Double Take

A few weeks ago I was walking past several store fronts. Something caught my attention and I had to do a double take. Initially I was a bit startled and as I kept walking I slowly realized what I had just seen. I HAD to go back and take a picture because it was just to funny to pass up. This pharmacy type store had a mannequin that was displaying every possible contraption that it had to sell....jock strap and all!

Our first Visitors!

For the past 5 days we have had the pleasure of hosting FH missionaries Ed and Sarah Moulding and their 3 year old daughter Alana. They are from the UK and are currently serving in La Paz, Bolivia. Part of their job involves looking after all the FH missionaries in Bolivia. Besides helping us with our visas and keeping us informed on important info, they visit each city with FH missionaries every other month. During their visit they check on us to see how we are adjusting, watch our kids for us so we can have a date night, and help with other various tasks we have on our plate. They also showed us some other fun things in Sucre that we have not had time to discover yet. Below are some pictures of the weekend!

We found a new park! The girls had a blast.

Of course while we were at the park a group of donkeys walked by.

They also took us out to an outdoor restaurant that over looks the city.

John ordered a hamburger... this is what it looked like. It took a while to find the hamburger (bun not included), but it was wonderful nonetheless.

Career Day

Last Saturday our family had the privilege to see Food for the Hungry (FH) in action. Up to this point our days have been filled with mostly language learning, so our time with FH has been limited. This past week however we were invited to help with a special FH project in near by Orna Casa. Orna Casa is a very low income suburb of Sucre and one location of many that FH has an ongoing presence. The project was a "Career Day" that involved around 450 kids from the surrounding villages. Many kids in Bolivia, especially children from low income villages, grow up with little hope of ever living outside of the extreme poverty that is often passed from generation to generation . They are raised in an atmosphere where dreams are squelched by disease, abuse, and abandonment. With that said, one goal of FH is to begin providing opportunity for children to see hope beyond their current circumstances. We believe that all children have been created in the image of God and blessed with skills and abilities that make them unique, beautiful and talented. We desire for children to grasp that life has purpose and that each new day with God brings hope for a brighter future. Not only was this past weekend a kick start for the dreams of many kids, but it ignited a sense of value, meaning, and relevance into the life of many who feel forgotten.

As you can see from the pictures below a wide variety of careers were represented. Police and Fire Department, K-9 unit, EMS unit, doctors, nurses, finance, nutrition, agriculture, social work and many more. Each of these "careers" volunteered their time for the day and brought all kinds of interactive tools to help teach the kids about their job and how they too could some day have a career in their field. The teachers were great and the kids loved it!

K-9 unit showing their stuff.

This boy was proud to show off his flower he received from the agriculture booth.

Getting checked out by the Doc.

Fireman's display

Trying out some fireman's gear

CPR session

Ella enjoyed and was inspired by career day too!

This final picture was the highlight of the day. About 30 minutes prior to the end of the event a bus rolled up filled with the local professional soccer team. For these kids this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. This was like having the Bengals or Reds show up at to an event where you could talk to them and get their autograph. The kids swarmed the bus and every face had a grin from ear to ear.

What an incredible opportunity for these kids to see beyond their circumstances and see that God has created them with purpose and potential. We pray that the seeds of hope that were planted this week will blossom into lives of purpose and impact in the years to come.

Treasure Found!

Many of you out there know that I (Jennie) have a special place in my heart for a batch of really good brownies. Over the past 2 years I have come to perfect the art of making brownies...out of a box. While the process is much easier than making then from scratch, there is SOME skill involved in this. Most of my trial and error in working with boxed brownies came from the brand of brownies you use and the kind/size of pan you use. After many painstaking attempts and taste testing of various brands of brownies and pan sizes, I have found my favorite.

Coming to Sucre I have had to start all over in my aim to find the perfect boxed brownie. I have discovered, however, that my trial and error will be a much quicker journey. You see, in Sucre, the trial and error is in FINDING a brownie mix. Most of the time the stores have none. And if you are lucky to find a box mix in the store, before the other missionaries in town buy them ALL, you will find only one brand....from Argentina. So far in my quest for brownies I have not been able to get my hands on this Argentinean brand.

But last week, in Sucre's version of a western supermarket, this caught my eye...

Wow! Heavenly music filled the isles as I grabbed the box. It took me all of 2 seconds to decide if the $18 US dollars was worth buying this HUGE box of Betty Crocker, HERSHEY's Ultimate Chocolate Brownie Mix with mini Kisses Brand Chocolates and Hershey's Semi Sweet chocolate chunks. Four brownie mixes are included in this box.

Now the only problem is how to cook this at 9,000 feet! I learned the hard way with a batch of cookies that took over 30 mins to cook...and came out like hockey pucks. So I crossed my fingers and baked my first batch of brownies at 450 degrees for 50 minutes. And....they turned out great! Just like home! Now I just need to keep myself from making the final 3 batches all in one month!

As you can see, I am rejoicing in the little blessings that come our way!

The Bolivian Couches Part 4

To keep with the trend of updating you about our furniture adventures I decided to share about the couch and chair set that we purchased for our new apartment. A few weeks ago we visited the market looking for a couch and chair set that would sit in our new living room. One thing you need to know is that finding a comfortable couch is one thing, finding a comfortable couch that is not purple with large floral patterns is another. It seems that most Bolivian furniture is covered with bizarred patterns and something you would see on "The Brady Bunch" or "That 70's Show." After searching through the market we found a carpenter that builds his own furniture and covers it with a material of your choice. We looked through his swatches and found a neutral brown color that would match our room. It took about two weeks to build and we got a phone call this past Monday saying the furniture was finished and he wanted to deliver it that night. He said "I am loading it now, I will be there in 20 minutes." So, John walked down to the street to wait for the "delivery truck." After an hour and 40 minutes a taxi with two couches strapped to the top and a chair plus automan hanging out of the back puttered around the street corner. Of course the large couch would not fit in the elevator so John and the little bolivian man and a 13 year old boy hauled the couch up 5 flights of stairs to the apartment. We squeezed it all through the door and now enjoy a new living room set! Not exactly how we expected the process to go, but then again maybe we expected it to go exactly how it did!

Just an example, not our actual couches.

Which Path Have You Chosen

As a follower of the Messiah I have come to realize that every person on earth has chosen one of two paths to follow. The path of purpose, redemption, and forgiveness which is given through the blood of Yeshua on the cross, or the path of this world which may bring temporal satisfaction but is filled with eternal despair and hopelessness. Many of you who know Jennie and I know our decision to serve God in Bolivia has been a long time in coming. We have prepared and planned for this move for months. This week as I have sat through hours of Spanish lessons I have once again been reminded of how God orchestrates our steps to serve the purpose he has in mind. Spanish lessons are long, tedious, and often mentally draining, but this week I finish my lessons with renewed strength and energy. I would love to share briefly the story of Patricia. Coming to Bolivia 4 weeks ago we anticipated 3 months of language school before we actually begin our work/”ministry” with FH in November. Knowing we would have lots on our plate we set as a goal to get settled and learn the language as quick as we could. Creating relationships is always on our radar but has been somewhat of an afterthought due to the language barrier. This week in school I have had a teacher named Patricia who is very nice and open to talking about anything. During class you basically just talk as this is one of the best ways to practice your speaking and be corrected in your vocabulary and grammar. I noticed early on that Patricia, along with the other teachers I have had, are very open to talking about religion, theology, and other “personal” beliefs. Patricia, like most Bolivians, considers herself Catholic but doesn’t seem to really know much about Catholicism and really has an animistic approach to worship. Worshipping a mixture of “gods” and basically a distant approach to any personal relationship at all. Well, throughout the week Patricia has been asking me all sorts of questions about good, evil, demon possession, Jesus walking on water, the resurrection, and tons of other topics. (Me explaining the answers to these questions in SPANISH has been extremely challenging.) She is very interested and eager to learn about what the Bible says. We even spent a good hour one day talking about Mormonism and the differences between the two religions. Numerous times throughout the week Patricia has said, “I need to get a Bible, I like what it has to say.” Then the next day she comes with more questions and we spend half our class talking about theology and the beliefs of Christianity. Well, yesterday I decided that I would go to a local bookstore and purchase a Bible for Patricia and give it to her as a gift at the end of the week. From there I figured God would move her heart as He saw fit. This morning I gave the Bible to Patricia and it was a really cool moment. Not only was she extremely excited but we then spent another hour walking through the Bible and I was able to share the set up of her Scriptures and how she can use the different resources in the back to aid her reading. She asked where she should start reading and I directed her toward the Gospels and explained a little background. Later in class I was assigned a worksheet to complete (over some nearly impossible preterit verbs) and I noticed while I was working that she picked up the Bible and started reading. After the assignment was complete we had about 30 minutes and she launched into more questions about what she was reading. She started reading in John 13:31-38. How she started here I am not sure, but she had lots of questions concerning Peter’s questions and what Jesus meant in this section. In only a way that God orchestrates I was able to walk her through the message of salvation and how such a decision impacts and affects her life. It was a beautiful reminder of the opportunities that surround all believers everyday. Patricia is on a journey and she has no idea where and how it will end. Today I shared with her about a path that brings eternal hope, peace, and life. A path that does not promise a pain-free life, but a life with purpose that puts the pain in perspective. I encourage you to seize the moment. Whether it is salvation for the first time or an opportunity to share eternal life with someone you can hardly speak to. Your moments are orchestrated … which path have you chosen. May the Lord bless Patricia as she seeks to find the path of truth and life in Him.

A Typical Day In Bolivia

Over the last few weeks many people have asked what our daily schedule looks like and how we fill our days here in Bolivia. As to be expected it is a little different each day depending on many variables but here is our general schedule. Most days begin at about 6:30 when Ella walks into our room and asks to watch a movie. Now that Ella is in a "big" bed she is able to choose her own wake up schedule and in turn chooses ours. Typically John takes language school in the morning so he rises first and begins to prepare for the day. In Bolivia you don't buy bread by the loaf but rather you purchase bread fresh from a street vendor or bakery almost daily. Over the past few days John has started the day by making a quick bread run to the near by shop or bakery. Bread is cheap so it is best to just buy what you need as you need it. Typically it is fresh out of the oven as well. Around 8:00 John heads off to school and Jennie and Ella begin their day by playing or watching a Veggie Tales movie. Jennie also begins the task of cleaning up breakfast and getting laundry started. (Neither is easy in this culture.) Meals in Bolivia are a big challenge. You can't buy pre-made ingredients like you can in the states so it takes much longer to prepare a good sized meal. Bolivian tradition is that you eat a very large lunch (several courses) and then a small dinner. Because of the altitude and work ethic in Bolivia most people don't eat until late, and thus don't like to go to bed on a full stomach. With that said Jennie begins making lunch around 10:30 or 11:00. Typically a soup with veggies and some sort of main dish, chicken, wrap or something of that nature. It has been a challenge but Jennie has done a great job adjusting to the new changes and feeding her hungry husband each day. On John's way home he typically stops by the Central Market and purchases some fruit or veggies for the dinner or the next day. John has found a pleasant little Bolivian woman (Qanta) who gives him a decent deal and always throws in a "yapa" or free gift with his purchases. After lunch, Jennie heads off to school and Ella heads to a nap. One tradition John has started is making fresh orange juice. Oranges are very cheap and you can get about a dozen for a dollar. With a hand squeezer John makes some fresh orange juice in the afternoon and stores it away for the morning. (Yum Yum. Come and visit and we will make you some.) When Jennie arrives home at around 6:30 we eat a small dinner (sometimes Jennie stops and picks up a chicken or some meat from the market) and then spend the 40 minutes or more it takes to heat up water and hand wash the dishes. The sun sets around 7:00 and typically we are settled in by 8:00 to do homework and relax. Of course added into these days are furniture shopping when necessary, trips to the market for household items, and grocery shopping. This will be our routine for the next fews months until language school ends. At that point our days will change and our schedule could look much different. Overall, very full days and little time to relax. But we are settling in well and enjoying our new routines and life in Bolivia.