4th of July, 2008, Bolivia

Well, as is usual, the pictures came up before the text. At this table is left to right, Dan Abbott, Jimmy Davison, Greg Dahl, and Tom Throssel. Below is Marci McCarver, part of the Orange Hill team, a Bolivian girl, and Toni Mercado.
Here the kids are playing a game in the yard. (Greg is a big kid.... but a kid at heart)
Left to right, Heather Michelson, Adrena Sprouse, Raquel Strebig, and a couple girls on a work team at the Christo Viene girls home.

Beth HAuse and Larua Boyce
Janine Throssel and a couple girls on the team.
Bill Smith cooking beef and chorizo and Dan Strebig sampling.

Some of you may be wondering if we celebrate the 4th of July in Bolivia. The answer is "YES!" We as U.S. citizens, (I have to be careful when I say "Americans" because people in South America are "Americans" as well), are proud of our country, and as traditions go, feel the need to gather to celebrate the Independence of our country. (Oh, Canadian missionaries celebrate with us..... after all, the more the merrier!)

Each years celebration is different. This year we all gathered at Bill and Bev Smith's house. At the time we had people from Orange Hill Baptist Church from near Marrietta, Georgia, and they brought down brautwarst, hot dogs and sauerkraut to make it a very special day. The team also brought down special treats for the kids. A wonderful time was had by all. Here are a few pictures from our 4th of July celebration.

Well, as you can see the pictures downloaded first and the text last. You still can get the idea that we had a good time of fellowship here on the 4th. Incidently, Bolivia celebrates Independence day on August 6th so there will be plenty of fireworks on that day. You can pray that we get some sleep that night, since there will be a lot of partying going on as well as the fireworks.