A snake, a tent, and soccer south of the equator.

Last weekend was carnival weekend (equivilent to Mardi Gras) here in Santa Cruz, so many of the churches decide to go camping. We were invited to go with two hundred and fifty Bolivians, and of course we said YES!!! The church we went with drove a micro out to the camp but before leaving, Kevin got his hands busy and helped load up the top of the bus.

The four day weekend consisted of Bible classes, Bolivian food, music, tons of Spanish and lots of games. We discovered that Lisa makes an awesome goalie because she could utilize her volleyball hands.

After helping Kevin's four man team to win the sprint relay race, Kevin thought that going into the forest in search of an 18 foot long boa sounded like a fun idea. They thankfully didn't find a Boa but instead they found a four foot long poisonous snake that the Bolivians told Kevin to run past. Kevin ran all the way home. To this day we are still not sure whether it really was a deadly snake or if they were pulling a prank on Kevin. :) He did manage to capture a picture before running so hopefully someday we will figure out what it was.

Cristo Viene (Christ is Coming)... With a Paper Airplane

Last week, we went out to Cristo Viene, an all girls orphanage in Santa Cruz. We were amazed at how a few pieces of paper and markers could open up the hearts of so many girls. Kevin taught them how to make paper airplanes and once they started throwing them, they couldn't stop. Pretty soon we had airplanes in trees, on roofs and plenty of smiles on their faces. Here are a few of the smiles that we managed to capture while there.

Squashing Lisa's

So... we were invited, by Jonathan's family to a Bolivian luncheon at their home. The menu for lunch was... Papalisa's (Lisa potatos). We took a micro (a small Bolivian bus) out to the house where we had the opportunity to help squash the Papalisas as Kevin is demonstrating below.

We had a wonderful time with the family and here is a picture with Lisa and Jonathan's family. Pictured below starting on the left: David, Karen, Jonathan, Lisa and Veronica.

Back to the Basics... Kindergarten to Algebra

A few weeks ago we were asked to fill in for one of our missionaries who teaches a Kindergarten class at a local English school. The days were filled with excitement as we taught 12 little kindergarten students and learned of a deeper appreciation we now have for kindergarten teachers. Here are a few photos of the fearless leaders in action. :)

Kevin has made a very good Bolivian friend named Jonathan. Jonathan has been, on occasion, asking Kevin for some algebra help. Kevin has never taught Algebra in Spanish before so they are both learning new concepts. Here is a picture of Kevin and Jonathan working on Algebra, and Spanish together.

Our First Few Weeks

We have settled in down here in Santa Cruz and have been adjusting to the weather. It is typically around 90 to 95 degrees and about fifty percent humidity so quite the change from the cold that we left in Oregon.

During the past few weeks, we have started to make friends among the Bolivians. Our first friend was Johnathan. He is a twenty year old male that attends a college in the area. We also were blessed in getting to go to Megumi a girls orphanage in Santa Cruz to pass out Christmas gifts from the states. In Megumi there are 16 girls fifteen girls are orphanes and one only has a mentally challenged mother who can not take care of her. The experience was amazing. The girls were entirely grateful and cared more for the idea that they had a gift than for what it actually was. After opening gifts we went out and played hide and seek with the girls.




The first few weeks have also included some construction work. We have been able to help catch the missionaries up with their maintenance items here in Santa Cruz. Fixing showers, moving items, and building a large shelf in the storage area for missionaries who are on deputation.




Of course you know who did the work and who "supervised". LOL.

We have been talking with a man that runs a house for recovering street kids. The current bathroom does not work for the fifty boys that are in the home. We are going to go out to the home in the next few weeks and take a look at it and try to design a better setup for the home. So we would appreciate your prayers as this projects starts up.

Thank you guys for all of your prayers. We appreciate them all. God Bless.