Recent happenings

How do you keep the kids together when the kindergarten goes to the zoo.  You tie loops in a length of rope and each one grabs a loop and hangs on.  Its simple and it works.... most of the time.

Last month was Marion's birthday.  It seems birthdays are somehow connected with food.   Pizza is always a favorite.

Marion taught Nardi to make cakes and decorate them.  She moved into the city and owns a bakery.  She never forgets a birthday and she always brings a cake.

Last weekend the assembly celebrated its 27th anniversary.  Another reason to get together and eat.  Praise the Lord for His blessings.

BACK HOME IN LORETO

Two Oscars

During the two week winter vacation Oscar went to Loreto in El Beni, one of the states of Bolivia. That is where his family is from.  His 80 year old father, Oscar, still lives there.  While Oscar’s mother was alive she limited the contact he had with his father.  He has never lived with his father. Oscar was hoping that his father would come to this area and take a job as caretaker on a property that an uncle has not too far from Portachuelo.  At his age that is too big of an undertaking.  He plans to stay in Loreto and raise pigs like he has been doing for years. 

Oscar visits his father during each of the school vacations.  Here are some pictures he took in Loreto.  One can see why he likes to go back there.

Relaxing in the dugout

This little piggy went to market

Sunset in Loreto

Surprise me!

This blog contains some comments and observations about life in Portachuelo and in our house. 

 Marion seldom goes into the city.  I go about once a week to do buying for the school and the house.  Through the magic of cell phones I can call home from the new supermarket on the road coming out of Santa Cruz and ask Marion what she needs for the house or if there is something special I can bring for her.  Supermarkets here are laid out just like they are in the States but most of the products on the shelves are local or from Brazil and Argentina.  We have learned over the years to live with what we can get here and we live well.  Once in a while something appears on the shelf that invokes memories of life on another part of the planet.

Back to “What can I bring you from the city?”  I know she likes chocolate; there are many delicious chocolates available here.  Sometimes a bit of microwave popcorn, once in a while I find Pringles Potato Chips.  Sometimes she will say, “Surprise me!” Last week I found something new, something really exciting, a can of Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce. Guys if you want to make a hit with your wife buy her some cranberry sauce. 

This cat condescends to live with us and even on occasion allows us to touch her.  In the five years she has lived with us I have heard her purr once.  If she could talk she would say, “We are not amused.”  We named her Victoria.

Maybe we should get Gordo to the orthodontist but that is not one of our priorities.  It doesn’t seem to bother him and we have gotten used to it. 

A Weekend at Samaipata

On the way to Samaipata

Our high school spent a weekend in Samaipata, a town up in the foothills of the Andes.  Twenty students and four staff members went on the trip.  It was cold and rainy but they had a good time.  They stayed with Sarah, the mother of a fellow who lived with us over twenty years ago while he was studying at the Agriculture Institute here in Portachuelo. 

Samaipata is at an altitude of about 6000 feet

The group had originally planned to stay in a hostel.  But Sarah insisted they stay with her.  She runs a guest home in her house.  Sarah also did the cooking for the group.  Sarah is one of those people that you cannot out give.  She has a plant nursery in her home and specializes in bougainvillea.  Whenever we stop by she loads us up with plants. She taught me an important lesson.  Her philosophy is: if you are going to give, give the best.

My good Sony camera stopped working so I told Oscar to take pictures for me wherever he goes.   I picked up his camera at a pawn shop in the States.  He took some nice pics.

Portachuelo is as flat as a tabletop.  When the kids get into the hills they like to climb.

Run down to the local appliance store and get one of these in your kitchen.  The griddle is made from the disk of a plow and the fire box is the rim from a tire.
 Sarah made some delicious corn cakes and sent some back to us.

El Vivero Sarita, the Sarah Nursery

Samaipata is known for these pre Inca ruins.  You can see part of the carved rock behind the kids on the lookout tower.

On the way home they only had time for a quick stop at Cuevas.  

No time for swimming, just a hike up to Third Falls.

Praise the Lord for a good safe trip and good conduct on the part of the students.

A week with three Saturdays

Whatever day there is no school must be Saturday.  At least that’s the way it feels.  This week will have three Saturdays.  Tuesday was the Aymara New Year and as our president is Aymara it has been declared a national holiday.  Today, Thursday is the Catholic holiday Corpus Cristi which has been a holiday for as long as anyone here can remember.  Then of course coming up in two days is the original and genuine Saturday.  I find myself thinking I have to have my message ready for tomorrow but tomorrow is not Sunday yet.

Everyone is enjoying the days off.  Marion is busy making goodies in the kitchen.  She and Oscar just went out to buy another 100 lb bag of flour and another 100 eggs.  This week is also a week of three birthdays so the kitchen is being well used.  Oswaldo and his family will be coming for lunch today.  I hear tacos are on the menu.

Yesterday was actually Wednesday and Oscar and Enrique had to visit the orthodontist in Santa Cruz.  I went in early to get some shopping done and the boys came in after classes were done.  We went looking for Fabian to get something to eat.  He is supposed to be finished with work at 6:00.  But because the next day was a holiday he had to work late.

Fabian is working as a builder’s helper.  He is working long hours but is doing well.  He has gotten a raise for being a good worker.  One of the big lessons he is learning is that money goes faster than one expects it to and you have to administer it well or there won’t be enough left to live on until the next pay day.  We praise the Lord for the way Fabian is taking responsibility for himself.  He still comes home every week end.

Thank you for your prayers

Stir Fry

Would you serve a traditional Bolivian meal for Mother’s Day?

The kids that have lived with us have always enjoyed my version of a stir fry.  When they come home they want me to make it.  A number of them have asked for the recipe but have never made it.  Oscar on the other hand has made it with me a number of times.  When the men of the chapel were deciding what to make for the mothers Saturday night they decided to make stir fry. 

Oscar was the head chef and Osvaldo was a helper.  They borrowed the big wok from our house and a number of the young men from the church pitched in to help.  I told them if they wanted me to I would go down to the chapel and help.  They didn’t want that but Oscar called me a number of times to make sure he had the procedure right. 

He forgot the part where you turn down the fire.

They made enough for all the mothers and everyone else that was there.  Stir fry for 60 people.  Luis, one of the young men made a huge pot of rice.  It was a great success.  

PAINTING THE BRICKS

PRAISE THE LORD, WE ARE IN THE NEW CLASSROOMS.

Painting the bricks

How do you get rid of the cement and plaster that has gotten on the bricks and left them looking messy. You paint them.  I'm not kidding.  The last job the builder does is paint the bricks.  They paint the bricks brick color and the paint the cement between them cement color.  It leaves everything looking nice and clean.

Finished and ready for the second floor

Notice the steel rod sticking out of the top, it is ready to begin construction  of the second floor.  In 2013 we will need more classrooms.

END OF THE FIRST TRIMESTER OF CLASSES

The little kids choir

Friday night was the program for the end of the first trimester of classes.  I am always impressed at the amount of work the students and teachers put into these programs.

The high school presented a mime about Creation, The Fall of man, and Salvation.  It was very well done and very impressive

After the program the parents go to the classrooms and pick up their kids grades.

NOAH AND FABIAN

I just got back from two days in the city getting repairs done on the van.  It is a Toyota Noah, a model not marketed in the States.  It was born in Japan with the steering wheel on the right side and converted to the left side for use in Bolivia.   It is always a challenge finding a good mechanic who has time to do the work.  The good ones are always busy.  Some seem to think if they own or can borrow a wrench and a screw driver they are mechanics.  When the job is done you want to be shown the old parts that were removed to be sure the new ones you paid for were installed.  I guess I have become cynical.  Anyway the steering on the van is fixed and it does not rattle as it goes down the road like it used to so I am happy.  Now I have to replace a front wheel bearing that is starting to growl.

I saw Fabian Wednesday, he is finished with the rehab program and is having a hard time.  There is no work here in Portachuelo.  We had arranged for him to work with a fellow from the church in Santa Cruz and live with his aunt.  He would learn welding.  His family (who ignored him for 18 years) decided that welding was not a worthy profession and supposedly are looking for something else.  Right now he is cleaning a lot his aunt wants to build on.  For a year Fabian has had a very regimented life.  In rehab he was told when to go to bed, when to get up, when to eat.  They kept him busy all the time.  He was with his companions in the program all the time.  Now he is alone much of the time.  He told me that three times he has been offered drugs in the neighborhood around his aunt’s house.   I gave him a cell phone so we can stay in touch.  He will be coming home for the weekend.  Please continue to pray for Fabian.  He has some difficult days ahead.

TAMARA AND ANTONIO WED IN OUR HOUSE

Tamara started attending some of meetings at the chapel about a year ago.  She spends a lot of time talking to Marion.  Her life has been traumatic, with lots of people problems.  She received the Lord as her Savior but  Antonio has not.  He has been to some of the meetings and is coming to our house with Tamara for counseling.  Their relationship has been difficult.  They have been together for a number of years and have two children.


Tamara and Antonio were married with a civil ceremony in our house last night.  Their relationship with her family is not good.  Her mother refused to come to the wedding.  Marion and I ended up as the organizers of the wedding reception.  

Tamara and Antonio in the center  with their witnesses and the civil register

The bride was an hour late, but the bride's maid and the best man forgot about the wedding so they were two hours late.  They were witnesses who had to sign all the legal papers along with the bride and groom.  The civil register who did the ceremony has done a number of them in our house.  He sat here for two hours waiting for things to get under way.  He is used to the Bolivian concept of time.


Several of the ladies from the Chapel came to help prepare the food.  A delicious meal was served to 50 people.  The young people from the Chapel pitched in to help set up things before the wedding and served the food.  Everyone helped with the clean up afterwards.  

Great food!

Pray for Tamara and Antonio, things are not going to be easy for them.

The next weekend

Saul’s sister had been visiting from Germany for several months.  It was time to go back.  The family, who are scattered all over Bolivia, wanted to get together to see her off.  The mother came from Sucre, a brother from Cochabamba, another brother from Santa Cruz.  Saul’s house is small and there is no room for guests.  He asked if his family could stay at our house.  So we had the house full again.  They took their meals here and helped with the house work.  It was a delightful time. 

Saul's family

One of those weeks! Part 4

As we were about to start the Sunday morning meeting I looked up to see Saul guiding Sebastian to a seat.  Sebastian is over eighty years old and completely blind.   He and his wife, Martha, who is also blind, live in Santa Cruz.  They used to visit us together but she is not able to travel now.  They met while studying at an institute for the blind where they learned to read in Braille and do macramé.  For many years they supported themselves with their handy work.  Sebastian still gets around; he travels alone and does very well.

After the meeting he had dinner with us.  If we would allow him to share in the evening meeting he wanted to stay and spend the night with us.  Everyone is impressed when Sebastian reads from his Braille Bible.  He always has something good to share.  He asked for prayer for his son who has recently been diagnosed with cancer.  After spending the night with us Marcos took him back into the city.

Sunday afternoon we got a call from Saul.  The driver of the vehicle that ran into him was back in town waiting for his vehicle to be repaired.  They needed a place to spend the night.   Saul doesn’t have room so he asked if they could spend the night with us.  Now we were able to get to know them, Florencio and María. They had supper with us and went to the evening meeting with us (Saul was preaching that night).  After breakfast they headed back to Cochabamba. We had a nice time with them and made some new friends.  Pray that the seed sown with produce fruit.

Praise the Lord for a house with enough room and praise Him for the people He sends to fill it.

One of those weeks! Part 4

As we were about to start the Sunday morning meeting I looked up to see Saul guiding Sebastian to a seat.  Sebastian is over eighty years old and completely blind.   He and his wife, Martha, who is also blind, live in Santa Cruz.  They used to visit us together but she is not able to travel now.  They met while studying at an institute for the blind where they learned to read in Braille and do macramé.  For many years they supported themselves with their handy work.  Sebastian still gets around; he travels alone and does very well.

After the meeting he had dinner with us.  If we would allow him to share in the evening meeting he wanted to stay and spend the night with us.  Everyone is impressed when Sebastian reads from his Braille Bible.  He always has something good to share.  He asked for prayer for his son who has recently been diagnosed with cancer.  After spending the night with us Marcos took him back into the city.

Sunday afternoon we got a call from Saul.  The driver of the vehicle that ran into him was back in town waiting for his vehicle to be repaired.  They needed a place to spend the night.   Saul doesn’t have room so he asked if they could spend the night with us.  Now we were able to get to know them, Florencio and María. They had supper with us and went to the evening meeting with us (Saul was preaching that night).  After breakfast they headed back to Cochabamba. We had a nice time with them and made some new friends.  Pray that the seed sown with produce fruit.

Praise the Lord for a house with enough room and praise Him for the people He sends to fill it.

One of those weeks! Part 3

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY were fairly normal. 

 If you're wondering where the pictures are, my camera isn't working.  I'll try taking some with my cell phone.

SATURDAY morning 2:30 AM the phone rang.  It was Saul our math and science teacher. Things have been tight financially for them so he had gone into the city to make some extra money using his car as a taxi.  On the way home a drunk came over into his lane and slammed into another vehicle and then into the driver’s side of Saul’s car.  I called Marcos and we went looking for Saul.  The driver of the other vehicle tried to drive off but his vehicle was not drivable.  I came back to Portachuelo and got a tow truck for the other vehicle.  Marcos stayed with Saul to drive his car back but the radiator was losing water and overheating. I made another trip back to the scene of the accident (What did we do before cell phones?) and towed them to the mechanic shop where the other driver was waiting.   The other driver was angry and didn't want to pay the tow truck driver so things were a bit difficult for awhile. Finally they settled accounts. Saul went home, the other driver and his wife; (she was drunk also) slept in their car.  The next day they all went into the city with Marcos to look for a new door for Saul’s car.  

Sunday we'll meet the other driver and his wife again.

One of those weeks! TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY

Since Fabian has been in the rehab program it’s been a challenge get him into the city to the orthodontist.  He had a root canal treatment in a molar and we couldn’t get him back into the dentist for awhile.  Finally I decided something had to be done and arranged to drive in and get him and spend two days in the city getting his dental work up to date.  Tuesday morning as I was getting ready to leave I got a call from the director of the program telling me that Fabian was in the city.  I didn't have to go out into the boonies to get him.  The tooth got an abscess and his face was swollen.  They sent him out with someone else.  I picked him up and we got him taken care of.

Wednesday is the day I go to the city to purchase for the school.  So I had some help carrying things.

It was good to spend the time with Fabian.  The Lord is working in his life.  When we went to visit him in November for his birthday, I invited his aunt Lourdes to go with us.  When she saw what was going on in Fabian’s life she said she needed something like that.  Since then she has started going to a church near her home, she has received the Lord as her Savior and is to be baptized.   Fabian will be finishing the program soon.  He has a job lined up in Santa Cruz and he will be living with his aunt.  He says Portachuelo is still his home and he will be spending weekends with us.  We are his parents.

Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and mercy.

One of those weeks! Monday

Kathy  wants to go to college in Santa Cruz but the government will not recognize her high school diploma from Spain.  They will only credit her for two years so she is enrolled as a junior in our school to get a Bolivian diploma.  Her mother remained in Spain working and is sending money to finish building a house.  So Kathy would not be alone the mother brought her aunt and her children in from the country to stay with her.    The aunt’s 26 year old son was working on someone’s farm and got sick, so they brought him into town.  No one was home so they left him on the floor of the patio.  The family found him and took him to the hospital where he died.

Now we get involved.  The aunt didn’t know what to do; so all the responsibility fell on 17 old Kathy.  She showed up at school Monday morning asking for help as she didn’t know what to do either.  Oswaldo and I spent the morning, arranging for a casket, getting a death certificate, getting permission from the authorities to bury him, and finding a place to bury him.  That involved going out into the country to find a grandmother who knew where the family had a burial plot at the cemetery.  

Father's Day Already!

In Bolivia Father's Day is celebrated on March 19th.  It is one of the special days at the school.  The auditorium is not big enough for everyone so we make use of the shade of the tamarind trees.  Each class prepared something special for the program and the end result was declared to be the best Father's Day celebration we have ever done.

Taking advantage of the shade

The parents are always asking when we will get the roof over the basketball court.  One of its functions will be to provide a place for these special occasions.  

Someday we'll have the roof over the court

One of the highlights was volley ball played with water balloons which were caught and tossed using a towel held between two people.  Try it for your next family picnic.  Its a blast.  One of the fathers said this is the first Father's Day where I have not only been honored but entertained. 

Water balloon volley ball

In the evening the ladies from the church prepared a meal for the fathers in the church, following by a program to honor the fathers.

The fathers dining on the basketball court

THREE WEEKS OF SCHOOL ALREADY!!!

It hardly seems possible that we are in the third week of school already.  We have 164 students enrolled.  This year we added the 11th grade. (but we don't have a 10th grade.)   High school takes teachers for special subjects so it has been a challenge to find the staff we need.  A number of students from last year moved to other areas or were taken out by their parents because of financial concerns.   The Lord faithfully provides so that we can cover expenses.  We are thankful for each of you who have had a part in the ongoing work of the Christian School in Portachuelo 

Every Monday morning starts with the National Anthem

Marion has 23 in kindergarten.  Her new helper is Rosa, lives in Montero, 12 miles away.  Rosa has a degree in educational sciences.  We are hoping she will want to stay in kindergarten and be Marion’s replacement but I'm afraid her heart is in teaching biology.

The end of another day in kindergarten

I have mentioned Bismar in my correspondence a number of times.  Bismar is the academic director of the school.  He is also involved in leadership in the assembly.  It has been a joy to see his spiritual growth over the past couple of years.  Thursday night he brought the message during the prayer and Bible study time.  He always begins with examples from what the Lord has been teaching him. 

Bismar and Ruthy with their two boys

Being the school director is a big job.  Especially since the government has instituted a new education program.  Bismar is swamped with paperwork.  The teachers are also swamped with paperwork and one of Bismar’s jobs is to make sure their paperwork is done so that he can do his.  His people managing skills are improving.  Bismar’s wife, Ruthy is the second grade teacher.

Ready to start mixing and pouring

The roof over the new classrooms has been poured.  The builder says it has to dry for three weeks before they can go back to work.  It is the rainy season so it gets frequent showers to keep it damp.  In the mean time the 9th grade is meeting in the back of the assembly hall.

This building will give us two more classrooms.  In two years we have to add the second story.    Then we hope to build another similar unit facing this one.  The department of education did an inspection awhile back. The school doesn't have a library or a science lab yet so we got points taken off.  We are still the best equipped school in town. 

WE NEED CEMENT!!!

The work is  further along than this picture shows.

We need cement!  The construction of the new classrooms has been held up for over a week because there is no cement.  The builder says he expects to get cement today.  They are ready to pour the second floor which will be the roof until we have fund to continue building.  

One class will have to meet in the assembly room until we have a room for them.  It will be at least a month before a room will be finished. 

Saul and Jenny moved from the city of Santa Cruz to join the team at the Portachuelo Christian School.  They are both graduates of the university in Sucre.  Saul will be teaching high school math and science and Jenny will be helping with English.  Pray they will find a house soon, for the time being they are living with us.  

Saul and Jenny with family

Not only are they an addition to the school, they are also an addition to the assembly.  They come recommended from an assembly in Santa Cruz, before that they were active in an assembly in Sucre.

Ten years old

The school is starting its 11th year .   Praise the Lord for His faithfulness. We are in the second week of enrollment. Each year we ask the Lord to bring in the students He wants to be in the school.  Many parents wait until the day school starts to enroll their kids.  Classes start on February 1.  We are expecting 175 students this year from kindergarten through 11th grade.