Bolivian Christmas Traditions

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

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

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

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....

...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

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

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

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

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