Ella's first school field trip - Bolivian Style!

A few weeks ago we were told that Ella's school would be taking all the kids on a field trip to the Casa de Liberdad. It's a museum of Bolivia's history. I was excited for Ella! I knew of this museum as we had visited it before with John's parents when they visited. I started to wonder, however, how interesting this museum would be for a group of 3-5 year olds AND how they were going to get all the kids there.

If we were in the US I'm sure all the kids would come home with some kind of waver to sign. Then there would be some kind of sign up for parents to come help as chaperons. Finally, for sure there would be some kind of school bus to transport the kids to their destination. Now, I knew it wasn't going to happen that way exactly...but my thinking was more along those line.

As the day approached, I noticed signs up in Ella's school encouraging parents to meet the kids at the school around 10:30 am to be a part of the field trip. I assumed this would be to help keep all the kids on the sidewalk as we ventured to the museum, which was a good 8 blocks from the school. So the big day arrived, and I went to Ella's school just before 10:30 am. There was already a decent crowd of parents outside the school doors. About 10:45 the doors open and out march all the kids, in perfect rows of three, out into the middle of the street. They continued to PARADE down the middle of the street all the way to the museum. Did I mention there was a 15 piece band accompanying them? Of course then you have all the parents walking along with their camera's and video's running. It was quite the spectacle! Not to mention all the traffic that was backed up in the streets.

I soon began to realize that the "parade" was just as much a part of the field trip as the actual museum. It took about 45 min for the kids to get there. They were at the museum for about 15 minutes, got their snack, and then it was time to go home. It was quite the experience, unexpected, but fun!

Front of the parade processional

Ella's three year old class

I think Ella was a bit unsure of what was going on at first.

They were paired in three, in most cases two boys with a girl in the middle. As you can imagine with 3 year olds the pairing changed frequently. By the time the parade got to the museum, Ella was holding the hand of a 5 year old British boy.

After a while, Ella got the hang of it and was enjoying herself.

Here's a good video of the whole parade, from the front all the way to the back where the band was!

Bolivian Mother's Day

May 27th is Mother's Day here in Bolivia. I must say it's a pretty big event. Yesterday the administration from our apartment building went door to door handing out flowers to all the mothers. Ella's school also had a big program. All the mother's were invited to a nice restaurant. Each class, 3 year olds, 4 year olds and 5 year olds, came out on a set of risers and sang two special songs for the mothers. After the program the three of us went out to our favorite Chinese Restaurant in town (there are only 2) to celebrate. I highly recommend having two mother's days each year. I know I enjoyed it!

Venciendo a los gusanos! (Overcoming the worms!)

A few weeks ago we had the privilege of being a part of a deworming campaign at a school in the Horna Ckasa neighborhood. Parasites are a huge issue for kids who live in the slums and out in the rural villages. At any given time around 80% of the kids living in Horna Ckasa have at least one, if not multiple, parasites living in their bodies. We have learned that these parasite infections are part of a vicious cycle that severely affects the health of these kids.

The cycle goes something like this. Washing hands, fruits and vegetables prior to eating can be challenging for people living is areas without running water. Many times they are washing their hands and food in streams that are infected with both human and animal feces. They easily ingest parasites in this way. Parasites really lower the kids immune systems, making them susceptible to other illness. At the same time, almost all of these kids are extremely malnourished, also decreasing the effectiveness of their immune system. These factors can lead to a dangerous situation for the kids, as many find themselves in life threatening situations when they catch a common virus or get a bout of diarrhea. With weakened immune systems they simply can't fight off illness.

Three to four times a year, FH will go into the schools that they work with and pass out de-worming medicine to all the kids. They also educate the kids on proper hand washing and food cleaning. It was really fun to be apart of this campaign. Below are some pictures from our visit with a kindergarden class.

The kids were so excited to take their medicine.

Every child got one pill which is suppose to keep them parasite free for a month.

There were lots of smiles....

Until they tasted the mint flavored, chalky tablets that they had to chew! (For the record, each kid got a "bag" of juice to chase the bad taste away.)

Give Away

Our Pastor's family is on a journey to adopt a sweet boy from Ethiopia. For those of you that hold adoption near and dear to your heart, check out their website.

They are currently doing some sweet giveaways in attempts to raise money for their adoption.

Check out these cool t-shirts!

Ella's Birthday

I can't believe that my little baby girl turned three years old last weekend. It has been an amazing journey watching her grow and discovering her fun personality. But it sure is going by fast!

In Bolivia, birthday parties can be a pretty big deal, especially the 1st one. We have been invited to a couple birthday parties since arriving in Bolivia and have learned what some of the customs are. Ella, as well, has certainly learned how much fun birthday parties can be. While this wasn't Ella's 1st birthday, it was her 1st birthday in Bolivia. Also, we have been so proud of Ella for how she has adapted and continues to adapt to a new and sometimes strange new world. So we decided to throw her a party to celebrate her birthday and give her a special, fun day.

There are more pictures and a first hand account of the party on Ella's blog.

Church on the Street

This past week we participated in a street evangelism service with Shekina Church in Horna C’Kasa. Shekina is one of two churches that John is currently working with in Horna C’Kasa, the slum neighborhood located on the edge of Sucre. Pastor Elvis and Shekina Church typically have a Saturday evening service that reaches out to youth and children living in Horna C’Kasa. This past week the service was held in the street and was specially designed to share the Gospel and intrigue kids, adults, youth and passerby’s. In typical Bolivian style the church shut down a portion of the main road by placing chairs and barrels in the street and proceeded to set up a few benches, chairs and sound equipment. The youth then presented a few dances, a mime, and a time of sharing and worship. The event was surprisingly well accepted and a testament to the growth of Shekina church over the last year and a half since its inception.

Just before the service starts. The crowds slowly begin to gather.

The band leads a few worship songs.

A dance prepared by the youth. Ella loved the dancing!

John worked with the youth on the presentation of this mime. The girl is ensnared by sin (the chair) and cannot escape. Several people try to help her (a witch in this picture) but only the message of the cross can release her from the bondage.

Behmar shares the freedom of the Gospel message to conclude the mime.