Visiting Chapare

We went to Chapare (jungle region of Cochabamba) last Friday to visit a few of our orphanages there. One of them is done and waiting to be inspected and approved by child welfare and the other is in the beginning stages of being built. This is the one being built...

Working on the foundation of house number 5

Matt, Jeff and Kristin in front of the newest house

These kids were just so cute. They lived in the second village we were in that day. We were at the site of the house that is complete. These kids shyly walked up to us asking our names and they ended up hanging out with us for a while.

Since we were in the jungle it was very hot and a popular activity for playing and bathing is going down to the river. So we walked down to the river with the kids and put our feet in while they all stripped down to their undies and jumped in. It was fun until all the kids ganged up on us and decided to splash us until we were soaked. But it did feel good to cool off.

So our friends and teammates Nate and Kate went home to Australia for four months on Sunday. We are sad to see them go for so long and will especially miss not hearing all of those Australian phrases when we just have to say to each other "we have no idea what you're talking about". But we'll be excited to meet their new baby when they return since Kate is pregnant and will have the baby while at home. This will be their second as they have a one year old named Lily.

So Kate and I tried many times to get some good pictures of the two of us but came up with a lot of funny pictures. And there are a ton more bad pictures that I didn't even put up.

Matt and Nate. They didn't have any problems taking some good pictures.

Here is an actual good shot of Kate and I.

And below are some mess-ups.

Our newest visitor...

We have been lucky to have so many guests recently and now Luka had a guest of her own. Her sister, Blossom, has been staying with us for a couple days while their mom that she lives with is recuperating from being spayed. They have had fun together over the past couple days. They walk around everywhere together and play but most of all Luka likes to dominate Blossom and rough her up a little. She's a bit of a bully.

They don't look alike at all.

But they're both cute!

And this is what I was talking about before.

Chapare con Nate y Emily

We went to Chapare for the day to do something special for Nate's birthday on Wednesday. Chapare is the jungle region of Cochabamba. It was a really good day and I think Nate enjoyed his birthday. Here are some pictures...

On the way there

Getting some fresh air and good pictures

We stopped at a lagoon on the way for a swim. This was on our walk to the lagoon.

And this is at the lagoon.

It was SO pretty there and it felt so good to swim since it was so hot and humid.

But when we got back to the car the battery had died. Here are Matt and Nate trying to help with clutch starting it. It didn't work but fortunately there was a car shop close by and we got a new battery. It could have been a bad situation since we were basically in the middle of no where.

Then we went to an animal park where they rescue animals from the black market and other bad situations. There were monkeys that were VERY people friendly. Here is one that became very attached to Matt.

This guy is having fun playing on a swing.

The monkeys would take anything you had on you or in your pockets. This little guy climbed on me and is checking if I have anything in my camera case.

Matt received a lovely grooming from this monkey. He was checked and picked through his hair, picked off dry skin on his face and licked off the sweat from his forehead. It was quite a sight.

Nate was groomed as well and the monkey made sure to check through his beard.

This little guy jumped onto Matt's leg when we started to leave.
I guess he just didn't want to see him go.

There were turtles.

And some pretty birds.

We also took a hike to see the town of Villa Tunari from above.

And on the way back we took one more swim.

A trip to the lake

Yesterday we took a trip with the kids from Villa Israel to a nearby lake. It wasn't exactly what you would expect since the water was brown but it was a pretty scene none the less. I think the kids just had fun going somewhere new and having a fun lunch out...and man they can eat. Even little Franz can put some food away.

We had Joel drive us out there. The driving age is way lower here...just kidding.

Emily and Franz.

So it wasn't the bluest lake I've ever seen.

A floating restaurant.

The restaurant where we ate.

Matt and I had this little trout for lunch...I'm not kidding this time.

Nate and Erland both knocked out on the way home.

And the other thing that made it a special day was that we got to meet the newest little girl to the home. Her name is Neydi and she arrived at Villa Israel on Friday. She has no birth certificate so she is guessed to be about six years old. We only know a little bit of her story but are hoping to find out more from a local lawyer. We know that both her parents have died but not sure how. She was living with her aunt when she showed up on a young couples' door in the middle of the night saying that her aunt had abandon her. This young couple then took her to the Bolivian equivalent of Social Services.

This picture is from the day after she arrived at her new home. She was quite sad on Friday but you couldn't tell from this picture! She is such a beautiful and sweet little girl. Yesterday she kept asking me to take pictures of her holding different things and was asking me to sit next to her in the car. Every time you caught her eye she would smile this adorable little smile. I was caught off guard by her loving nature after having gone through so much in the last couple months. Hopefully she can continue to be happy as she gets used to her new family.

And today is Dia del Peaton in Bolivia which means it's pedestrian day. It is an environmentally awareness day of sorts where nobody is allowed to drive for most of the day. There is no public transportation and also no church. Since we live a little out of the city...and the Seahawks are playing...our household has opted to stay in and hang out at the house.

Our second anniversary

Matt and I celebrated our second anniversary on Tuesday and it was a great day. We spent the day eating some good food which included a great big breakfast which is not so easy to find here in Bolivia. I just love going out to breakfast. We also spent the day picking up the trash around one of the playgrounds where the kids from one of orphanages frequent. There is so much trash on the streets and we figured that we could kill two birds with one stone by cleaning up the playground and make it safer for our kids. So Matt, Nate Spies, Kristin and I filled up about 20 bags of trash and definitely could have done way more. We plan on continuing this in different parts of the city in the future.

It was just a good day to enjoy each other and we still can't believe it has been two years already. But it has been a good two years and we look forward to many more.