Random moment...

So we were driving today and came across this car. At first we saw that it had something on the top of the car and couldn't tell what it was...

See, it just looks pretty normal, right?

Then we got closer and realized what it was...

LIVE SHEEP!
See the one with it's head up? There were about ten of them, I think. Who does that?
Only in Bolivia. And there were a few in the car too.


On an unrelated note...

We've been back for about a week and a half now. We have been able to see all the kids who are doing well. Right before we left in December we had changed the house parents in one of the homes and are pleased to see all the positivity that has come out of that change. We went to the park Tuesday with all the kids from one home and it was great just to see them playing and having fun. One of them was standing at the top of the slide pretending to be the president of Bolivia saying, "Evo, Evo, Presidente" with a piece of fabric around his neck like the flower lays that Evo always has around his neck when he speaks. It was cute.

Anyway, it has been great to reconnect with friends and teammates here and has been especially great to see all the kids and house parents again. There was some stress with our house situation coming back but its all good now. We are actually going to need to move out of this house by March 15th because the owner has moved back from Spain and would like to move back into his house with his family. So we will start looking for a new place soon which shouldn't be too hard...we'll see.

Our trip through Peru

This is actually from awhile ago but we wanted to share a little about our trip through Peru about a month ago. Our first big flight to the US was from Lima, Peru so we had to get there one way or another. We chose the long and cheaper way of taken buses to get to Cuzco, Peru and then fly from Cuzco to Lima. From Bolivia to Chicago we spent about 50 hours in transit but at least we got to see some more of South America on the way.

While it took a long time to do it this way it was wonderful to see the city Cuzco which is very beautiful. It holds a lot of history as it was once the central city to the Incans then taken over by the Spaniards. There are both Incan and Spanish buildings which makes for an interesting mix. Cuzco also happens to be the nearest city to Machu Picchu, a fully preserved Incan city, so we stopped there for a day.

This was a Spanish built church in the main square. In the background is
"Viva el Peru" written in the hill.

A lady walking her llama down the street in Cuzco.

This was a monastery that also had some Incan worship temples inside. When the Spanish came they built the church around the Incan worship space and left it intact.

A typical street in Cuzco.

Me and my llama friend.

This was at Machu Picchu. These are the tiered fields where the people who used to live at Machu Picchu would grow their crops.

The whole city of Machu Picchu. Also we climbed both of the
peaks that you can see in the background.

Getting to those peaks became rather interesting at some points...

This was on the way up to the larger peak of the two.

Yes, that is a shear drop off a cliff if you should fall. And anyone who knows me knows how clumbsy I can be...especially with stairs. While climbing I realized I have fallen down at least 5 full staircases in my life but I did not fall down any on this day...whew.

Here is Matt on one of the ladders on the way down.

This was at the top of the bigger peak. It was still pretty early in the morning so the clouds hadn't quite burned off yet which made everything seem mysterious. Later on we were able to see all of Machu Picchu from up there.

This is an Incan built door in Machu Picchu. It is so well constructed, the whole city is actually, that is has withstood eathquakes better than modern buildings. And people still can't figure out quite how they did it or how they got all the materials up to such high ground. The city is way high up in a mountain and totally invisible from below. That is why is it so well preserved because the Spanish never found it.

The majestic llama. I was a little afraid that it was going to jump down onto me.

We're back

We're back in Bolivia! We had such a wonderful time in the States and are thankful to all who made it so wonderful. We got to spend a lot of time with and celebrate Christmas with family and friends, had a great time being a part of my sister Greta's wedding, got to meet our new adorable niece Sonja, loved spending time with loved ones in Washington and being able to go to our home churches. It was a wonderfully enriching and refreshing trip. We were so appreciative for all the little things about home that we may have been taking for granted before. But driving to the airport in -15 degrees did make it a little easier to leave.

We made it back without too much drama. It was quite a long trip though; we left Friday morning from Chicago and arrived at our house at 10:00 pm on Sunday night. Our trip was from Chicago to Toronto then Toronto to Lima, Peru. We waited at the airport in Lima from 11:00 pm until 6:00 AM for our flight but then ended up waiting 3 hours on the plane when we were told that we had to get off the plane. I, Elsa, didn't even know it had been 3 hours though because I was passed out sleeping. So we got off the plane and waited another hour or so then re-boarded and took off for Cuzco, Peru where we stayed the night. The next morning we flew to La Paz, Bolivia where we thought we would be for just two hours. Well, it wasn't that simple. Our flight was delayed four times and we ended up getting back that night instead of the afternoon. One thing is for sure: you've got to be flexible living in Bolivia otherwise you'll go crazy!

But it's good to be back. Thanks to all who prayed for a safe trip. We'll keep you posted.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It didn't feel quite right for us celebrating in 85 degree weather. We celebrated with the Timmers and the interns. Bonnie and the girls made a wonderful meal and it was nice to have people to spend the day with. It would have been a much harder day being so far away if we weren't heading off to the States in just a few days. We can't wait!

And yes, we were able to have turkey!

Viviana update

I just wanted to say that Viviana is back home from the hospital. She is doing well and from all her energy you wouldn't know she just had two surgeries. Thanks for all your prayers!

Viviana

Many of you probably don't know the Viviana's story. She lives at our orphanage in Zona Frutillar here in Cochabamba. Before she was living in this house she was living in a small village in the jungle. She was orphaned at three years old and lived for about three years on food hand-outs and sleeping in different houses and huts. When she was about six she either fell or was pushed into a fire on her back side and was left with 60% of her body burned. Luckily, or more accurately, by the grace of God, a missionary/pilot from our church flew into her village a day later and was able to rescue her. With no one taking care of her she was left by herself for about 36 hours by the time he arrived.

This missionary took her to the burn unit of a hosital in Cochabamba where Mike and especially Bonnie Timmer ended up spending tons of time with Vivianna as she had surgery and healed from her wounds. And when she had recovered she came home to Marcelino and Sofia who are the house parents at her home.

So that's her past and now her present. She goes to physical therapy three times a week to continue recovering. But as she grows her skin grows. And as her skin grows it stretches and rips because of her burns. So it was time for more surgery. She went into the hospital about three weeks ago to have two surgeries and is recovering from those right now.

As you can see from this picture, her spirits are high! It is pretty amazing how happy she is when you consider everything she has been through. She has the best smile and the most contagious laugh. One time I was at her house, pushing her on the swing, and she laughed for literally ten minutes straight...for no reason! And she's smiling and laughing just as much in the hospital. She is still in the hospital now because some of her stitches have torn but she will hopefully be at home by next week. So you can be praying for her for a quick recovery and that she will get home soon.

*Picture courtesy of Kristen's blog