Follow-up

Only one more month in Bolivia. Yes, we are heading back to the states to pick up where we left off and try to live a normal life. Can anyone really pick up where they left off after experiencing life in a third world country. Our lives will forever be changed.


My last day of teaching at the Santa Cruz Christian learning center occurred last Thursday, May 14Th. On that last day, prior to taking their final and handing in the required work book I took this picture of "my girls" wearing the aprons they made. From left to right are Gaby, Ziza, Marela, and Arriana. I will never forget them. I pray they choose to follow Christ and make Him first in their lives. A couple posts ago I wrote of the baby shower that I had for Rosa our guesthouse maid. Well, Rosa delivered a healthy baby boy on May 6Th. Rosa was dismissed from the hospital on May 9Th and sadly the baby had to stay in the hospital a week longer due to jaundice. But he is all right now. Traditionally Bolivians do not name their babies until they are a year old. They think it is bad luck to name the baby sooner because so many babies die before their first birthday. Rosa stopped by the other day to pick up her maternity wages and I took this photo. Nothing is official yet, in fact probably nothing for several months, but Rosa seems to think they will name him Samuel after his father.

We have been blessed these past four years to have a dear Christian women working for us. Her name is Nancy and Nancy has worked for the guesthouse and SAM missionaries for over 50 years. She started working when she was 15 years old. Nancy celebrated her 65th birthday the other day............ we think that she is older but no one really knows. She is almost blind and has a variety of health problems. She makes the best bread and sweet rolls I have ever tasted! Below is a picture of Nancy with Dan. Nancy is wearing on of the necklaces we gave her for her birthday. It is not the best picture of her, she had already worked all day and was preparing to go home. We will always be grateful for her hard work and endearing nature. She is a sweet and wonderful women of God. When she is not working she is visiting the sick and keeps very busy teaching at her local church.

Work Day at the SAM base

On May 1st, (Bolivia's Labor Day), South America Mission/Bolivia had a work day at the SAM base. Our goal was to do painting and repairs to the "El Atrio" our pastors training center, to repair ceiling tile, fix lighting and wiring, and to take down the kid's tree house which was had extensive termite damage. After all the work was finished we ended the work day with a "Chorozco" a traditional Bolivian cook out with plenty of hamburgers and Bolivian sausages, along with chips and banana chocolate cookies provided by Laurie Vanderzwaag. Below are some pictures of the people that came to work. Above is a picture of Tom Throssel preparing the wall to paint. Bubba Massey and I, (Neva) put two coats of paint on this wall. It was very difficult painting since there was a lot of tape and glue which had been used on the wall and hindered the paint from sticking.

In this picture is Cody Vanderzwaag and his Bolivian friend who are helping to tear the tree house down.

The above picture is of Dana Wilson painting the entrance to the El Atrio.

Above is Jenny Strebig. She first had to patch damage to the wall. There is a big problem in Bolivia with mold which gets in under the paint and eats away at the wall.

In the above picture is left to right.... Laurie Vanderwaag, Dana Wilson and Laura Boyce.

Above you can see Dan trying to sort through the wood we pulled down from the tree house. While some of the wood was damaged from termites, some of the wood was fine because the wood used was a very dense wood which is very difficult for the termites to penetrate.

In this picture Greg Dahl is working on a light fixture while Steve Vanderzwaag hold the ladder.

Angela Massey is putting a fresh coat of paint on the railing of the balcony which is on the second floor of the El Atrio.

In this picture Isabel (the El Atrio secretary), is helping Paul Kinezle put a coat of paint on the upstairs railing.