The Warden Family

Visitors to Sucre

2012-02-07T09:50:00.000-05:00

One of the blessings of working in Bolivia is the opportunity to host missions’ teams or visitors from the US. FH Sucre doesn’t receive a bunch of international teams but we seem to have groups come every 2 or 3 months on average. This past week we had the privilege of hosting 4 special visitors to Sucre for 3 days.

Through the Food for the Hungry artist program professional singer/song writer Kerrie Roberts came to Sucre to visit and share her vocal talents and wisdom. Kerrie shared at several venues her passion for music and desire to honor God with the talents and gifts she has been given. FH also scheduled multiple opportunities for Kerrie and her team to see and experience the ministry of FH and learn about our desire to transform realities and raise up a new generation of leaders focused on honoring God in every area of society.

Kerrie and her team came with a huge heart to serve and it was a privilege to see the youth of Bolivia excited to develop their talents and use them for the glory of God. We hosted a question and answer session one evening, where Kerrie shared her testimony and the youth asked questions about worship leading etc. Seeing the youth’s desire to grow in their abilities to lead worship, and mature in there understanding of God centered worship was an encouragement to us. I believe Kerrie was able to give great advice that will shape a generation of worship leaders in Sucre.

I (John) as her translator enjoyed getting to meet Kerrie and her team, and was blessed by our conversations and ministry activities. As always it was wonderful to make some new friends and spend some time learning and growing from their experiences. I think Kerrie will be touring with Big Daddy Weave this spring or summer. If she is near your location you should check it out. She is a very talented artist who loves the Lord!

Kerrie sharing with kids about music and singing

Home visit

The team. (Ben - photographer, Jenni - Kerrie's manager, Crystal - FH employee,
Kerrie, John and Jennie)

Ella and John with Kerrie

Minnesota...and finally snow!

2012-01-24T11:52:00.000-05:00

We spent the last week of our furlough in Minneapolis with my brother and his family. We had a wonderful time with them, and enjoyed all the fun things they had planned for us to do. Probably the most special part of our visit was getting to know our new nephew/cousin Colton Ray. He is the cutest laid-back baby you could imagine with the most kissable cheeks! Dan and Kate were wonderful hosts and absolutely spoiled us with fun trips to the Mall of America, Eagles Nest, fun lunches out, a date night for John and I, and bowling! We also had time to just relax and hang-out too which was great. Thanks for everything Dan and Kate!

There was snow! Ella finally got to use her new snow gear!

Uncle Dan got to use his snow gear too!

Ella's first snow angel.

Colton and Lydia did great as we went from place to place.

The big slide at Eagle Nest, an indoor kids park.

Ella and Uncle Dan at the Mall of America Aquarium

We rode rides at the Mall of America for most of the day.

Ella's first time bowling.

Hangin' Out

Another Plane Ride...Another Destination. South Dakota!

2012-01-21T09:48:00.000-05:00

December 9th found us at the airport again. The girls are getting used to airports by now and enjoy roaming around and watching the planes. We left balmy Phoenix and flew into Omaha, Nebraska and then made the trek up to Yankton, South Dakota by car.

We had been preparing Ella for the cold weather in South Dakota, and had promised sledding, snow angels, snowmen building, and snowball fights. But instead, we found NO SNOW and weather that was sometimes in the 50's! Can't believe that after three Christmas living away where there is no snow, we return to the South Dakota tundra for a snowless Christmas. Nevertheless, just being with family was enough to get us in the Christmas spirit and we had a wonderful time. We had the opportunity to see many of my (Jennie's) extended family and the girls got a lot of Grandpa and Grandma time. John was also given the opportunity to do his Mission's Seminar at Calvary Baptist, one of our supporting churches.

Below are some picture highlights of our 3 weeks in South Dakota.

Lot's of playtime with Grandpa and Grandma

Staying warm! (We did have a few cold days...)

The piano...one of the best toys at Grandma's house!

Christmas celebration at the Barr's house in Sioux Falls. The girls had a great time with Great Aunt Amy and her kids.

The Bows! A highlight for Lydia.

Golfing on Christmas Day in South Dakota!

Ella fell in love with Jeff, the neighborhood cat.

Meeting our new cousin Colton for the first time!

Playing at the Children's Museum in Brookings. (Highly recommended! Great place!)

Learning to play the Wii. Ella was a pro by the end of our trip.

Being with family...it doesn't get much better.

Albuquerque!

2012-01-19T10:23:00.000-05:00

While we were staying in Phoenix, we took a weekend trip over to New Mexico to visit Mountain Christian Church (MCC), in the East Mountains of Albuquerque. We had never been to Albuquerque before and had no idea how beautiful this city, surrounded by mountains was....or how much it reminded us of the mountains of Bolivia.

MCC has a special place in our hearts, as we have been a part of receiving short term teams from this church here in Bolivia several times. Over the past two years we have gotten to know many people from this congregation. So even though we have never visited Albuquerque or MCC before, it still felt like visiting some place warm and familiar.

We were able to visit with many past team members, and John also did a Saturday morning seminar, teaching on several topics, including worldview, poverty, and resources. We had an amazing time, and also enjoyed our first "glimpse" of snow during our furlough home. Actually we were apart of a "winter storm" but stayed warm and cozy with Marvin and Barb Proctor, who hosted us in their home, while we watched several inches of snow accumulate.

Thank you MCC for inviting us to come and share with you all, and for loving on us while we were with you!

Phoenix

2011-12-19T16:06:00.001-05:00

We are amazed at how fast the weeks are clipping by. As I sit to blog about our time in Phoenix, we are already hundreds of miles and states away! We had a wonderful time visiting John's parents, John and Roseann and enjoying the beautiful Arizona weather. Since Food for the Hungry's headquarters is also in Phoenix, we were able to have several meetings with various people. It was nice to meet face to face with individuals that we had only knew via e-mail and skype up until this trip.

Some of the highlights:

Visiting the Wildlife Center
Trip to the Grand Canyon
Phoenix Children's museum
Thanksgiving
Celebrating Christmas in November
John leading chapel at the Food for the Hungry office

Ella and a Grand Canyon Ranger

Enjoying the Canyon at Sunset

The girls have more pictures of our trip to Phoenix over on their blog.

Good-bye Cincinnati!

2011-11-17T19:36:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that our time in Cincinnati is already over! We had a wonderful time sharing with supporters, spending time with friends and family, and presenting our ministry with various groups. Here is a list of all we did while we were there:

Met with the Missions Board of Hope Church
Participated in the Hope Church weekly Staff meeting
Were able to be apart of our Community's Oct event
Shared with the Empty Nester's Community, Journey Community and the Kid's Ministry
One on One Meetings with 10 different supporters
Lots of time with friends and family

Our church community welcomed us back with open arms and it was so wonderful to see so many familiar faces again.

Sharing with the preschool class at Hope Church. They raised over $1000 for a church in Bolivia this summer.

Sharing with the grade schoolers at Hope Church.

Demonstrating how the Bolivians carry just about anything on their backs using Aguayo Blankets.

Family Fall Fun Day!

2011-11-17T19:18:00.000-05:00

We have been staying busy in Cincinnati visiting with supporters and speaking at churches. The weather has been beautiful and we were able to spend a nice day together as a family at one of our favorite places. We have been going to Iron's Fruit Farm every fall since before Ella was born in 2007. (Except for when we have been living in Bolivia!) It was great to go back, see the animals and pick out some apples and apple cider donuts! We had a wonderful day, enjoyed the weather and made new family memories.

Ella - 2007, 5 months

Ella - 2008, 17 months

Family of three 2008

Horsing around...

2011-11-03T07:00:00.003-04:00

Ella's cousins, Emma and Olivia, have been taking horse back ridding lessons for several years. This year they got their very own horse named Dream. Ella got to go with them to their ridding lessons and even got to ride the horse herself! It was a beautiful fall day and we all enjoyed watching the girls ride!

First, the girls did some basic grooming before the lessons.

After patiently watching Emma and Olivia ride, it was Ella's turn!

She was pretty excited!

Emma and Olivia took turns guiding Dream around with Ella on top!

I think she made a new friend.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T20:27:00.000-04:00

We were excited that we would be in the US for Halloween this year. Ella had never been trick or treating before, and her cousin's Emma and Olivia invited her to go trick-or-treating with them. They all planned on being Disney Princesses, which was right up Ella's ally. We did have to explain the concept to Ella, and she was pretty much sold on the idea once she heard that she could wear a princess dress and get candy.

Princesses Tiana, Rapunzel, and Sleeping Beauty

Off they go!

They found two other princess along the way.

Ella had a great time with her cousins and a wonderful experience trick-or-treating. She can't wait for next year!

Cousins!

2011-11-02T17:17:00.000-04:00

After spending four wonderful days in Indiana, it was time to drive down to Cincinnati. We got all settled in with the Volkman's, our host family for the next 3 weeks. After unloading our stuff, we were back in the car again over to see Aunt Amy, Uncle Greg, and the cousins! Ella was SO excited to see her cousins Emma and Olivia, and we were all excited to meet our new nephew/cousin Grant. (And introduce them to Lydia too!) It was a fun and loud reunion, and we are looking forward to lots of fun times together over the next few weeks!

New cousins! Hard to believe that Lydia is actually the eldest by one month!

Lydia with her Aunt Amy

Emma, Olivia, and Ella...inseparable!

Fun with the Fishers

2011-11-02T17:07:00.000-04:00

By the time we rolled into the Fisher's driveway in Roanoke, we were ready to unwind...and that we did! Bill and Ramona Fisher have been long time friends of Jennie's family. Jennie actually attended their wedding when she was just 3 years old...and we had the privilege of having Bill marry us at our wedding. Through the years Bill and Ramona have become dear friends of ours and have opened their home for us to retreat to several times over the past 8 years.

Just like in times past, we enjoyed the tranquility of their farm-like neighborhood, long talks lasting late into the night, wise counsel, and lots of laughs. Bill and Ramona invested their time into our kids and as you can see by the pictures they soaked it in.

We also really enjoyed sharing at their church (First Baptist Church) of Warren Indiana. As always the fellowship was great and the time was a blessing for our family. Thanks Bill and Ramona for your friendship and a great few days of relaxation and fellowship.

Hit the ground running...

2011-10-25T14:34:00.000-04:00

...we certainly did! We landed in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday around noon. Our good friends Erin and Jason Hughes were our hosts and they graciously picked up us (and our 6 suitcases). About an hour after arriving in Columbus, John's friend Cam picked him up and the two of them headed up to Bluffton, Ohio to prepare for Cam's wedding. Meanwhile, Jennie and the girls stayed behind in Columbus to visit with the Hughes family. She and Erin had a great time catching up...and wrangling 5 children and a dog!

The next morning, John's parents came through Columbus to pick up Jennie and the girls and they all headed to Upper Sandusky for Cam and Emily's wedding. Ella and Lydia were excited to see their grandparents again.

Saturday morning we enjoyed celebrating Cam and Emily's wedding. It was a beautiful fall day and a wonderful ceremony. There were several other friends there and we enjoyed catching up with everyone.

After the wedding we were on the road again! We spent 5 nights in a row, each in a different city and in a different bed. We were thrilled to finally arrive in Roanoke, IN to the welcoming arms of our hosts, Bill and Ramona Fisher.

Stay tuned for more of our adventures!

We Made It!

2011-10-24T14:32:00.001-04:00

It took several days but we finally made it back to the US for our furlough! We left Sucre for Santa Cruz on Monday the 17th. Because Sucre has such a small airport, and no radar, flights get canceled all the time. So if you have an important international flight to catch, you really need to allow 2 days to make it. Our flight left on time Monday, and we arrived in Santa Cruz in the early afternoon. We settled into our hotel and made our plans for the following day in Santa Cruz. To help pass the time, the Mozombite family who serves in Santa Cruz, came over with their kids to swim in the hotel pool. We had a great time catching up with them...and you can tell by the pictures below, the kids certainly had a blast together as well.

We woke up early on Wed morning to catch our 9am flight from Santa Cruz to Miami. Everything went well and we arrived at the airport by 6:20 am. Once we made our way up to the ticket counter, we found out that our flight was delayed until 12:30pm and that we wouldn't make our connection in Miami. So, we had a 6 hour wait in the airport before getting on our 6 hour airplane ride to the States. American Airlines did put us up in a hotel and we had meal vouchers for lunch in Santa Cruz, dinner and breakfast in Miami. On the plus side, our plane was only half full, so we were able to spread out and the kids were able to nap well during the flight. Luckily the delay didn't cause us to miss any important events...we just had to shave off some time we had planned to spend with friends.

We are thankful to have arrived safely and appreciate all of your prayers.

Faces of Bolivia

2011-10-10T12:51:00.001-04:00

There are times in life when God really challenges you through other people. Maybe it is a conversation or act of service by another person, or just the way they live. There have certainly been several of those occasions while living here in Bolivia. One person I would like to share with you is Adelia Chumacero. Adelia may be one of the best examples of passionate, sacrificial service for the kingdom of God I have ever seen. Adelia is a pastor in a rural village called Ravelo, which is located about 2 hours outside of Sucre in the Andes Mountains. For many years Adelia has been working in the rural areas of Bolivia planting churches, sharing about the Bible, and serving the Quecha people group. What many people do not realize about Bolivia is that the Andes Mountains are some of the most rugged mountains in the world. The mountains are literally impassable in certain areas. Because of this there is a section of the country about 200 square miles wide where the Gospel has not been shared or introduced. There are no roads to this area and no evangelical churches. The habitants in this area are very tied to the ancient Inca Indian religious rituals and worship many of the Inca Gods and spirits. It is Bolivia’s own “10-40 window” of unreached people groups. Life in this area is very harsh with climate, conditions and resources being very sporadic and challenging. What is amazing is that Adelia a single women in a male dominated culture has embraced these peoples and started a ministry in several of the small villages tucked back in this region.

Adelia for several years has had a vision to start a seminary in Ravelo that would train and equip indigenous Quecha speaking pastors to plant churches and embrace a ministry among these unreached Quecha people groups. However, in the mean time Adelia has taken it upon herself to reach out to this region of people and share the hope of the gospel. When I (John) talked to Adelia in March of this year she shared with me that she had been walking 13 miles off of the nearest road to the area, to a village several Sundays a month for the previous 3 months preaching and serving the people. She was excited to share that the previous week she had baptized two new believers. Adelia has also spent many days hiking further back

into the regions sharing about God and the message of hope He brings. During this conversation I was humbled by her incredible dedication to these people and the passion she had to try to touch every one of them with the gospel.

Adelia also has developed a radio ministry to the Quecha people, started a kids ministry in Ravelo, and been a vibrant part of our pastor training program over the past year. Not only has Adelia been a leader in her community but she has been a model of faith and love to the Quecha people.

A few months ago we hosted a pastors meeting in the village of Ravelo. During this quarterly meeting we gave each pastor a chance to share about their ministry and what struggles they are facing. Once again I was struck with God’s amazing work through Adelia. Adelia shared about the various villages she had been visiting and the ways that God had been moving in the hearts of the people she had been ministering to. She shared an incredible story of how she had been struck by the car of a drunk driver and God had protected her. She shared how God healed a woman who had been a paraplegic for some 40 years through a seed project of service and prayer. She also shared how she had been blessed by several faith conversions through her radio ministry. Adelia then paused for a moment. With tears in her eyes she then shared with us that she also had recently been diagnosed with Chargas disease.

Chargas disease is caused by a parasite transmitted through a beetle-like bug found mostly in Latin and South American regions. These bugs live within the cracks of mud huts and bite their victims during the night. Once bitten, the parasite enters the blood stream and this incurable disease is contracted. Chargas over time ultimately affects the nervous and digestive system, as well as causes a deterioration of the heart, leading to cardiac damage and eventual death. This of course is devastating information for any person to hear. What’s amazing about the situation is that Adelia’s first response was not about a fear she had about the disease or the unknowns and struggles she would face in the future living with this condition, or even a anger or disappointment that she most likely contracted this condition while living and serving in the severe conditions of this region; no, her first response was of fear that as her heart deteriorated that she would not be able to continue her ministry to these unreached people. With a heart condition it would not be possible for her to walk the distance needed in order to get to these areas. A heart sold out for the gospel and its transformational impact. A servant sacrificing MUCH for the spreading of the kingdom.

Thanks Adelia for your model of sacrificial ministry. You have been an example and challenge for me and many others. Well done faithful servant.

Soccer Dreams

2011-10-04T07:00:00.004-04:00

This past week our office decided to participate in a seed project for a neighborhood in Horna C'Kasa. This is a slum region just outside the city of Sucre. The FH office has worked in Horna C'Kasa for about 6 years and with the help of a US based church has started a soccer school for youth. With the goal of helping develop the God given gifts and talents of soccer in these boys the school has really been a blessing to the neighborhood.

A challenge for many of the boys in the school is finding shoes to wear at soccer practice. Many come from broken families who have little to no money to invest in soccer cleats. Thus, they try to practice in sandals or bare-feet. Our office decided as a seed project that we would purchase a pair of new soccer cleats for each child in the school. This past week we shared a few testimonies of some Christian soccer professionals, talked to them about perseverance and dreams, and presented a pair of cleats to each boy. A smile is worth a thousand words.

Prayer time. Thanking God for what he has provided

Trying on for size

Our group for the office and the boys

Empowering the Church II

2011-09-27T07:00:00.006-04:00

One of the final lessons in our curriculum of church strengthening is teaching leaders God’s intentions for the church today. What is the role of the church and how does God want the local church to be an instrument of transformation in its community? We teach this principle through a lesson called “seed projects.” Seed projects are small projects that any church, family, or individual can do to have impact or influence for the gory of God in their community or neighborhood. Seed projects are motivated by Jesus love and example of growth (Luke 2:52) and service (Acts 20:53), and they seek to plant seeds of transformation in the community. These projects also speak to God’s desire for stewardship, development, and our care of creation.

An important aspect of seed projects is the fact that they use the resources of the local church or family to complete the project. It does not involve outside resources but rather a faith venture within the individual or group. Their own time, money, creativity, and tools. Breaking the mentality of dependence in materially poor areas is extremely difficult, so seed projects seek to empower the churches to see the abundance of resources in their midst. The Bible illustrates through a variety of stories how God desires to multiple our obedience for His glory. As the church embraces its God given role in the community, healing, restoration, and reconciliation will be the result.

Several of our churches have done seed projects over the last few months. (Many with great motivation and creativity.) Below are a few highlights from some of the seed projects completed this summer by small churches in the slum areas of Sucre.

First fix the basketball back board

Then paint it!

Pastor Severino (left) leading his team of servants

Final product for this project.... a sparkling clean street!

Though we have lived here for two years Ella is still a novelty. People often ask to take their picture with her.

Empowering the Church

2011-09-20T17:55:00.001-04:00

We would love to share with you a few highlights of our current ministry with churches here in Bolivia. Early in 2011 John started working on a church strengthening project aimed to encourage, empower, and train church leaders and pastors. For the first 6 months of the year John and a Bolivian pastor (Luis) spent time launching the first phase of this training project. Mosty training, teaching, and encouraging the pastors and leaders. To this point John and Luis have worked with 14 different churches in and around the city of Sucre. Nine of them have completed the first phase of training, as well as 1 seminary, and all will continue in 2012 with the second phase, of application, teaching, and deeper study. This new project has brought about new challenges and obstacles for us, but we are very encouraged in the progress and openness many of the pastors and leaders have had. We are grateful that God has equipped us to do this work and trust his faithfulness in bringing transformation in time.

The past two months we have been celebrating with many of these churches their graduation through phase one of our training. Typically we take a night to celebrate their participation by handing out certificates of completion, praying for God’s future direction and wisdom, and sharing a meal or snacks together. Below is a list of churches who have completed our training. As well as a few photos to celebrate our work with churches here Bolivia.

Iglesia CICA, Aposento Alto

Iglesia Templo de Fe

Iglesia Casa de Dios

Iglesia Casa de Oracion

Iglesia Centro Familiar

Iglesia Cristo es la Unica Esperanza

Ministerio Vision de Desarollo Integral

Ejercito de Salvacion (Liga de Jovenes)

Ejercito de Salvacion (Liga de Lideres)

Seminario Universidad Unidad

If you want a real challenge some afternoon when you are bored, you can try to translate some of the church names mentioned above!

Pastor Primo. Iglesia Casa de Oracion

Capitan Carlos. Iglesia Ejercito de Salvacion

The church Templo de Fe gave Luis and John hand-made bags as a thank you. It is normal for John's head to be cut off in pictures, he is always just a few inches too tall....

A special celebration dinner with the church Templo de Fe.

A spicy Bolivian dish called Mondongo. All that food is floating in a blazing hot red pepper sauce called aji. Never sets good when you eat it at 9:30 at night....

Pastor Wilbur. Iglesia CICA, Aposento Alto

A graduate from the church CICA, Aposento Alto

Pastor Juanica. Iglesia Casa de Dios

Trip to La Paz

2011-08-23T09:51:00.000-04:00

As John’s job has grown and changed over the past year John has had multiple opportunities to travel and train various offices over the curriculum he has been developing. The curriculum deals with a few core principles such as Worldview, Poverty, Development, and Resources. Each lesson looks at the Biblical perspective of these principles and how as individuals we can have a Biblical approach to serving our neighbor that will help empower change rather than hinder creativity and generate dependency. This past week John had the chance to train the leaders of FH Bolivia in these ideas. John taught a seminar all day on Wednesday in Spanish to the FH leadership located in La Paz, and then again Thursday in English to a group of FH leaders working with international teams and projects. The 2 days were filled with great conversation as we wrestled with the obstacles we face in Bolivia and how God has called our organization to overcome all forms of human poverty. John has really enjoyed having these opportunities to teach and we can see how slowly God is using these principles to shape our ministry and the ministry of Food for the Hungry Bolivia. In the midst of the international teams, traveling and nightly church trainings we have seen our time become busy and yet full of blessings.

FH staff in La Paz

John with church leaders he is currently training

Girls Trip!

2011-07-28T18:07:00.000-04:00

While John was traveling around Latin/South American, the girls and I went back to the US to visit family. We had a wonderful time! It was great to enjoy a few weeks of an American summer together. We started out spending a weekend with my brother Dan and his wife Katie in Hugo, MN. They had build a house a few years ago there and I had never seen it! Ella and Lydia also enjoyed bonding with their aunt and uncle.

We spent most of our time with my parents in Yankton, SD. We did venture to Dubuque, IA for my cousins wedding, which was a great opportunity to see all of our family. We spent the 4th of July on the Lake and Ella got to go boating, jet skiing and tubing for the first time! We were also able to spend some time with my Aunt Amy's family in Sioux Falls. It was fun to take in my cousin's baseball games and grill out!

Spending a few weeks with family was a great spirit lifter and we had a wonderful time! Thanks to everyone who hosted us while we were there. Ella and Lydia have a ton of pictures from our time in the US on their blog if you are interested!

I've missed these South Dakota sunsets!

Dominican Republic

2011-07-28T17:35:00.000-04:00

Dominican Republic:

After the 2 weeks in Guatemala, John traveled to the island of Hispanola to attend a conference in the Dominican Republic. The time in the DR was split between 2 objetives. The first objective was to attend the Harvest Latin American Regional Conference. Harvest is a church strengthening organization that focuses on the training of indigenous pastors in wholistic ministry principles. John has been working closely with Harvest throughout his time in Bolivia and decided to attend the conference with 3 other Bolivian pastors. The 5 day conference was encouraging and uplifting and a great time to fellowship with other Latin American pastors and leaders. Great friendships were made, and John appreciated the time to learn more about what Harvest is doing and how God is using the organization to build up the local church around the world.

The second half of the trip was to work with the FH DR office. Similar to his time in Guatemala, John spent several days training the FH DR staff on the curriclum he has been developing. Getting to know the FH DR staff was a blessing, and John was very encouraged to partner with them and share some of these core organizational principles. God is doing some great things in the DR and we look forward to seeing where he takes them next.

On a side note the DR was incredibly hot. If you plan on taking a trip to the DR in July…. make sure you book a hotel with air conditioning. John learned the hard way!

Dario, John, Luis and Marcelo. The Bolivian church strengthening team

A day of relaxing at the beach

"Catedral Santa María la Menor," oldest church in the Americas

Feeding the pigeons in the plaza downtown Santo Domingo

Dominican street vender

3 Ojos National Park

John and Pastor Ramiro from Honduras

Church where John preached on Sunday morning. It was a rock'en service

John teaching Kingdom Mathematics to Dominican Pastors

Marcelo, John and Cris, the director of FH operations in the DR

Turks and Caicos Island from the airplane. I want to visit there some day!

Guatemala

2011-07-28T16:39:00.000-04:00

Our summer has been filled with lots of activities and experiences. We want to take a moment to update you on our recent travels around Latin America.

Guatemala:

On June 22 John left for 2 weeks in Guatemala. The purpose of the trip was to meet with the FH staff in Guatemala and do several trainings over some curriculum that John has been developing.

Over the past 6 months John has been focusing on developing a set of lessons to be used to train FH staff in some of the core principles that FH uses in their ministry. Principles such as the Biblical roots of Poverty, understanding Development from a Biblical Perspective and seeing resources through God’s eyes. As well, we have found that these principles have been great resources to use for the training of international teams that visit Bolivia. The lessons speak not only to the work of FH but really to the biblical roots of missions and development. So, John has been teaching these lessons in a variety of contexts and spent several days in Guatemala teaching and training on these principles. A few days were spent teaching FH Guatemala workers and a few days with an international team that was visiting. The trainings went great and John was blessed to be apart of the FH Guatemala staff for a few days.

John also had the privilege to meet with a few Guatemalan pastors and share ideas with them about their work with churches. As to be expected it is always great to see how God is working in other countries, so John’s time with the pastors was an encouragement and blessing.

While in Guatemala, John also spent precious time with our good friends the Evans family. David and Melinda Evans and their 6 kids are serving with FH in Guatemala and have become such a special family to us. We have walked through several challenges together, as FH missionaries, and they are a huge encouragement and blessing to us. As always our time together was filled with lots of laughs and great memories. Seeing their home, family, and life in Guatemala was great, and the time to share and sharpen each other in our ministries was a blessing. A special thank you to Dave and Melinda for hosting John and sharing their life and ministry for a week.

Beautiful Volcano at Lago de Atitlan

The surprises you find when hiking through the Guatemalan rainforest

Center plaza in Antigua Guatemala

Training with FH Guatemala worker

Hike through the jungle to a Village training

Beautiful Guatemalan village tucked in the mountains

Going to the market to sell flowers

Pastoral training

Our good friends David and Melinda Evans

June

2011-06-21T11:18:00.000-04:00

It's amazing that it's June already...and that June is well on it's way to being over! Things continue to move right along and the weeks seem to fly by. The beginning of June found our family busy preparing for travel. John has been planning a trip to the Dominican Republic for a church strengthening conference for quite some time. Then in late May, our Sucre office welcomed visitors from the Food for the Hungry Dominican Republic office. John spoke at lengths with them about the church strengthening projects that he has been working on. The DR office was very interested in learning more about the projects and invited him to schedule a few days of training while he was visiting the country.

John has also been busy creating a curriculum for teaching short term missions teams when they come to visit. The curriculum is called "Ideas Have Consequences" and focuses on the biblical foundations of such principles as worldview, poverty, resources, and development. The lessons are designed to help give perspective to the teams as they are experiencing poverty is a way they have never done before. It also helps them to understand FH and the work we are doing a bit better.

FH also has an office in Guatemala which receives over 20 teams each year! We have a special connection with FH Guatemala as our good friends, the Evans family, is serving there. We have always had a special connection with their family and have enjoyed following their ministry. Since John will be traveling, it worked out for him to also swing through Guatemala on his way to the DR and share this curriculum with them.

When we were looking into all the logistics for this trip, we realized that John would be gone for almost 3 weeks! This was a bit of a concern for our family, as it would mean that Jennie would be home alone with the girls for a long time. We prayed that God would give us peace about whether or not John should even make this trip. God provided in a HUGE way, as our sending church, Hope Church in Cincinnati, OH, generously offered to pay for Jennie and the girls to fly home to South Dakota to be with her family. This will be a wonderful opportunity for Jennie's family to meet Lydia, as well as offer Jennie some extra hands with the girls. We are all excited!

So, starting today we embark on our journey. We will all eventually fly to Miami together and then party ways from there. John will go on to Guatemala and Jennie on to Minneapolis for a few days with her brother and sister-in-law before heading down to South Dakota.

We look forward to updating you on our adventures as soon as we have some pictures and stories.

May

2011-06-19T18:07:00.000-04:00

May was another special month filled with fun activities. We celebrated Ella's 4th birthday with a princess party. Several of her friends from school joined us, and we had a wonderful time. You can read more about her party on Ella's blog.

John's parents visit coincided with Ella's party, making it even more special. They were able to bring down lots of princess paraphernalia, and help us out on the big day.

This was John's parent's second visit to Sucre, so they had already seen many of the "Sucre highlights." One new thing they experienced was going out to the countryside to visit a few remote villages that Food for the Hungry works in. Many of the villages are located very high int he mountains (one is at 14,000ft) so that was a unique adventure. They also did home visits with their sponsored kids, as well as a special afternoon of pizza and fun at the park. Two of the children had never eaten in a restaurant, so it was special bless them with this new experience.

Of course we spent a lot of family time together, and they got the chance to meet and bond with Lydia for the first time. We had a great time talking, playing cards, and eating lots of good Bolivian food!

April

2011-06-16T15:24:00.000-04:00

April was a bittersweet month for us. We said goodbyes and hellos to good friends!

Good-Byes

The day we got home from Santa Cruz after seeing Jennie's parents off, we got the sad news that Derek and Claire were moving back to the US in just 10 days! Their son Micah had been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and recent MRI's had shown hydrocephalus, a condition that involves a build-up of fluid on the brain. This situation can cause a build-up of pressure, requiring a shunt to be placed in the brain to drain the excess fluid. After looking at all their options, it became clear that Micah desperately needed a shunt placed and this operation could not be done here in Bolivia. The type of shunt Micah needed would also require ongoing regulations and care, of which the doctors in Bolivia were unfamiliar. So Derek and Claire had to make the difficult decision to leave for the US.

It was an emotionally and physically draining 10 days for them, having to say good-byes and packing up a house in such a short amount of time. We certainly miss our "partners in crime" as we are now the only FH missionaries in Sucre. Ella is also very sad and missing Noelia, her little gringita friend.

Micah has since had his operation and it went extremely well. If you are interested in how they are currently doing you can check out their blog here.

Hello's

One week after saying good-bye, we said hello to our close friends Matt and Francesca Jensen and their son Matteo. It was a welcome distraction from our sad good-byes and it really lifted our spirits.

We had a great time showing them all around Sucre. One of the special things about their visit, was introducing them to Ana, the child they sponsor through FH. They visited her home, met her family and spent an afternoon with her. While they were here, they also got to see a "talent show" in which Ana was participating. It was a really special time and it was a blessing to be apart of it.

Heading into the compound where Ana lives.

Ana's house

Matt, Francesca, and Matteo with Ana

Praying with Ana's Family

Group Picture

Ana dressed up for her talent show.

It was wonderful to spend time with good friends. We spent many nights talking late (well, late for parents with young children!) and playing our favorite card game, Rook. It was sad to say good-bye, and we are looking forward to seeing them over our next furlough...and meeting their new little one who will be joining them in late August! Thanks for making the long trek from Ohio to Bolivia...with a toddler and one on the way. We appreciate your friendship and support!

March

2011-06-15T16:34:00.000-04:00

That's right. We are back tracking all the way to the month of March! Two big events took place for us, a team visit and a family visit.

Team Visit

This was our third time receiving a team from Mountain Christian Church! We have really enjoyed getting to meet so many different people from this church, as well as deepening relationships by seeing some of the same faces each trip. We are still amazed at the impact one small church from New Mexico can have on an entire community on the outskirts of Sucre, Bolivia.

The theme of their visit this time was discovering your gifts and talents. Each team that comes to Sucre through FH always raises money for a project that they are apart of while they are here. Many times it is a building project of some kind, but this team was apart of something different. Going along with the theme, the team's money went towards the start of three "discovering your talents schools." A soccer school for 7 to 15 year olds, a dance school, and a sewing school for mothers in the community. Many of the kids in the Horna C'kasa neighborhood lack the opportunities to develop the gifts and talents that God has given them. Now they have something productive to be apart of, giving them hope, and encouraging them that with hard work they can accomplish their dreams.

Family Visit

A week after we said good-bye to Mountain Christian Church, we welcomed Jennie's parents, Steve and Carmen, to Bolivia. This was their first visit to Sucre, as well as their first time meeting Lydia. We had a wonderful time sharing our lives with them. They were able to visit Pastor Pancho's "soup kitchen" as well as the learning center up in Alta Munyapata, a poor neighborhood outside of Sucre. Calvary Baptist Church in Yankton South Dakota, Steve and Carmen's home church, has been a partner with this area, and a blessing to this neighborhood. Later, we all traveled to Santa Cruz together for a few days of relaxing. One morning, Steve and Carmen helped by watching Ella while we spent a few hours at the US Consulate getting Lydia's US citizenship papers all sorted out. We had a great time and are so thankful they were able to make the long trip down to Bolivia.

Over a month....

2011-06-13T10:30:00.000-04:00

since a blog update from the Warden's! Oh the shame! So sorry to leave you all hanging out there in cyber space. It has been an incredibly full 3 months and we have MUCH to fill you in on. Planning on getting to that this week!

In the meantime, our girls have been doing a better job blogging. You can check out their blog if you are interested.

Will write soon!

The faces of Bolivia, part 2

2011-04-05T10:40:00.001-04:00

For many people, the name Elvis brings back memories of a famous musical entertainer, “The King of Rock and Roll,” Elvis Presley. For our family, the name Elvis reminds us of a faithful servant reaching the community of Horna C’kasa with the eternal message of God. We would like to introduce you to Pastor Elvis Huaca.

Pastor Elvis and John

Three short years ago there existed a community of close to 1,000 people with no evangelical church. Called by God to plant a church in the poorest slum area of Sucre, Pastor Elvis and his wife Rosemary planted Shekina church in the heart of Horna C’Kasa. Today Shekina church reaches close to 80 youth and children in Horna C’kasa on a weekly basis. As a young pastor in a very hard and difficult neighborhood Pastor Elvis is constantly seeking the wisdom and favor of God as he reaches into some of the most challenging and heartbreaking family situations.

In just three years Shekina church has brought hope and promise to children and youth plagued with neglect, abuse and abandonment. Elvis uses the example of Omar, a youth in his church, to testify to God’s transforming power. Omar was a youth involved heavily in gangs, drugs and other devastating life choices. With the motivation to destroy this new local church by burning it down Omar attended Shekina church 2 years ago to devise a plan of action. For several weeks Omar sat in the last row of the church with a scowl on his face. But over time, God began to do a work in his heart and steadily God began renewing Omar’s heart and reconciling his life. Today Omar is the worship leader for the Shekina Church worship band and a testimony to God’s faithful pursuit of us. Through the faithful ministry of Pastor Elvis many more Omar’s are being reached out to every week.

Pastor Elvis has sacrificed a great deal to reach these broken families and youth in Horna C’Kasa. The ministry is tough, complicated, and often physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining, but God has been faithful and is using Elvis to bring hope in the midst of hopelessness. If there is one thing we have learned from Elvis in our almost two years of ministry in Bolivia it is the power of our authentic and heart-filled prayers. Time and again Elvis has challenged us to seek God in faithfulness and invite His resurrection power into every circumstance we face. For greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world.

The King of Rock and Roll is dead, but Pastor Elvis is a daily reminder that the true King stills lives and is working through His faithful servants across the world. Thanks Elvis. May the Lord continue to Shepherd your ministry and bring encouragement to your family and the transforming work you are doing in Horna C’Kasa.

Shekina Church

Worship band

Church with John's parents when they visited in 2010.

The faces of Bolivia, part 1

2011-02-18T07:16:00.000-05:00

One of the blessings of our work here in Sucre has been the wonderful people that we have gotten to know. Over the past year and a half many servants of the Lord have blessed our lives. They have served us, challenged us, laughed with us, showed us patience, and changed our lives. What we would like to do is introduce you to some of them and share a little about their stories. We know our friends would wish that you see the incredible faithfulness of our Lord through their testimonies and stories. They have taught us how to live with great passion for God and value the blessings that surround us in every moment.

Pastor Francisco (Pancho) Blanco

One of the first people John was introduced to in his work with FH was Pastor Pancho. A few years ago Pancho moved to an extremely poor area of Sucre and planted a church (Horeb Church, first church in the area) reaching families, youth and children of Alta Munyapata. Alto Munyapata is a neighborhood strickened with drugs, abuse, malnutrition and hopelessness. Over the past years Pancho has truly become a light in the midst of deep darkness. Blessed with a deep passion to see children loved and valued Pancho has established an incredible ministry that reaches close to 60 children from the surrounding neighborhood on a daily basis. Children, many of whom are abandoned and abused, have found refugee and hope in the education center Pancho has established. Focused on helping the children realize the purpose God has placed in their lives, the center has become a place of transforming realities.

Alta Munyapata

John with Pancho outside Horeb Church

Kids from Alta Munyapata

It was a year ago, when a precious child in the neighborhood where Pancho serves died of severe malnutrition and neglect, that God placed an additional calling on Pancho’s heart. Fueled by the Word of God in Psalms 27:10 which states, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me,” Pancho established a food kitchen called “The Kings Table.” In a step of faith Pancho started the kitchen sought to reach the most vulnerable children and youth in the neighborhood. Today, almost a year later God has provided enough funds for Pancho to serve 30 children on a daily basis. Lunches consisting of soy, vegetables, quinoa, and other highly nutritious foods share God’s love for these children. Though the documents and blood tests show the incredible increase in health many of these children have experienced, you will never be able to measure the hope, love, and life that Pancho has given through this ministry. A quick visit to the kitchen, and an experience that is filled with smiles, joy, and an amazing sense of hope, will leave you changed. Pancho praises God for the funds to feed these children, and looks forward to seeing how more will be provided to feed the other 30 in the neighborhood who are waiting.

As with each of these friends we will introduce you to, there is so much more we could share. God’s story in their lives is so much deeper than a short blog. We are grateful for their impact which will remain with us and the people they serve for eternity.

Thank you Pancho for your incredible heart of service. You have showed us God’s love and demonstrated a faith that changes realities.

Month Recap

2011-02-16T09:31:00.000-05:00

As you can imagine our past month has been a little crazy. Adjusting to a newborn, entertaining a 3 year old, and John going back to work has created a full and busy schedule. It’s amazing to realize that we are already half way through the month of February, time is quickly passing. Here is a short overview of the past month since our last bog:

Lydia: Lydia is dong great. She has been growing quickly and as of our last doctors appointment (Friday Feb. 11) Lydia is now up to 7lbs 5oz. She started two weeks behind so it is good to see her gaining weight and above the 0% for weight. (She is now at 1% for weight for a 1 month old!!) Overall, she has been sleeping and eating well, and is a fairly content baby. Just this last week she started smiling so all of John’s clown faces are starting to come out. We are thankful to God for her good health, and the joy she brings to our family.

Ella: Ella is doing well. She started school on the first of February and really enjoys her new class. It’s incredible to see how she has adjusted back into the culture of her school and the language. She is slowly becoming more and more confident in her Spanish. Ella also started a ballet class this past week. She enjoys dancing so much that mom and dad figured it would be good for her to join a class where she could expel some of that extra energy. Ella also enjoys “playing” with Lydia. She has become a very protective older sister and has developed a sensitive heart for her new little playmate. God has truly blessed us with a bundle of love, energy, and happiness.

Jennie: Jennie has been swamped balancing the needs of our two beautiful girls. Maintaining a steady schedule of feeding and sleeping for Lydia has been a challenge but Jennie is doing great. (She doesn’t always see it, but I (John) could not be more impressed with her love and devotion.) Jennie brings a welcome balance to the occasional chaos of our life right now. Though she has had her moments of stress Jennie has been dedicated to serving our family, and our girls could not be more blessed to have a mother that sacrifices much to make them happy and content.

John: John has been busy transitioning back into his work with FH, while balancing the needs of the family. His schedule for church trainings is starting to pick up and the extra time seems to be disappearing. Right now John and a fellow FH pastor are working with 13 different churches, teaching about biblical worldview and the biblical principles of wholistic ministry. John is blessed to see churches and youth excited about the work he is doing and looks forward to seeing how God will use these opportunities to bring glory to his kingdom.

Overall, our family is doing well and we are thankful for good health and God’s daily provisions. That’s all for now from Bolivia. Thanks for the prayers and support!

Officially Bolivian

2011-01-20T17:31:00.000-05:00

We thought we would take a moment and share the process of verifying Lydia's citizenship over the past week. Because Lydia was born on Bolivian soil she will always have duel citizenship. However, the process of officializing a new born baby in Bolivian is not exactly a simple, smooth, seamless process.

It is important to mention that we wanted to expedite this process as much as possible. Most parents would not try to do all this in one week, but we did. The political situation in Bolivia is always changing and we wanted to be sure that if things suddenly took a turn for the worse we could leave the country and legally take Lydia with us!! So, we embarked on the following process to legalize Lydia as our child.

Lydia was born on Jan 10, 2011 at 1:53am. When we prepared to leave the hospital the medical workers gave us a certificate of live birth that we could then use to receive her official birth certificate. Unlike the USA where you assign a name to your child and call it a day, Bolivia insists on having your child take on the last names of their parents. After explaining and verifying her name over and over we finally got a certificate of live birth that said Lydia Belén Warden Mach. (they had problems understanding that in the US when a women gets married they often drop their last name and accept the name of their new spouse.) The folks at hospital insisted that Lydia would be called Lydia Belén Warden Warden. After all Jennie was Jennie Warden right? That is what her documents say. So wouldn't Lydia take on the name of her mother??? Yeah, not easy to explain the cultural differences in Spanish.

After we left the hospital we called our friend and lawyer at the church and asked him to help us navigate the citizenship process. He mentioned the first step in the process would be to get the official birth certificate. In order to do that we would need the signature of the OBGYN who delivered Lydia on the certificate of live birth form. We went to the office of the OBGYN, got the signature and were all set.

Step 1: Birth Certificate
- In order to get a birth certificate you have to have copies of every document you can imagine as well as copies of the certificate of live birth. Any errors or missing paperwork and you are not eligible for the birth certificate. After making all the copies we needed and setting up a time to meet Grover (our lawyer) John sat down to review one last time that we had everything. To his shock he realized that the certificate of live birth had Lydia being born on Jan 10, 2010. Yes, that would make her a year old!

- Back to the hospital to talk to the doctors about a new certificate of live birth. After 30 minutes of waiting we got a doctor to copy the information down on a new certificate with the proper dates etc.

- After the certificate was completed and signed by the doctor a special pharmaceutical seal was needed. To the pharmacy for the special seal.

- After the seal, the OBGYN signature was needed. Into a taxi and to the doctors office. Wait in line again, for the second time. Got the signature.

- Once the documents were prepared (a second time) we scheduled a time for Grover to take us to the government office. After waiting 20 minutes we got to the desk and the lady asked for copies of our marriage certificate. Well, we had every document but our marriage certificate. (Grover never told us we needed our marriage certificate) Off to make copies.

- Copies made and now ready to restart certificate process. After 20 more minutes and another explanation of the last name issue we were issued a birth certificate and on our way. Oh, wait we needed to run and make 5 more copies of something else while we waited for the certificates to be printed. 1 hour, birth certificate in hand.

Step 2: Identification card, "carnit." (Can't get a passport without it.)

- Grover warned us, make sure you come with lots of patience for this part of the process. Luckily we thought ahead and scheduled a babysitter for Ella. (Ingenious move!!) Grover picked us up and off we went to the government office. 8:30am the next day.

- We arrived and to our dismay there was a line of probably 100 Bolivians standing outside the office. Grover talked to a few people and we went ahead inside. Once inside there were probably 400 to 500 Bolivians herded in groups pushing, shoving and barking orders at the "police" who were "organizing" the crowds. (This is inside some small court yard that is probably 30 yards by 30 yards wide.)

Grovers quote, "This isn't bad at all. We are lucky the lines are short. Normally there are twice as many people here." Huh? What lines are you talking about? I see no lines. All I see is a mass of indigenous people pushing and shoving shouting numbers at some security cops. Well, good thing we choose the right day to come....

- Grover, cut to the front of a "line" pulled John along with him and started bartering with some security cop. 5 minutes later he had some number and we moved along to the next "line." The crowds were so dense that Jennie was actually being bumped and plowed into so we removed her from the "line" and she waited with Lydia at a more "tranquil" area of the court yard.

- Back in a new line. Jennie (because she had a baby) was escorted inside another office area and was able to find a seat and wait for us. Grover and John waited outside and jockyed for position in a new "line." Every 3 or 4 minutes security cops would come and shout names out to the crowd and people would raise there hands and grab another ticket. Keep in mind this is all happening with people jamming up to the entrance way to the office. After all, the closer to the entrance you can get the quicker your number will be called...... (myth) ..... and we learned that if you shout your name to the security cops maybe they will call your name quicker.... (another myth). After an hour Lydia Belén Warden Mach was called. We grabbed the number and went to another "line."

- In "line" again, we waited to pay around $2 for something. From there we were shown another "line."

- In "line" again, we waited to have our ticket stamped. From there we were shown another "line."

- In "line" again, we waited to get a new document signed and stamped that said we could enter into the office. (Same office where Jennie was sitting and the crowd was gathered outside.)

- Once in the office we joined the other 75 Bolivians who were called before us. We found a corner and waited for our new number to be called. (Grover waited in "line" for our number this time.) Yes, you wait in a "line" for your number to be called.....

- Once into the final office we sat at a desk and began the identification card process. Finally after 20 minutes of spelling and respelling out Lydia's name we got to the picture taking part. Well, according to Bolivian law the person must have their eyes open for the picture. Well, great, but it isn't easy to get a newborn (4 days old at this point) to open their eyes for a picture. Here are some suggestions from the Bolivian police. "If we throw some cold water on her face she will probably wake up and open her eyes." "Maybe if we snap 20 pictures in a row and the flash goes off she will wake up and we will get our picture." Or perhaps, maybe if 20 Bolivian security cops all gather around and confirm that her eyes are in fact closed that, that will somehow open her eyes. After 20 minutes and 50 snapped photos the eyes finally opened and Lydia got her picture. Signed a few more papers, made some more photo copies, received another ticket and we were done. We left the office and were told to come back the next morning to pick up the carnit.

- John arrived the next morning waited in another "line," and finally got the carnit in hand. DONE! Next step Bolivian Passport.

Step 3: Bolivian Passport.
- The next day Grover picked us up and we headed to the immigration office. (different office) Upon arriving we found a much more tranquil atmosphere. We waited in line to talk to a security cop about our documents. Again, John was all prepared and had made copies of everything we needed.

- Once our turn came we sat down with the security cop and he asked for special copies of our birth certificate. Well, we didn't have those, so off we went to the photocopy place. Copies made, returned to the office.

- Back to the desk, sat down again, and the cop asked to see our passports. No problems, but he decided that the office would like a copy of our visa stamps inside of passports for their records. Off to the photo copy place again.

- Back to the office, sat down and finish up paper work. Once completed the security cop said, "OK, now you need to go to the bank to pay for the passport and then return back here to this office to complete the documentation." Well, great. It was 4:30 and the banks were closed. So, we went home for the night. Grovers quote, "The bank is easy. Just go tomorrow over lunch, you won't have to wait in any lines and you should be able to go right up to the front and pay without hassle."

- Next day John ran to the bank to pay for passport. Upon arrival there was a "line" of 30 people outside waiting to enter. John talked to the security cop and he said, "NO. YUU MOOST WHEAT N LINE." Back outside in line.

- Upon entering the bank, 20 minutes later, John was given a number to wait. There were probably 75 people waiting in the bank. John was #473. On the screen was #423. Yes, there were 50 people waiting in front of John to talk to the tellers! Luckily the lines went pretty quick. 40 minutes later John paid for the passport, received 8 receipts (no kidding) and headed off to meet the girls for another trip to the immigration office.

- Back to the immigration office. After waiting a few minutes, we got to the desk, fill out more papers, and the security cop said "Go to that lady over there. She will take Lydia's picture......."

- Over to the new desk we go. "According to Bolivian law, your eyes have to be open on all official government documentation." Yes, we know...... 20 minutes, 30 pictures, 2 Ella meltdowns, and a phone call to the boss to verify that eyes have to be completely open on the passport, we FINALLY got a picture with Lydia's eyes open. Signed a few more papers, explained a few more last name differences, and we were done. "Come back Friday and pick up the passport," the security cop said. Whew!

That brings us to today. We do not have the passport in hand yet (tomorrow is Friday) but hopefully in less than 24 hours Lydia will be able to leave the country (if need be) legally.

It was quite a ride, and surely we will have stories to tell in the future, but Lydia is officially Bolivian!

Sorry this has been such a long blog, but there is nothing short about working with the Bolivian government. Now, we just need to go through the process of making her American. That will probably be another blog for the future.

FYI, now that we are done with this whole process, we have had time to update Ella and Lydia's blog with some new pictures of the sisters. Take a moment to check them out.

Photos

2011-01-12T18:23:00.000-05:00

A few pictures of our newest family member.

Awake and happy!

Sleeping and content!

Lydia came two weeks early and we didn't have time to buy a bouncy seat. Oh well, pillows will do.

Snuggled up for a nap.

Some of Lydia's first visitors. The FH team from Horna C'Kasa.

Our good friends Jan and Phil. We are so thankful for their help and support. Jan also watched after Ella for two days as we recovered in the hospital.

Phil our translation help!

On the way home!

Lydia's first nap at home.

Our new little helper.

We could probably post many, many more pictures! But we know that outside of a few proud grandparents, aunts and uncles, these pictures may get old. From now on Ella has offered to share her blog with Lydia. So, if you are interested in keeping up with our girls, you can find more fun pics and stories at Growin' up in Bolivia

Lydia Belén Warden

2011-01-11T22:32:00.000-05:00

It seems like each experience we face here in Bolivia is accompanied by an interesting story. We would love to share with you the story of Lydia Belén Warden.

As many of you know Jennie was pregnant and due to deliver on Jan 23rd. After several check ups and appointments we realized that our precious baby (Lydia) was sitting head up (breech position) in the womb. We realized very quickly that this could provide a challenge for the Bolivian doctors as they avoid breech babies at all cost and have little to no experience delivering them. This past week we scheduled an ecographia to happen for Friday Jan 14 and another doctors appointment for the same day. Depending on the results of the ecographia, we would then schedule a C-section if Lydia was still breech, or follow through with the natural birth as expected. That was the plan....

On Sunday evening Jan 9, we were skyping with our good friends over the computer and Jennie realized that her water sac had just broken. Realizing that Jennie was still only 38 weeks, the baby was breech, and we weren't remotely prepared to head to the hospital, we said a prayer, packed our bags, called our friends Phil and Jan for help and left for the hospital.

10:03pm: Water breaks

10:52pm: Left for Hospital

In the car on the way to the hospital we discussed the situation and mentally prepared for an emergency C-section believing Lydia was still breech. (2 weeks early, breech baby, and labor contractions was not a good combination.) Interestingly enough, we also commented on the fact that John had just finished a devotional at the church that evening about "trusting God through difficulty." It was our turn to walk the line.

11:09pm: Arrived at Hospital Cristo De Las Americas

11:33pm: First consultation with the OBGYN

When we arrived at the hospital we checked into a room and waited for an update from our OBGYN. Within 10 minutes the OBGYN had arrived and done a preliminary check on Jennie. To our surprise Jennie was already dilated 6cm with no pain. The doctor also confirmed with us at that point that Lydia had summersaulted in the womb and was now head down! No need for a C-section, let's do this thing naturally.

12:30am: Second consultation with the OBGYN

An hour had passed and the OBGYN came into the room for a second consultation. At this point Jennie was 7cm dilated having minor contractions (every 4 minutes) and yet still no pain!!!

1:15am: Third consultation with the OBGYN

After another 45 minutes the OBGYN once again checked on the progress and decided since there were still no major contractions and very little to no pain, that she would zip back to her house for a few minutes and return in an hour to check the progress.

1:35am: First major contraction starts

After 2 hours in the hospital the first major contraction (accompanied by pain) had started. On our own in the room we prepared for more contractions and the labor process.

1:51am: Lydia's coming.

4 or 5 major contractions had passed and Jennie was in the bathroom when all the sudden she felt the pressure of the baby coming out. She immediately rushed back to the bed and said to John get the doctor, the baby is coming.

1:52am: SOS to the doctors

John ran done the hallway, yelled for a doctor, and came rushing back to the room. Jennie was in the bed, and the baby was crowing. Within seconds a nurse appeared, gasped, and left the room shouting for the doctor to hurry.

1:52.45am: The preparation

With no doctors, nurses or anyone with basic medical experience left in the room, John grabbed the hand sanitizer and prepared to catch the baby.

1:52.55am: Help arrives

The on-call doctor ran into the room placing on his rubber gloves in the process.

1:53am: She's here!!

As he snapped the second glove into place he literally in the same motion, without breaking stride, leaned over the side of the bed and grasped the baby which was already half of the way out. He broke the yoke sac, revealing feet..... (yes she came out feet first in breech position) and within seconds maneuvered Lydia's head and full body out into this world.

Lydia Belén Warden!!

Monday January 10, 2011, 1:53am.

5lbs 7oz

18 inches long

If the story seems pretty crazy.... it was. Through the unknowns, fears, surprises, and unexpecteds Lydia came bursting into the world a healthy strong little girl.

What is it that makes us so thankful this evening?
- Maybe it was the fact that Lydia came 2 weeks early and totally heathy, that we marvel at God's grace.
- Possibly the incredible timing of the doctor arriving at the moment of departure with not even a second to spare that we realize God always has it timed out just as he plans.
- Or possibly the fact that breech babies in Bolivia provide huge risk of complication and yet she arrived so smoothly that we almost missed her.
- Was it the total peace of mind and understanding amidst the language barriers and cultural differences that remind us of God's provisions?
- I imagine it was the fact that Jennie was supernaturally blessed with a pregnancy that basically consisted of 20 minutes of pain

However as we reflect this evening, we realize that our gratefulness includes everything mentioned and much more. God, the author and sustainer of life, chose to bless us with a special gift that was created from and for His glory. To God our father and redeemer we give praise tonight.

Lydia. May you walk in the way of truth, pursuing after God and his never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love. May you follow in the footsteps of the women from whom you were named, (Lydia in Acts 16) and be a willing servant and vibrant worshiper of our God.

* More pictures to come!

Christmas Fun

2011-01-03T17:05:00.000-05:00

We did our best to get ourselves in the Christmas spirit this season, despite being far away from family and enduring temps in the high 70's low 80's. :) We enjoyed a nice Christmas lunch with our good friends Phil and Jan Train...and then Ella enjoyed a dip in the pool. I must say that would be one tradition that I could get used to!

We purchased a Christmas tree last year, so it was fun to get all the decorations out again this year. It was amazing to look at pictures of Ella decorating the tree last year compared to this year. She has changed so much!

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2009

We were also invited to a Christmas party for all the foreign missionaries living here in Sucre. We were surprised to see many new faces. You would think, after being here for over a year, we would have already run into all the other "white" people in town. But we were happy to meet some new people and make new friends. We had an enjoyable evening doing all things American...potluck, singing Christmas carols and playing games. It was wonderful to participate in some of these familiar traditions and get to meet some new friends at the same time. (And not have to speak any Spanish the whole night!)

We had quite the set of musicians and instruments for caroling...piano, violin, guitar, and harmonica!

Ella feeding a rabbit before the Christmas party started.

On Christmas day we had an enjoyable, lazy day. Just the 3 of us at home. We had cinnamon rolls, opened up presents, and watched Christmas movies. And of course we were able to skype with many of our family members which was special. Amazing to believe that it's all over and we need to start taking down the decorations already!

Hoping your holidays were wonderful!

Bolivian Christmas Traditions

2010-12-23T14:19:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that this is our second Christmas in Bolivia. We are slowing learning all about the Bolivian Christmas traditions, some of which are similar to our's in the US, and some very different.

One interesting tradition is the gifting of the canasta or basket from the employer to the employee. It doesn't matter where you work, this is an expected practice among all Bolivians. These baskets typically have staple food items, like flour, sugar and rice, as well as special Christmas items, like Christmas bread, cookies, and candies.

This Christmas, we not only were the recipients of a canasta from FH, but also had an opportunity to give a canasta. With Jennie being pregnant we hired a Bolivian woman named Ciria to help with things around the house. Ciria comes 4 hours a week to help with some cleaning and most importantly she walks to the market, purchases our produce, and brings it home for us. Making weekly market trips over the past few months has been nearly impossible, so the help of Ciria has been a welcomed blessing. Not only has Ciria's help been a blessing to our family, we are also happy to be able to give her the opportunity for employment. Ciria is a single mother of 2 kids and works very hard (3 jobs total) to support them. Putting a canasta together for her was fun for us to do. Since we have gotten to know her and her children over the past few months, we enjoyed finding special items for each of them.

Christmas with FH

2010-12-22T15:15:00.000-05:00

Of course, Christmas is never the same when you are away from your family and living in a foreign country, but this past Friday we enjoyed our second "FH Christmas." The Food for the Hungry offices close for about 3 to 4 weeks during the Holidays. To celebrate this long awaited break, the FH office typically plans a few special surprises for their employees. This past Friday we participated in a day of events that jump started the Christmas vacation.

In the morning, the office hosted a "bring your child to work day" event. In total, around 30 children attended the event which included games, a clown, songs, and competitions. Ella joined John at work for the morning and came home with a bag full of prizes.

John and Ella ready for work!

Ella won many of the competitions despite her lack of Spanish skills!

Morning snack with daddy

In the afternoon John competed in the annual soccer competition between the FH staff from the various work zones. Though he does not pride himself on soccer knowledge or skills he had a good time and held his own quite well. Unbeknownst to him he was selected as the "striker" due to his height and potential for "headers." Comical, considering he needed to verify exactly what those terms meant. Though John did not score, he did have some real nice plays and even stuffed the stat sheet with a few spectacular assists.

Team Horna C'Kasa in action! (Thank you Hope Church for providing the attire! We wore our Cincinnati Reds jersey's)

In the evening, John and Jennie attended the FH Christmas dinner to conclude the day of events. The highlight of the dinner was a surprise visit by an "Evangelical" Marachi band. It was quite a way to end the evening and usher in the Christmas season.

Our table for the evening

The "Evangelical" Marachi band. (They were actually pretty good. However three songs would have been sufficient. Nine was a little much :) )

Visitors to the office

2010-12-18T11:42:00.000-05:00

Earlier this month the FH Sucre office welcomed a few special visitors. Luis Noda, Victor Cortez, and Oscar Montes. Oscar is the director of FH Bolivia, Victor the director of FH Latin America, and Luis, one of three, directors of FH Global. For two days John was part of welcoming these men and sharing about the work of FH in Sucre and the rural region. On Tuesday the group visited Horna C'Kasa and Lajastambo, two peri-urban regions that John works closely in. On Wednesday the group traveled to Tomoyo, Sorojchi, Sorocopa, and Yurjoca to visit the various projects in that region. John also participated in a lunch pastors meeting helping to share how God is working and using the churches in this region to transform lives. It was a great visit and John enjoyed getting a chance to talk to these men and get to know their hearts a bit deeper.

Mountains outside of Tomoyo.

Cheese produced from the FH dairy micro enterprise business in Sorojchi

The best yogurt in Bolivia! (product of the same micro enterprise business)

Oscar sharing with a few indigenous villagers

John with pastors Mariano and Simon

Luis, Oscar, John, and Victor

Pastors Training

2010-12-18T10:54:00.001-05:00

Over the past year many people have asked us what John’s job actually consists of. What is church strengthening? There are many components to the job but one area is the encouraging, empowering, and training of rural church pastors. To give you a quick glimpse into what that looks like we have included a short description of a final graduation meeting this year. For the past 8 months John has met with a group of indigenous church leaders and pastors on a monthly basis. The group consists of 6 to 9 pastors that lead churches in the slums of Sucre and the rural mountain areas of Bolivia. In April of this year Food for the Hungry started a training program with each of these pastors, teaching them biblical principles in Worldview, the Ethics of Development, and Holistic Ministry with the goal being to encourage mutual character transformation and deeper love for God and His creation. The program consisted of 15 lessons as well as time for sharing, prayer, and encouragement. Over the past year John has grown to know these pastors well and appreciate their hearts to serve and glorify God in their lives, families, and ministries. Many of them have made significant sacrifices to share the Gospel and lead their churches. They share humbling stories each month of the amazing ways God has opened doors or provided for their needs. This past week we concluded our training with these pastors with 2 final lessons and a celebration with graduation certificates. May the Lord continue to encourage, shape, and bless these pastors. Their witness has taught us lots and they remind us of the privilege it is to pursue God and be called one of His own.

Our Graduates!! Adelia, Elvis, Pancho, Jillian, Anacleto, Simon, Mariano, Martha,

John teaching the final session on "Kingdom Mathematics." God's desire to multiply our resources and faith for His glory.

Anacleto and Mariano working on a lesson activity.

The teacher overseeing the work of his students.

Ella's Blog....

2010-11-30T15:50:00.000-05:00

...has finally been updated!

You can check it out by clicking here.

Ella just finished her school year! Her summer break started last week and she won't be back to school until the beginning of February. We are so amazed at how well she has done in school. It was pretty hard dropping her off to school that first day, knowing she wouldn't be able to understand a thing. But she has done so well and made some great friends. We are especially thankful for her wonderful and compassionate teacher. On many occasions I would find Ella in her lap when I went to pick her up from school. Ella made a special connection with her and we know that is a big part of why school went so well for her.

Fun in Horna C'Kasa

2010-11-26T15:10:00.001-05:00

This past weekend we participated in a special year ending event with the children of Horna C'Kasa, Alta Munyapata, and Bartolina Sisa. (FH work zones on the outskirts of Sucre.) To close out our work in these zones for 2010 the office hosted a special celebration event for the 800 children living in these zones. A drama and music group organized the event and shared several fun and enjoyable dances and songs throughout the morning. The children also participated in a variety of games and competitions for special door prizes. The event was a wonderful celebration for the kids and a great chance for us to reflect on the special relationships and experiences we have shared with many of these children over the past year. The first year with these kids has flown by and we are thankful for the ways that many of the children have shown us joy and happiness in the midst of tough circumstances. We are reminded each time we share a smile or give a hug that God has created each of them with overwhelming love and potential, and for this special time in our lives we are blessed to watch them grow and be apart of their lives. Thank you Yolanda, Delia, Jhoel, Israel, Miguel, Mayra, Ana Belén and hundreds of others who have touched our lives and shown us a touching side of God's love over the past year.

Here are a few pictures from the day:

There was a great turnout for the event. There were over 500 kids there!

It was an unusually cool day for this time of year. For a snack, all the kids got hot chocolate...

...and fried bread.

Cutie Pie

Our friend Ana Belen. It was hard to get a picture without a mouth full!

Joel, another good friend. He is usually John's little shadow.

Furlough - Part 2b: Cincinnati - Missions Conference

2010-11-26T15:02:00.000-05:00

The final segment of our furlough was a weekend event, hosted by Hope Church, to bless, celebrate and connect with all of the churches foreign missionary partners. The event was called "Growing Further Weekend." This four day event was filled with a great deal of sharing, reconnecting, relaxing, and fun.

On Thursday evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner served and cooked by our good friend Bruce Worth. Of course, we stuffed our selves with his incredible BBQ ribs and beef brisket. After the dinner the missionary partners had an enjoyable fellowship time with the Hope Church leadership team and elders. The High School ministry organized a hilarious time of games copying the game show "Minute To Win It." (This was the first time we had ever heard of this new game show. As to be expected our table (Warden's, Dunn's, and Ewing's) won the whole competition.

On Friday morning we experienced a really special time of fellowship with Pastor Stephen Kirk and each missionary partner. Each partner was asked to share how the Gospel is impeded in their culture. This lead to a 2 hour discussion and fascinating stories, facts, and cultural insights. It was amazing to hear how many of the same threads of fear based obedience, corruption, and animistic worldviews were underlying challenges in each culture represented. From Japan to Bolivia to India to Russia to the Islamic world God is at work doing mighty things amidst the pain and oppression.

On Saturday evening we enjoyed a another great evening of fellowship as the church was invited to enjoy the Niederman Farm. An outdoor farm "event" with activities for children, adults, grandparents and everyone in between. From pig races, to bonfires, and blow up jumping rings for kids it was truly a family affair.

Finally, we ended the conference with a Sunday morning service where we introduced ourselves and our ministries to the church congregation, (John also preached both services) and then spoke in various church community groups. (Once again we owe a special thank you to the Hope Church Kids ministry for their incredible party and generosity to our family. God has truly used you to bless and encourage our family.) It was a blessed morning as the fellowship with friends and the opportunity to share our heart with the church was a special encouragement. In the evening, to close the conference, we participated in a coffee house discussion where people had an opportunity to ask questions about our ministry and hear more about what our everyday work looks like.

The Growing Further weekend was a special blessing to our family and ministry. We left feeling very encouraged and ready to return and continue in the ministry God has laid upon our hearts. The weekend was a great opportunity to connect again with Hope Church and receive a tremendous amount of energy from supportive church friends and the other ministry partners laboring around the world. May God bless our friends in India, Japan, Russia, Mexico, and the Islamic World as they follow His calling and share the transforming message of the Bible to people in search of life, peace, and hope, all around the world.

Group picture of Growing Further Weekend Participants.

A special time of prayer with friend and Hope Church member Jim Kuhn.

John participating in a "Minute To Win It" game

Jennie mastered the M&M elevator game.

Our beautiful Ella even helped the team out by winning a game. Her parents were so proud!

Feeding the cows at Neiderman Farm

Furlough - Part 2a: Cincinnati, Family and Friends

2010-11-08T20:11:00.000-05:00

As you can imagine our time in South Dakota went by very quickly. It was sad to leave our family in SD but we had our time in Cincinnati to look forward to! Luckily, our flights from Sioux Falls to Cincinnati went smoothly and John and Roseann were there to pick us up!

We went straight from the airport to visit John's sister and her family. (Amy, Greg, Emma and Olivia Dowling) While Emma and Olivia are a few years older than Ella, they were so good with her. The three girls immediately went up to the "play room" and we didn't see them again until we had to call them down for supper. Later in the week, Ella had her first official "sleep-over" with the girls and also went to see them play in a few of their soccer games. She had a blast!

Ella also spent some quality time with grandma and grandpa throughout the week. Feeding the ducks, going to the park, and eating lunch at McDonalds were a few of the highlights. Ella loves to spend time with her grandparents and enjoyed our trip back to the States and the chance to soak in the extra attention.

On Sunday evening John was invited to attend the Red's playoff baseball game with his brother-in-law Greg. Although the Reds lost John was thrilled to see his first Reds game of the year and spend some time with Greg. Thanks Greg!

In the evenings we enjoyed our new family game of five crowns with John's parents. It was a nail-bitter down to the end, but John came out victorious in our 2 week long tourney.

Throughout the time in Cincinnati we enjoyed many of our favorite restaurants (Chick-Fila, Olive Garden), watching college football (OK, that was one of John's highlights), shopping at IKEA, enjoying the beautiful fall weather, and spending time with those we miss and love a great deal.

Enjoying Grandpa and Grandma Warden

Aunt Amy, Uncle Greg and Cousins Emma and Olivia

Cousins!

We also had the opportunity to visit with many of our friends. It was amazing to see how all of their kids had grown in the past year. There were actually 7 babies born in our Journey community since we have been gone! We also attended our old Tuesday night Bible study group, that is still going strong. We appreciated the fellowship and years of great friendships and spiritual growth. On Saturday evening we attended the community bonfire and enjoyed catching up with many of the couples we have such great memories with. Ella had a wonderful time playing with all the kids she hadn't seen in over a year.

Addy

Squeezed in the middle of our trip was a brief but enjoyable visit from Jennie's good friend Erin. Jennie and Erin spent a year together in Kenya after college and have shared a special relationship ever since. As well, John's good college friend Cam also drove down to Cincinnati for an afternoon. As always, it was good to play a game of frisbee golf, talk about sports, and catch up on life. There is never enough time to spend with friends but we are thankful for the moments we had with important people in our lives.

We were also blessed to spend some quality time with our good friends, Matt and Francesca Jensen. It was a blessing to share good food, fellowship, and some great games of Rook. I won't name names, but I do believe that the females went undefeated the entire time we were home! This was also the first time we had met their son Matteo face to face. Ella and Matteo hit it off. She enjoyed making him laugh. He sure is a cutie.

Niederman Farm with Matteo

AHHH...relaxation!

Feeding Ducks with Grandma

We had a great time in Cincinnati! The time went by really fast, but it was a blessing to see so many friends and family. It was a good reminder of how many people are at "home" thinking and praying for us. Thanks to all of you who made us feel so welcome while we were home visiting! Already looking forward to the next time!

Furlough - Part 1: South Dakota

2010-10-30T10:42:00.001-04:00

We made it!

The first 2 weeks of our month stay in the States took us to South Dakota to see Jennie's side of the family. Of course getting there was quite the adventure. Anytime you have to take 5 flights to get to your final destination, you are just increasing the chances that something could go wrong. And that something went wrong on flight number 3. We were all settled in the plane headed to Miami from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, when the captain announced that the plane that had just landed on the runway had blown a tire. So our quick little hour layover in Santa Cruz ended up being a 4 hour layover. We already knew that we would miss our connecting flight in Miami for Chicago. However, after a series of near miracles, we were able to get a late night flight to St. Louis, arriving after midnight. We spent 3 hours sleeping in a hotel and caught a 6am flight to Chicago the next morning, allowing us to make our original flight into Sioux Falls, South Dakota by 10am! It was a lot more flying and a LOT LESS sleep but we made it as originally planned!

Ella enjoying her Grandpa and Grandma Mach

Once in Sioux Falls, we had a nice time seeing family and running errands. Hello MAC store! We had to get our computer fixed after our helpful daughter tried to clean our laptop screen with furniture polish. Outside of Sioux Falls, most of our time was spent in Yankton, South Dakota where Jennie's parents live. In Yankton we relaxed, ate lots of good food, and enjoyed great time with Jennie's family. We also spent a Sunday sharing about our ministry with one of our supporting churches, Calvary Baptist.

Another highlight of our trip was Jennie's cousin's wedding in Des Moines, IA. Ella was one of the flower girls and she had a blast! It was also another opportunity to see more of Jennie's. A wonderful time...and wonderful fall weather. Never thought we would be swimming outside in Oct.

Ready to walk down the isle....

Success!

Swimming in the outdoor hotel pool, Oct. 1st!

We had a wonderful time with family, and Ella had a blast hanging out with her Grandpa and Grandma, GG, and Uncle Dan and Aunt Katie (and lots more family)! Below are some more pictures from our time.

Ella the dentist...and her brave first patient.

Grandpa, Uncle Dan and Daddy took Ella to the zoo! (aka Three Men and a Baby)

Helping Grandpa mow the lawn. Tough work!

Telling Stories to Grandma

Best family pic attempt. Uncle Dan is apparently shifting to the next gear?!?

Hangin' out with Uncle Dan and Aunt Kate... and a big moose!

Story time every night with Grandpa.

Roasting hot dogs and smores at Lewis and Clark Lake

Where have we been?????

2010-10-25T10:38:00.000-04:00

Wow, I was surprised to look at our blog and see that we haven't blogged since August! But we do have a good excuse! We have been in the States for the past month and actually got to share with many of you face to face! It was wonderful to see family and friends even though the time went by really fast. Thanks to so many of you out there that made our time there so fun and special. We have lots of pictures and stories to share from our trip, so be on the look-out.

In the meantime we are still unpacking, re-adjusting to the altitude and slowly getting back into our routine here in Sucre. John is back in the saddle at work again. Ella started school again today and walked right in those doors like she hadn't missed a day! And I am working on getting our fridge and pantry stocked up again so I can feed all of us!

More posts to come....

FH Missionary Retreat 2010

2010-08-31T12:10:00.000-04:00

Once a year FH holds a retreat for all it's missionaries serving in Bolivia. This year only 3 families were able to attend but we had a wonderful time. We spend the weekend at a house called Samay Hausi, a Spanish style hacienda several thousand feet down the mountain from Sucre. It took just under 2 hours of going up, around, and back down a mountain (on a rocky, dirt road) but was well worth it once we got there.

We spent the mornings in sessions lead by Phil and Jan Train, who have been serving as missionaries here in Bolivia for 30 years. (And have also become dear friends of ours.) The morning sessions were wonderful! Topics included:

Intimacy with God

Intimacy with our calling

Marriage strengthening

Raising children

We had the afternoons to enjoy God's creation. If felt as if we were literally dropped in the middle of the mountains. There was a river bed just a 10 min hike from the home, with gorgous views and lots of soft sand. Ella was so excited to be able to go to "the beach."

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

The Entrance

Dinning Room

View of the courtyard from the terrace.

Our closest neighbors!

Playing in the river

Ella had a blast in the sand

Couldn't help taking the "view from the feet" shot at the "beach"

Group photo! We had a wonderful time and can't wait for next year.

Santa Cruz!

2010-08-31T10:51:00.000-04:00

After a crazy June and July, we decided to take a little mini family vacation to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Santa Cruz is in the low lands of Bolivia, normally it's tropical, hot, and humid. Well...when we arrived, it was cool and windy! Luckily, it warmed up nicely and we really enjoyed our time there, catching up with each other.

We spent our first two days in the city doing some shopping, as Santa Cruz has a lot more "stuff" than what we have access to in Sucre. Some highlights included shopping at the "Hyper-Maxi", a supermarket very similar to what we are used to at home. We were able to stock up on some food items that we don't normally have in Sucre. Another highlight was eating at a Burger King! (I never thought that eating at Burger King would EVER be a highlight for me, but the smell of fast food did remind me of home!)

We found the city of Santa Cruz to be VERY busy, especially after living in our tranquil Sucre. So we were more than ready for our next destination. We headed just out of the city to the Biocentre Guembe, a 16 acre nature preserve. We enjoyed the butterfly house, the bird sanctuary, horseback ridding, watching the ostriches, playing at the kids park, and of course swimming in the pools. I should mention that because of the cold front that recently moved through South America the water was down right frigid! However, that didn't stop Ella from spending all afternoon "just letting her feet swim!"

Mountain Christian Team from New Mexico

2010-08-17T10:35:00.001-04:00

The end of July brought another team from Mountain Christian Church in New Mexico. This church has become special to us as this was the third team this church has sent to Bolivia in just a year an a half! Many of the members of this team we had meet before so it was fun to see familiar faces again.

The team was involved in a number of activities. They helped work on building a new house for the family that takes care of the FH office in the Horno Ckasa neighborhood. They also worked with the community to pick up trash in the streets (there was LOTS of it!) They participated in teaching the kids about good dental hygiene as well as spent a lot of time with their sponsored kids, and many many more activities.

MC has a special relationship with the neighborhood of Horno Ckasa. They are involved in a program that FH calls C2C (Church to Community). Through members of their church, they sponsor over 30 kids in this community. They have also funded several projects including new bathrooms for the school and a new brick home for the caretakers of the office, who are currently living in a mud home. Something that really stood out on their third visit was the impact of this church physically being in the neighborhood with these families. Their financial impact has been multiplied 10 fold because of their commitment to literally walk alongside these families and the FH staff in relationship. We, along with this community, can't wait for their next visit!

Burrrrrrrrr......

2010-07-27T15:44:00.001-04:00

As many of you know, we are in the middle of winter down here in the Southern Hemisphere. Typically that means when the sun is down, it can get down into the 50's, maybe high 40's on a cool night. During the day when the sun is out it can still get up into the high 60's, low 70's. For this reason, homes are not built with any kind of heating system.

You may have also heard on the news that South America has been suffering from an unusual cold spell. Bolivia experienced this in full force two weekends ago. For three days temps dipped down into the high 20's and with heavy cloud cover. I'm not sure we got out of the 30's during the days. When you are living in a home with no heat, it doesn't take long for it to get pretty chilly. We pretty much lived under blankets and with hats and gloves on for several days. On Saturday morning, we made a big bed of blankets on our living room floor and had a Toy Story Marathon. (yes - Toy Story 3 is out on DVD here in Bolivia already...sort of!)

We were definitely counting our blessings when our landlord arranged for a gas heater to be installed in our apartment on Sat. afternoon.

While we were cold for several days, we couldn't imagine how many people in Bolivia were managing the cold, living in homes made with mud walls. During that cold weekend, 46 people in Sucre died from hypothermia or carbon monoxide poisoning trying to keep warm. I'm sure there are similar stories like this all around South America. Please take a moment to pray for these families that have lost loved ones and that are still fighting to stay warm in this unusually cold season.

Blessings

2010-07-14T23:05:00.001-04:00

As I sit and reflect tonight, a familiar question runs through my mind. Over the past 12 hours many people have asked Jennie and I about what sort of "blessing" the Hope Church team has been. To answer such a question is very difficult. How do you sum up 7 days of incredible memories into a few brief sentences? The blessings over the past week have come in a variety of forms. Ways in which you often don't anticipate, and forms in which you won't forget anytime soon. Below is my attempt to share with you the ways our lives have been blessed over the past 7 days.

A Blessing is....

...friendships that connect at the heart level

...watching bridges being built between cultures that seem so incredibly different

...seeing joy on the faces of children that have been abused, abandoned and neglected

...observing gifts God has given being used to encourage and glorify His name

...enjoying the moments of special talent

...watching your daughter soak in the love of people she will really miss

...seeing friendships of a lifetime being created

...seeing passion at work

...hearing the sacrificial stories of students who loved without hesitation

(Seth giving his sock up for a bandage)

(Students in Ravelo serving Romulo with a blanket)

(Lindsey giving away her jacket at a moments notice)

...observing ministry happen in spite of communication obstacles.

...experiencing the hope of salvation being given through a simple drama

...watching God move in incredible ways

...being joyful for what God has given and realizing that experiences like this are a gift from God

Final Goodbyes

2010-07-14T21:07:00.000-04:00

The time has come for us to let go and say good bye. The past week has been wonderful and the team has blessed us and the people of Bolivia so much. We have lots of great memories to hold onto!

On Tuesday the Alta Munyapata team spent the morning with some local kids at the Dinosaur museum. Sucre has discovered over 5,000 dinosaur tracks in the near by mountains and a beautiful museum has been built to showcase them. Following the museum the students returned to the hotel and reunited with the team from Ravelo. It was a great time of sharing stories and laughing at memories.

The Ravelo team arrived back in Sucre around 1:00pm Tuesday, healthy, and full of life. The stories and experiences they have shared are incredible. The kids soaked in the experience and left quite impacted by the church, children, and community of Ravelo.

Both teams spent the afternoon together shopping in Sucre and seeing the local sights. In the evening they celebrated a final dinner together with the FH staff. Filled with laughs, touching stories, and tears the teams said there final good byes and celebrated an incredible week of ministry.

On Wednesday the teams arrived at the Sucre airport and prepared for there journey back to the states. As to be expected the good byes were filled with mixed emotions. Many of the children from Alta Munyapata were at the airport to wish them well and take advantage of a few final hugs. If there was ever any doubt as to the impact the students had upon the children, the final minutes together on Wednesday spoke volumes. The students of Hope Church came with open hearts to love and serve, and the fruit of there labor was celebrated today through the smiles, hugs, and tears of the children.

On behalf of the FH staff, hundreds of impacted children and our family, Thank you Hope Church for sharing your students with us for this past week. You have lots to be proud of and a great deal to look forward to. They will arrive home with great memories and lots of stories. Let them share, laugh and shed tears, and know that God is smiling on them for their sacrificial heart to embrace the people of Bolivian and share the life changing love of God.

Monday Update

2010-07-12T22:36:00.000-04:00

Wow, our time has flown by. It is hard to believe we spent our final day of ministry today in both Alta Munyapata and Ravelo. Tomorrow the groups will once again converge and spend some time here in Sucre seeing the sights and doing some shopping for friends and family.

The Ravelo team will be returning home around midday day and will enjoying a nice meal at a restaurant that has a spectacular view of the city. From what we have heard they have had a great time in the countryside and have experienced Bolivian life at its purest. Today the team would have finished there time in Ravelo with some work on a project at the local school and some time to play and hang out with the children.

The Alta Munyapata team finished up their time in the city doing several projects. Part of the group has been working on a mural of Noah's ark for the new education center. The group worked hard on the mural and it will be a great addition to the new center. In the afternoon Mindi Worth lead a CPR training class with the help of a few students, and Bruce Worth lead a cooking class. Both classes were a huge hit and the Bolivian participants loved it!

It has been a blessing to minister with the team from Hope Church. The kids have been healthy and happy from day one. Their work has been very fruitful and they look forward to sharing stories tomorrow when the team once again join together.

Team Updates...with Pictures!

2010-07-10T21:11:00.001-04:00

We have had another great day with the Hope Team. The team continues to amaze us with their talents, and their hearts to serve and love on the people of Bolivia! Here are some updates from today.

Ravelo: We were able to make a call today. They are reporting that everyone is feeling great and that the food has been awesome! They were able to do some home visits which was very impactful on the team. Another highlight they shared was from their first day. The pastor of the churched told the team that she had been praying for 3 years that an evangelical team would come and visit their community. The Hope Team was the answer to her prayers! They are the very first Christian group that has ever come to Ravelo! I'm sure God is using them in amazing ways.

Sorry...no pics! :(

Alta Munyapata: It was a FULL day that is still going on for the team as I write this blog. The team has spent most of their day at a new neighborhood call La Istanbul (I'm sure I didn't spell that right!) Our Hope group was able to help lead a "lesson" at the church in the morning about being good stewards of creation. Following the lesson, the team split up into groups with members of the congregation and spent several hours cleaning up trash in the community. After lunch, the women's ministry of the church shared with the team about the different aspects of their ministry and the Hope Team in turn was able to give these women some words of encouragement. Next we all loaded up into the bus and headed to another venue to take part in a special marriage seminar that FH was doing for the Alta Munyapata neighborhood. Throughout the day couples had been invited to attend this marriage seminar, and the team was able to join them for the renewing of their vows! It was a really neat ceremony and wonderful to see these Bolivian couples committing their lives to each other and to God. After the ceremony, I (Jennie) parted ways with the team to put Ella to bed. But the team headed back out to the church in La Istanbul, where they are participatig in a teen talent night with other teenagers from the church.

I've attached a slide show with pictures form the last few days. Everyone is still healthy and I am still hearing comments about how much fun they are having. (We are also having a blast sharing in this adventure with them!)

PS If you click on the slideshow below, you can see the pictures a bit larger and with captions!

Trees!

2010-07-09T22:34:00.000-04:00

Well, today was another great day. This team is doing an incredible job. Every time I look I see a student doing something that makes me smile. We started the day by planting trees around an area in Alta Munyapata that is very barren and dry. The dream is to make the space into a nice green area where kids can play and the community can gather and be proud. Now the place is just a deserted plot of land with heaps of rocks and trash. The team did an awesome day digging the holes and planting the trees. With the help of the community members I believe we planted around 30 trees today. In the afternoon the kids attended a sporting competition that involved kids from all 7 neighborhoods that FH works in. It was an enjoyable time and the kids were a hit!

A few smiles for me today:
30 Bolivian kids hanging on Jamar as he raced around the gymnasium
Ashley making balloon giraffes (like hundreds)
Brandon being the "sick patient" in the Doctor office drama
Lindsey giving her coat away

I have not heard from the Ravelo team today. I know they had a very busy schedule with Home visits and other training's. I am positive they are having a good time. No news is good news!

Your kids are great. We are having a blast.

A Great Way to Start

2010-07-08T21:28:00.001-04:00

Hi Families!

We just walked in the door and I wanted to give you a quick update about our days. I have so many great photos of the kids, but am just too tired to post any tonight. Hopefully tomorrow!

Alta Munyapata Team:

This morning the team split into 4 groups and helped work with FH coalitions. Coalitions are basically programs for sponsored kids that help teach Biblical principles as well as education and health. Today's lesson was on the creation, fall, resurrection and redemption. The team participated by sharing a craft project with the kids.

Next each group went on a home visit where they were able to talk to families and gain a better understanding of Bolivian life. Home visits are always very eye-opening powerful. The really neat thing about the home visits today was that they were the homes of actual kids that people on the Hope team sponsor. So, the team visited the homes of Ashley, Courtney, Linsday and Emily's sponsored children!

After lunch, the team visited Horeb Church. This church does an after-school program for the kids in the Alta Munyapata neighborhood. The Team did two skits and also lead a craft project with the kids. The dramas were awesome and the kids loved them. The team was very creative and nailed it. You have a lot to be proud of!

After Horeb Church, the team went to a big gymnasium in the area for the "opening ceremonies" of a sports tournament. There are about 7 different neighborhoods that FH works in and each one put together a soccer team. The kids from Hope will be their coaches and they will all compete tomorrow.

Following the opening ceremonies, the team came back into town for a nice meal. As you can see it was a packed day. I know the Hope kids had an amazing experience as well as the kids from Alta Munyapata.

No health issues today. Everyone is feeling great!

Ravelo:

We just had time for a 5 min call with the Ravelo team so I don't have a lot of details. I can report that they arrived safely this morning around 8:30pm. We know that they helped with some coalitions as well over topics of recycling and the importance of education. They reported that they had a great day and everyone is healthy and feeling good!

The kids are doing great and really soaking in the experience. It was a great start to the week and the trip!

Pictures!

2010-07-07T22:16:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful day welcoming the team from Hope Church. The following 2 pictures are of the team being welcomed at the airport by the kids from the Alta Munyapata neighborhood.

After getting settled in at the hotel, the team went out to Alta Munyapata neighborhood and participated in a formal welcoming ceremony. There were dance presentations done by members of the community and each member of the team was presented with a flower necklace. Afterwards the team hung out with the kids from the community for a while before heading back into Sucre.

After the ceremony the kids came over to our place for supper and a team meeting. We ate on the roof of our apartment building and then had the meeting inside because it was getting a little chilly!

It was such a blessing to have the team here in our home. They are all doing SO well and are so excited to be here and get started working tomorrow. The Ravelo team will leave Sucre tomorrow at 6 am. John will be able to call every evening to check in with the team and get an update on how and what they are doing. So I may not have pictures of the Ravelo team but should have an update for you.

I hope all the parents of these kids are able to sleep well tonight. I can assure your kids will be sleeping well! They've had a busy day!

They're Here!!!!!

2010-07-07T15:54:00.000-04:00

I just walked in the door from picking up the Hope Church team from the airport and getting them settled in at their hotel. A bus of kids from Horno Chaska were bused up to the airport to greet the team as they got off the airplane. It was a fun welcome with LOTS of picture taking.

The team had NO issues with any of their flights and went right through customs with no problems in La Paz. After they got in they checked into a hotel and had a quick rest before doing a little sight seeing. After getting into Sucre, we took the team to their hotel to settle in. Zulema, the director of the FH office met the team there for a short welcome meeting. Next the kids are off to Horno Chaska to get aquatinted with the neighborhood they will be working with. Following that they will be headed to our house for supper tonight.

Everyone is feeling great. A few kids had headaches in La Paz from the altitude. Now that they are down in Sucre everyone is feeling much better.

Those are the details I have for you at the moment. I have some great pictures and video of the teams arrival and I will post those later tonight. Right now I have to go because I have 30 people coming for supper tonight!

Women's Bible Study

2010-07-05T12:12:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's really been a while since we have blogged! It's definitely not because we haven't had anything going on. Quite the contrary, we have been really busy! One of the new things keeping me (Jennie) busy lately has been a new women's Bible Study. Claire and I were asked to start a study for the women of FH; both those that work for FH themselves and for the wives of FH workers.

We meet every-other Friday night, and so far have had two meetings. Since Claire's Spanish is much better than mine, she does most of the facilitating and I do most of the hosting. Both meetings have gone really well. Many women have never been to anything like this before. Just leaving the house without their kids was a first for some of them. Many of the women are believers, some the only one in their family. There are also several women who are not believers and just wanted to have the chance to meet and fellowship with others.

One woman I want to highlight is Betzy. She has been to both Bible Studies so far and is very outgoing and willing to share. She has shared that neither she nor her family are Christians. At our most recent study she admitted that she didn't have a Bible. We had purchased some Bibles before the study and were able to give her one. She was really excited to receive it and said she wanted to talk to her family over the weekend about God. We're so excited to see how God will use this Bible Study to affect Betzy, her family and many of the other women as well.

Below are some pictures of our most recent Bible Study. It was held on the roof of our apartment building. Take a look at these women, and if you feel lead, pick one or two to pray for as they search to grow in their faith.

Betzy is the woman on the far left.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-05T12:08:00.000-04:00

I must say that the 4th of July Holiday was harder for us to be away from family than we had expected. Knowing that it's summertime back home and that we are missing out on all the fun activities that happen in the summer; cookouts, vacations and swimming has been hard!

But we were thankful to be invited over to Derek and Claire's home for a little American celebration. They had fun games for the kids planned, cheeseburgers, potato salad, and veggies and dip. I also found A&W Root Beer at our grocery store this week so we were able to have root beer floats as well. Although it wasn't exactly the same, it was nice to have a little "taste" of home on the 4th!

Girls by the flag - getting ready to play a game!

Pin the Stars on the Flag Game!

Girls getting instructions on how to make blue stars with finger jello.

Girls working hard to make their stars.

Yeah! Finally time to eat them!

Racing through the streets

2010-06-20T20:29:00.004-04:00

Sucre is known for a variety of things, but one yearly highlight is the annual street race. For the past 3 months we have heard people tell us about this race that happens through the downtown streets of Sucre, but we really didn't know what to expect. This weekend we witnessed first hand. This race is a 2 day event that shuts down city streets and has cars, dirt bikes and four wheelers racing through the downtown at speeds of 60, 70 mph and faster, out into the country side and then back into the city finishing at the central plaza. Saturday is the qualifying time trials and Sunday is the final races. The race isn't the type where all the vehicles race at one time, but rather they do individual races competing against each others times. Below we have a few videos and some pictures of the event. If you think this sounds dangerous, it is. We have stories. Sucre is the only place in the world where this race happens through crowed city streets.

The cars don't look overly fast but they are stripped down and overhauled to race at extreme speeds.

This video is actually at the very start of a race. The car has just begun around the corner and is picking up speed.

This is actually the final 8 block stretch before the finish. The racers are hitting top speeds as they race toward the finish. Part of the course takes them outside through the countryside so the vehicles finish covered in dirt and mud.

Ella's first school field trip - Bolivian Style!

2010-05-28T15:25:00.005-04:00

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

2010-05-28T15:24:00.001-04:00

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!)

2010-05-26T14:01:00.006-04:00

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

2010-05-24T15:27:00.002-04:00

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

2010-05-18T17:50:00.004-04:00

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

2010-05-07T17:23:00.003-04:00

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.

A Diet of Starch

2010-04-30T12:56:00.002-04:00

A common theme throughout Bolivia is the value of potatoes. Almost every meal, dish, and soup has some form of potatoes. Since a large geographical portion of Bolivia is in the Altiplano or mountain region there is a limit to the type and variety of produce and vegetables that can be grown. Much of the region is at high elevation and the brutal climate at 9,000 - 13,000 ft does not accommodate a diversity in agriculture. Thus, making the highly adaptable tuber (yes that is an official category of food), the potato, a cash crop of many communities. The problem with such abundance and lack of variety is that many people literally live on a diet of potatos. They can cook a wicked good dish with potatoes (fried, grilled, roasted, deep fried, oven baked, boiled, freeze dried, chopped, diced, sliced, mashed... you name it) but they have no idea how to use a stem of broccoli or some green beans in a meal. You can't go more than a few steps in the market without seeing a vender with a bucket or bag of potatoes they are selling. The picture above gives you an idea of this phenomena.

A Taste of the Bolivian Countryside

2010-04-22T20:37:00.005-04:00

The past few weeks John has had the opportunity to visit the various work zones where FH Sucre is currently working. These zones are sprinkled across the countryside and typically 2, 3 or 4 hours away. Initially John will be working out of the central office in Sucre and in the neighboring suburb called Horna C’Kasa. However, starting in July, John will begin visiting several of these locations on a monthly basis to strengthen relations with pastors and begin implementing training on Biblical principles and wholistic ministry concepts. Many of these villages are tucked in the mountains of Bolivia and a rugged 3 hour ride across, alpaca pastures, rocky cliffs, and flowing rivers away. You definitely can’t consider half of the paths anything close to a road! The villages however, are filled with a unique countryside charm and the people (though Quecha speakers) are often very gracious and welcoming. Below are a few pictures and a brief description of the villages.

The flowers of Tomoyo. Tomoyo is a village located in a fertile plain between the mountains. Currently FH is working with 2 churches in Tomoyo and is training farmers with a large agriculture and live stock project.

Village stream outside of the FH Tomoyo office

FH Tomoyo office. The best mode of transportation through the mountains is via dirt bike.

This is a view out my window as we travel up the mountain from Tomoyo to Ravelo. Yes this is the road and the bridge all in one.

Our FH vehicle. The SUV's never come back the same color they left.

View from the road to Ravelo.

Village street in Ravelo. In a few short months this will be the home for the Hope Church team!! Yeah we can't wait!

FH office in Ravelo.

Up the mountain even further to Ckda Ckda and Ocuri.

View of the mountains from Ocuri. Ocuri is at an elevation of 13,500ft. One of the highest villages in the world.

The FH office in Ckda Ckda and Ocuri. Better bring a parka if you plan to sleep in Ckda Ckda. The weather at 13,000ft is quite cold and unpredictable. Projects in this region include, church strengthening, health and nutrition, and agriculture. At this elevation you really can't grow anything but potatoes so the families struggle greatly with health and nutritional problems.

The following pictures were taken on another journey to Chiuqisaca Central. Chiuqisaca Central is at a significantly lower elevation than Sucre, thus the landscape is lush and the climate warm.

Street view from the village of Padilla. FH assists in a variety of irrigation and agriculture projects in this region.

The village of Sopacuay. FH just began a partnership with a church in Sopacuay. John will be making occasional trips here to meet with the church pastor and leaders to facilitate training's on Biblical principles.

City square in Sopacuay. It's a beautiful little town.

"Christ Is My Lord Church" in Sopacuay. Here is will John will be spending a little time over the next few years.

Family Visits!

2010-04-08T10:32:00.013-04:00

We were blessed to have our first visitors from home! John's parents, John and Roseann Warden, came to stay with us for 2 1/2 weeks. It was so fun to share our new world here with them. Of course, Ella was especially excited to have her Grandparents here.

We were able to show them how everyday life runs for us here in Sucre. We showed them the markets, stores, and parks. We were also able to visit several museums and other tourist places. That was extra fun for us as well because we hadn't taken the time to see some of those things. They were great sports in taking the public transportation (micros), as you can see below! The micros can get a little tight sometimes!

John and Roseann were also able to go with John to work a few mornings to see first hand the ministry that we are doing here, and meet the people we are working with. They were able to meet their sponsored children face to face and spend time with their families, which was really special. One Sunday we attended the Shekina Church, run by Pastor Elvis (black hair yes, side burns no...). John has been working closely with this church for the past few months and we have grown close with the kids that attend there. After the service we took a group picture with everyone who was there that Sunday. As you can see, the church is made up of mostly youth. It's really hard to reach the adult population here as they are so ingrained in their animistic religions. We are trying to empower these kids to know that they have the potential within them to change their generation.

Over Easter break we took a trip to see Lake Titicaca in Copacabana Bolivia, with an overnight stop in La Paz. John and Roseann really got a taste of what travel is like in Bolivia. We arrived to the Sucre airport around 10 am for our 11:15 am flight to La Paz. When we got there, we learned that they had changed the flight to 2:30 pm, two week ago! Normally the travel agency that you book your tickets through notifies you of these kinds of changes, however they must have forgot this time! So we made the decision to just wait it out at the airport instead of paying for taxis back to our house. 2:30 pm came and gone and we were still waiting for our flight to arrive. Finally, we boarded and took off around 3:45 pm. After spending the night in La Paz, we boarded a bus for a 4 hour ride to Copacabana. The bus ride was surprisingly pleasant as the landscape of the altiplano and mountains were spectacular. Three hours into our trek, we came to a port along Lake Titicaca that we needed to ferry across. The whole process was fascinating. All the passengers were unloaded from the bus and then ferried across the strait. The empty buses were also ferried across on little wood "barges."

Once the barge was full, 3-4 men with big sticks would push the barge from the dock, out onto the lake. (This was not an easy job as you can see in the video below!)

You can see below that they put two more cars on with the semi! I hope that last car has a good parking brake as it's just inches from rolling off.

Finally, we arrived at Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca. The Lake is incredibly beautiful and actually quite large. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America (115 miles long and 50 miles wide) and the highest navigable lake in the world (12,500 ft in elevation). Known for its Inca history Lake Titicaca has several historical sites as well as spectacular views. The Andes mountains frame many views of the lake and the sun sets across the water at this elevation are magnificent. It was a great way to end our time with John and Roseann as well as a beautiful reminder of God's spectacular artistry. Their trip here to Bolivia was a blessing and we had a great time together!

Our first short term Missions Team!

2010-03-24T17:04:00.003-04:00

This past week we said goodbye to 11 new friends. For 6 days we were part of hosting a short term mission’s team from Mt. Christian Church in New Mexico. Mt. Christian Church has partnered with FH Bolivia to establish a C2C (Church to Community) relationship with a neighborhood bordering Sucre. This was Mt. Christian’s second trip to Bolivia over the past year so a good relationship between the neighborhood of Horna C’Kasa B and the church has been established. The team of 11 members helped with various events throughout the week and participated along with the families of Horna C’Kasa B in a variety of activities. On Sunday FH hosted a community wide event along with the local church, Shekina, to celebrate family and the importance of God’s role for the family. There were a variety of trainings focusing on the role of the father, mother, obedience by children etc, as well as games for all ages. Below are a few pictures of participants in the games.

John giving a lesson on honoring your parents to a group of 6-12 year olds.

Mom and Daughter egg race

Winners of the Father and Son three legged race

Another highlight of the week was the opportunity that the team members had to visit their sponsored children and the child’s family. The worth that the families in Horna C’Kasa received from having “friends” come and share with them was immeasurable. You could visually see the excitement they had to share their story with their visitors and welcome them into a glimpse of their life. The visits were extremely powerful as well for the team members. To have the opportunity to meet and hear the story of these families is humbling, exciting and heart wrenching all at the same time. It was a blessing for Jennie and I to be apart of these visits and help facilitate the translation process.

The visit from Mt. Christian Church was a great reminder of the power of obedience by God’s people across the world. They came with such great attitudes and desire to see God honored with their time in Bolivia. They were an encouragement to us as a family and a blessing to share a week with. We are looking forward to their next visit in July!