Root beer-worthy

From time to time I'll find Diet Root Beer in the supermarket here- one of my favorite sodas from home (I don't drink a lot of soda and prefer the dangers of fake sugar to that of real). I usually buy a couple and save them up until I've had a bad day and need a treat or I'm doing something exciting that warrants an imported beverage. Scotty and I left on Thursday morning for Cochabamba, the city where I worked for 2 years with youth before we got married. There was a graduation going on Friday night for a class that had many youth I very much enjoyed spending time with and we were hoping to see them walk and also visit with some other families we know in the city. Our drive started out eventful...We decided to take a backroad up to El Alto, where you leave the city on the main road heading toward Cochabamba. On the way up, our little station wagon lost steam on a hill (it wasn't even that steep) and Scotty had to get out into the dusty road and give her a push to get us going again. Once we got to the top, we noticed that all the vehicles were suddenly leaving the highway and either turning around or heading out toward the dirt roads and fields that parallel it. A group had gathered and was growing, starting to throw rocks into the street and look ready to throw them at any car that tried to pass the human/rock blockade. We quickly realized that a blockade is not somewhere we, or anyone else, should be, so we followed the public transport vans up and down the rocky backroads until we had driven far enough to get back onto the main road. This had both aspects of a root beer-worthy occasion: stress and excitement! The trip was quick after that and we found ourselves pulling into warm, breezy Cochabamba in no time. First stop- awesome American style movie theatre with food court. Why don't they have anything like this in La Paz?? We caught a matinee with friends, after taking a stroll around the area to find a donut shop (also not found in La Paz) to make me envious of those who live there. Next stop was the SIM guest house where we were hoping to find the parents of one of the youth who was graduating- a family we know and love and spent some time with when we were in NC last year. We enjoyed catching up with them for a few minutes and then Scotty and I had a date at my favorite restaurant in the city. I ordered Surubi in an herbs and nut sauce, which was delicious- Surubi is a large, jungle river fish that makes a nice steak. After dinner and a stroll around one of the more active strips in the downtown area, we headed to our old Spanish teachers house. What a blessing this family has been to us- making us one of their own and opening thier home for us whenever we are around. We feel very comfortable there and amoung friends. We crashed early, hoping the coca tea I drank right before bed wouldn't keep me up all night reliving the memories of Scotty and I falling in love in that place- although that wouldn't be so bad! The next day was full with more running into missionary friends, SIM official business, shopping, and lunch with the same couple that came to watch the movie with us. We began to realize what a wonderful vacation spot Coch will and has become for us as time goes on. Friday night was graduation, the first time I had been back to this Christian school in over 2 years. So many familiar faces! The night went better than I expected- seeing more youth than I thought I would and a few who already graduated that returned from the states for the summer, catching people up on our lives, remembering the joy and challenge it is to work with teenagers. Scotty and I both caught the vision of being more involved in the lives of the youth at the Christian school in our little community of Mallasilla and prayed that when we have high school aged kids, they will have adults in their lives to impact them for Christ. It was so fun to be back! Another good nights sleep and we were on the road this morning. The trip in bus takes about 8 hours, but we shaved off the time to about 4 1/2. We stopped along the way to hike up to some fun rock formations and stretch our legs a bit at a little over 13,000ft. Breathtaking in more ways than one.

Scotty and I enjoying the scenery.

Sometimes you have those little get-aways when you see that God really wanted to bless you, cause you to enjoy your spouse more, remind you of the great relationships He's structured around you. I am thankful for those times and know this was one of them.