Please sir can I have some more?

This past weekend we hosted our first international dinner party. I (Norma) thought it would be great to have Brian's English class over for dinner. After having to reschedule once already we decided that last Friday would be the night. It's very interesting to stumble through our cultural differences as we went through the night. We thought "pot-luck" would be a good idea, only we realized, after the food arrived or perhaps didn't arrive, that this perhaps we made a large assumption about North American customs. Only a few people actually brought items but not to worry I had made plenty just to be sure. Brian was able to dash next door and buy a cake for desert as well, without anyone noticing he was gone. The party was set for 7 pm. We expected everyone to be around 15 min late since this is Bolivia. The first guest came at 7:40 and the rest between then and 8:00. It was a little awkward at first but as time went on and everyone relaxed and tried to communicate in either Spanish or English, there were many giggles and laughs along the way. We were even able to sing a few songs in English and in Spanish and we even sang at least one song in two languages at the same time. We firmly believe heaven will be multilingual so we might as well get used to it now. Overall, i was an important lesson for us. A tour of Stats Canada web site revealed that in Canada 63% of new immigrants to Canada reported having friends only from the same ethnic group. Sobering number. Many reported difficulties making friends from outside their ethnic group. This is sad considering we, as Christians, have the opportunity to love people from around the world without leaving our neighborhood. Was the evening difficult at times, absolutely. Was it rewarding, most definitely.

On the Road Again.

Last weekend we went on another adventurous road trip. Saturday we joined the women's group here from Ontario along with the Guthrie family, Ivan, his brother Danny and Emigdio on a long journey to Oruro and La Paz. Seeing as we have been in Bolivia for 90 days already it was time for us to leave the country in order to renew our visas/passports. We headed out about 8:30 and after 3 hours winding through the red rock mountains made it out to the Altiplano. We had lunch in Oruro at a nice hotel with a baptist women's group from Oruro. The Altitude is 3700 meters and several were feeling it with headaches and upset stomach, fatigue. After lunch and a short walk we ventured on. The plan was for us to head off from the group once we arrive in El Alto ( the city of 1million people right outside of La Paz ) and drive to the border of Peru, about another 1.5 hours. We arrived in El Alto and traffic was crazy congested. There were several parades going on in the streets. After about an hour of maneuvering through the city we stopped for gas at around 7:00 at night. We still hadn't had supper yet and the kids were getting very tired of being in the car. Luckily Ivan asked at the gas station about the border and found out it closed at 8:30. Choosing wisely we decided to head back to La Paz and join the rest at the hotel and head to Peru the next day. We had a quick dinner at Alexander's coffee shop which is like walking into Starbucks. The coffee was fabulous!!. Once we got to the hotel we had to sleep Mom and Sarah in one room and Dad and Matt in another. Single beds and only 2 people per room. Oh well it was a bed and a nice room. Sunday we set off for Peru take 2. The border crossing was not what I had expected. For some reason I was thinking of all the times we had driven across to the US to go to Spokane. Let's just say this was not that! We drove 2 hours and ended up in this little village/town in Bolivia that borders Peru. Ivan parked his van in front of a shop and paid the lady inside to watch his vehicle. We all walked to the Bolivian immigration office where they checked our passports first. After that we walked across a bridge otherwise known as no-man's-land and then stood in line at the Peruvian office. There we stood outside for 1.5-2 hours. Unfortunately 2 or 3 large tour buses beat us to the line up. Once we made it inside the little office and we were stamped and official we headed back across the bridge and back to the Bolivian office to get stamped for re-entry for another 30 days. Finally at 12:30 we were ready to return. We didn't make lunch at Lake Titicaca with the rest of the group but did find a restaurant in a small town that served an excellent lake trout. Umm Umm! We got back to La Paz around 3:30 in the afternoon. A nap was definitely needed. That evening the ladies had dinner with the baptist ladies group of this city at Eli's pizza followed by another visit to the coffee shop.
Monday we did some shopping before starting the long journey home. All in all we had a great weekend. We all handled the altitude way better than when we'd been here before. We were able to take in all the amazing countryside of this part of Bolivia and enjoy time with these great people as well. God is good! Thank you for all those who have been praying for us. It is greatly appreciated and definitely felt. You are all a blessing to us.