Uyuni

Sunday May 26, 2013
        Even though Eric and I didn't get to go to Uyuni last night, we weren't bummed in the slightest. We were totally fine just spending another day in La Paz. Besides, it was Steve's birthday and we wanted to spend the day with him and make sure that he had a great birthday.
        We pretty much spent the entire day with him. Eric's parents even offered to buy him lunch. This was fun because beings how Steve is a vegan, eating out isn't always easy and fun. But today, we took him to a vegetarian restaurant that I think he really liked. After we ate, we all went shopping in the black market and bought a few things for cheap.
      Then we had to head back to Dr. Patty's to pack our stuff up to head to catch our bus to Uyuni. But wait! What's this? Steve is coming with us?!?! How cool is that? We were able to talk Steve into coming to Uyuni with us! We were so excited! What better way to spend our final days with him?
      Heading off to the bus station, we purchased our tickets, bought a few snacks then loaded up for our 11 hour bus ride. And boy did it turn out to be long. It was an overnight bus and I didn't sleep a single minute! Oh well, tomorrow should be fun!

 

Monday May 27, 2013
        Today was one of the most fun days that I have had in a very very long time. Granted, I'm starting from when we finished our 11 hour bus ride and arrived at 6 am this morning.
        Eric, Steve, and I all thought that Uyuni was going to be a little warmer than La Paz. We knew it would still e cold, but we were not ready for this morning. For the last 2 hours or so of the bus ride, my window was literally covered in ice! Needless to say, it was quite cold out and the entire town was closed so we had no idea where to go. So when all else fails, follow the crowd!

          So instead of standing in the middle of the street freezing to death, we followed about 5 people to who knows where. We ended up running into the only store that was open which turned out to be a tour agency. What we had read online about the 1 day tours is that they costed about 280 B's (~$40). Granted this was a different company, we still expected about the se price. After she gave us her shpeel about everything we would do on the tour (which was exactly what we read online) she said that everything would be 150 B's (~$21)!! How cool is that?!?!

        After we paid and took down the 10:30 departure time, she sent us to a little cafe that was open and had a little space heater. We sat there and ate for awhile waiting for the bus station to open at 8 so we could purchase our return tickets to La Paz tonight. Fortunately, we were the first ones to the bus station and were able to deserve the BEST seats on the bus. We got the very front seats in the second floor of a double decker bus. This means more leg room and a giant window in front of us that we can look out of the entire way back!

        After our purchase of the tickets, we still had some time to kill so we went to an Internet cafe, and also wandered around exploring. Once it hit 10, we went directly to the office so we would be there on time.

            Once we got there, we sat down and waited around for awhile. We saw tons of other tourists who were planning on going on a tour as well. But slowly, they all disappeared and loaded up in their land cruisers am left. I was getting a little confused because we were supposed to leave at 10:30 like everyone else, but it was now 10:50 and we were the only ones still there. But before we could say anything, the extremely nice and professional coordinator came up to us and told us not to worry. She said that they did not have enough people to fill a whole other jeep. So she called her husband who worked at one of the nicer tour agencies in town and asked to pair us up with some of his people.
          It worked out perfectly. He had 3 spaces to fill and put us in there. But the lady came up to us and told us that if any of the other tourists asked us how much we paid, we needed to say 380 B's (instead of 150) so they wouldn't get mad because that's what they paid. So already we got a steal of a bargain!

          When the jeep pulled up and we crawled in, we immediately recognized 2 people in there. They were a couple that was on our bus from Puno to La Paz when we ran into our passport issues. They were also the ones that we shared renting a different bus that same night when we were stranded in Copacabana. So we had plenty of time and got to know them quite well. This was obviously pretty exciting and very random. The other 2 people in our group was a young Australian couple who were also very nice.

        Our first stop was an old train yard. It's a cemetery for old rusted out trains that have been abandoned for years and years. It was an interesting site but not too terribly exciting.
          Our next stop was a little town where they actually make and process salt. They walked us through the whole process of how they make and package salt. This was pretty interesting but still not super exciting. But now is when things got crazy!

          After the little village, we drove about 10 minutes into the salt flats to find mounds and mounds or salt piled up ready to be collected. Our guide told us a little bit about the salt and collection before he let us take some pictures for awhile. After about 15 minutes, we loaded back up and drove about an hour into a massive expanse of salt flats. There is really nothing I can say to perfectly describe what we saw. Imagine a flat desert of snow for as far as the eye can see. There is nothing anywhere around. Simply a white blanketed floor that extended in all directions. This is where we took a lot of the famous perceptual pictures that twist your mind!

        After goofing off for awhile, it was time for lunch. Our driver then continued to drive deeper into this white wonderland until we came to a very random Island covered in cacti. Quick fact, these salt flats is actually a huge lake that is completely covered in salt. When we pulled up to the island we unloaded and wandered around for a few minutes while our driver set up lunch.

        I have to say, lunch was fantastic! Normally when on a tour and they say that a meal is included, it's pretty weak sauce. But this one was great! They knew we were vegetarians and they even prepared special food for us. We had vegetable omelets, rice, avocado, cucumbers, tomatoes, and even coke! Every one of us got very full and were very satisfied.

        Once we finished lunch, it was time to climb to the top of this cactus island. The view from the top was extraordinary! No matter where we looked, we saw beautiful, perfect, flawless whiteness from our cactus perch up high.

            Finishing up at the Island, we loaded back up to go take a few more photos before the sun went down. They also took us to a hotel that was in the middle of this "lake" that was completely made out of salt! The walls, the tables, the chairs, and the sculptures were all made of salt. Very cool.
      Feeling the time crunch, our driver loaded us up to take us to a place where we could watch the beautiful sunset. This was our final stop and final opportunity to take pictures. The sunset was of course remarkable. I have to reiterate the amazingness of the nature and scenery that I have been exposed to in my travels.

          After talking, Eric and I both very quickly agreed that this was by far our most favorite thing that we have done the entire time. We even agreed that this tour was WAY more fun than our trip to Manchu Picchu! We HIGHLY recommend this trip to anyone and everyone who can possibly do it.
      To close our adventures, the 3 of us went to a restaurant that actually served good mexican food. I had some vegetarian tacos that were to die for! And now, we are on our long journey back to La Paz. It is so hard to believe that we have only spent 1 day here and it was an absolute blast! Cheers mates!

You Stay Civilized……Planet Earth!!!!

Very exciting week!!

Site of my future home

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Tuesday May 21, 2013
         Today was a very laid back day for us. The plan was to wake up at 4:45 and hike up to Saqsaywamen. But when that alarm went off..... Yeah, we decided that sleep was such a better idea!
         We ended up sleeping in until about noon. Haven't done that in quite some time and it was wonderful! After arising from our slumbers, we thought it would be fun to seek out and go to the chocolate museum. Admission was free and boy was it cool in there. They had all kinds of different chocolates and information. It was a fat kids wonderland!

Halt Train!

           After the chocolate museum, there was only one thing to do.... MASSAGE!!! That $7, 1 hour attention is too enticing to resist. This time however, instead of getting the Incan Massage, we asked for a deep tissue one. So excited! The massage was very good and we enjoyed them, however, they didn't give us a deep tissue massage. They gave us the Incan one again.
       The plan was to go to the soccer game in the afternoon and then head to Puno tonight. However, when we got to the stadium, they told us that the game was postponed until tomorrow! What?!?! Ba hum bug! But wait, this is OUR vacation. We don't have any restrictions. We make our own decisions. So, we decided to stay another night, watch the game tomorrow, and leave tomorrow night. Sweet! Another night in Cusco!

Made it!

Wednesday May 22, 2013
         This morning we decided that we needed to go to Saqsaywamen. We figured that being here is probably a once in a lifetime chance and we have the rest of our lives to sleep! That left us waking up at 4:45 am to start our completely uphill hike in the freezing cold up a mountain. The reason we are doing it so early is that in order to get into the ruins, we needed to pay $50. But by waking up so early we were able to get there before the ticket people. So, we just walked right on in. Free admission to some pretty cool ruins. But probably the coolest part of the ruins were the rock slides that the Incan's had made. These were fairly long smooth rocks that you just sit down and start flying! A couple little hiccups caused some pain, but it was well worth it!

Buddies!

         After we finished being goobers, we headed back to our hotel so that we could get in the warm sheets and relax. But around 11, the lady knocked on our door and asked if we could check out so that she could clean the room. Ok, ok fine, we'll get up...
       We decided that if we were going to go to the game, it would be a good idea for us to go purchase our tickets ahead of time. When we got there, the tickets were about 4x as expensive as what we were told. It was still very cheap, but still, it was a little frustrating. After getting our tickets, we HAD to make sure that we got the full experience of soccer in South America, so we bought jersey's of the home team for fairly cheap.
       Meal time! Always the best times of the day! Today we finally got around to eating at El Encuentro which is the best vegetarian restaurant in town. It was super good and I highly suggest it!
        After eating, Eric left to run a few errands while I went back to the hotel to Skype a couple people before the game. I started getting a little worried about the weather because it started to rain and I heard thunder. But thank goodness it was short lived.
           After about 2.5 hours, Eric showed up and it was time to load up and head to the game. What we forgot, is that there are no assigned seating, just assigned sections. This being the case, we wanted to get there early. But we are in vacation meaning that we are a little slower about getting around. By the time that we got out to rad to the stadium, there wasn't a single taxi that would even consider taking us in the direction of the stadium. They would just laugh and drive away saying that there were way too many people there. The reason for this is that this is apparently one of the biggest soccer games that have ever happened in the history of Cusco! Needless to say, Eric and I were super excited. Eventually, we were able to flag down a taxi with a young, very "interesting" guy. Not sure, but we may have had a little bit of the native coca leaves shortly before he picked us up. But, regardless, he got us there safe and sound and for fairly cheap.
        There were tons of people swarming the streets! There were also tons of police, and some with riot shields. We actually felt pretty safe with all the soldiers and police there.
      Getting into the stadium, we immediately got excited. The field was beautiful and the stands were filling up with all kinds of crazy fans. The seating situation was a little interesting because its more of a first come, first serve situation. Fortunately we were able to get some pretty good seats.
         Beside me was a really big and very friendly guy. Thought the game we were talking and cheering and just having a good time. He seemed to like me a lot.
         Beside Eric, there were 3 guys that were all friends. They too were very nice and were talking with Eric a lot. However, these guys started drinking some rather "hard" beverages. At half time, one of the guys who looks like he was an educated man and was wearing a suit coat began to yell at a guy that was about 5 seats on the other side of me (meaning Eric and I are Right in the middle of their argument. After a few words were exchanged, the drunk guy ripped his jacket off real quick and marched up to the other guy (who was younger and stronger than him) and got in his face and was wanting to fight. The other guy just stood up and started yelling for the police that were all over the stadium like several other people around. While all this is happening, the attention of everyone on our side of the stadium was fixed on what was happening. After a couple minutes, the drunk guys friend joined him and got in the well controlled fan.
        Things are obviously getting very exciting. Keep in mind this is all happening right in front of Eric and I. This was too great! An actual fight at a soccer game in South America! How much more cliche can it get?
       As anyone (and several others WERE doing) would, I pulled out my iPhone to record everything that was happening. Apparently that was a mistake. As I was recording, all of a sudden, the 3rd guy comes up from behind me and grabs my phone and my hand and yanks in down and starts to get in my face. He was asking me what I was thinking? Why was I recording this? While he was yelling at me, I pried his hands off of my phone and was asking him what his problem was. Then he turned to get the attention of one of the now 10 or so police officers that were trying to subdue the other 2 guys. He started telling the police that I was causing problems and that I needed to be taken away.
          But the MOMENT he starting trying to pull that, I had an army of people around me that started yelling at him and calling him a liar for what he was saying about me. I think this took him a little off guard because I literally had people ALL around me defending me including  the big strong guy that was next to me. He stood up and put the guy in his place. He told the cops that he was the problem and that I wasn't causing any trouble.
       The whole time this guy was in my face trying to get people to agree with him that I was causing a problem. He had no such luck. In fact, while he was still in my face talking to me, the people behind me started throwing food at him. How cool is this?!?!  My very first soccer game and I'm involved in a fight!
        In the end, the police hauled off the 2 guys that started it and were ready to fight. Both of them were actually fighting the police and resisting arrest. It took 3 or 4 cops to restrain each guy. While they were hauling one guy off, he stared me down and gave me the death glare before he flicked me off. The guy that was in my face wasn't arrested but left with his friends as well. I will never go to a soccer game that is more exciting than this one. Schnikies!
       On another note, the team that we were cheering for lost 3-1. Everyone was irritated and upset at the outcome. It was surprisingly a very interesting game to watch and I really enjoyed it. And that is saying a lot because I think soccer is one of the most boring sports to watch.
       After the game, Eric and I went to our hostel, got our backpacks, grabbed a bit to eat, then headed to the bus station. It was now time to grab an 8 hour overnight bus ride to Puno.

P.S. I still do not have my voice completely back and I have developed a severe cough that I cannot get rid of! It is so annoying. So keep me in your prayers!

Thursday May 23, 2013
          We arrived in Puno Peru very early this morning. It was about 6 am and as soon as we arrived, we had people shoving papers in our faces and asking us to stay at their hostels and to go on a tour with them to the floating Islands. One guy finally won out because he said that we could lock our packs up with him for free.
        He ended up selling us a half day tour for about $12 that included transportation and entrance to the islands. We thought it was a good price and we were satisfied. But we had to wait a couple hours first because the tour didn't leave until 8:30.
          After killing some time, we loaded up in the van, drove around Puno and picked up several other tourists. Then we headed towards the docks where our boat was waiting to take us the 30 minute drive out to all of the floating Islands.
       The islands were super cool. It was very interesting to see how they were built and how the people live there. However, I was very disappointed in how touristic it had become. Once we got on the islands, it was as if we were in the markets. They just wanted to sell us a bunch of knick nacs at unreasonably high prices. They had even built a nice restaurant on the island for us to spend a lot of money at. I got hardly any sense of authenticity. Overall, I'm glad we did it because I would have regretted it if we hadn't. However, I was not very impressed.

        After the tour, we had about 2 hours to wander around town before we needed to catch our bus to La Paz. When it was time to leave, we were pretty happy because our bus was fairly empty. So, Eric and I each commandeered 2 rows of seats and laid flat out. The trip was going great until the border.
          This is when our day got very interesting and quite terrifying. When we went in to get our passports stamped like everyone else, there was a problem with Eric and my passports. Apparently, when we came over to Peru, we stamped out of Bolivia, but never stamped INTO Peru. This was very confusing because we did everything that was asked of us when we entered Peru. So I'm pretty sure that everyone who was on our bus going into Peru is going to have the same problem we did.
          The immigration guy was not a happy person to say the least. He was very rude and was treating us like criminals. He said that we broke the law and illegally entered Peru. This was quite worrisome because we were about to get arrested by the Peruvian government! He even accused us of being drug dealers! We tried explaining everything to him of what happened and he would have nothing to do with it. He insisted that we were wrong and that we were now officially criminals. He said that it is now absolutely impossible for us to enter back into Bolivia. The only thin we could do was to get on a bus and drive all the way back from where we just came, and talk with the US embassy.

Gettin' my massage on!

         This was leaving us in a real messy situation and the only guy that could help us wanted to arrest us. Furthermore, the bus and everyone on it was waiting on the Bolivian side of the border for everyone to load back up. But since we could no longer go, we asked the immigration guy if we could get our bags from the bus and he said that only one of us could go. I offered to run up there and grab all of our luggage and come back. While I was retrieving our luggage, I started talking with the bus driver and another Bolivian guy and explained to them what was happening. They were confused and said that the immigration guy was an idiot and that it shouldn't be a problem. They told me to just ask the guy what we could do to resolve the issue. But of course we had already done that and the immigration guy said that there were no solutions and that we screwed up big time.
        Meanwhile, back at the immigration office, Eric was talking with the immigration guy. He accused Eric of smuggling drugs and even patted him down and did a search. He asked what we were doing and when he found out that we have been volunteering in Bolivia at an orphanage for 9 months and that we had a flight out of La Paz in 7 days, he got a lot nicer. Eric being the charmer that he is started talking with him and made a few jokes. After a few minutes, he decided that he would do something that Eric an I are quite sure is illegal. His buddy works in the office that stamps people's passports who are entering the country. So he said that for $50 each, his buddy could change the date on his stamp and make it look as if nothing had happened. Then they both would sign off on it and we would have no problems.
            I wasn't there for any of this. So when I got back with all the luggage, Eric was next door with a guy who was forging his stamp. When I walked into the immigration office/room Eric was gone. I set my stuff down and asked the immigration guy where he was and he told me that the police came and arrested him! Oh my word. I didn't know what to think. My only thought was that they were going to be coming back for me and Eric and I would be spending a long time in a Peruvian jail. By shorty later, Eric walked in and I realized that it was a joke and they explained the deal to me.
          We tried to work fast because we wanted to catch our bus before it left. From my conversation with the driver, it was clear that we couldn't enter Bolivia and that they were going to go on without us. But apparently a couple of other people were having passport issues as well (not nearly as serious as ours though). So thank goodness, we were able to catch our bus. As soon as I walked on, a group of people at the back of the bus started cheering and were welcoming us to Bolivia and were happy for us.
         But wait, the saga isn't quite over. As soon as the bus started moving, a guy got up and announced that we spent so much time at the border that we were going to miss our connecting bus in Copacabana. He said that we would all need to find a place to stay for the night and then we could purchase another bus ticket very early the next morning. Wow. Things are getting very expensive very fast.
          However, once that announcement was made, there were 2 other Americans on our bus who asked if we wanted to share a taxi and continue going to La Paz tonight. We were not sure because we know a 4 hour taxi ride would be pretty expensive. But since they really wanted to get to La Paz tonight and wanted to split the cost 4 ways that we would do it. As it turns out, we found this guy with a medium size bus who would drive just the 4 of us to La Paz for $40. This is pretty pricy for Bolivian standards but we got the whole bus to ourselves and we were going to get to La Paz tonight.
         After about 30-40 minutes on the bus, we came to a stop and a Bolivian cop came in shining a big flashlight in our eyes and asked where we were all from. When we told him the United States, he said ok, everybody off right now. Seriously?!?! What could it be now?  Fortunately for us, it wasn't a big deal at all. We had just come to a river and passengers needed to buy a boat ticket to cross over because they wouldn't let people ride on the barge that took the bus.
          By now, Eric and I are welcoming any and all challenges that come our way. Just in the last 2 days, we have been in a fight at a soccer game, almost got arrested, was abandoned in Copacabana late at night, and have spent a good chuck of our pennies in fines. But through it all, God has been looking out for us. Everything has worked out just fine and we have made it through all the problems (we are just a little poorer now ;-) )

Friday May 24, 2013
        Finally, back in La Paz safe and sound. I'm just glad we made it back here without being arrested or deported! We are safe and healthy and that's all that matters.
         Last night, when we arrived at Dr. Patty's house, we felt a little bad because it was after 11 at night. But fortunately these folk are night owls so it wasn't a problem. As soon as Dr. P. let us in and brought us to our room, he turned the lights on and who lay before our eyes?!?!?! It was Steve!!! Unfortunately we woke him up, but I don't think he minded. We all stayed up for a few minutes saying hello and catching up. But it was late and we were all tired.
         The next morning, Eric and I slept in. Boy did that feel good! When we woke up, no one (except the maid) was home. That's not a problem, it just shows how late we slept.
           After we finally got enough motivation to get up and get dressed, we went to get some brunch.... Actually, I can't even say brunch, we plain old missed breakfast. We went out to lunch.
            The place we ate at had a special of the day. It came with salad, soup, pasta, and dessert for $5. Everything was great except for the pasta. They neglected to mention that the Alfredo had ham in it. When they brought I out, it was like a ham party! I think they out a full pig in a grinder, squished it onto plate, then put some noodles in there! I literally spent about 30 minutes picking out every little piece of ham. By the time I was finished, the plate was cold and I was sad.
          After pushing our welcome by sitting there using their wifi for a few hours, it was time to hit the market! Oh market how we have missed you. The greatest thing about these markets is that you can wander and wander and get completely lost and it not matter because you are too intrigued by new stands. This is exactly what happened to us. You know it's a magical place when getting lost is not a fear, it's exciting and welcomed. While we are in these back alleyways and walking through streets made of tents, you can find the best prices on everything!
          After a a few hours of shopping, we needed to wrap things up because the sun was going down and it was about to be Sabbath. We wanted to be back at the house before Sabbath started. We will have plenty more time to shop later so it's no worries.
          As a surprise to us, when we got back, everyone was upstairs about ready to have Friday worship and then eat a little supper. After supper, we all had a very interesting discussing about how in Matthew 12 it says that as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for 3 days and 3 nights, so Jesus would be in the earth for 3 days and 3 nights. However, Jesus died on Friday night and rose on Sunday.
        After discussing this for awhile, Lidia (Mrs. Patty) asked if I would help her in church tomorrow. She wanted me to get up in front of their church and say a few things in Spanish that she had written out but wanted me to memorize. Eh. Ok. No problem. What's the worst that could happen?

Saturday May 25, 2013
        Sabbath morning. Breakfast was at 7:30..... Yeah missed that. Then the plan was to leave at 9. And as surprising as it seems, we were ready but the Patty's were not. So Eric, Steve, Joc, Tabitha, and myself decided to walk. This was a good idea anyway because the car wasn't going to be big enough for all of us.
        Church went great and so did the children's story. The church was very nice and didn't seem to notice our gingosity (the characteristic of being a gringo). They, as everyone else in this country, awed over Eric's height however.
      After church, we all walked back and had a wonderful lunch that Joc and Tabitha had prepared for us. The Patty family ate somewhere else after church however. After we finished eating, the 5 of us continued to sit there for quite some time just talking and catching up. Joc and Tabitha are some of the most Christian people you will ever run into. They are so kind and yet so much fun to hang out with.
       Also this afternoon we spent a little hit of time just with Steve. After being given a bunch of numbers and fractions, we were able to figure out that Steve's birthday was very very soon. This was perfect because my parents wanted me to purchase a bottle of one of his favorite things; olive oil. After that was done, it was time for a little nap nap.
          Waking up we began to pack immediately for our short trip to Uyuni. Our plan was to catch the night bus and to take a tour the entire next day, then come back the following morning. However, we didn't really know what time the bus left. We just planned on showing up there sometime after Sabbath and seeing what happens. Little did we know, there is a massive parade going on right now though out all of La Paz. This blocked all of the streets, even from walking in certain places! This prevented us from getting to the bus station in time for their only night bus that left at 7 pm. Oh well, one more night in La Paz before we leave is fine with us.

P.S. sorry for no pictures. internet is slow and i am in a rush so i will post some later.

You stay civilized…..Planet Earth!!!!

Good-Bye FF, Hello Vacation!

Tuesday May 14, 2013

       Our final morning at Familia Feliz. How could it be here already? I can hardly believe that I have been in this place for nearly 9 months.

        This morning, Eric put on a movie for his class and then both he and I finished up all of our packing and commenced the cleaning process. Let me assure you, this cleaning job was no easy task. We had 9 months of buildup in that room. Not only was there 2 guys living in there, but also about 64 cockroaches, 2 rats, 4 praying mantis's, and 52 spiders. So yeah, things have gotten a little messy. But finally after a couple of hours, we successfully packed everything up and gave out tons of things that we were not taking back with us.

Each of us are coming back roughly 60 pounds lighter than we came (at least as far as luggage is concerned). Eric and I each ha 2 suitcases when we came down, but because of how much stuff we have given away/eaten, both of us have actually been able to put 1 suitcase inside the other. This will allow us to travel a lot easier.

Sad to leave Familia Feliz

Beings how there has been a teacher strike the past week, we were a little concerned that they had set up a road block again. So the plan was for Juan and Emmy to go to town early this morning (because it was their day off) and be sure to get into town before any protestors came out. Then, if they came out later, we could just park the other truck and walk right through them.

         Once we finished everything and all our stuff was packed up, it was time to make our final goodbyes. We first went to the girls dorm and said our fair wells, then it was to Jerry and Jenny's house, and then finally to Missy's house. Fortunately we only had a couple criers up to this point. We wanted to wait until the last minute to say goodbye to our boys because we are way closer to them.

Fortunately, there was no road block or protestors. So Juan was able to drive back to Familia Feliz and pick us up right at 2. Time to say goodbye to our room and our house. All the boys had just left to go machete grass which was good because they were right by the entrance. While Juan did a couple more things, Eric and I found our boys and said our fair wells.

Excited to Vacation

I'm really gunna miss these boys. I have become so close to each and everyone of them. Each one was very unique and I will not forget them. Most of the boys ran and gave us big hugs and told us how much they were going to miss us while a couple of them didn't want to face the fact that we were leaving and just kind of stood off at a distance not wanting to say goodbye.

Then it was time to go. Time to load up in the truck and pull away from Familia Feliz for the final time. The good news is that neither Eric or I are super emotional, so we didn't have to console each other or feel awkward or anything. We just kept carrying on as our crazy old selves. The whole drive into town, we were just soaking up the beauty of the jungle one last time. The scenery and nature that they have here in the jungle is just something you cannot find back in the states.

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Getting into town, we got ourselves a hotel, then checked into the airline to confirm our seats for tomorrow. That's when I headed back to the hotel to get situated and get online for a few minutes while Eric went with Juan and Emmy to an Internet cafe to show them how to use Facebook. Now we can keep in touch with them anytime.

At 6 pm we all met up at Juliano's for our final meal. We wanted to go out on avoid note with Juan and Emmy. They had never been to this restaurant before and we have been there oh so much. The workers also knew that it was our last night and were very kind. At the end of the meal, Juliano actually gave Eric and I a free dessert  that  costs more than what Juan and Emmy would normally pay for a full dinner! It was some kind of Oreo cheesecake thing. It was soooooo yummy.

While we were eating, Missy showed up with some money for me. We had arranged for her to buy my computer from me. This was a good deal for both of us because I was planning on returning it once I got back to the States and she was needing a computer but they are twice as expensive here in Bolivia. The only downside to selling her my computer is that for the next two weeks, I will have type out all of my blogs on my phone. This is the first one actually. So if you find a lot of misspelled words or sentences that don't make sense, my excuse is that I am now using my iPhone as a computer.

Time to say goodbye to Juan and Emmy. We talked for awhile and hugged and went our separate ways. I have learned so much from Juan over these months and I'm going to miss him a lot. Eric and I then pulled a late night online before we finally conked out.

Wednesday May 15, 2013

Our first true day of vacation. This morning we didn't even have an alarm set. We simply slept in to our hearts content which oddly enough was 8 am for me. My body I guess is just not used to sleeping in these days. That's fine with me. It just gives me more day to work with and I was actually awake in time to get a little of the continental breakfast.

The entire morning Eric and I just lounged around until we had to check out at 11. Once we checked out, Rey told us that we could lockup our luggage and relax in their hammocks until we had to leave. This was perfect because we still had a lot of time until our 5 pm flight. This left us sitting in a couple hammocks for a few hours relaxing and doing things online. During this time we actually met a group of backpackers that had just been to Peru and were able to give us a few tips.

Protestors

For our final meal we were thinking about going to Narguilas but weren't quite sure. The last couple months, our relationship with the owner has been a little strained and we are not sure why. I think he has just been very stressed during the high season. But we decided to go there anyway.

Best decision we made today.

The owner was super cheerful and happy to see us. And as it turned out, he was going to La Paz today too and was going to be on the flight as us! What are the chances?!?!

He is only going for 1 or 2 days so he doesn't have hardly anything with him. But after seeing all our stuff, he had the great idea for us to "give him some of our luggage." Eric and thought we were a couple kilos overweight and would have to pay fees. But as it turned out, we were about 30 kilograms over combined. But because he joined us, we were at the absolutely limit (including carry-ons). We calculated it up and he saved us about 240 B's which is about $35. But remember, money goes a lot farther in Bolivia and Eric and I don't have a lot of money, so this was a huge blessing to us.

It was actually kind of funny, when we were loading up our suitcases onto the airline bus to be taken to the airport, everyone inside was confused and shocked at how we could have a full suitcase and 2 backpacks each full of stuff. When we walked on, a few Irish girls confronted us about them and asked if we were serious mountain climbers who go on crazy jungle adventures! We laughed and told them that we have just been here in Rurrenabaque for 9 months to which they were even more shocked. No one can believe that someone could survive that long in Rurre. But then we tell them about the orphanage and it clears everything up.

Our flight back to La Paz was smooth and super fast. The moment we stepped out of the plane, we could tell we were in La Paz. The air was thin and it was very cold. Good to be back where I need a jacket!

Once we got to Dr Patty's house we were welcomed by one of the other tenets here who is also a familiar face to me and remembered who I was. He said that Eric and I would have to sleep in the living room because the bed room was being used by a couple. And who do you think that couple was?!?!? Jacque and Tabitha!!! They were volunteers at familia Feliz for a few weeks and are SUPER fun and nice people. We had no idea that they would be here. And they had no idea that we would be here either. It was a complete shock to both of as and we hugged and then say down just taking together and catching up. It was so good to see them.

To wrap up the night, Eric and I went to the grocery store and bought some ramen noodles and a little soda for dinner. And now, my eyes want to close

for a few hours. Goodnight.

Thursday May 16, 2013

Our first day back in La Paz! Neither Eric or I slept too well last night but we're young bucs. We can take it.... Maybe.

One thing is for sure, La Paz is cold. Eric and I were shivering until we started putting on all the warm clothes that we had. Even then, I was still a little cold because I was still wet from my weak shower. But once I pulled out my down seeping bag I was good to go. That thing kept me so warm the whole night.

The first thing we did this morning was to do a little unpacking of our suitcases. Now that we are done with Amazonas and their 1 bag, 40 pound limit, we can now repack all of our stuff and separate our 2 suitcases. After we laid most of it out, we started our ~1.5 walk up to the bus station to see about buying a ticket to Cusco.

While walking there, we saw in person, what has flooded all Bolivian news recently. There were thousands upon thousands upon thousand of protesting workers that flooded the street for miles! They were chanting and launching fireworks into the air. This is not just movement that is happening in La Paz, but all across Bolivia. It was just crazy to see all these weirdos out there trying to make a point.

Once we got to the bus station there was a direct bus that left at 4:30 pm for about $21. We were actually pretty happy about this because we thought the last bus for Cusco left at 3:30. So this have us an extra hour in La Paz. Once we purchased our ticket, we started our long walk back to the house to pick up our packs and come back.

But before we got back to the house, we stopped at a pretty nice looking restaurant to get a bite to eat. It was a little pricy so we didn't get too much. But I ordered this peach juice that was out of this world delicious. And just as an added bonus, they had wifi so I was able to Skype my pops for a few minutes and give him an update.

After getting back to the house, we finally saw Lidia (the mother of the house). He had no idea that we were there last night and slept in her house! But as soon as she saw me she remembered me and welcomed me right in. But we only stayed long enough to pack up our things for a week in our backpacks and we were back off to the bus station so we wouldn't be pushed for time.

However, since we had our backpacks this time, we decided to take a taxi for 21 cents. I mean come on, we are on vacation. We can splurge a little bit. We got to the station about 2 hours ahead of time which was ok with us because we were just going to go to an Internet cafe nearby. But wait! Could it be? Yes! There was free high speed Internet at the bus station! How cool is that? But I have to say, something is wrong when a place provides free high speed wireless Internet and charges you to use the bathroom....

While waiting, we decided that I might be a good idea to figure out where we are going and find a couple options for hotels once we get there. Because as of now, we are just winging it (which is the best and most exciting way to do things).

When we got on the bus, we were pleasantly surprised with where we would be spending the next 14 hours of our lives. The chairs are very spacious and fold out almost all the way into a bed. They also came around an gave out lunch which for me was a sandwich and pineapple cream juice. Each seat also comes with a blanket and pillow! But as we are driving to the sun setting over the massive expanse of the altiplano, I am getting sleepy. So I must check out until tomorrow.

Friday May 17, 2013

Today was a super long day. This was all the result of the fact that neither Eric or I got any sleep on our overnight bus. We are not exactly sure why because it was a very comfortable bus. We simply could not sleep! This left us just talking and listening to music.

Then at about 6 am, we arrived in Cuzco. We were actually surprised to find out how cold it was here. It was just as cold as La Paz was. But we came to find out that during the days it's usually a bit warmer.

As soon as we got off the bus, a lady immediately started waving a brochure for a hostel at us. 50 soles 50 soles! Clean rooms, Internet, hot water! 50 soles didn't sound too bad to us (especially because we had no plans, no reservations, and it was 6 am). But then another guy popped up and said he had all the same amenities for 40 soles. Deal. So we hopped in a taxi and headed to our hostel.

Upon arrival, we were pleasantly surprised. It is just a little place that has maybe 5 rooms around a tiny courtyard. Right in the middle of the courtyard is a really big growing tree and some tables and chairs. Furthermore, not only was the wifi super fast, but they told us that they were not going to charge us for today even though we got there at 6:30 am and would be there the whole day.

For the next couple of hours, we just sat in our rooms huddled under 3 or 4 blankets with shorts, pants, shirt, hoodie, and socks on. Once we started to get hungry, they offered us complementary breakfast and asked if we needed any help planning a trip up to manchu picchu. This was perfect because we weren't exactly sure what the best route would be.

Shortly after he started his speech about what his tour included, I figured it was going to be way outside of our price range. The trip included a direct bus 4 hours away to a train station, the train there and back, a hotel in aquas calientes, 4 different vegetarian meals, and entrance into manchu picchu with a guide for 2 hours if we wanted. After he was done and told us the price, I was actually a little surprised at how cheap it was. It was still a little more than we were planning, but after awhile negotiating prices and haggling him down, I got a price of $135 for the entire trip. I am quite happy with this price and am anxious to go on the trip. We plan on doing most of our travels on Sunday then spending the night in Aguas Calientes, then going up into manchu picchu early Monday morning.

Now it was time for the highlight of our day. Eric and I went to a place called Nueva Vida which is a massage salon. We had done some research online and found that they off 1 hour long massages for $7-10. I mean how could we pass that up right? So we got an "Incan massage" which was a hot stone treatment. We both really enjoyed it and were very relaxed.

our little hostel in Cusco

However, throughout the entire day, I have been getting a little sicker an a little sicker. By the early afternoon, it was difficult to talk. I think it is only because I haven't gotten much sleep in the past couple of days. So I'm sure that after a good nights sleep, I will be good as new!

Saturday May 18, 2013

We were finally able to apply  the words "day of rest" to this Sabbath. Eric and I slept in today until about noon. This was perfect for me as I am still trying to overcome my sore throat. I was hoping that after a good nights sleep, My voice would be better. But no such luck. Looks like I will have to suffer at least one more day of no talking.

Once we finally got out of bed, we decided we needed to get a bite to eat. And what better place to go than the famous Jacks cafe. Surprisingly there was no line to be seated. However, we had to about 10 minutes while they cleared a place. As soon as they asked us to wait, this Asian girl about our age walked up behind us. As we were all looking at the menu, I noticed she leaned in and was looking at a little Peruvian pin that some vender had given Eric and I because we told her that we were volunteers in Bolivia. She thought the pin was so cute and asked me where I got it. That of course blew open the door to conversation.

As it turns out, she is a Korean girl who used to be a writer for a TV show in Korea. Apparently she got tired of her job and quit so that she could travel the world. She has been traveling alone and has literally been ALL over the world. So she wouldn't have to wait, we invited her to sit with us at our table to which she gladly accepted.

We all had a really good lunch together and just talked about everything. Apparently, she was going to be in Aquas Calientes and Manchu Picchu the same day and time as us. Her next stop was surprise surprise, Bolivia! She wasn't sure of what she wanted to do there but she was going. Naturally, we told her about Rurre and some of the cool pampas trips that she could get there.

As it turns out, she is leaving Cusco and heading to La Paz the exact same day as us. The only difference is that Eric and I are going to make a pit stop  in Puno for the day. When she found out about our plans, she asked if we wouldn't mind if she joined us. We both said yes without even thinking. She is very nice and its just something backpackers do.

After we ate, Eric and I had spotted a big statue of Jesus and a big cross that overlooked all of Cusco.

Most people get a bus or a taxi up there because it is quite the steep mountain. But because Eric and I are pretty adventurous and broke...... Ok, mostly broke, we decided to just start walking in the direction of the Statue. We figured that as long as we walked through the streets and started climbing the mountain in the right direction, we'd end up there. Makes sense right? That's exactly how it turned out! After a long climb, we popped out at the top of the mountain where taxi's were zooming by seeing us hunched over with our hands on our knees gasping for air probably wondering who in the world are these boys and why did they just hike up a mountain like that!

Once we could finally breathe, we looked up to see that statue, the cross, and a big welcome sign into Saqsaywaman  (pronounced sexy woman).

          After taking pictures of and with the cross, we looked down behind us a little ways and saw a lot of Incan ruins. We've come all this way, we might as well go a little farther. After reaching the entrance to the ruins, some people told us that we needed to buy tickets in order to see the ruins. But when we saw the price of the tickets, we knew that wasn't going to happen. So we tried to go to a nearby hill and look in. We were only able to see a tiny bit. But before we left, one of the guys at the ticket counter told us that if we came up at like 6:30 in the morning, we could get in for free. After a little bit of research bak at the hotel, I think we are going to try to go back really early on Tuesday.

After our climb back down to the hotel, we decided o rest up a little bit before hitting the night life of Cusco. There actually wasn't too much as far as entertainment goes, but we wandered around town taking in the sites. Then hunger sat in again. This is actually a pretty exciting time because so far, both of us think that the food is the best part of Cusco.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel to pack up and to get some sleep. We have an early morning tomorrow as we are getting picked up and heading to Aquas Calientes; the town just before Manchu Picchu!

Sunday May 19, 2013

First thing that makes my beard look small

First thing this morning, we had a little scare this morning about our trip. The guy that we have paid all our money to told us to be ready this morning between 7:30-8. So We were both up and ready to go at 7:30, but no one was outside. No worries we will give it a few minutes. Then at 7:45, we still didn't see a soul. I went into the little room where the guy who was working at the hotel was. I asked him about the tour and what the plan was and when they were getting here. He simply told me that he has no idea. The guy that we set up our tour with doesn't work or or with the hotel. Um what?!?!

This immediately worried Eric and I. For about 3 minutes we thought we were taken for a ride. But then the van showed up to pick us up. Phew.

After getting into the van, we drove to a few other hostels to pick up other tourists before we headed out.

From the time that we left Cusco, we were in the van for 6.5 hours. We drove to Ollantaytambo, then to Santa Maria, then to Santa Teresa then did a 2 hour hike through the forest along some train tracks. Most people catch the train from Ollantaytambo, but yet again, Eric and I are too adventurous for that (aka broke haha).

This route was quite the long journey, but I'm so glad that we did it this way. The scenery that we saw today was absolutely breathtaking. We drove through mountain passes, along the sides of them and even over massive water rapids. It was an amazing experience to see all of that. And it was cheaper than taking the train!

Upon arrival to Aquas Calientes, Eric and I were extremely surprised. We both had thought that it was going to be a very small town with nothing much to it. But not were we wrong! This is actually a very high class town! We didn't arrive until after dark so we didn't have much time to explore, but from what we saw, we wished that we had at least another day or two here.

Monday May 20, 2013

Today was the day! We are actually going to see the Incan city of Manchu Picchu! However, if we were going to do this once in a lifetime thing, we were going to do it right. This meant that we woke up at 3:40 am in order to be the first ones at the entrance to the gate.

Sure enough, we were the first ones there! However, we had to wait until 5 for them to open up the trails up to Manchu Picchu.

This trail is no joke. It is almost a completely vertical climb.  Even after being stuck behind slow pokes for half the way. The guides said that 45 min is about the fastest you can go and we did it in 45 flat! Pretty proud of ourselves. Here is where I feel a little obliged to give a shout out to my mom for being able to climb that cliff a couple years ago. Proud of ya momma!

Once we got to the top, we went right into the park. Even though he wanted everyone to meet outside the park. Problem was, the park opened at 6, and he wanted to take our group in at 6:30. Yeah, I'm not going to have woken up at 3:40 in vain. We wanted to get the best pictures possible which is exactly what we did.

After tons of photos, we decided to go into the city and search for our group. We ended up finding them fairly quickly and finished up the tour.

The beauty of Manchu Picchu and its surrounding mountains is unmatchable. Reflecting on some of the things I have seen in the past 9 months are absolutely gorgeous. I think about the clear nights in which I can see a billion stars so clearly, mountains, jungle, wildlife, sunsets, snowcapped mountains with bright stars all around them, Manchu Picchu and so many others. What a mighty God we serve!

After we finished up, we jogged down the steep cliff we hiked up. Since it was downhill, we were able to knock it out in ~25 minutes. We wanted to grab a quick bite to eat before we caught our train back down to Hydro Electric. This train was actually very nice. We had tickets set up through Perurail and they only costed $15 each. The train ride was short, but very comfortable and saved us a ton of walking.

          Then came the not so fun part, our 7-8 hour van ride back through windy roads with 16 people! Fortunately, other than discomfort any annoyance, it went without any problems except for the fact that we got a late start so we didn't get back to Cusco until 9 PM. But now it is time to rest!

P.S. fun fact, having a think mane of hair on your face increase the amount of perspiration. Who would have thought!

P.S.S Sorry about not having more pictures. Not having my computer is proving to be difficult.

You Stay Civilized….. Planet Earth!!!!

House is done!

Monday April 6, 2013

Wow, what even happened today? I'm not even sure. I will have to sit here for a few minutes and try to remember what I did today. So stand by......... Ok, got it.

My plan for today was to hopefully work on the house. However, the guy who is cutting our posts said that they wouldn't be ready until the afternoon. This left me to look for something else to do today. But fortunately, work found me no problem.

As soon as Warren found out that we were not going out this morning, he wanted my help with a few things. The first thing he listed was to finish connecting the new electrical wires to his and Jerry's house. But before I did that, he wanted me to transfer a program and files from Missy's computer to his computer. Then, he wanted me to move every bag of rice to a different room and clean up the room that it was in. Our rice room has been in an old classroom and they needed it back. By the time I finished all of that, Sam had already connected the cable with Augustine.


Poor Eric was a sick little puppy today. All through the night last night he was throwing up and making sounds. Today wasn't too much better for him either. He stopped throwing up, however he was sleeping and in bed pretty much the entire day. Thank-goodness I was there to hold his hand, rub his tummy, give him some milk, and sing to him. Yeah, ok no.



All morning, Juan and Emmy have been asking me tomake bread for them. They said that they would mix everything together if I could just divide them and bake them. So right before lunch, David and I sat down together and balled up all the risen dough. David is one boy that ALWAYS loves to help me no matter what it is I'm doing.


After lunch I heated up the furnance, brought over the bread, and started baking it. Armando and Juan Carlos were over there and they were playing a game. It was basically gambling with marbles. Armando would be a certain distance away from the oven and would be throwing sticks aiming for the fire pit on the side. If he missed, he owed Juan Carlos 5 marbles, if he made it, Juan Carlos owed him 5. They were playing nearly the entire time and Armando was loosing pretty bad.


For work program it was macheteing again. Only today, we wern't in the banana fields. We went out front of Familia Feliz and started chopping down the jungle that has been growing between us and the road. Armando was my work buddy. I think we both liked that.


As soon as work time was over, the wood guy showed up and told us that the posts were done and that we could pick them up at any time. So Jerry, Juan, Sam, 2 boys, and I loaded up. Apparently we were exchanging 6 bad posts for 6 new ones. After we picked up the posts, we made a few stops coming back including picking up more oranges yet again.


By the time we got back, it was time for a little rest. Then after a little cool down, it was chow time. But now for me to go to sleep because I have 4 full days of construction ahead of me.

Tuesday April 7, 2013


We are officially on the homestretch. Including today, Eric and I have exactly 1 week left here at Familia Feliz before we travel for a bit, then head home. It is so hard to believe that we have been here almost 9 months! I was telling Missy just the other day that if you were to talk to me 2 months ago, I would have said that I felt like I have been here forever. But now, I feel like the time has flown by.

For my final week, I am going to be quite busy. This week is going to be hardcore house building week. My entire day was spent at the work site. Today we were able to put up all the posts, finish building the tresses, then put up and stabilize all the tresses. Our work group was Jerry, Sam, Augustine, and myself. Other than a few scrapes, there really isn't too much that I can write about.


Last night however, Niquisha and Wanetta brought over a beautiful cake. Wowie, that was by far the prettiest and most delicious cake I have seen in quite some time. It was covered with actual frosting, and tons of fresh fruit. However, we didn't eat it last night. Instead, we wanted to save it for breakfast this morning which was totally fine with me.


The only interesting story that I can think of started the moment that I woke up. We had decided that we were going to leave for the worksite at 7:30. So, I set my alarm and was going to up in plenty of time. However, for some reason I slpet through my alarm. I guess I was just really tired. Sam came over and woke me up around 7:25 and asked if I was almost ready. I popped out and said yes as I started to get dressed.


Coming out of my room about 2 or 3 minutes later, I scarfed down my breakfast and headed over the meet everyone. By the time I got over there, it was about 7:38. Sam was planning on waiting for me, but apparently Jerry told him to just drive away and leave me. He told Sam that maybe I just wasn't interested in helping. So Sam listened and drove off.

As soon as the truck pulled off, I walked up before Jerry even had the moto bike turned on. He likes to take the bike and have it there too. So I figured that I would just hop on back, but Augustine walked up and got on. Then Jerry proceeded to tell me that Sam just left me because I wasn't there.


Jerry then told me that he would take Augustine to the site, drop him off, and come back to get me. Keep in mind, the site is literally a 3-4 minute drive away by bike. So I told Jerry thats fine and I'll just wait in front of Missy's house. Then I sat there, and I sat there and he didn't show up. Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes, then finally after 40 minutes he showed up. I was quite agitated and wasn't too happy. However it turns out that he had to drive further up the road and talk to the lumber guy before he came back and got me. Other than this minor irratation, I had a really good day and learned a little bit about building a house.

Wednesday April 8, 2013

Early morning. This morning I was up at 6:45 and was out loading up wood into the truck at 7. By the way, starting just this week, the early mornings have been extremely cold! I have been needing to put layers on and actually wear a jacket! Granted, 30-45 minutes later when the sun starts to rise I start burning up again.


Loading and unloading wood is probably the worst part of this building project. Not only is the wood super heavy, but it is very splintery. I am always needing to be caeful about how I handle it, but sometimes there is not much I can do. The good news however is that today we had 3 extra volunteers! Three troublemakers that is. David, Armando, and Jorge were told to work with us for the entire day today as punishment for acting up yesterday. We gave them the job of unloading the truck of these huge long boards. We gave them this job because the boards are too big for them which means it would take them a very long time. Mean you ask? Nah, just makes them work really hard and makes em' think twice before they act up again.


Today we actually got a lot done on the house. The main thing I worked on today was the roofing panels with Sam. We were able to finish the entire roof in the morning. Then in the afternoon, we worked on the floor and 1.5 walls. It's looking more and more likely that we will finish this week!

After work, Warren wanted me to run into town and fill up the truck with diesle. I was actually a little worried about going because the station is not always open (especially when they run out of gas and diesle), and we were pretty close to empty. However, once we got there, there was a big line a people waiting meaning that not only was it open, but they had diesle.




After we filled up came the fun part. Warren also needed me todo something online for him. This meant that we got to go into town and get online! Not only that, but I had some pretty good company too. Eric and Sam were also in the truck with me.

Once we got into town, Sam volunteered to take the truck and drive all over town running all the other errands that I needed to do while Eric and I went to Juliano's and ate dinner. We had to make a hard decision about whether to eat or not because it was not in our budgets. Ok, who am I kidding, it wasn't that hard of a decision. Then of course we had to top off dinner with a little ice cream from Flippers. I think I could just sit there all day long eating.


Thursday April 9, 2013

VERY SUCCESSFUL DAY! We essentially finished the house. We finished all of the construction aspects of the house and it's looking really nice. This of course didn't come without a little sacrifice. We pulled a very hard and very long day today. I feel like I was at the project forever. Then we only had about a 45 minute lunch break before we hit it hard again. The house has actually turned out a lot nicer than I originally thought it would. We even had enough materials to build them a little additional overhang for their kitchen.


This week has been a wreck on my hands and feet. I have gotten cuts and blisters all over both. I even had a very large heavy board dropped on my hand which gave me a blood blister. But finally, I think we are finished. We still have to go back tomorrow though to hammer in a couple more things and make them a little more secure. Fortunately, that shouldn't take more than 2 or 3 hours.


I'd like to just give a quick shout out to Ali Cresswell and her family for donating all the money to build this house. This is a most definite blessing to this family and there couldn't be a family who needs it more. This is what it is all about; not only getting out there and doing the Lords work, but supporting it too! Thanks you guys!

Friday April 10, 2013

DONE DONE DONE! We are done with the house! As I said before, we did not have too much more work to do on the house to finish it up. However, we still succesfully spent 5 hours there this morning. Because we were able to finish a little early, we were able to build a couple of other fun things in their house. With our excess material, and a little extra time, Sam and I built an extension from the house to cover where they cook outside. We were also able to install some shelves inside. This was particularly exciting because for a couple of the shelves, I did the measuring, the chainsawing, the leveling, and installing all by myself. They came out quite well if I don't say so myself!

As a little bonus to this couple and the boy, we brought some mattresses and a bedframe for them as well. They had one old wood bedfram, but nothing more than 2 blankets to put on top. The little boy had actually been sleeping in a wheelbarrel everynight because he had nothing else to sleep in. Now, he has his own big bed with scooby doo bed sheets. He was super excited to get them and just started rolling around on his mattress.


The res of the afternoon I just spent sitting and relaxing until rounda. Our final vespers. It was short and sweet and Eric and I were glad to have hit the final one. At the end, they told Eric and I to start the handshake because it was our last time here doing it.

Saturday April 11, 2013

So much for a day of rest after a long week of building a house. For our last Sabbath here, Eric and I went with our entire family over to San Buena to attend the church on that side of the river. Non of us had ever been there before so it was pretty exciting to visit a new church. Furthermore, Juan convinced me to bring my violin over there and play special music for them.
 


This is still a very foreign concept to me; where there is no set plan for the service and things just happen off the cuff. For example, today we showed up and told them that I had my violin and would be doing special music. No problem. We also told them that we would take care of the sermon. No problem.

After we got off the boat, we started about a 10 minute walk to the church. While walking there, Juan and Emmy asked if Eric or I were going to be giving the sermon. I just laughed and said that it would have to be Eric because he was wearing a tie (even though I was wearing one too). Then Eric laughed and threw his hands up in the air and said sure, why not? I'll give the sermon (totally joking). But as soon as we arrived at the church, Juan went up to the elder and told him that I would do special music and Eric would give the sermon.


Eric didn't know that Juan had did that until just a few minutes before the sermon. When he found out, he was shocked as I would have been too. He explained to Juan that we were all joking around earlier and that he couldn't preach. So instead of forcing Eric to, Juan said that he would preach instead.


The church here in San Buena is extremely nice. They were all very open and very friendly to us. They are a very small congregation with about 25 members. But they have some very cool traditions. For example, at the beginning of the service, they all get up and start singing a song of welcome to each other and to guests. As they sing, they go around to each person in the church to shake their hand. The song (roughly translated) said "It doesn't matter who we are or where we come from. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. So lets come together and shake each others hand." The second verse was the same except it went from a handshake to a hug.

Another cool tradition they have is at the end of the service, after everyone shakes the hand of the preacher, they form a line so that everyone in the congregation can shake the hand of everyone else as well. No one is excluded. This is definitely one of the most personal churches that I have ever been to.


The song I played for church was As The Deer. It is Juan's favorite song and he LOVES to hear me play it on the violin. The church seemed to really like it to. I'm not sure if any of them have ever even heard a violin before because while I was playing, most everyone in the congregtion were entraced. Then after I played there was a pretty big "Amen". It was one of the few times that I have ever played with no piano or other type of music with me.

After church, they asked us if we would be staying until later in the afternoon as they had another service at 3:30. We didn't really have any other plans, so after talking about for awhile, we decided to stay. Unfortunately, from 12-3:30, we had nowhere to go and nothing to do. We had brought lunch over with us so that helped, but after that, we ended up just sitting at the church waiting for the 3:30 service that didn't start until 4:15.


The second service was more directed towards younger people and was done very well. Shortly before they started, they asked if I would do another special music for them so I said yes. They also asked Eric if he would give a short sermon as well. I decided to just play the song "Softly and Tenderly" which again, I think went really well.

The other interesting thing that happened during this service was a game that was played. They passed around a flower through the congregation, and when the music stopped, whoever had the flower needed to go up front for an "activity" to follow. As fate would have it, the music stopped when I had the flower. I had been chosen.


Not having any idea what was to await me up front with all these Bolivians, all I could do was smile and laugh and hope I didn't make a fool of myself (which was inevitable). As it turned out, each one of us was given a Bible verse (in spanish) that we needed to memorize in about 5 minutes. Then, we needed to recite it infront of everyone to the music/beat of a song. Guess who got to go first. That's right, firebeard himself. I struggled a tiny bit, but I think I did pretty good if I don't say so myself.

By the time we left the church, we had been there for 9.5 hours straight. We were in the building for a very very long time. We actually didn't even get back to Familia Feliz until after 7 PM. Even though we didn't get a very resful Sabbath, it was an extremely high Sabbath fo us. Then to top it all off, once we got back, Warren told us to all load up in the truck because he was going to treat all the men at Familia Feliz to a guys night out at Juliano's!!! WOW!


This was a perfect end to a long Sabbath. Warren said that we could get whatever we wanted and as much of it as we wanted. That meant that each of us were able to get an appetizer of heart of palm covered in vinagerrete dressing. SOOOOOO good. After we were done eating, Warren expressed his gratitude towards Eric and I for all the hard work that we have done here at Familia Feliz. He was very genuine in his words and was very kind. 

Fun fact, because of a generous donation by my grandmother, we have been fixed some oil seal for the tires that were in very bad shape. We also have an appointment to fix the brakes on the little truck at the beginning of next week as they are wearing thin. Then the biggest thing is, we have an appointment on Monday to get all the chairs replaced. This may not sound like a big deal, but they are barely bolted to the ground and flob around as we drive. The back seat also has a rusty jagged bar that is jutting out that has hurt several kids including myself. So now, we will have new chairs that arecomfortable and securly bolted to the ground! Thank you so much grandma!

Now for a little bit of sleepy time before I head in to town tomorrow.

You Stay Civilized......Planet Earth!!!!