like I had made a new friend and had a much needed opportunity to speak Spanish and attempt to express myself regarding deeper issues. After parting from Giovanna, I made my way toward the grocery store in search of finding a good ice-cream to accompany the brownies I'm making for friends we are hanging out with tonight. Can you believe I found mocha?? This might not seem hard to believe, but Bolivia hasn't quite caught the coffee craze (not to the extent that Scotty and I are crazy about coffee), so this was another small thing that made my day. Then, on my way home, I decided to grab Scotty's favorite candy bar, Golpe (which also means a hit or punch), as a gift for our one year, 2 month anniversary. :) God is good to bless us with little things that make the tough ones seem not-so-bad.

Crackin' the Whip

Lisa and I have finally decided that Cheddar and Malphurs need to begin pulling their (increasing) weight around here. Up 'til now, they have mostly occupied themselves with eating, sleeping, pooping and attacking each other. But there is serious work to be done in this missionary household, so we have assigned them the chores of filing away our paperwork and replying to some of the emails of our friends and supporters. We hope this will streamline our operation significantly.

Rare Urban Wildlife

Scotty and I had a whole day of "to do's" planned until we headed downtown and it started raining. We waited under shelter for a bit and then decided to scrap the plan of going shopping in the market (which always takes hours) and enjoy our Saturday afternoon doing Sudoku inside our warm, cozy apartment instead. As we walked back, we came upon this sight at the small park down the road from our house. Although there are not too many things that we see here that surprise us anymore, we do live in a very urban area and would have never expected cows in our park. This corner Scotty named "the dog buffet" because people throw their trash here to be picked up by trashmen every night, and until then there are always strays rummaging through for a snack. Today there were cows... These cows must have been mighty desperate to eat trash- and what does that do to their milk??

For such a time as this

This morning was difficult for me, and consequently for Scotty as well. As we are faced with different decisions about where and how to get involved and what is the best use of our time, I find myself confronting fears that I had only a slight idea were there. There are moments in life when you realize what Christ meant when He said that if anyone is to be His disciple, they must take up their cross daily and follow Him. As I come to understand the call that God has on us, I find myself grasping and fumbling to hold onto any scrap of my own desires and bits of my life that I don't want to give up. And now that I am married, I want to clutch my relationship with Scotty to myself and not release that to the merciful hands of God either. So I cry and we pray and I seek my God who has placed all these things in front of us. I took a walk to a plaza this morning, after going through these emotions with Scotty, and opened my Bible to where I had left the marker last. I have not used this particular Bible for more than a year and found that the mark was placed in Ester, right at the time Mordecai found out King Xerxes was going to anhilate the Jews, and runs to Queen Ester asking her to throw herself on the king's mercy in order to save their people. Ester initially expresses a bit of doubt because the king has not called on her for a month and to come into the presence of the king without his call deserves death. Mordecai responds saying, "Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Ester decides that if she is to die, it is worth it to try to save many. Earlier, I had thought about how I can sometimes feel alone, thinking no one quite understands what I am going through and how many people I have left in order to be here. Then comes Ester- a woman who was given to a stranger king in marriage, one who hasn't even seen her for 30 days, and must have felt much more isolated than me. But knowing that she can make a difference to many lives, she is willing to go to her death.

Then I felt compelled to read John 10, in which Jesus speaks of Himself as the Good Shepherd. He says that He has called His sheep by name, they know His voice, He leads them out and goes before them. He says He has laid down His life for us and that He has come so that we may have life to the full.

Such a powerful sense that God gave me as His Spirit led me to the scriptures of His greater plan and His promise to be with us and to guide us. There is much peace in knowing a Savior like that.

La Avanzada

That's the name that our church-planting team has taken on. It means the advance guard or spearhead and seems like an appropriate moniker for our group, which has committed to penetrating Mallasilla with the gospel and establishing a church there. Lisa and I began meeting and reconnecting with members of the team as soon as we arrived, but finally met with almost the whole group last night for dinner. We were welcomed with open arms by these Bolivian families that have already been praying for us for months in conjunction with the many other things they have been seeking God for in terms of this church-planting work. Please pray with us for these families that we will be working alongside of and with them modelling what it means to be the body of Christ, meeting together to exalt His name and fighting together to stay firm in the faith. You will certainly see more of their faces and learn more about them on this blog and in our newsletters, but let us introduce you to Eddie Alarcon and Jorge Vedia, the guys sampling the barbecue above, as well as Fabricio Castellon, Angie Vedia (and Angie's little sister, whose name I forget at the moment), some of the young people who are key leaders as much as their parents. Lisa and I are thrilled with the prospect of going deep with these amazing people, both in personal relationships as well as Bible study and prayer in the months and years to come!

And his name is...

Cheddar! Thanks for all the great ideas for our lovey little orange and white kitty. After much searching and discussion, we have decided that "Cheddar" is the perfect name for our kitten. Gazpacho and Mani (spanish for "peanut") were in high ranking as well, but this one seems perfect and Bolivians also recognize it as a type of cheese. We just finished giving both cats a bath, thinking it would be a good idea to get all the market grime off their coats, but now wondering if we haven't permanently scarred them. Thankfully, Malphurs has taken to washing Cheddar dry since he sat shaking, in a trance, after the bathing and would not move for anything.

I enjoyed my second class with our Spanish teacher, Jamie, this afternoon- feeling like it was a little more beneficial than the first class I took together with Scotty. Jaime has a Catholic background and seems to know a bit about the Bible, even encouraging us to study it as part of class, but as far as we know, is not a believer. It seems he is going through some pretty heavy personal stuff and we are praying that in the few months we spend with him, we might have an opportunity to share the hope that we have in Jesus. The weekly street kid dinner party will be happening again downstairs tonight, so Scotty and I are planning on going down there to see friends and interact with these boys who are so lively and up for fun! Tomorrow morning I head off to the jungle for a ladies retreat, hoping to learn much Spanish and begin some neat relationships.

Proud parents

Yes, today we bought kittens. This has been a dream of mine and something we've talked about doing ever since we got married, and finally we live in an apartment where we can have them! We received a phone call last night informing us that the public transport guys were going to be continuing the strike, so our SIM team meeting was called off for this morning...which also meant our trip up to the market to buy pets was called off too. Much to our surprise, we got another call around 8 this morning letting us know that an agreement had been met by the transportistas and we would have the team meeting. We briskly walked downhill to catch our bus and enjoyed a few hours of sharing, laughing, singing praise choruses, and praying with our teammates- so thankful again for an amazing group of people to support us here. After everyone left, our friend Michelle left her baby boy for the first time for more than a few minutes (in very capable hands) in order to drive us up to the market and help us find where they sell the pets. We had to walk through the American clothes market first, where Scotty found the smashing University of Florida (my alma mater) National Champs shirt, which he is sporting in the picture with our cute little orange kitten. When we finally made it to the pet street, we were bombarded with parrots, rats, kittens, puppies, guinea pigs (which they eat here...not sure if these were pets or lunch), and rabbits. Michelle warned us to watch out for the monkeys, but they seemed to be out of stock today. We searched high and low through the kitten cages, finding it hard to bypass lots of cute faces and meows. But we had high standards and knew when we saw these 2 little ones that they were the ones for us. The grey we named "Malphurs" after a street name close to our old house in Charlotte that we always thought would make a good cat name. The other, who I call "Creamsickle" or "Orangey", has yet to be named. We have high standards for names too and must wait for the perfect name to be spoken to our hearts. We like being cat parents.

Par for the course

For those of you who grieved with me the loss of my first rosemary plant, Herb, I wanted to give you this opportunity to rejoice with us in welcoming "Romero" (Spanish for "rosemary"). He's quite a pretty plant, but I'm afraid I stripped him about bare last night to make a superb rosemary bread...I think it was worth it.

Yesterday was full of plans to hang out with friends and explore the area, attend our first Spanish class, and have dinner with another missionary couple we have not met yet. The not-so-surprising thing was that none of it happened. We were informed in the morning that the first transportation strike, or "paro", since returning was already in motion. It seems that for saftey concerns an overpass is being constructed over a major road in the city, causing that route to be closed for a time while it is under construction. The taxi and bus drivers are not fans of having to change their routes, so they are striking...which means either way they are not making money. Go figure. So, I ended up in the kitchen the majority of the day, baking and cooking and enjoying myself immensely, although wondering if every meal I make will take so long. Meatloaf is definitely not a Bolivian standard, so I thought it would be enjoyable for us to have something that can't be found in a restaurant (unlike the 2 amazing steak dinners Scotty and I enjoyed the other night for a little over $5 total). :) I love sweet potatoes cubed and baked with salt, but that is another root that Bolivia doesn't offer. Thankfully, there are about a million other types of roots that are new to us and available in every market, including a sweet potato-like substitute called camote. Hooray for good market finds!

Sunday was a great day, attending our new church and catching up with old friends. It was an awesome experience to spend much time in worship, appreciating singing praises to our God in Spanish. I was excited to find that I was easily following the message, grateful to hear the gospel preached clearly, and also making little notes about phrases I needed to look up later. During our 45 minute bus trip down to church that morning, Scotty and I realized how beneficial it will be for us to spend that time memorizing scripture- something we are trying to do in Spanish and English. I connected that evening with a good friend, Celeste, who was my roomate for my 3 weeks of training when I first arrived in Cochabamba 3 years ago. She has moved to La Paz and I am grateful to have another person here that already knows me and is so fun to hang out with!

Thank you all for your love and prayers. We very much desire to stay in good communication with all of you, but have already experienced several days without internet- it seems we have a touchy connection. God continues to be so gracious to us, reminding us of His great promises of hope, and giving peace to our hearts.

Settling in

The past few days have been a bit of a blur, except for one day of fairly heavy emotional turmoil that spilled out in several cry sessions with Scotty. There are some fears that I have struggled with off and on about returning to the city where Scotty lived, knowing that he had a busy social life here without me at one time. I oftened wondered where I would fit into it all and how long it would be before I made lady friends of my own or we could make friends as a couple. We have prayed much about certain things that I knew could come up and that we would be patient with the emotional challenges that moving to a new culture brings. Last night we attended a pancake dinner downstairs which included about 25 or so shoe-shiner boys to whom our friend Randy bases the majority of his ministry here. We also invited a few of our Bolivian friends, one of them being Dani, a girl my age who is part of our church plant team. I shared some of my struggles with her and was very much encouraged by her Biblical and Christ-centered response, as well as plentiful offerings to just be a shoulder to cry on or someone who can listen. We've made plans to get together on Monday to tour the area we live in, looking for the best butcher, produce market, and other useful shops. Later in the week I'm planning on joining her and a couple other girls to cook lunch together and get to know each other better. God is so gracious in the way He quickly answered our prayers and has opened up opportunities for me to make friends with nationals here. Scotty also has reconnected with an old friend, Negro, who seems to be growing in his faith and shares similar interests as Scotty. In his last term, Scotty played for a university basketball team and has already visited practice with another team. He's strongly considering playing again as a way to make non-believing friends and get some good exercise.

We're settling in quickly, having taken many trips to the markets to fill my pantry with yummy things to cook with, as well as buying some fun plants to make the apartment feel more homey. We also met with our new Spanish teacher, Jamie, this afternoon and set up a time to get together next week to start our lessons. I was pleasantly surprised to hear him say that we are at an advanced level of Spanish ability and he seemed to wonder why we wanted classes at all.

Tonight we're taking time for ourselves to have a date, awaiting with growling tummies a fantastic Argentinian steak place down the street where Scotty knows the owner. We like the idea of frequenting a handfull of markets and restaurants where we can get to know the staff, hopefully building relationships in the community and becoming familiar faces (I'm sure that won't take too long since there aren't too many white faces like ours!). We continue to marvel that we are back and see the hand of God over and over smoothing the way for us.

We're back!

I've noticed a lot of our friends in Charlotte commenting on the arrival of fall and how much they love that season. Scotty has always said that La Paz stays in a constant state of fall, which I often scoffed at since my idea of fall (being a Floridian) is quite warm. The temps were near freezing last night when we flew in and it was tough to get out of bed this morning into a non-heated house, but I am already starting to see the beauty of cool weather. The skies are often a crisp blue and spring brings a light, refreshing breeze that makes it delightful to take walks around town. I'm dying to get out and walk to the market, buy bags and bags of fresh fruit and vegetables, and reaquaint myself with our neighborhood, Sopocachi.

We were very warmly received by several friends at the airport last night and found out that a huge pancake breakfast had been planned for us that morning with all our good friends, but our schedule was shifted a bit, as is often the case here. Because of mechanical difficulties with the plane, we were sent to Santa Cruz, a large tropical city where we spent the better part of the day. We weren't too excited about lugging around our 4 large bags, 3 of which were overweight (one coming in at a whopping 79lbs!), but got a kick out of watching our bus drivers struggling to hoist them up to the roof of the bus that took us to the hotel where we spent the day. Although we were more than ready to be in La Paz, we enjoyed an "American-style breakfast", warm showers, and a nap in the hotel room- giving us a chance to talk and marvel at being back in Bolivia. After going through the suitcase lugging and heaving experience again, we were taken to the airport and eventually made it on to a very full plane to La Paz. The airport is in El Alto, a large city about 1000ft. above where we live, and the drive down is spectacular. The lights of La Paz were twinkling below as we descended and had lively conversation about the unstable political climate here right now. I couldn't get over how familiar everything looked and how comfortable I felt in my surroundings. I truly believe that the many prayers that have been spoken over us have truly covered our hearts and minds and brought us much peace on entering the country again. Scotty woke up with the common signs of altitude sickness, headache and nausea, so I had a quiet morning to myself, gulping coca tea (which helps ward off the sickness), eating cereal, and reading about Jacob and Joseph. Such wonderful promises God made to that family and His faithfulness never ended, even as they experienced hardships and devestations. We know that God has promised us much, to never leave us or forsake us, and we are leaning on Him for the fulfillment of all He desires to do in us.

I must say I hardly know where to begin! But, for those of you who know us well, coffee is always a good place to start! So, we're heading out now to our favorite coffee shop to grap a cup of joe and some beans to bring back to our apartment. More to come soon...

Mind over Matter

It's amazing how your mind can be transported to a place that almost makes you forget what's really going on around you. Last night we went out for pizza at Satchels, an ultra cool, Gainesville-y hangout with a great atmosphere to celebrate our one month one year anniversary (yes, we're still celebrating the months). Sitting on the "back porch" eating pizza and enjoying the breezy evening almost made me feel like we were at home here. I'm comfortable in Gainesville, feel pretty well connected with our church, and have so many memories that span the majority of my years. The night before that, however, we shared our love, hopes, and dreams for ministering in Bolivia with the college group at the Vineyard. Scotty put together a power point of only our best photos (so as not to put any one to sleep) accompanied by distinctive Andean music. In that couple of hours we were transported back to Bolivia, my heart yearning to be there and walk among those places I have once visited. I woke up the next morning with the vague sense that I was actually there. This morning I spent some time browsing through the blogs of my friends in Charlotte and almost felt like I was back with them, reminiscing about that wonderfully enjoyable year. How quickly we bounce back and forth between worlds...although I think more and more of our mental energy is spent in Bolivia, soon followed by our physical presence. These last few days are looked on with high expectations, knowing that these our our final good-byes. I'm starting to say things like, "This is the last time for years we'll be in Target!" or "This is the last good, American pizza we may eat for a long time." But, more often we say, "This time next week we'll be walking the streets of La Paz!"