Well, let me tell you Bolivia is beautiful! Here judge for yourself!
July is the middle of winter for Bolivia; nights here have been around 30 degrees F and days about 60 degrees. Yes, we have seen ice, and are very thankful to be sleeping indoors this month. Molly Bell and I are being housed by a wonderful host family, which includes the kind and gentle abuela (grandmother), 5 fun-loving hermanas (sisters), 1 ornery hermano (brother), 1 lone son-law, and 2 adorable ninas (girls ages 8 and 9). We have had so much fun with them despite and because of the language barrier. Oh, the trouble I had with the simple word for jacket :), fun times! We have had the joy to play “futbol” (soccer), UNO, LIFE, and several other games with the family.
Got to witness princess dress up night, must say it was beautiful!
As I celebrate my birthday this month, I have been blessed to find out that it is a Bolivian tradition on your birthday to have eggs and flour put in your hair, cream smeared on your face, and the finale is a water dousing! So, we’ll see how that goes! 🙂
Meals in Bolivia are different than I expected. Breakfast is eaten around 8am and consists usually of tea and bread with your choice of jelly, margarine, and dolce de leche. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day and is typically two courses, the first being a brothy soup with lots of veggies and the second a meat of some kind with a starch such as rice or potatoes and cooked vegetables or salad, generally there is salsa as well. (Yes, this Tejas girl is happy! J) Tea is served at 5 or 6pm and includes bread. Dinner is eaten around 8:30pm and is nice and light. It usually consists of soup or rice and an egg.
Bolivians are such a quiet respectful people, at the end of every meal, when they leave the table they thank each person by name to which all respond “Provecho”, which means you’re welcome.
Most everyone has at least two dogs for their security alarm, and they patrol the streets. If you wish to go for a run here, be ready to at least throw a pretend rock, as you will likely be swiftly followed by the barking chain. One day, two of the girls on my team were chased when they came to pick Molly and I up. When we left, our host family’s dogs escorted us to the bus stop. It was the first time they had ever done that, but since then they have done it several times. Just sayin’ angels sometimes look like dogs.
La Paz has clinics that specifically treat altitude related complications. Since El Alto has the highest airport in the world, every Tom, Dick, and Harry knows what to do to make the adjustment smooth.
The generation of older women in Bolivia wears skirts with petticoats, a blouse, and a bowler style hat. This is a result of the Spanish invasion more than 200 years ago. The younger women all wear pants. When I asked if I should wear a skirt to church, I caused a giggle as only the older women do this.
Also as a result of the Spanish invasion, architecture has a European/ Spanish flare in downtown La Paz.
Last weekend, we got to see this beautiful place, Coroico.
Ministry with Word Made Flesh Bolivia has been awesome. Situated within blocks of the brothels, the ministry of sutisana, which means new name, provides employment to women who desire to leave prostitution after teaching them to sew purses and bags of all kinds. sutisana also reaches out to the precious children of these beautiful women through an afternoon bible school and tutoring program twice a week. Following are some of the ministry formats we have been privileged to participate in: a prayer walk through the brothel area of town, the children’s program for winter break, photography and editing of new sutisana products and staff photos for the website, organization of marketing and ministry photos in a new program, research of FDA requirements for labels in order to allow the women of sutisana to begin selling their delicious granola bars in the United States (by the way I highly recommend the
“quinoa & chocolate” granola bar), and redesigning the sutisana store. The staff of sutisana has been such a blessing to us; helping us assimilate into the culture and teaching us more about the realities and horrors of prostitution, therefore equipping us to make a difference for all those affected by prostitution not only while in Bolivia, but also for the rest of our lives. Here is the link to the sutisana website for those of you who are interested in Christmas shopping in July! http://sutisana.com/
Love and blessings to you all!
All for the love of Christ and the love of man, sincerely yours,
Bethany
