Like a chicken with its head cut off

The dirty deed is done. We butchered the 120 chickens out in Poza Verde. After two days of butchering, everything smells like chicken. It may be a while before I can even look at anything made from chicken.

Paul and Bubba plucking Chickens. This was by far the longest part of the process.

The first day, three of use SAM missionaries went out to help. It took us 3 gringos along with Cesar and Mirta 5 hours to finish 40 chickens. It must have been amusing watching we three Gringos try to butcher chickens. I have only butchered a few at ECHO, Paul did it a few times in Peru many years ago, and Bubba had only researched chicken butchering online. We all had our "unique" ways of getting the job done. Finally Cesar showed us how it was done while a unified, drawn out "ohhhh" escaped our lips at the revelation of a simpler and more effective way. A few times over the course of the day, some of the Ayore children joined us to watch and snack on chicken blood and feet. Yes, you read correctly.

Gusto, one of the Ayore kids snacking on a chicken foot.

On day two, Bubba and I made our way our to Poza Verde dreading the 80 more chickens especially since we were down a man. To our relief, this time the community was involved and already a good portion of the way through. Not only did the increase in numbers speed up the process, but exchanging Gringos for Ayore women who are accustom to plucking and cleaning chickens increased our efficiency. We finished the last chicken around lunch time and all the Ayore who help were rewarded with the chicken innards. Now all that is left is to sell the chickens which has not been too hard, most are already spoken for. All the profits will go to Cesar and Mirta and their work in Poza Verde. I think we unanimously agree that we will be switching to raising chickens for eggs rather than for meat.

Gusto roasting his chicken foot

Election Day: Trapped!

So you have probably had school canceled, work canceled, maybe even had your city shut down, but how about your whole country? Today is election day, and for 24 hours, everything is shut down. Alcohol, meeting in groups (including church), and driving vehicles are all banned for the 24 hour period. There is nothing to do but hang out at home or go out and vote.

As you probably guessed, elections are a big deal here. The differences in political parties here make the Democrats and Republicans look like best friends. Whatever the outcome could mean large changes for the country. We personally do not know enough about the politics to presume to know what result would be best for the people of Bolivia. We can only pray for the best.

Little Weigner

Sorry it has been so long since out last post, there is a lot to catch up on. Today our baby had its second photo shoot, this time in 3-D! The baby was rather stuborn for a while (already taking after one of its parents), turning every way but the way we wanted it to, but eventually the baby turned and we got a few good shots. It was a lot of fun to see it moving around. Still hard to believe there is a little person growing inside Jenna. The baby still apears to be healthy and growing normally. We are very thankful that everything has been going so well. We also found out that we are going to have a... oh sorry, I almost forgot, we're not telling yet but if you care to guess, visit http://bebepool.com/jjweigner and take your best shot.

The finished coop with chickens

We finally have the chicken coop finished in Poza Verde (well, we have a few last little details to finish). I am excited the my rainwater, gravity fed watering system is working! Rainwater off the roof of the coop runs into a holding tank then in to water dishes that refill as the chickens drink. There are now 135 chickens enjoying their new home and they will enjoy it for a few more weeks before they become 135 Christmas dinners. All profits go to help the couple living out there and their ministry.

Cesar cleaning up after his chickens

On one of the trips back from Poza Verde, I was introduced to a new part of life in Bolivia, bloqueos or blockades. Some of the people in the country were feeling ignored by the government so the desided to hang out in the middle of the only highway back to Santa Cruz. They made a baracade of old tires and tree branches. Apparently this is how people strike here. It was not in any way violent (for those of your parents who may be concerned) and it eventually dispersed and we were able to make our way back home.

We have our own car now, a Hyundai Galloper. Never heard of it? Well that is because it does not really exist in the USA. We have been enjoying using an SUV for what it was made for, and that is not exactly cruzing down highways! The 4x4 has been handy lately as the rains have started and the roads around our house have been torn up for new sewage lines. Getting to and from our house has been interesting since each day we have no idea which road is going to be impassable. Last night we drove all over our neighborhood trying to find a route back to our house that did not have a large trench dug out of the middle. Always an adventure!

Jenna's Thanksgiving Pies

SAM Thanksgiving Dinner

We will be moving out of Santa Cruz between Christmas and New Years. This will be the thrid year in a row we will have moved during the holiday season. We decided to move out near a town call Pailon which is closer to Poza Verde, the comunity we spend most of our time working with. We found a wonderful house owned by some other missionaries from another organization.

With Christmas coming up, I'm sure some of you will be doing your shopping online. If you are an online shopper, consider shopping through www.iGive.com. By going through this site, a percentage of your purchase will go toward our ministry. All you have to do is go to iGive.com, sign up for an account and specify South America Mission IRE Mercy Ministry as your charity, then shop your favorite sites like Amazon or Ebay though this site and any business you buy from will give a percentage to our ministry. Get your shopping done and help us out at the same time!