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!"

T minus one week and counting...

From the very beginning, Scotty and I realized that it would be much cheaper to each purchase an extra piece of luggage to check onto the plane beyond the allotted 2 bags rather than try to ship any of our goods to Bolivia in boxes. Scotty found a great rolling duffel bag last week and we were excitedly stuffing all our belongings into our bags this morning, feeling confident that we would have just enough room to take what we wanted, after making some fairly difficult descions to leave a few things behind. I called American Airlines today to make sure there would be no problem with us taking one extra bag each and had the following conversation with a nice latin lady named Elizabeth:

Me: "My husband and I are flying to Bolivia next week and wanted to let you know we were bringing 2 extra bags."

Elizabeth: "Ok, they will take care of that for you at the check-in counter at the airport. Let me just check and make sure there are no special regulations for Bolivia. (pause while searching) Well, it looks like Bolivia has an embargo that prohibits more than 2 bags per person, no matter where you are flying from."

Me: (a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach) Really? Even if we've paid the fees for extra baggage?

Elizabeth: "Yes. Your best bet would be to try to pack everything into one bag and up your weight limit to 100lbs."

Me: "Ok. Thanks for the help." (In my head I was thinking, "how in the world am I going to fit 3 suitcases into one???)

After telling Scotty and both of us reeling from the shock, we unpacked all our bags and started over. Our new strategy includes 101 gallon-size ziplocks, with Scotty trying to break the world record for largest sweater zipped up into a plastic bag. I think he's the winner. So several hours later and most of my summer wardrobe as well as a few very desirable items abandoned temporarily, we are thinking it might be possible. It's exciting to see it all come together and almost impossible to fathom that we will be on a plane at this time in a week. We give much praise to God for bringing in the rest of our monthly support and offers still coming in above and beyond- he is truly gracious.

Sabbath

Yesterday, Scotty had been given the whole sermon time at the Vineyard to share about our ministry in La Paz. He worked for days in advance to prepare a well-structured and applicable presentation with power-point slides. Much to my delight, Scotty is comfortable speaking in front of large crowds, so I joined him briefly at the beginning to intro our time, and then quickly escaped to the balcony to run the power point...possibly one of my spiritual gifts. It went smoothly and we got very encouraging feed-back about the talk and in reference to Cafe Yungas coffee that we will be selling next week. Each Sunday makes us feel even more a part of this church and we are so grateful for their support of us. We spent a fun evening with the associate pastor and his wife on Friday, grilling buffalo burgers (a new one for me) and talking about the possibility of a college team coming in the spring. That is an exciting thought for us!














After church we went to Jacksonville with my parents to visit my aunt, uncle, grandfather, and cousins. I've grown up spending every major holiday with this group and so my aunt got the fun idea about midnight on Saturday to make a Christmas dinner for us since we would not be home for the holidays this year. We came in to see her feverishly running around the kitchen taking care of last minute preparations for the big festivities. We had everything that is on our typical Kincaid/Perlowich menu for Christmas- ham, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, lima beans, green beans, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole (with the cooked marshmallows on top), rolls, and fruit salad (with shredded coconut- my Nana's specialty). And I musn't leave out the pumpkin pie, chocolate silk pie, and key lime tarts. There was even a little Christmas tree set up in the Florida room, complete with our present underneath! All of this my aunt pulled off in one afternoon- we were thrilled and honored. It was a relaxing day with my family and one that will give us warm memories during those times we are missing them.

We continue to be thankful for our time in Gainesville before we leave for many different reasons. A huge one is to be near my family and have the opportunity to spend much time with them and enjoy their company. Last Saturday they took us out to a surprise dinner as a late celebration of our first anniversary. High Springs is a little town nearby that boasts freezing cold springs (go figure) and dusty antique shops. In the last couple of months, in an attempt to add more culture to this sleepy town, a great little jazz restaurant opened called Trombone Charlies. My parents drove us out the back way, through beautiful country roads, in order to confuse us. It worked! I had never seen this place before and was pleasantly surprised by the casual, yet elegant atmosphere and big band style group that entertained us during an incredibly yummy meal (with killer chocolate silk pie for dessert!). Two thumbs up to Charlie and my parents who picked a great double date spot.
Another fun opportunity we had this week was to spend a few nights at the beach. St. Augustine is the closest beach to Gainesville and carries so much history and character. This was the first time we have been on a real vacation since our honeymoon, one that did not include visiting supporters and staying in peoples' homes (although we love that too!). Although we "missed out" on Potter's Wax Museum, the Alligator Farm, and the Pirate Ghost Tour, other interesting discoveries we made were a little, dead hammerhead shark (12" ones are much cuter than the big guys), a huge, beached sea turtle (I'm afraid it was dead too), and fluffy cinnamon and nut biscuits on the continental breakfast bar. The trip was a great way to relax and say "good-bye" to the beach.

A funny thing about preparing to move to Bolivia is the necessity to stock up on items that can't be found there. Since Scotty just started wearing contacts (doesn't he have gorgeous blue eyes?) and I use them as well, we recently ordered enough to last us our first 3 years. After receiving our shipment in the mail today, my mom commented that I reminded her of Mary Poppins in the scene where she repeatedly reaches into her magic bag and pulls out enough stuff to furnish her bedroom. Our contacts kept coming and coming and coming...

The next couple of weeks remind me of the last bit of time we had in Charlotte when we had scheduled a dinner with a different family every night. We are attempting to do something similar in order to see everyone we love here and find much satisfaction as a couple having meaningful interactions, dinners, prayers, and other "normal" life experiences with people. It's good to see how God has uniquely created us and brought us together to so enjoy a ministry of hospitality- something that we will very much love doing together in La Paz. Check your calenders to see how you can take advantage of our open house policy and come visit us!

Where am I again?

It's amazing how much stuff you can still have even after you thought you had whittled down to just what you need to move to a new country for a few years. Scotty's parents assisted us with emptying out our Poindexter home and stuffing full our little red Lexus, building a comfortable cocoon of all our worldy possessions around us. When our possessions starting creeping into my leg space on the floor and threatened to spill out of the side doors when I opened them, I began wondering if we weren't holding on to more than I thought necessary. The good thing is that we'll have a month to continue making decisions on what goes and the rest will stay here in my parent's house. We enjoyed our final evening dining with Scotty's parents and our great friends, Andrew and Laura. We stretched the time, not wanting to say good-bye, by sitting in our empty living room in four chairs while laughing and appreciating the relationship God has gifted to us. I said a tearful goodbye to my inlaws the next morning, sad to know it will be a while before we meet again, and also overwhelmed at the love I have for them and gratitude that we have been formed into a family.


We arrived to our little poolhouse "cottage" on Wednesday evening, realizing that the bed Scotty used there last summer had mysteriously shrunk during the year. The Gibbys, owners of our cozy temporary abode, had spent much time painting and decorating, making the place even cheerier and cuter than previously. We are so happy to have a little room to ourselves for this time we are in town. Scotty and I had a day to organize a bit, and then I headed out of town the next morning to spend a much anticipated long weekend with my best friends in the world. I found myself waking up somewhere in the middle of this thinking, where am I again? It seems we can't stay still for very long. I loved connecting with these girls again, friends who have stuck by me since the awkward, painfully shy middle school years. They've got a lot of dirt on me...or just bad pictures. I was able to share much about our my first year of marriage, reminded again of how much we loved living in Charlotte and loved the people we got to know so well there. I also remembered how good it is to be in deep relationships with people. Now I'm back in Gainesville to stay for a few weeks and we are prayerfully approaching this time with expectant hearts of what God will do here and how He will continue to prepare us for Bolivia.

Last days!

Yesterday we were treated to a church-wide going away potluck at a nearby park with 50 or so of our closest friends. It was a relaxing way to have final interactions with people who have meant so much to us this year and have enriched our lives in ways we never would have expected. God has been gracious in giving Scotty and me peace and confidence that these relationships are not ending, but only moving to a different level. Blogs will take on a new meaning as we keep up with friends, watch their kids grow, and provide a way for you all to have insight into our daily lives in La Paz.

Although yesterday was our official first anniversary, we celebrated on Saturday by filling our day with stuff we love to do as a couple. Pancakes, a long bike ride, movie watching, pool visit, and international cuisine filled our hours with enjoyment as we looked back over an amazing first year of fun, challenge, and much growth personally and as a couple. I am anticipating a new set of dynamics as we learn to be a married couple in a foreign country doing full time ministry. God has been so faithful to us, and we trust Him to continue.

Scotty's parents arrived last night and have already made a huge difference in our packing and preparations. Papi has a mind that must work like tetris, because he is able to load a car, trunk, moving van, or any other empty space to its full capacity, and has been doing the majority of the packing. It doesn't seem very long ago that they were here helping us set up house in our first home- it seems only appropriate that they send us off. I have got the best in-laws a person could hope for!


No, this is not bubble gum in the form of a toilet paper roll- it is the official TP of choice in Bolivia. It may sound disgusting (and it is), but you can often find strips of this paper strewn about the city streets or caught in dry brush on the side of a well traveled country road. Bolivia makes pink toilet paper...bright pink. I think the only other option I've seen is light green, but only rarely. We brought this roll back as a joke for our friend Micah who got married this year, but forgot to give it to him. As providence would have it, we ran out of our cottony soft, snowy white, American TP this afternoon, and now have the pleasure of readjusting our senses to this lovely alternative as just one more step of preparation for our return.

Are you serious??

This may look like an ordanary knife drawer...but it's not. You see, I have made numerous pizza crusts, cookies, and other baked items that called for a rolling pin. Because all of our kitchen equipment was graciously donated to us from my grandmother's kitchen when we got married, I sometimes am not aware of what we do and do not have. A rolling pin was an item that I was certain we did not have. Many hours I've slaved over a ball of dough, trying in vain to roll it out with a large glass covered in flour that did not want to stick to it. If only I had a rolling pin, I thought. But, I don't want to buy one when we are just going to be moving soon (my "miser" side coming out). But wait! As I was cleaning out this very knife drawer, I came upon this rolling pin...it's been sitting there for a year!! Scotty and I both open this drawer at least twice a day, and neither of us have ever noticed the pin sitting there. Words can't describe how silly I felt...but I'm sure you can imagine.

Misers Believe It or Not

There are some strange and wild things happening in the homes we have been visiting lately. Take a look for yourself and be amazed...

Lexi, a young Doberman, has recently joined the work-out craze by spending between 1-2 hours each day jogging on the treadmill. Besides a sleek, muscular body, her owners, Danny and Tabitha, rave about her subdued attitude towards guests in the house after a good run.



















Joy and Nathan Tiegland found this giant zucchini eating all the smaller vegetables in their garden out back. For punishment, we turned him into garlic, zucchini steaks on the grill.

Lavished

While looking for another verse today that sums up what we are experiencing in our lives right now, I came upon one that is even better that I was imagining: "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth." (Ephesians 1:7-9). Can you feel the weight of this verse? Scotty and I have been very aware of the goodness of the Lord as He is working out all the little details that we have been praying about for months. There are so many in Charlotte that we want to spend time with, and even with busy schedules, everyone is falling nicely into place so that we are able to spend much time in fellowship before we leave. We also see His rich mercy in meeting our support needs as new people seem to be coming on so quickly now that we are nearing our departure date. I was thinking of these things as I came across this verse and realized that what God is doing now is gracious, but what He has done for us through His son on the cross, and all that means for our lives, is awesome. He is making known to us His mysteries and you can sense the grandeur of His plan for us, worked out from the beginning and extending through eternity. It is humbling to know that He has a part for each of us in that. It is encouraging for me to be reminded that for us it means living in Bolivia and actively taking part in His kingdom there. This is our dining room in our apartment in La Paz. Our two dads are on the edges, with Randy, Scotty's old roomie, my mom, and Scotty pictured in the middle. We're playing our favorite board game called Settlers of Catan. The sun is streaming in through the corrugated roof in the entry way. I put this picture in because I know that much of our ministry will revolve around this table as we invite people over for dinner or coffee and engage in discipleship and relationship evangelism. This picture excites me to think about daily life and involvement with Bolivians in our home and the ways the Lord will continue uniting all things in Him, things in heaven and on earth.

Stench

Scotty and I were greeted with a blast of rotting meat smell as we entered our house last night. Scotty followed his nose to the refrigerator where we found that at some point during the week the circuit breaker had flipped and our fridge shut off. EVERYTHING that could go bad, did. There was a nice trail of meat blood that had congealed on the outside and in a nice puddle on the floor. Once you got past the smell (actually, we never got past the smell), it was amusing to see our food in various states of decomposition. My favorite was the can of biscuits that I had stored in the door that had popped and jumped from the door onto the shelf, leaving a little biscuit blop behind. We have acrobatic food.


Here is the evidence found in the door, with the rest of the biscuit oozing out of the can on the shelf.


Besides the obvious initial inconvenience, we are so glad to be home and back in prep mode. The rest of our Minneapolis adventure was great, spending much of our weekend with various friends and doing lots of barbequeing. Sunday we attended the "All church outdoor service" at Bethlehem Baptist Church, and were blessed to be commissioned by Pastor John, along with 2 other missionary couples. God is stirring in our hearts much anticipation and desire to gird ourselves with prayer as we look towards these 7 weeks before take-off.

Joe, Scotty, and Kevin. The 2 other guys are actually standing on small stools to try and make Scotty look average height.

Our awesome hosts, Joe and Anne. These 2 little guys are Andrew and Caleb, sons of our friends the Harmes.

Scotty doing the Heisman with Kaya, daughter of our friends, the Vanderheidens.

Dream house

In my dreams Scotty and I have built this house on a hillside in Mallasilla, Bolivia. We eat breakfast on the front porch every morning while our two dogs run circles in the front yard and our kittens lap milk and bread (cat food of choice) from their bowls near our feet. We gaze into the nearby mountains, pondering God's powerful creation and why these knock-off cornflakes taste like cardboard (the really good cereal is a bit expensive there). Seriously, I love this house.

So, besides dreaming about other peoples' houses, we are having quite an enjoyable and relaxing time in Minneapolis. Like it or not, a fair amount of our friends here are out of town this week, so we've found ourselves with more downtime than we are used to on these roadtrips of ours. God has blessed us with gorgeous blue skies and warm, dry weather, which creates the perfect atmosphere to take advantage of the numerous lakes and trails around the city. We've taken many walks together, one of our favorite pastimes, and spent the evenings drinking in the hospitality of our favorite Minnesotans. A new appreciation for this city has been born within me now that the grasses aren't covered with snow and the windows of the homes are left open for the warm breeze. There are little cafes and coffee shops on every corner, as well as a dazzling smorgasboard of international cuisine that brings joy to my heart as I think about how fun it would be to try each one. I can finally begin to see why Scotty holds this place so near to his heart, besides the amazing relationships he has formed with so many here.