Our Trip To La Paz

Happy Easter!

It’s Sunday evening and we’ve just gotten back from our trip to La Paz. We’re all exhausted. The trip was an amazing and interesting experience. Not only did we enjoy Bolivia’s capital, but we also got to see some of Bolivia’s most renowned sights and places. The first night we arrived we went out for dinner on one of La Paz’s most busy streets. I was amazed by the city. It’s located in the Andes, in a sort of crater surrounded by smaller mountains with huge snow-capped mountains in the distance. The city is similar to Cochabamba except that it has larger, more modern style buildings and the temperature is quite a bit cooler.

The next day was pretty action-packed. We first drove to a place called Tiwanaka, a sight famous for its Incan ruins. Although it still has not been fully excavated, there was some very interesting stuff. First we saw an idol of mother earth (I can’t remember how to spell it but their god was basically a version of mother earth) and then we looked though a museum filled with Incan artifacts. We also saw some very interesting temple-like structures with altars and idols and such. It was good to be reminded of the fact that Bolivia has a rich history and that much of its present culture has been influenced by its Incan ancestors.

After Tiwanaka we traveled an hour or so to another notable feature of Bolivia, Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It sits 3,812 m (12,507 ft) above sea level making it the highest lake in the world. It was beautiful. While we were there we got to try some of the Titicaca trout, which was delicious. We also got to learn a little more about Bolivian history at another museum. (Oh and not to mention get a little friendly with some lamas and alpacas.)

This morning we visited the Fist Baptist Church of La Paz and Terry preached a great sermon as usual. Once again I was blown away by how welcoming the Bolivian Christians were. Being around them always makes me fully appreciate the fact that in Christ we are all brothers and sisters.

Before I finish I should add to the comment that Phil made in his last blog about Bolivian Catholicism. When we arrived in La Paz we got to see one of the Good Friday parades. It consisted of a large group of people wearing strange costumes (which closely resembled those of the KKK) carrying different statues from one church to another (Mary, Christ on the cross, and Christ in a transparent casket). Although some aspects of it were quite strange, I was moved by how apparently serious these Catholics took their religious traditions. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but draw the conclusion that many of these people had reduced the significance of the death and resurrection of the Lord and Savior to a ritual they perform once a year and remember on the odd Sunday. It aches my heart to think that those to which the gospel has been entrusted have forgotten or failed to understand that the cross ought to affect every facet of our lives.

Please continue to pray for us as we strive to serve Christ in Cochabamba.

Dave

Ps: Special thanks to Phil and Tarryn for making my Bolivian birthday memorable, and for getting me a delicious, wet Bolivian birthday cake (which my nostrils thoroughly enjoyed).

Some Pictures

(From top to bottom): Dave golfing on our golf day with the Janke's. The next three are of Dave's birthday party. The three of us at the highest point on the drive to Oruro at 4496 meters above sea level. The next two are of some of the views of the drive. The third is Phil testing the hot springs we stopped at and the last picture is some alpacas we saw at the side of the road.

Happy Birthday Dave!

Well everyone, 

Once again, my apologies about the lack of new material this week.  We have been so busy lately, with classes and ministry and traveling... finally I have a little time to sit back, relax and blog!  

Today was Dave's 22nd birthday, and so we (Tarryn and I) decided to throw him a big traditional Bolivian style surprise party.  We invited lots of friends, we had food, music and even fun hats!  Dave's face went in the birthday cake (as is tradition here), and we all shared our favourite memories and sentiments about Dave (as is also tradition).  

The night was so much fun and we were all able to just relax and celebrate our friend Dave Graham.  

Early this evening we went to Roman Catholic mass and then went to the stations of the cross at another large cathedral.  It was really eye-opening to see the intense Catholicism here which looks very little (if at all) like Catholicism from back home.  Holy week is one of the most important times in the church calendar and it was amazing to be able to experience what this time of year means to millions of South American Catholics. 

As a quick summary of what we've been doing since the last blog posting... Last Sunday we took my family to the airport and sent them on back to Canada.  We had a wonderful time with them and I know that you all missed them back on your side of the world (but thanks for lending them to us).  

On Monday morning we went golfing with the Janke family before our ESL classes (in my class we had a St. Paddy's day party with a REAL Irish lady! I'm sure my students would have loved her if they could've understood anything through her accent).  The rest of the week was back to the regular ministry routine (which always proves to be anything BUT regular!) and that brings us back to today.  

Tomorrow, Tarryn and I will be flying to La Paz (the capital of Bolivia) and Dave (along with the Jankes) will be driving (we will explain in the comments section if you really want to know why...).  So, that's a fancy way of saying, "when we get back on Monday morning - we will post again (and this time, we won't take forever to update you)".  

May you all have a blessed Easter weekend,

- Phil

Christ is Risen! 

Our Trip Up the Mountain

As Phil promised, this blog is about our adventures out of Cochabamba this past weekend to Oruro and Llallagua. So 8:30 friday morning the seven of us, Phil, Dave, Terry, Phil's Dad, Rick, his grandparents Richard and Eunice and I all piled into Terry's jeep. We headed on our way up the mountain to Oruro, a city about five hours from Cochabamba. The trip was...how do I put it in a way that will capture the adventure without giving my parents a heart attack. . .um. . . a perpetual near death experience. Haha, O.K. maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but I'll have to admit that whipping around those corners not knowing what was ahead of us, only that we were a foot from the edge of a mountain was at times. . . how would I put it, exciting!

Along the way we threw buns out the window to stray dogs (actually that was a lot more fun than one would think) and stopped to take pictures and see some hot springs. Friday afternoon we stopped in Oruro for lunch but then continued on to Llallagua. There we stopped in Murka Myra where we visited a memorial church for six people martyred in the 1940's. We also were welcomed into the home of one of the local missionaries for some Coco tea. For me Murka Myra and visiting the missionary's family was one of the highlights of the weekend. Stepping into someone's home provides an entirely new look into a culture, and in this case, when we looked we saw the love of two people showing hospitality to others and the cutest little girl that I am pretty sure Amigdio would have taken home with him if he could. The home we visited was extremely humble in wealth but rich in love. Being in Murka Myra couldn't help but challenge my lifestyle full of luxuries I call necessities.

Later on we checked into our hotel in Llallagua where Willie, the old man we all quickly befriended that worked at the hotel, served us dinner. After dinner Phil and I toured the night life of Llallagua. Walking up and down the narrow, cobblestone streets jam packed with people, street vendors selling anything from washing machines to 80 brands of shoes, we couldn't help but think of how much the little yet lively town felt like a movie set. There were bright lights but you could tell beyond the busyness of the city it was dark, quiet and desolate. The next day we joined Terry, Ivan, Amigdio and the other ministry representatives from Cochabamba for a bit for a meeting they were having. After the worship was over we left to experience Llallagua a bit more, handing out gum balls with bible verses written on the packaging to children in the street.

Later Saturday afternoon we checked out and headed back to Oruro. Dave Phil and I, wisely used that time to cram for the testimonies we would be sharing in Spanish later on that night. Notice how I use the word wisely there, however the wiser thing to do, obviously, would to have it done before we left haha. Shortly after arriving in Oruro we ate dinner quickly and then headed to one of the local churches there. The Pastor of the Church, Pastor Alex, was one of Terry's students at the seminary in Cochabamba. Phil shared with the young adults group the importance of personal devotion with God and Dave and I shared parts of our testimonies that high lighted that. Afterwards they served pastries with super salty cheese and hot, cinnamony, blueberry smoothies. Yes, Bolivian food has been a new experience for us. Another high light for us all is coming up here. After the snack the Bolivians led us, yes all of us, even Phil's grandparents, in 'The Cheppycheppy', a song/dance duo.

Sunday morning Rick lead a devotional for adult Sunday School on God's process of reuniting man with God, with himself, with others and with the earth and Phil translated! Terry gave a sermon both in the morning and in the evening. After the service we went out with some of the ladies who had latched themselves onto the available gringos...ehem...Phil and Dave. We all had a laugh about that one. Especially when one of the girls asked if she could hold Dave's arm, and Dave afraid of 'offending' anyone was compelled to say 'yes'.

Driving home Monday morning, reflecting on it all, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we found more encouragement in the people of the two humble towns than we probably brought. Whether it was the warm welcome we received every time we entered the church, the offers to go to Chile, the candies non-shelantly passed to us during services or the warm smiles, I felt undeservedly loved by people I assumed were total strangers. The people we met in Oruro and Llallagua reminded me that I shouldn't view fellow Christians as mere strangers but as people who can provide an opportunity to build up and encourage the body and be built up and encouraged myself.

-Tarryn

Vamanos!

This is just a short post to let you all know that we will be traveling to Oruro this weekend and will not be blogging again until Tuesday.  Quick Update: My dad and grandparents arrived here safe and sound just a few days ago, and the whole group of us are feeling well... Your prayers will be coveted as we travel.  Blessings. Chau. 

Dave Roberts: The Saga

Hello again blogreaders, 

I will be reporting to you our adventures with Dave Roberts.  The Following events took place between February 23 and March 2 (the time overlaps the last post but the story details will be different). This blogpost will also be slightly different from usual - I will be giving you a play by-play of our week here with Dave Roberts. 

0200hrs 23/02/08 - Dave R. Arrived in Bolivia 

1900hrs 23/02/08 - We took Dave R. out for his first Bolivian dinner followed by some good ol' Bolivian fellowship at the Calama church where he was able to meet some of our friends

0900hrs 24/02/08 - English church at Calama immediately followed by more fellowship and another church service in Spanish 

1230hrs 24/02/08 - We joined the Jankes and the Gutierrezes  for a BBQ at another local missionary's house

0900hrs 25/02/08 - Our first class with Dave R. (on the topic of cross-cultural communication)

1830hrs 25/02/08 - Dave R. joined our ESL classes for the evening 

2000hrs 25/02/08 - Dave R. kicked our butts at volleyball and impressed all of our Bolivian friends (up until that point we had told them that Canadians just don't play volleyball very well... looks like we'll need a new cover)

o900hrs 26/02/08 - Our second class with Dave R. (on the topic of cross-cultural conflict)

2100hrs 26/02/08 - We took Dave R. out for some Bolivian style bowling.  We were able to introduce Dave R. to more of our friends, and yet again, he schooled us at another sport (I don't want to talk about it, it's still a sensitive area...)

0900hrs 27/02/08 - Our third class with Dave R. (on the topic of culture shock)

1500hrs 27/02/08 - Together, the four of us, braved the stairway to the Christo.  We were able to show Dave R. our beautiful city from one of the highest vantage points... and then decided to take the ski-lift back down because we were afraid Dave R. might have a heart attack trying the stairs (... ok, not really, I'm just trying to tarnish his image because we are jealous that he's more athletic than us...)

1730hrs 27/02/08 - We went out to a lovely restaurant/cafe to talk about and process the trip so far.  We were able to talk freely and personally, and once again we were all blessed by Dave R.'s wisdom and experience.

0900hrs 28/02/08 - Our fourth class with Dave R. (on the topic of communication dynamics)

2000hrs 28/02/08 - We were invited into one of our friend's houses for a birthday celebration, and Dave R. was able to see a traditional Bolivian birthday celebration with the birthday blessing, and the cake in the face, and all!  It was amazing to see Dave R. adapt and relate to the culture on so many levels so quickly... it really inspired us that we have a long way to go.

0900hrs 29/02/08 - Our final class with Dave R. (on the topic of contextualizing the message)

1600hrs 29/02/08 - We took Dave R. on a shopping adventure through the Cancha.  We explored the largest marketplace in the city for several hours and once again we were able to experience the culture with Dave R. first hand.

1200hrs 01/03/08 - Dave R. met with some of his S.I.M. colleagues here in Bolivia

1530hrs 01/03/08 - Tarryn and I took Dave R. on one more trip to the Cancha to pick up a few more things for him to take back to Canada (at this point in the week the sadness of thinking about Dave R. leaving is beginning to set in)

1700hrs 01/03/08 - Dave R. came over to our apartment for dinner.  It was spicy and... umm... well ask Tarryn how it went, I'm sure her "descriptors" are better suited for painting an image in your mind.

0900hrs 02/03/08 - Dave R. preached at the Calama English Service and we lead worship (his message on prayer was a great finish to the spiritual insight he had given us this week).  The service was followed immediately by... you guessed it, more fellowship and another church service in Spanish! (We go to a LOT of church... it is so cool). 

1300hrs 02/03/08 - The Jankes took the four of us out to lunch where we were able to hear amazing stories about the missionfield.  Stories about 7ft deadly snakes, killer hippos, poisonous bugs and other amazing stories that you really need to hear first hand. Between Dave R. and the Jankes there is so much knowledge and missional experience to learn from it is such a blessing.

1900hrs 02/03/08 - Sadly, Dave R. headed to the airport for his flight back to Canada.  

Final thought: In a world that is so big that most of us will never get to see it... How many times have we missed an opportunity to take in the experience of another?  To be able to simply sit and listen to another tell their story is perhaps one of the most profound ways to soak in wisdom far beyond our own years.  Every person you meet has a story, will you take the time to hear it?

- Phil