Vacation!

Scotty just got back from a gruelling 3-day bachelor party hike with his friend Randy that's getting married and other fun boys that live here. He is sore but so happy he was able to make the trip and test his camping/hiking abilities with other manly men. We're off tomorrow on a never-going-to-be-the-same-once-we-have-kids trip to Buenos Aires and Montevideo- woohoo! I'm praying fervently for warm enough weather to enjoy the beach while we're in Uruguay...I haven't seen the beach for over a year and it's about time! So, I might be blogging a little, but I might not. Just wanted to let everyone know. :)

Update

Thank you to all who were praying for our Easter program this weekend. The turnout wasn't quite as big as at Christmas, but there were still around 150 from the neighborhood and we had a good time! Scotty spent the day running all over town to pick up chairs and such and then we went over to the community center early to set up with some friends from our small group. The crowds were a bit slow to roll in, except for the kids, who are easily drawn in to whatever new is going on around them. But, by the time we started, we had a good amount of people and went on with the show. There were some fun videos, a couple Christ-centered dramas, a cute dance by the girls from Sunday school, and a clear gospel presentation- illustrated with powerpoint. Overall, things went well and there were several who raised their hands after the gospel was shared with the desire to receive Christ. And then we all enjoyed munching on huge bunuelos and drinking warm api.

Carmen handing out api with a smile.

Erika and Ana Maria enjoying crunchy bunuelos

Our hope is that God was glorified through all of it and I know that we, as a church, learned much and enjoyed working together.

Easter celebration

So, we've been planning this big Easter outreach for the community for quite a while now, trying to figure out what might be the most interesting to the varied groups that live in Mallasilla, as well as wanting the gospel message to be strongly proclaimed. We've rented out the community center, the same one we used at Christmas, and the whole church is pitching in to make things work and run smoothly. We decided to make the date tomorrow, because the actual weekend of Easter is very much a familial holiday and it's VERY tough to catch people to commit to anything. A young Bolivian guy who works in our office has been canvassing the neighborhood with flyers and Scotty and some of the families from our Bible study will go out this afternoon to make more contacts and spread the word about the event. I'm in charge of the api (sweet, hot corn drink), which requires a portable stove, huge pots (we're hoping for at least 300 people), lots of pacakges of api (just add hot water) and lots of helpers. At Christmas we made hot chocolate and split up into the four corners of the building trying to dish out the drink into tiny styrofoam cups as quickly as humanly possible so that the crowds could enjoy their drink with the bunuelos. Bunuelos are another typical, fried doughy treat that are often eaten in the early morning or at night. Last time there was a small army in the kitchen shaping dough balls and frying up so many of these snacks that we were begging people long after the majority had left to eat another one.
Notice the size and now imagine eating 5, like Scotty...that's a lot of grease. We've got some cute stuff planned with the little girls from the neighborhood, a few dramas, a visual explanation of the gospel on a huge marker board, and a short message from our pastor. Pray that God will bring many and open hearts to this life-changing and hope-giving message of forgiveness!

Funny comments

There are some things people in the states will typically not say to you without apologizing later for being so rude. Here, these comments are harmless and meant as a casual observation and nothing to be embarassed about. They usually are directed to women and they usually refer to your weight. My favorite of late is from my neighbor downstairs- our landlady and surrogate Bolivian mom:

Hortensia coming out her front door as I'm coming in: Hi Lisa! How are you?
Me: Good! How are you Hortensia?
Hortensia: Everything's great! You look fatter, are you pregnant?
Me (chuckling on the inside): Yes. I am.
Hortensia: Praise be to God! Make sure you take care of yourself!!

Would you ever consider voicing those thoughts to your neighbor? I was not at all offended, being now used to the "you're getting fatter" comments that both men and women make to each other. But, I did get a good laugh out of it as I was walking upstairs.

Baptisms!

What an amazing day Sunday was in the Mallasilla Bible Church! We had our very first baptism service with 4 people coming to profess their faith in Jesus- 3 of them having just received this gift of salvation in the last month! It's neat to be a part of something new because all these celebrations are "firsts" and we get to set the tone and the tradition of how we will continue to present these events over the years. Hopefully, before too long we will have our own church building where even more will be able to come and worship and celebrate together. We had the regular service in the morning and then invited the congregation out onto the back porch area of the Alfaros', where we meet. When they designed their house, they believed that God had big plans for it and so built a baptismal on the side for the people they believed in faith would come to know Him in their home. It came in very handy on Sunday! It was a special moment to see these new believers confess their faith in the Lord and come out of the water with huge smiles on their faces, knowing that they have been made new. It was also fun to see my pastor, who typically wears a suit every day of the week, in his shorts and bright orange crocs. :) After they were baptized, they sat before the table of the Lord's supper and we all took communion together, recognizing that our salvation comes from the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and His resurrection- purely by grace. Then, we all stood around talking and laughing and enjoying "choripan", grilled sausages in thick, chewy buns. We finished off the morning, now the afternoon, with a cake and an "hasta luego" to those that we are growing closer and closer to in our church home. What a joy to see God working out His plan through the church in Mallasilla.

Andrea, Ana, Ivan, and Karen

Fun day

Me and Dani on the couch with Astrid (Argentine/German), Julie (New Zealander), and Whitney (American)

Saturday was a fun day. Scotty and I took a walk around the neighborhood in the late morning, very much enjoying the sunny skies and warm temps. On the other side of Mallasilla from our house are several little restaurants that we've considered trying before. These are the types of places that people open out of the bottom of their homes and serve very traditional Bolivian dishes for very inexpensive prices. They cater a lot to the workers that are all over Mallasilla, building homes. One of our favorite Bolivian soups (soups are eaten daily with lunch) is peanut soup- a light nutty flavored broth sometimes made with noodles or potatoes (both, in this case) and topped with little french fries. It's yummy! As we were walking by, we thought this would be the perfect day to sit outside at the little table and enjoy a bowl of peanut soup. It's always fun for us to feel like we're a part of the life of the neighborhood and support local businesses. Later that day, we had a good friends birthday party to attend. Dani is the SIM secretary/administrative person here in La Paz and a great friend of both Scotty and me. She has a passion for the Lord and for serving others and a huge heart for evangelism. She's marrying our good friend Randy, the guy Scotty lived with before we were married, in April, and I get to be a bridesmaid! It was fun to hang out in Dani's house with her multitude of friends and celebrate the life of this great "leapling" girl.

Scotty and the boys