Thanksgiving

Well, the big turkey day has approached again and even though most Bolivians don't know anything about this holiday, I'm excited to celebrate tomorrow with our SIM team. We've divided the food list between all the women (I'll be showcasing new recipes for "Bodacious Broccoli Salad", I didn't give it that name, and green bean casserole) and we're expecting a feast. I'm sure if you've been reading my blog very long, you might have, perhaps, picked up on the fact that I'm a foodie. I must admit I am already planning how I will be eating earlier in the day in order to maximize my enjoyment of our lunch. Like most women, I'm preparing myself mentally for the calorie over-indulging, convinced that this one time (and then again on Christmas and probably too many times to count over the year), it won't hurt me. But, all those things aside, I am thinking about the many, many things I have to be thankful for- all from the merciful hand of God:

-salvation, free and undeserved, plus the benefit of getting to know God more day by day

- husband who loves me sacrificially, who is growing in the Lord, and will always be another one of God's unmerited gifts

-parents who love us, support us, encourage us, and are coming to visit us over the holidays!

-a house that is comfortable, with hot water, great views, and 2 adorable, little kitties

-a calling on my life that has allowed me to come to Bolivia and work side by side with my husband, doing the things that God has gifted us to do and learning so much in the process

-hundreds of amazing friends and supporters back home that uphold us in so many ways- we would not be here without you!

There's so much more but I'll save that list for another time, maybe after the big day. Right now I have to go pick up my Bolivian identity card that I've been waiting over a year for. I'm so thankful it's finally done!!

(Here's the damage to last year's bird)

Josue turns one!

Our maid Lola came over yesterday for her weekly 2 hours of cleaning at our house and, as usual, brought her cute little boy Josue. She mentioned it was his birthday and I asked if she had any plans with him. She said "no" and I was quite surprised since birthdays are such a big deal here. We were just at a one-year old's birthday party a few weeks ago that had about 100 people attending, a clown hired to entertain the children, and an endless supply of food. It was a big deal! Knowing that Lola doesn't have a good relationship with her family (she lived on the streets for years to get away from them) and no money, I decided I needed to whip something up quick that would at least give them a small celebration for Josue. I made a chocolate cake and iced it, putting sprinkles on top, and hoped the little guy didn't fall asleep before Lola finished working so that he could eat some and I could take some pics. He seemed interested at first in the cake, but turned out to be more into mother's milk than the chocolate. He nibbled on a piece and I sent the rest of the cake home with her to enjoy later, hopefully with friends or family. It was a pleasure to do this for Lola, a woman we are really hoping to create a close relationship with and help her continue on in the good steps she has taken since Josue was born.

We love Cochabamba!

After a week of hosting our friend Dave and anticipating a busy week this week, Scotty and I decided to take a little break over the weekend to Cochabamba. We met in this charming city and have so many fun memories there that flood our minds upon arriving. I'm always struck with how warm and green Coch is and love the chance to escape there to enjoy the sun and the food- probably what Cochabamba is most known for. I'm a big fan of grocery shopping, yes, it's true, and so treasure hunting in Coch's different grocery stores is also a joy for me. Before even arriving to the SIM guest house the night we drove in, we stopped at the largest grocery in town for a chicken sandwich, potato wedges, and food shopping. We found a few items that La Paz does not have, such as Quaker Oatmeal Squares (Latin American version= tastes a bit like plastic), mango chutney, and fake All-Bran cereal (looks like sticks to me, but Scotty likes them). The guest house is a lovely little oasis in a nice part of town- boasting a large, green yard, blackberry bushes, free granola and puffy, pancake breakfast, and fun, international type people. We spent most of the weekend walking around town (7 hours of walking on Saturday!), shopping in the market that covers a couple square miles, eating, swimming and reading. We were happy to catch an all-day parade and snapped a picture of an interesting traditional dance called the "Tinku" where men traditionally fight each other to the death, but more recently have toned down to just beating the snot out of each other (except in parades). Saturday night I took Scotty to a restaurant called "Bufalo's" which I renamed "The House of Gluttony" with the motto, "Eat way too much and feel bad about it later". Ok, I admit if you have a little bit of self-control, you don't have to bring yourself to the point of bursting, but it's hard. This restaurant is appealing to both men and women. Women, because it has an enormous salad bar with tons of options. Men, because the main attraction is the meat.It's a Brazilian style restaurant which means that waiters are constantly approaching your table for as long as you choose to sit there with various types of meat on a skewer. Lamb, chicken, pork, turkey (wrapped in bacon!), beef (every cut imaginable, and then some), even various organs float by and can be yours if you accept them. I held out for my favorites, the garlic steak and the turkey wrapped in bacon...Scotty was able to put away a little bit more. It boggles the mind and hurts the stomach to see so much meat pass by- it's quite an experience. Then, there's a dessert bar! But, they only limit you to two, as if anyone has room for more by the time they get to that point. Sunday was a beautiful sunny day and we chose to spend it at the pool, which is apparently where most Bolivians with monetary resources like to hang out on Sunday. It is also the day where they triple the amount of food they have on their buffet. Yes, more food. I almost didn't even want to see the buffet after the previous nights all-you-can-eat activites, but as soon as the smells began pouring out of the resort to the pool area, I changed my mind. It was pretty humorous to watch the plates of food walking by, mountains of meat, veggies, and potatoes precariously piled on top of each other. We did notice that Cochabambinos happen to be a little pudgier than our friends of La Paz. I could go on and on about the great things we experienced during this trip and the fun we had, but I'll save some for next time.

La Vida Loca

We were livin' the vida loca this weekend! Saturday morning we got up super early to pick up our friend and co-SIMer, Kathy, from the airport. She's been on home assignment for months and it was a pleasure to see her again and hear how her time in the states was. It was so early by the time we got her and took her home, that we had to wait for about a half hour or so for any breakfast places to open so we could take her out for breakfast. We tried out a fairly new restaurant called Blueberries, in hopes of finding good blueberry pancakes, containing a fruit that is virtually unknown to Bolivians and impossible to find here except in expensive, imported blueberry muffin mixes sold in the supermarket. We had success and chowed down together, catching up on each others lives. I hit the gym shortly after and then enjoyed a nice lunch with my husband before leaving to pick up a friend of his that was arriving that afternoon and is staying with us this week. Our co-workers, Greg and Faith, were also receiving a friend from the states, Dave. Dave is the team leader of the missions team at his church in Chicago and has really been touched with a vision and passion to support us, the Bible Church of Mallasilla, in our search for property. He planned a weekend trip down, only 2 days, to spend with the team, getting to know us and observing and interacting with the church in hopes of finding confirmation for his vision. Saturday afternoon we had a team tea for Dave, giving him the chance to share all that God has done in his heart to lead him here and giving us the chance to share how God worked in our hearts to bring us all onto the church plant team. It was a wonderful time of encouragement, that being a strong gift of Dave's, but unfortunately our friend had a severe reaction to a nutty cookie he ate there and we spent quite a bit of time the rest of the night trying to take care of him. The next morning we were up early again, excited for our 4th church service and a lunch we were hosting for the church afterwards. There are so many different groups of people that are attending the church and we really want them to get to know each other and for us to start becoming more and more a family that loves and serves one another. We thought a lunch would be a great, relaxed time to interact and another chance for Dave to get a feel for the community of Mallasilla. It turned out to be a fantastic time and one of much laughter as we enjoyed the sunny day, roasted chicken, and the company of interesting people. By the time we were finished with that, we had a few minutes to sit at home and talk with our guest before we were off to a final meeting with Dave, our pastor and his family, and Greg and Faith. We spent the evening talking over pizza and hearing more in depth details of how God has been preparing Dave's church in Chicago to partner with us and encouraged the hearts of others there to be involved. He shared the insights he had about our church with us: one being that we were a group that had prayer as a foundation; two, a church with a strong emphasis on bringing praise to our God through all that we do; three, a church that has a powerful gift of worship through music; and four...well, I can't remember four, but it was also encouraging! We stayed and fellowshipped together for about 4 hours before returning home, physically and emotionally exhuasted from the weekend, but intensely refreshed in the Lord and all that He did. And so the adventure of church planting continues, seeing the Lord's firm hand upon us from before the beginning!

Wish you were here!

We knew that starting today, our weekend was going to be a blur of activity, both with church plant related activities and the arrival of a friend of Scotty's who will be staying with us for a week. So, we decided to take a mid-week, two-day vacation to Urmiri, a secluded hot spring a couple hours from La Paz. The last time we tried this trip was the ill-fated, collarbone-breaking expedition, in which we never made it all the way. This time, we had no accidents and arrived just in time for the skies to cloud over and a light drizzle to begin. Thankfully, after a picnic lunch in the car and a dip in the hot springs while it was raining, the skies cleared again and remained mostly sunny for the rest of that day and the next. We enjoyed lounging in the hot pools, napping in big plastic chairs in the sun, reading, praying together, walking, and eating. They've done a fantastic job of filling every space with trees and flowers and there are always birds flying about and chirpping and a general ambiance of tranquility. We chose to camp in the picnic area, under a thatched roof, and when all the lights went out and the sun went down (they don't turn on the electricity if there's less than 10 people staying at the hotel- so no lights to get in the way), we had the most spectacular star show. I think that's the clearest view of the sky I've had, and it was amazing! We slept hard and enjoyed another day of rest before coming home mid-afternoon yesterday. Now, even though it's a holiday here and everything is shut down and people are heading off to the country (or the graveyards to visit their dead relatives- "Day of the Dead" today)- we're working at the office to try to prepare everything for this weekend. What a gift we had to spend those 2 days together, relaxing and being reminded that God is in control!