GOOD RIDDANCE!

As much as I would have loved to have punctured the fuel tank, pushed it off a cliff, then lit the trail of diesel and roasted marshmallows over the fireball, I decided it was a good idea to recover a little money from this hunk of junk.  Now before I tell you how much I sold it for, let us review a few of the problems I have had in the two years I had this vehicle:

Repaired side view mirror - 3x
Blown Head Gasket - 2x
Radiator problems - Lost track
Replaced alternator - 3x
Timing Belt - 2x
Other belt issues - 3x
Repaired Power steering - 4x
Electrical system repairs - Lost count
Suspension Repair - 1x
Leaky break fluid line (repaired with chewing gum) - 1x
Random parts falling off our car - 6 or 7x
Various other repairs - Who knows
SNAPPED CAM SHAFT - 2X! (Who snaps a Cam Shaft?)
Left unrepaired: Busted turbo, AC pump, oil leak, fuel pump, and who knows what else

Used car prices in Bolivia are very high.  We bought this car for $8,000.  We sold it for $7,000 two days before we left! Talk about God's timing.  The crazy thing is, used car prices are rising so fast in Bolivia that if I had more time, I probably could have sold it for $10-$12,000!  Bolivia is one of the few places in the world that purchasing a car is actually a good investment!

The Last Sunday

Our church family.  Can you spot the ridiculously tall Gringos?

Today was our last Sunday at our church in Nueva Belen. It was sad to say our goodbyes to everyone. Although I must say, we are looking forward to not having to entertain Noah through the service when he needs to be napping!  Churches in the USA have nurseries!  It is hard to believe we are down to our final days here.  I do not feel ready to leave.

The mural on the wall in these photos is the one painted by Cindy, another SAM missionary

Photo of the Week: Crash

Driving in the city one day we saw what we thought was a plane crash from the nearby airport.  Turns out it was just an elaborate advertisement for a movie playing inside the mall.

Photo of the Week: Pet or Pot

Bolivia is home to the Red-footed Tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria).  A popular pet around the city, people often have them roaming around their yards.  Among the Ayore, they are a popular dinner dish!  They go on Tortoise hunts and bring them back by the dozens and are considered a treat!  The one in the photo is one rescued from the stew pot.  Here you can buy one for about $5-$10.  In the USA you could pay $500-$1000 for one this size.

Ayore Girls Camp 2011

On July 1st a team composed of North Americans, Ayore women, and Bolivians gathered together and prayed that God would open doors to allow the Ayore teen girls to come to camp. God answered our prayers and sent double (almost 60) the number of girls we had even hoped for in our wildest dreams!

10 Ayore Ladies came to participate

We had a great week at camp. It was so much fun to watch the girl’s get excited about learning stories from God’s Word and then presenting them in drama form to each other. My small group was made of 12 girls from Porvenir and Suegay, Ayore communities about 40 mins from my house. I had the youngest girls overall- ranging from 9yrs old to 14 years old. We had great fun telling stories and helping them understand God’s plan for them. I also had an amazing, solid in her faith, Ayore woman, Deisy (Daisy), helping me. Because my girls were so small most of them did not understand Spanish very well so Deisy worked very hard at putting the stories into Ayore and helping to translate their answers to my questions into Spanish so I could understand them. It definitely helped!

My Small Group- Porvenir and Suegay

Deisy (24 yrs old) standing to the left of me

My group presenting our team's banner- Mas Que Vencedoras

(More than Conquerors!)

Story time!

Overall, I think the girls had a lot of fun doing games and crafts, much like most other camps I’ve been to. But on the other hand there was definitely time and a focus on helping the girls understand who God made them to be and how that should reflect in their lives- specifically in what they should (or should not) be doing with their bodies. We targeted girls who have not been heavily involved in prostitution or drugs yet in the hopes of reaching them before those activities become a major part of their lives.

Playing games together 

Each person made a butterfly t-shirt with phrases like "God transforms us" in Ayore 

Each morning and night we had praise and worship time

Monica (Right- 9yrs old) was in my group and the daughter (left) of a leader from Barrio Bolivar whose name I forget, she is about 7 years old

The plan is to continue doing this camp for the Ayore girls every year.

BeniSantiagoRoboreFUASanJosePailonPozaVerdeSantaCruz... Deep Breath

We have been going non-stop lately.  It started with Jenna going on a 10 day river trip in the Beni while I stayed up to watch Noah.  Then we switched, I went for 10 days while she stayed back. Right after I returned we met up with a church team from Georgia and took them out to Santiago to work with the church out there and help with an Ayore conference.  Then we came back to Pailon and took them out to Poza Verde.  At the end of the trip Jenna had to leave for a week long camp for Ayore girls.

Beni River Trips
This year's river trips were overshadowed by tragedy. Though the loss was felt throughout this year's trips, they continued on and many village were visited.  We were able to hold services in many different communities and ran many sucessful clinics.  There were even a few surgeries performed in some rather... creative locations. 

Photo Album from this year's river trip:

Beni Trip 2011 #2

Orange Hill Group
A team from Orange Hill Baptist Church in Georga came down again this year.  Compared to last year, the car problems were fairly minor.  We had one leaky tire and the suspension fell apart on a trailer. We had a wonderful time out in Santiago despite the bitter south wind from Antartica that kepts us wearing all the clothes we brought. Unfortunately the buildings down here are not built for cold and so there is no escaping it.

Part of the team when out to an Ayore village to help with a church conference while the other part of the team stayed in Santiago to help with construction at the church.  We held a variety of services in Santiago and had some very meaningful men and womens groups.  It was obvious the church was very encouraged by our presence and we by their hospitality.  The church out there has been through some trying times and I think the visit meant a lot to them.

On the way back to Santa Cruz we  spent a day in Poza Verde holding littler servicies and starting a construction project on Cesar and Mirtha's house that will be completed by another team coming down soon.

Photo Album from this year's Orange Hill Team:

OHBC 2011

Girls Retreat
Jenna is currently at the retreat for Ayore girls. They ran into a little problem, a good problem.  They had about 60 girls show up which is about twice as many as they had planned on.  This week has the potential to be very important in the lives of these young girls since many are at risk to become prostitutes. It is a miracle that this many girls managed to come since many of the parents do not want their girls discouraged from prostitution because of the income it provides for the family. Please keep Jenna and all the counselors in prayer as they invest in these girls over this next week.

It doesn't stop there, after the conference Jenna is off to Brazil (Leave me with Noah again!) for an indigeneous women's conference.  After that, another team from the USA comes down then next thing we know, we're leaving for the states!  Please keep us in prayer as we wrap up life here during this busy season and prepare for the coming changes as we move to Seattle.

Photo of the week: Ingenuity

Some times the lack of laws and regulations leads to some creative solutions...