Hostess with the mostest

Ok, so maybe I don't have the "mostest" (what kind of word is that anyway?)...but I am really enjoying playing hostess these days. Last week, our friends James and Julie moved in for 5 or 6 days while their parents took over their small apartment in town. I enjoyed waking up early and chatting with Julie before both of us took off to our respective activities of the day. They came home late after a full day of showing the in-laws around town, for Julie, and finishing the last week of teaching high school math and science, for James. We would drink tea on the couches and chat for a few minutes before the 4 of us crashed. The day we left for Cochabamba, Whitney came to stay. She's finishing out her last week with us, having just completed her teaching work as well, and excited to return back to States to plan her wedding which will be in December. J & J moved out on Sunday and so we're down to just the 3 of us- it's like being married and having a great, female roomate at the same time! Whit and I also enjoy hanging out in the mornings and over dinner- she's the type of person who will join in on the dish cleaning and other household chores without being asked. Usually we tell her not to, but she insists. I've prepared a yummy meal of taco casserole for dinner and invited over a handful of our friends to wish Whitney safe travels back home. We'll be driving her up to the airport at about 3:45am. Dang, that's early...

It's a joy to have people in our house. When we were first married, I had to work myself into having people over- it was something I always wanted to be a high value in our family, but I wasn't quite sure how to do it and make it fun. Little by little, my cooking skills increased and I continue to perfect the art of relaxing and not expecting everything to be perfect. Sometimes my herbed potatoes are a little too crunchy or my chicken casserole is a bit bland- but I know that everyone participating is being blessed by the time spent together in a home. Making the connections, laughing with people, doing dishes together afterward- it's all part of the call God has on us to show hospitality to each other. Young, old, single, married- I have been challenged to continually open my home and let people live life with us, even if it's messy. God is blessing us and others in that process, and I hope to continue growing in that way.

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.

Land update

For those of you who receive our newsletters (let me know if you don't and want to!), you know that we have been praying about a piece of property that we found nearby that is for sale. The cool thing is that the guy who owns it did not plan on selling it originally- but because we take lots of walks around the neighborhood and frequently ask about land for sale, Scotty was able to make a connection with Macario and give him our phone number, just in case he ever decided to sell it. Not too much time passed after that before he called and explained that he was in need of money to finish building an apartment complex and he would be willing to talk with us- God's hand obviously at work. We've chatted off and on about the piece, but we weren't quite prepared to offer what he wanted for it. We continued to pray and he asked us to think about raising our offer and getting back to him. We lost touch for a month or so because he was in the process of moving, and we were starting to wonder if that wasn't God's way of showing us that wasn't the land He had for us. But, a day after praying again, on-site, Macario rang us up and wondered what we had decided. We had him over that very afternoon and once again made an offer that we felt good about. He accepted, afer a bit of discussion about it, and so we are one step closer to owning property! Today, we went to see a lawyer and show all the papers to her to make sure everything is in order and legal. In Mallasilla, nothing is very official, and we have heard numerous stories of land being sold to several parties, and then legal feuds resulting to figure out who is the real owner...that is never pretty. So, the lawyer was generally encouraging, although there are a few things of concern that she is going to help us investigate a bit more. We are getting very excited to think we might own land soon. I admit I am a bit scared because the process is something so new and foreign to us, as well as possibly tricky and definitely expensive. But we trust the Lord to provide for us and to take care of us, and we already see how He has given us great contacts in the area to help us along.

Advancing

I'm not sure if we've ever shared what we call our church plant team at this time: La Avanzada. In Spanish, this means "the advance". I think we are all beginning to feel at this point like we are making some great advances. Saturday night we had a planning and strategy meeting- probably the first one we have been able to have in the 8 months we've been here. Getting the whole group together once a week is challenging enough when most work until 8 or 8:30 every night and also have small children to take care of when they get home. Weekends are sacred days for families around here, so it's tough to take time on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon to get together for an extra meeting. However, we've begun to realize that God is doing great things in Mallasilla and there is quite a need for a church to open. This means that our avanzada team needs to move along and speed up the process a little- the biggest concern being that of finding a pastor. So on Saturday, we had a full agenda and a long night ahead of us. Although we had decided to bypass the customary dinner that would be provided by the host of an evening meeting, our team member, Mirta, decided to bless us and the moms especially (as Sunday was Bolivian Mother's Day), with a massive meal of homemade pasta and sauces of all types. Typical to every meeting, we started about 1 1/2 late and were interrupted partway through by a hot dinner, which inevitably wrapped up our discussion session. Even though we barely touched the tip of the iceburg in our time there, we all had a chance to share our feelings on who God had laid on our hearts to invite as interim pastoral leadership. Edgar Mamani is an elder and pastoral assistant at our mother church, and a fantastic preacher. He is from El Alto, and the lower class, but studied to become a lawyer and has moved a bit in the social hierarchy. Because of these two caracteristics, he can reach a broad range of the people represented in Mallasilla. Besides that, he is solid in doctrine, practical in his application of the Word, and a teacher that captures peoples attention and leads them into a desire to know God more. The feeling of the group was unanimous in their desire to invite Edgar to be a part of the team and on this Friday, Greg and Scotty will spend a half day with the elders, presenting our timeline for the new church and expressing our hopes for Edgar. It's an exciting time and we are all feeling that things are finally moving along and that the next few months will be packed full of study and prayer as we seek to follow God in His leadership.

Mallasilla Chalet

For a while now, we've been talking about naming our home in Mallasilla- a good, strong name that eloquently expresses our dreams and feelings about this place. Today, Scotty found the perfect name: In Quechua (one of the 2 native languages) it is called Pachakaya Upki. This translates: Chalet Cat Hair Everywhere. We've found that no other name would quite do justice to the state of our house- and our clothes for that matter. In this chilly city, we live daily in black fleeces, which we have found to be one of the most powerful, man-made cat hair magnets ever created. I think we might need to raise our support levels just to keep ourselves stocked with those little tape roller brushes that take hair off clothes. Scotty has found a new hobby in forming small, life-like creatures out of loose cat hair found in the linens or clothes, and has taken to selling them in the streets downtown. It really is working itself into a wonderful ministry opportunity...

House of Hope

I spent all day on Friday at La Casa de Esperanza- the House of Hope. This ministry reaches out to the prostitutes living and working in El Alto- the extremely poor, fastest-growing Latin American city that lies about 1000ft. directly above La Paz. Right on the main avenue is a simple brick building with 3 spacious stories where prostitutes, or those who desire to leave that line of work, can come to receive lunch, a place for their kids to play, and love. Although I know a couple girls who work in this ministry, I haven't previously had the opportunity to see the home. Today is Bolivian Mother's Day and so the ministry decided to throw a party on Friday. We were invited to help out with kids program, entertaining and loving them while the moms were blessed with a time of music, food, and laughter. A praise team from our church, La Comunidad, came to sing praises and encourage those who know him to do the same. Unfortunately, the majority of the women are not that far along yet, and mostly ignored the music. We had about 30 kids of various ages upstairs and enjoyed singing, making crafts, eating, and watching a video with them. I couldn't help but wonder if most of these kids knew their father, or even if their mothers knew who the father was. I silently prayed for them, asking the Lord to be the perfect Father that they will never have on earth. 500 women were invited and there were probably around 200 that were able to come. My directer friend told me that getting them out of bed that early (12:00pm!) was a challenge and she was impressed with the group that arrived. The women seemed to enjoy themselves immensely and I enjoyed a peek into the work my friends do as I asked questions about the House of Hope. It's a tough ministry, something you can be involved in for years and see little fruit. Most women don't want to get out or try for a little while and return. One of the women that they've been working with for years was murdered in a brothel last week. It's good to know, however, that there is a place of hope, and I trust that in God's goodness and his time, many women will find peace there.

Tag- I'm it!

My good friend Kelly, in Charlotte, tagged me a few days ago. I actually found it difficult to think of 8 little known things about myself that I actually wanted other people to know!

Here are the rules: Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. My roomate in Cochabamba convinced me to try a cooked guinea pig leg that she had brought home from a rural town...claws still attached (and a couple strands of hair). Do not try this at home.

2. I was frequently mistaken for a little boy toward the end of my elementary years- that is not helpful for a little girls self-esteem.

3. I can pop my shoulder on command.

4. My favorite stuffed animal is a ratty, pitiful looking baby duck named "Chicky" that my brother bought for me at a garage sale when I was about six (I still have it).

5. It is physically impossible for me to turn away a piece (or 3) of birthday cake.

6. If I could choose to have a career in the arts and be endowed with a God-given skill for it, I would be a dancer.

7. I work sauteed onions into almost every meal I cook.

8. I have been spit on my a llama.

PS. Sorry if anyone is offended, sadened, or grossed out by the cooked guinea pig picture.

I tag:

Timara

Julie

Annette

Mara-Liisa

John/Michelle

Sara

9. I only have 6 other blogging friends that haven't already been tagged by someone else.

10. I don't know how to make my friends names be a link to thier blog...lame!

Lustrabotas

Llamas causing a traffic jam

A funny thing happened on the way downtown yesterday. We got on a busy highway that leads from our side of town up to the center. It was early morning and the cars were beginning to clump together a bit, leading us to believe it was only a result of work traffic. As we moved forward a little, we noticed a large herd of llamas trotting down the sidewalk with 3 herders doing their best to keep them out of the right-hand lane. Well, llamas obviously never learned the rules of the road because they kept wandering out in front of cars and generally causing chaos. It's a funny thing to see fuzzy llamas moving down the highway and even more perplexing trying to figure out where they came from and where they were heading- there aren't too many pastures or fields in the La Paz area...

So, our purpose for going into town was to meet up with a group of shoeshiners who are in the testing phase of a new tourism project. First, a little history on shoeshiners. Bolivia is littered with hundreds of these mostly young men (although there are some older men and some women) who spend anywhere from 6-12 hours on the streets a day to shine shoes for about $.06 per shine (whoa!). They tend to wear ski masks and hats- some say to block out the fumes from cars, but most admit it's because they are embarrassed of what they do for a living.

Me and Julie with our shoeshining friends.

There are a good number of kids who live on the streets that shine shoes, but most shiners are actually just trying to make a few bolivianos to help out their families or get themselves through school. They are looked down upon by the rest of society, often blamed for thefts on the streets, and according to Lonley Planet, are a general nusciance. We've had the opportunity to get to know a few guys through the ministry of our friend Randy, who spends time with these young men, teaching them about God and encouraging them to rise above the stigmas that are placed on them and make a way for themselves in the world. There is another NGO here that is also encouraging the shiners and supporting them in a new business venture that was birthed by Wilmer, a 25 year old shoeshiner who is determined to do something more than shine shoes all his life. His idea, and now the idea of many guys, is to invite tourist groups to come and learn about what they do. You are given a mask, gloves, old clothes, and a hat, as well as your own shoe shine box and materials. The guys demonstrate how to shine and then give you a chance to practice on them before you hit the streets, dressed anonymously as a Bolivian shoeshiner. As you walk, they explain the ins and outs of shining, joining specific associations that give you the right to shine in a certain area, and the average salary of a shiner (between $2-$5/day). Then, you split up, each person or small group of people having a shiner as their guide, and you shine shoes. Initially, I was intimidated by the people walking by, knowing that they were all usually in a rush, and lacking confidence in my new shining skills. But Ramiro, my guide, would send all his business my way and encourage me along as I shined. I gratefully received my first $.06 from the mother of the little boy whose shoes I had just shined, and my confidence and excitement grew. We sat on our tiny, wooden seats for a little while longer, chatting about the life of a shoe shiner, Ramiro's excitement for the new seminary class he just started, the home church that recently began meeting in his home, and his hopes for the future. He's 26 years old and has been shining for 13 years, always with the intent of helping contribute to his families needs, and now to help him finish college and continue with seminary classes. Most people look right through him when they walk by. I shined one more man's shoes before we got up and the official history tour began. Ramiro took me through the downtown area, showing me the well known plazas and sharing information on the government and different phases of Bolivia's history and culture.

Why is that big gringo shining shoes??

After a few hours of shining and walking, we met back up with Scotty (who makes one big, scary shoeshiner) and our friend Julie to head back to their office. We had a small wrap up session and put in our thoughts about how they can improve and then enjoyed a typical (huge) Bolivian lunch with the group and a bunch of other shoeshiners that come to shower and eat in the building. It was the first time I have ever been able to go out on the streets and blend in as a Bolivian..what a strange feeling!

Would you be able to recognize me?

I'm hopeful for this team that their project will be a success and a way of opening eyes to who shoeshiners really are. I'm grateful we had the chance to experience a few moments of life in their shoes.

Shining shoes in front of the plaza San Francisco

Mount Illimani

Illimani is the 2nd highest mountain in Bolivia, measuring 21,122 ft, and can be seen in all its glory on any clear day from La Paz. It is a mountain that commands awe from those who see it towering high into the heavens and holds legend in the minds of Bolivians and foreigner alike. May 1 is Bolivian Labor Day and apparently a very popular holiday around here (realized by us when we were serenaded by booming music a block or so away from dusk until dawn on Labor Day Eve). Since everyone has the day off, we hooked up with our adventurous friends James and Julie to take a drive out to Mount Illimani. I was praying for no clouds- they have a tendency to congregate right on top of the mountain, hence blocking our astounding view of the snow-capped peaks. We started from our end of town, weaving farther down into the valley, losing thousands of feet as we drove toward the mountain. The most exciting part of our trip was when we came to a river crossing and found a small Bolivian man running around in his underwear, attempting to free his car from the grip of the water and mud. Thankfully, our travel partners have braved many a river crossing much deeper than than one we were at and were able to encourage us in the ease with which we could take across our landcruiser. James first tested the depth by hiking up his shorts (at least he kept his pants on) and walking across to feel for large rocks. After we made it without a problem, we decided to test the winch on our car, which we've never used, in order to help our pants less friend (his wife sitting in the car looking less than pleased) make it out. We hooked on to his little Russian sedan and towed him to dry land. With a huge smile on his face, I asked him if he had crossed these rivers much..."All the time!" was his response with a laugh. "In that?" I asked, motioning toward his little, yellow vehicle. "Of course!" He then informed us that there was a deeper river just down the road and we could follow him so that we could pull him across that one too. Happy to oblige and enjoying the interesting stories that form along the way, we continued bouncing along the dry river bed to the second river. Here, a car had to enter a bit upstream, drive a few feet down the river, and exit on the other side. After successfully trying that once, we headed back into the river to hook ourselves on again. This time, we had to stop in the river, at which point our friend Julie noted that the car was starting to sink down bit by bit. This was slightly frightening to me, imaging nothing devastating happening, except the engine flooding and being stuck in this valley for a good long time until someone could help us out. Thankfully, we were able to attach ourselves in time and backed our way across the river with Pablo and his wife in tow. We exchanged handshakes and phone numbers at the end with Pablo's assurance that if we ever needed a mechanic (his profession), he was available to us. We continued on our way, climbing higher and higher to our destination. We finally ran across a small town where we decided to park the car, asked some young guys who were hanging out in the plaza if there was a hike to a good look-out for Illimani, and began our walk. It wasn't long before we came to a peak and found a great view of the mountain, although the majority of it was covered in clouds. We took the opportunity to snap a few pics of each other and then descended, all of us already tired from the 4 hour drive. The most memorable part of the trip for me was when we stopped to pick up a couple that was waiting on the side of the road for a bus. Country folk will take any mode of transportation available to get into the city. While we were loading their stuff onto the top of the truck, an elderly woman came up to my window to ask for a ride. I told her to jump in the back, but before that, she signaled to a group of others that none of us had seen, and they all came running down the road to hitch a ride with the gringos. Now there were about 7 trying to squeeze in the back seat of our car with their huge aguayo sacks, full and tied to their backs. We tried to tell them we only had room for 3, but they were already in and they weren't moving. Poor James, who was on top of the roof loading their stuff, was not left a space to sit. We asked them politely to get out, then we asked them a little more firmly to get out, than we told them we weren't going anywhere and started taking their stuff off the roof. "But there's only a few of us! We fit fine! We don't have that much stuff!" Oh boy! They only conceded to getting out of the vehicle when they saw their stuff sitting on the ground behind them. So, muttering prayers of thanks under our breaths, we continued on with the original couple and made it home with fun memories of a good day.

Catching up

Since returning from Spain, our time has been spent trying to catch up on life we missed while being away. For me, that took the form of doing homework everyday for my ESI class. For those of you who haven't heard about this class, it's called Equipping Servants Internship and is a rigorous 2 1/2 year study of the book of Romans and various other textbooks covering useful theological issues (we are reading through How to Interpret the Bible by RC Sproul right now- inm Spanish!). We only meet once a week, but the information that is covered and the homework assigned easily fills up the week preceeding the next class. My class is the first one offered for women, being something aimed at pastors and church leaders, the original idea was for men only. The cool thing is that it has had such an impact in the lives of Bolivian leaders that their wives are getting excited about studying the Word too. So, I have joined the first women's ESI group and am finding it an incredible challenge to study these concepts in Spanish, but such a rewarding and fascinating study of God's message to us. Tonight I have to lead class and I'm pretty much terrified. Let you know how it goes...

We also had the chance to see our new friends in Mallasilla that attend a Bible study nearby. They were wondering where we had gotten lost (the literal translation of how they ask where you've been after a long time) and welcomed us back with warm hugs and big smiles. Their news, which they had been sitting on, eager to share, was that they had spoken with the neighborhood group that owns a building in the center of town about our church plant team, and we were offered to use the buliding for free! The thing that makes this extremely exciting is that these people are most likely comitted to worshiping the earth goddess and have no impulse whatsoever to spread Christianity here. Our evangelistic friends from the Bible study also reminded us how ready and willing they are to help if we want to start meeting here on Sundays to do a kids club, at least until we have a pastor and are ready to open the church. More and more people in the neighborhood smile and say "hi" as we walk around, giving us the impression that God has been preparing the way and is bringing things to a point where we can really start diving into ministry here. It's so exciting!

Another new development in the last week is related to the on-going process of looking for land to buy with the future intent of building a house. We found a piece of property that we like very much and had the chance to meet with the owner last week to discuss a price. His offer is quite a bit higher than we were hoping, but we have reason to believe it is a very reasonable price and one that we are definitely praying about. We're dreaming about what kind of house we would build there, spending time in our upstairs prayer room that will look out over the rugged Andes, and imagining our little kids playing in the yard and with the neighborhood boys and girls that are always out on the streets.

So, that's the update. It seems that there is plenty to do in the next few months- so many changes still happening within our church plant group, the prospect of teams coming in the summer, looking for an office so that we can finally have highspeed internet and communicate better with all of you... God has richly blessed our lives, our marriage, and our ministry. We are content serving Him here in La Paz.

Spain

Some of our most devoted readers might be wondering where we have been for the past couple of weeks. The answer is: Spain! Scotty has a love for the country and has been wanting to introduce me to it ever since we've been togther, and we decided that there's no time like the present! So, a little over 2 weeks ago, we began the journey with a gruelling 13 hour plane ride, in which I didn't get up once. Whoa! We landed in cold, rainy Madrid and the party began. Our plans had us staying a few days in Madrid, 5 days in Sevilla, and 5 days in Barcelona. I was immediately impressed with the beautiful architecture, the metro system, the strange way Spainards speak Spanish (versus how Bolivians speak), and the sheer quantity of bars and cafes. We spent a good deal of our time in these cafes, sipping cafe con leche, reading, working Sudoku puzzles, and chatting. When we weren't sitting in cafes, we were exploring the cities on foot, stopping every once in a while to take in an art museum or cathedral, but mostly doing our own tours. We made up a game I call "If you had to..." which consists of questions like: "If you had to pick one of the 3 cities we visited to live in, which one would it be?" or "If you could bring one pet back from the dead, which one would you pick?" or "If you could take one piece of this art home, which one would you take and where would you put it?". We amused ourselves for hours with this game and learned a lot about each other too. Now for the highlights: in Madrid- the Prado art museum (I've only seen that stuff in books before!) and the awesome Sunday market that has everything you could ever want to buy at reasonable prices; Sevilla- the bullfight (I didn't think watching a bull being killed would be interesting, but they've made it an art form), Alcazar gardens, eating pastries; Barcelona- the beach!! renting bikes and touring around the town, great food, gorgeous old buildings and plazas. Barcelona was by far our best stop- mostly because it was the only city where it didn't rain and it was warm.

We're super happy to be home and this trip not only served as a rest time for Scotty and me, but a chance to miss La Paz and the community we have here, feeling all the more thankful for it when we came back. What a gift to be able to take a trip like this!

No, this is not a reference to my husband (although he is a bottom-of-the-toothpaste-tube-squeezer), but a fairly hilarious sign we saw outside of a store we were in the other day. The advertisement should say "Super Canal" which is cable TV programming. We had a good laugh.

Tuesday was Scotty's birthday and I had plans to celebrate all day. It all started with a waffle breakfast- definitely one of his favorite ways to start the day. I had a picnic planned, with one of my favorite dishes, quinoa and black beans, for a great overlook in Sopocachi near where we used to live. Unfortunately, it was raining when we got there. Not to be daunted, we decided to party in the car, busting out the Superman Returns plates and cups, and enjoying a yummy meal.

Afterwards, we snuggled into a cozy corner of Alexander's Coffee shop to read and eat a nice apple coffee cake I made, which I accompanied with quiet singing of "Happy Birthday", so the rest of the patrons didn't gawk. We took in a Bolivian flick, which we were thrilled to understand all of, although the rest of the movie wasn't much to comment on. A tour of a few art galleries and some walking around followed, ending with a great dinner at a small, local place we used to frequent when we lived nearby. It was a joy to celebrate the life of the man God has blessed me with as my husband.

Tonight, we took a walk around the neighborhood and ran into a little girl whose parents we just met a few days ago. She chatted away with me while we looked at a potential piece of property we could be interested in buying and then left her, only to run into the maid that works downstairs in our building. We love Margarita and her great sense of humor and were pleased the she decided to come with us on our walk. We had great conversation and I feel like there will be many more opportunities to spend more time together. I've shared an interest in learning how to cook Bolivian food and so she is ready and willing to have me come downstairs some day and watch her prepare lunch (the big meal of the day). We'll see what God does!

Good-bye Michelle

There's an interesting movie Scotty and I watched one time called Good-bye Lenin. In this story a German, teenage boy is trying to protect his emotionally fragile Mom, who was in a coma when the Berlin wall came down, from finding out that there was no more East and West Germany (her husband had left them to start a life in West Germany years earlier). This kid went to great lengths to shield his mom from media, even playing recorded shows on TV for her, to keep her from facing the harsh reality. Sometimes I think we wish that certain realities that are tough could be smoothed over for us, that we could live in our own fantasy world with life ordered just the way we like it so that it wouldn't be too upsetting. I've made an amazing friend here named Michelle. John and Michelle had recently come to La Paz as Scotty and I were making our exit a couple years ago. In the first few days after returning, John and Michelle invited us over for dinner, and we realized something that we hadn't had a chance to realize before- we really enjoyed each other! The past half year (has it already been that long?!) has been enhanced by the time we've spent with this couple...laughing hard, watching movies together, sharing our struggles in life and ministry, trading favors (we watch their baby in exchange for free internet and phone calls home from their house), cooking, and generally connecting on levels that we aren't able to reach so quickly with most people. Michelle has a gift of encouragement and has used it quite effectively in my life to pull me out of the dumps I have been in. She has incredible gifts for working with street kids, an amazing work ethic and ability to adapt to many different situations that most people would crumble when presented with, a heart to bless others through friendship and hospitality, a skill with food that has pleased my hungry tummy many times over, and a selflessness that comes from a deep desire to serve God. John and Michelle have been fierce competitors in Settlers of Catan and even introduced us to the next level of fanaticism by teaching us Cities and Knights of Catan. Michelle even helped me pick apart my first, enormous turkey last Thanksgiving. I couldn't ask for a better friend and know that another friend just like Michelle will not come along. But I am up to facing the reality that her body can not handle the altitude that we live in. Although she has been relatively OK up until this point, her heart is no longer coping and she has strict instructions from her doctor to return home. Chances are slim that John and Michelle will be able to return. I am grateful for the time God has given us to be together, to share life in so many ways, and for the knowledge that our friendship will not end when she leaves this Sunday. But, I would like to take the opportunity to share with you who she is and how she has brightened my life.

Spymara

So you know how people say "Spanglish" when referring to a person speaking a mix of both Spanish and English at the same time? Well, we visited a rural church out in the middle of nowhere today whose pastor was speaking "Spymara"- a mix of Spanish and Aymara. Aymara is the native language of the people of the region we live in, an interesting sounding language that has nothing at all to do with Spanish. Our team leaders were invited to celebrate the 4th anniversary of this tiny church, 3 hours from La Paz, that they helped get started. They thought it would be a perfect opportunity for the church plant team to travel together, support this body of believers, and work together to bless them. So, we set out early this morning, heading toward Chile, and arrived just in time to hear the preacher in this new, fascinating language I have titled Spymara. The people of Santiago de Callapa (the town's name) welcomed us with open arms and big smiles as we packed into the back of their tiny, one-room church. They gave us the opportunity to share a word, a puppet show for the kids, and teach them how to make salvation bracelets- the ones with the 5 colored beads that help kids to remember different parts of the gospel. I had several older women give me huge, wet kisses on the cheeks and bear hugs as if they were greeting an old friend they hadn't seen for years. We were prayed for by several as the "missionaries from far off countries", which humbled me greatly seeing as though I don't feel that it's as difficult to live where I do in Bolivia as these people who hardly have the bare necessities. After our time in the service, we were hardily encouraged to come join the congregation for lunch, which can always be a scary prospect as many foreigners who spend time in the country come back to the city with plumbing issues (or nasty stomach problems, if you aren't catching my lingo). I'll leave you with a nice photo revisit of our trip:

The building with the flag attached is the mudbrick church that hosts about 20 members. In front are some of the kids from our church plant team interacting with the kids in the community.

Men. Most of the hombres we met today were middle aged to old(er). The two lighter skinned guys kneeling in the front are Greg (left) and Gigi, one of our church plant teammates.Laughing ladies. These women from the church are chowing down and enjoying each others company after an all-night prayer vigil and long church service this morning. You might think this was someones storage room, but it's actually the kitchen! Here, many, many bowls of food were created for about 50-60 adults and children. I'm not sure how many animals had to be butchered to feed us, but I know that Bolivians tend to be quite generous and go a bit overboard for any type of celebration. We were definitely appreciative of thier kindness and sacrifice.Here is lunch- a massive chunk of dark, greasy sheep, a salad, potatoes, baked plantain, and chuno (a potato relative that has been freeze dried repeatedly and rehydrated- not so yummy). I barely ate half of my portion because the custom is to load the bowl (so as to fit more than a plate) with as much food as it will hold. Well, my stomach would not hold this much and I was a wee bit scared of the salad which had most definitely been washed in tap water (dirty!) or not washed at all (even dirtier). Thankfully, I have not had an instance of getting sick off country food yet, praise be to God, and I am still feeling fine now, some hours later. You are expected to eat all the food, and the locals never have a problem with this, but us gringos tend to be less skilled in this arena. I usually will finish even if I'm bursting at the end, but I just couldn't do it today.

We were thankful to have the reminder of the simplicity that most Bolivians live in and the perspective of rural church life and the struggles they face. Sometimes we can too easily get caught up in the lives of upper class, which is what we would be considered here and the majority of the people we work with. After coming out of a very sobering movie last night, I was confronted with a small band of young shoe-shiners- a very common profession for young boys (and some girls) in the city. They were working late and they were all very obviously high from sniffing glue. One of the boys happened to be Miguel, a kid of probably 10-12 years of age, whom we had seen the day before and promised to bring him a pair of shoes on Monday, meeting up at that very theatre that we had just left. Miguel was a boy Scotty had met years ago when he would go out onto the streets late at night to play soccer and try to befriend the kids, and was high enough to mistake Scotty for another guy who probably comes out to visit as well. Most street kids have no desire to work, but we were encouraged that Miguel was shining shoes. It was a hard reality for me to see, a few of the many who live on the streets, and one that we know personally, abandoned and high. There are many needs in Bolivia, and the greatest is the hope of the gospel. I am being confronted often these days with this truth.

Napoleon dodgeball

Introducing Napoleon, Kip, Lafawnduh, Deb, and Uncle Rico. These 5 signed up to play in a dodgeball tournament today and decided that their theme would be Napoleon Dynamite. We had a spaghetti dinner last night, with the movie playing in the background for inspiration, and discussed the various plays that would be used to crush the opponents. I don't think I've laughed so hard in a long time when I saw the team all come out, dressed up as their characters. When they initially came out onto the gym floor, they reinacted a few classic scenes- Napoleon pulling Kip into town on his rollerblades, Deb snapping Glamour shots pictures, Uncle Rico throwing the football (and basically acting like a fool), Lafawnduh meeting Kip at the bus station, and the whole team doing interpretive sign to music. They were a hit with the audience and are doing pretty well in the actual game too. As I type, they are still playing, so I'll have to get back to you with the final outcome. It's fun to be married to Napoleon Dynamite.

It's my birthday!

Ok, so it was yesterday, but here's a recap of one of the best birthdays ever!

Scotty informed me last week of his plans to take me to Urmiri, a location in the middle of nowhere (literally, there is nothing for miles around except tiny agriculture fields) that boasts hot springs! We woke up early on my birthday, I made blueberry muffins from a box that my great friend Laura sent me, and we took off early enough to make it to Urmiri before lunch. The hotel that sits on these hot springs is a branch of one that is in town, so we made early reservations last week. They warned us that if there weren't 10 people staying at the hotel, they would not be turning on the electricity because it is apparently run by motor and too much trouble to deal with if there aren't enough people. But don't worry, they assured us, the hotel will provide candles. So, after a 2 hours drive through the altiplano (the plateau outside of La Paz that sits at 13,000ft.), we started twisting and turning down a dirt road into a small valley nestled between gorgeous, green mountains. We had prayed for good weather and God chose to bless us both days with sunny skies all day- something we haven't seen around here for months because of the rainy season. We popped out of a short tunnel and came upon the large, melon-colored Hotel Gloria. The hotel itself has charm, but is fairly old and basic. But the grounds have been taken care of and are obviously undergoing continuous improvement. There are flowers of all colors planted everywhere and springing out of large pots wherever there is room for them. The hotel has several different pools fed by the hot springs, and one natural pool where the water falls into from above, with a little stream of cold water piped in just so it is comfortable enough to stand. There are trails winding through the surrounding mountains leading to incredible vistas and other little grassy areas well-manicured by the hotel. I found a little stream on one of the trails and stuck my foot in the water, but it was too hot to even stand for more than a couple seconds! The awesomeness of God's creativity and beautiful creation really impacted us in this place. We spent the afternoon exploring, hiking, swimming and sunbathing- my ideal for a birthday (or any day, for that matter!). It turned out that we were the only guests that evening, so we shared a yummy dinner alone in the dining room, enjoying the attentiveness of the kitchen staff, and returned to our dark room (remember, no electricity) to watch a couple movies on a borrowed DVD player that had just enough battery power for that. Before movie time, we took a walk out to a covered picnic area, Scotty wearing his headlamp, that rested on the side of a mountain to watch the stars. I don't think I've ever seen so many stars at one time before. The sky was black and clear and it seemed that you couldn't focus on one spot in the sky without eventually seeing a star appear. It was breathtaking and a perfect end to a wonderful day. This morning, we enjoyed the dining room to ourselves, once again, for breakfast. We took a different trail up a mountain, led by two collies that live at the hotel, and spent some time in prayer as we looked down over a valley far below. What a merciful God we have to provide such creation for us to enjoy and to remind us how great He is. I'm thankful to be married to man who enjoys treating me to a short time away, celebrating my life and all that God has given us in marriage.

Did we make a mistake?

So when I went to go pick up the kittens from the vet, their eyes were dialated and they were "drunk", as the vet explained they would remain for the rest of the day. They looked fine and were still alive, although they had these large bandages wrapped up to their armpits on both front legs. I asked how long the bandages had to stay and the vet told me 15 days. 15 days!! How in the world was I going to keep two kittens from tearing off bandages for 2 weeks? Well, the question was quickly answered when they both managed to pull them off, even in their drunken stuper, the moment we returned home. They seemed quite confused and irritated with these inhibiting wraps, their little legs extended and crossing over themselves which made for a lot of falling over and tripping. It was quite funny for a few moments, until the bandages came off. Then, I started panicking and imagined all the stitches immediately popping out, blood pouring everywhere, resulting, I'm sure, in amputation of both paws. Then they decided the litter box sure looked interesting and why didn't they fall into it so that they could get infections as well.... We finally managed to call the vet, both trying to hold squirmy, intoxicated kitties so that their precious feet wouldn't touch the ground, who told us to come back so she could rewrap them. Hmmm...30 more minutes back up into town, or a vet that is just down the hill from us (that we hadn't yet visited)? The answer was clear and so we packed Cheddar and Malphurs back into their cage and booked it to the vet, while I tried to hold back my tears of fear. Did I happen to mention that in my conversing with the vet who did the surgery, I found out this was the first time she had ever declawed a cat (except in school, of course)? Oh, yes- that was extremely encouraging. So, we arrived at the new vets office, and I swear I heard angels singing when we walked through the doors into a very modern looking office with a beautiful garden surrounding it. My tenseness melted away as she explained that she never bandages the cats feet when she declaws (meaning she had done this before) and that the stiches were sufficient. Yay, no amputations! We're definitely going back to her.

So, we decided since the cats are on their best behavior, still recovering from the trauma, we should invite our neighbors over for dinner. I prepared a simple, yummy meal of beef curry and corn and squash casserole, and Hortencia and Edgar came up (they live below us) at about 7. We enjoyed several hours of chatting with them about everything from art, to weather, to politics, to travel. I expressed my desire to learn how to cook Bolivian dishes, which got me the invitation to come down before lunch some day and watch their maid cook. They were quite pleased that we had asked them over and promised to return the favor by having us over next week for a typical Bolivian dinner. We are hoping and praying that this relationship will only grow deeper and are thankful for landlords as kind as them!

Cruel and Unusual

Our kittens have reached that wonderful age where they begin to become a bit more aggresive and have an undeniable urge to destroy the couches we bought a few months ago with their razor sharp claws. We've tried smacking them, saying "no!", spraying them with water, etc., but to no avail. So, we finally contacted a vet to get them neutered and declawed (just in the front). The first vet I talked to who sells us our kitty food said, "you know, declawing your cat is really a painful process. I recommend that you just buy clippers and clip their nails. It's inhumane, really". OK, I guess she's not going to do it. So we call another vet close to where we used to live who is happy to preform both procedures- without the guilt trip. Meanwhile, everyone who asks me where I got those big, red, ugly scratches on my hand, is appauled and horrified when I explain that they're from my cats, but "don't worry, we're getting their nails taken out this week.". What??!! (Scruntching up face and opening eyes very wide) You can't do that! One woman said, "I didn't know they do that here!" Apprently, we aren't fit to be cat parents. But, I have to continue to remind myself that every cat we ever owned growing up had its front claws removed and afterward, lived a very full, happy life.

Scotty and I will lead fuller, happier lives when the shreds on our couches don't get worse, and the shredding of my hands and arms goes away.

Rompecabezas

"Rompecabezas" literally means "head-breaker", but is also the Bolivian word for puzzle. I feel very much like God is working the pieces of a puzzle together in our ministry here, in a way we didn't expect or imagine...as He always seems to do. When I left you on Sunday, Scotty and I were about to take a walk around the neighborhood. We spent an hour or so looking at houses and land, and happened to be on a piece of property across the street from the couple we met on Friday (who have been holding an evangelistic Bible study in their home for 3 years) when Carmen (the wife) came out onto the lawn and invited us over for tea. We accepted and happily entered thier warm home again with a table full of snacks and two smiling Bolivians awaiting us to chat. They were anxious to hear about our church plant, what our plans are, and when it will all start. It seems as though they have a garage full of neighborhood kids every other Sunday that have been informed that they will have a church to attend before too long. Carmen and Marcelo invite the children of the area over to watch a Bible cartoon, sing, and do crafts. Initially, most of the kids would join in on the fun, but the children of the upper class began to notice that the lower class kids sometimes came dirty and weren't like them, so they don't come anymore. But, their parents attend the Bible studies on Friday nights. Unfortunately, the lower class parents don't feel comfortable in the home of a middle to upper class family, so they don't attend. Either way, our friends have an inroad into the lives of all those represented in this community. How cool is that?! And to boot, they have the same desire as us and the Hursts to reach both upper and lower classes, and feel that will be possible only in a neutral location, like a church. We pray that will be the case. They shared the history of many neighbors who come, most are hungry to hear the Word and know more about God, but haven't been able to give up their Catholic traditions and background. The street on the right is where many of the Bible study attendents live, after being warmly invited by our friends, Marcelo and Carmen.

Because Bolivia has such a close relationship with the government of Cuba, Castro decided a while back to inundate Bolivia with Cuban doctors, who unfortunately take away jobs from Bolivian doctors. Three Cuban doctors arrived some time back in Mallasilla and while most of the neighborhood was a bit up in arms about their presence, Carmen and two other women decided they would welcome them with cake, flowers, and a Bible. One of those doctors now comes faithfully to the meetings and can often be found reading her Bible in the clinic. So, the pieces are coming together for the beginnings of a church here. Did I mention that Carmen and Marcelo offered us their garage to begin meetings here? We are so excited to see what happens next.

Sunday

Sunday is probably my favorite day of the week. Although there is always a little bit of apprehension for Scotty and I about leading our church plant meetings in the morning, we are always joyful about what God does during that time. Scotty does a great job of searching through Systematic Theology to find guidance and wisdom in how to study the attributes of God (what we are going over with the team), and then translates those ideas into Spanish. We spend the morning singing, praying, and studying the Word together. Usually we will go out to lunch with friends, but decided today that we were going to have a picnic at the top of a nice look-out in the neighborhood. We went to our favorite coffee shop/restaurant, Alexander Coffee, ordered the nachos (big and greasy) for Scotty and a nice Asian salad (green and healthy) for me. We chatted on the way home about the different ways God is working in our team and in the community to prepare the way for His church, and reminded each other that God uses us for His good purposes despite our shortcomings and doubts. Upon arriving home, the sunny morning had quickly turned grey and cold, so we decided to picnic in the kitchen. We enjoyed lunch and the prospect of a long, relaxing afternoon. I recently finished a book by Lauren Winner called Mudhouse Sabbath where she describes and compares a handful of Jewish traditions to Christian ones. One of those was the Sabbath day, when Jews refrain from any type of work or anything that could possibly resemble work, to mediate on the Lord and truly rest in Him. I am challenged by this idea, knowing that Sundays are often days where I let myself be lazy, which is totally different from rest. How often do I really take the time to think about who God is, to spend time thanking Him for His goodness in my life, for life itself? Am I willing to sacrifice even time with friends to be alone with my Savior and seek to know Him more? Anyway, after lunch we snuggled into the bed for a time of reading while the wind picked up outside and the drops began to fall. I am slowly working through a Spanish novel and sometimes even convince myself that this pleasure reading could be called "homework". At one point I began to look around me at our bedroom: the fun, new bedspread we had made for our extra-long mattress; the woven trunk I bought a few years ago in Cochabamba; the huge, wood doors of our big closets; and my husband sitting next to me, content in his novel. I gave a prayer of thanks to God for providing such wonderful things for us, knowing that it is only through His grace that we have anything good, and relaxed in the knowledge that He gives perfect peace an rest through knowing Him. We'll take a walk around the neighborhood in a few minutes, exploring new homes being built and dreaming about the day we will build our own, saying "hola" to the neighbors, breathing in the fresh air after a good rain. Tonight we'll spend time with our great friends, John and Michelle (and little, sleeping Ethan), remembering again the gift of friendship that we've been given in this couple, and trying desperately to beat them in Cities and Knights of Catan. Sundays are good days.