Snapshot Sunday

These are a few pictures from graduation and Sarah's 5km race.

Finally Friday

Wow has this been a busy last 8 days. Last Friday was the big graduation day for the kindergarten class at the Casa de la Amistad. The morning was spent preparing the decorations and comidor area. The kids and teachers had arranged their room for and open house exposition of some of their work this year. Around 11:00 they gave a presentation of dances that they had been rehearsing for the last few months with the help of a lady from Alaska (who is bolivian herself). In the afternoon at 2 was the formal graduation program. The class came in and onto a stage built just for the moment in their cap and gowns. There were a few speaches, a song from the class and the presentation of certificates. Brian also prepared a speach and presented the director the group graduation photo that we had sponsered. It was one of those moments where I just sat at the head table and cried. These children had touched my life and I was so honored to be here. It didn't matter how much I tried to stop the tears flowed. This was the last day for this group of kinders until next year mid February.

Following the festivities we had Kallie ( and inter student here for 3 months from Saskatoon) stay at our house for the weekend. Saturday was her 20th birthday and we wanted to be sure she wasn't alone. Saturday morning we had home made cinnamon buns for breakfast. Kallie and I went shopping in the afternoon as she wanted to find some gifts for her family before she leaves. That evening we were off for a dual birthday dinner with some other friends.

Tuesday there was a track and field race in which Sarah ran 5km in 32min 08secs. WOW. We were so proud considering she has never done any running before and this time she ran at 8000 ft above sea level. Good job baby!

The rest of the week of course just flies by with the daily routine of life and a few extra meetings thrown in just to be sure we're good and tired by the time the weekend starts.

Today I had a brief moment of pure joy. Brian and I were walking from the Baptist centre over to the Casa and as we passed by the corner at the men's prison one of the little girls from the kinder class was waiting for her mom. They had just come out of the prison from visiting her dad. When Lennie saw me she threw her arms around me with a big smile and yelled TIA!!.
This I will ponder and treasure in my heart.
Please today pray for Lennie and her family that their future will not be a life in the streets but one filled with hope and a future.

Norma

Confessions of a strawberryholic

When we arrived in Bolivia we figured we would have more access to fresh fruit and while that is true and we try to partake of the exotic breeds reguarly there is one fruit I was pleasantly pleased to find, the strawberry or "frutilla" here. As you know, we have a market next door with fresh fruit and veggies seven days a week. There are always strawberries there but outside the market, literally on the front steps, are a few ladies that come in from the countryside and sell a limited selection of fruit. When we got here we were told that is was indeed strawberry season but it would come to and end soon. We started buying and enjoying strawberries and after a month or two we noticed that although availability was sketchy the season just continued. We now find ourselves here for almost 5 months (my how time flies) and I must confess that we buy about 2 kilos of strawberries a week and I, Brian, each most of them. I have figured out that we have been here for about 20 weeks and a conversative rate of 2 kilos/week we have consumed 40 kilos of strawberries. That means I have now passed the halfway point of eating my body weight in strawberries before I leave. You would think my taste would wane after all that consumption but on the contrary no. In fact, just writing this blog makes me want to go dig in to our ever present container of strawberries in the fridge, cleaned and cold and ready for eating. I tell myself I do it to support the ladies from the "campo" but I really do it for me. I am going to try to eat my way out of my craving because I know the price won't be $2.5o/ kilo ($1.15/lb) in Canada like they are here.
Ciao,
Brian

It's time for a field trip!!!

Since the bolivian school year is officially over today was a field trip to a swimming pool outside of Cochabamba in a town called Sipe Sipe. It was quite the adventure. We all met at the Casa de la Amistad at 9am and after waiting for all the kids to arrive from the various prisons and homes we finally departed at 9:30 all piled onto a bus. Safety regulations basically don't exist here and it was quite the trip. Several people had to stand the whole trip. Once we arrived about 45min away we entered into a gated property with large gardens, a pool, volleyball and basketball courts and a small park. It has been unusually hot in Cochabamba this spring with temperatures over 30 for the last 2 weeks solid execpt for today of course. Yesterday and today were rainy days but that didn't stop the kids from plunging into the ice cold water. There were 2 different pools of varying depths. Most of the kids don't own real bathing suits. Most of the boys wore shorts or their underwear and the girls were either in their panties or a tank top and shorts.

The kids had a blast splashing and playing together. Brian and I finally took the plunge and may I say I've been in warmer lakes in Alberta than that. The other Tia's and Tio's weren't so brave until after lunch. Lunch was not your typical picnic lunch. Oh No the cooks from the Casa had sent along 3 large pots of hot cooked food (rice, chicken, and salad). We all ate from the bowls we brought in the garden area on the grass. After lunch many headed right back to the pool or to play a game of basketball. The best part was the indoor steam room. It was similar to that in Canada except for the fresh branches of eucalyptus leaves lying on the floor in front of the heaters. What a fabulous addition!! These trees grow readily here in Bolivia and naturally help to clean the pollution in the air. Brian and I had to leave early to get home in time for Matthew and Sarah so we continued the adventure and took a truffi home ( this was a first for us). We all had a great day and my skin still smells like aroma therapy o natural.

Sunday Snapshots

I will try and be more regular with the posts and putting pictures on the blog. These are an assortment from our trip to Chapare.

Graduation Day

Today marks the last day of school for the Bolivian children before their summer vacation starts.

Brian and I were asked to be the "patrinos" or sponsors for the Kindergarten class photos, which took place yesterday. When we arrived at the Casa de la Amistad yesterday morning the 10 kids were working on a craft with glue and popsicle sticks. Their fingers were all covered in glue as they dab their fingers in the glue to do the projects. The photographers arrived and quickly the kids were all plugging their heads under the tap and getting their hair combed. One by one they put on the cap and gown and stood in front of the blue sheet that had been taped to the wall, as looked seriously into the photographers Instamatic camera.

We of course had to have our pictures taken as well. We picked a mat background of a castle which all of our faces will be on and a key verse of;

"the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these"

A Monday Moment

Today we returned to our regular routine. When we got to Casa it warmed my heart to see the kids excited to see us again. I received many hugs from boys and girls. I was also able to hand out some hand knitted dolls that a church group from Vancouver had made and sent for the kids. The kids only have a few weeks left of their Bolivian school year and I then they'll be off for 2 months. Today I came to the realization that I'm gonna miss these kids. Some of them may not return next year and for 1 teenager named Breydie, he will graduate and then go off to serve his year in the military in January. I pray that I have been and will be a small influence in their lives and that they too may miss me! Later this week Brian and will be accompany the Kindergarten class for their graduation photos. They have asked us to be apart of this wall mounted photo collection. We're honored. God has blessed us with these great kids to be involved with. Keep praying for them and their futures here in Bolivia. Having a stable home, basic needs and loved ones who continually care and love for them is something they all need. Through your prayes lives are touched, hearts are healed, the lost are saved.

Love Norma

Itchy is a good thing right?

Well, after 9 rounds of IV antibiotics and oral antihistamines my hands are much better. I have my final IV session tonight. It is always disturbing when you are on a first name basis with the hostipal staff. The problem now is that my hands are so itchy I want to scream. If I apply the anti-itch cream I get a little relief and then , 15 minutes later it is back to the same old itchy. The all consuming, it makes you want to use a sharp metal object kind of itch. I think this is a sign of progress and the final stages of healing. Agree? It seems our whole family is immersed in the Bolivian medical system these days. Sarah received her top braces on Wednesday and Matthew had two fillings and then four tooth extractions on Friday. We are all on the mend except the diabetic, cancer survivor. Go figure. Perhaps it is her turn for once. I hope it isn't the climate that is helping her because that could be a problem in eight months.
I can't type any more because the typing action is making the blood go to my fingers which seems to make them more itchy. When you read this, comment with your best itchy story and we can all share our pain together.
Brian

A Mini Vacation to Chapare

This kids are off school this week and Monday was a holiday so the Whittles decided to take some time off and have a mini vacation that they didn't get this summer. We had a few options but decided to go with the closest option of the Chapare region of Bolivia just 3 hours or 170 km east of Cochabamba. We chose the town of Villa Tunari because we had visited there for a day trip in August for the fish festival and trusty Ivan had connections for accomodations. We secured one of the last hotels rooms in the town (that's what you get for not planning ahead) and with the help of Ivan secured a taxi for the trip. Yes, you heard right, a taxi. There are many means of public transport between cities and for close trips a taxi is always an option. We had Ivan drop us off and negotiate a taxi to the Villa Tunari ($30) and we were off on our own for three days. The trip was beautiful as you climb out of the dry Cochabamba valley and head east. Within an hour you crest a ridge of hills and instantly the landscape changes and you enter the jungle. The last hour is merely an intensification of the jungle landscape as you descend more than 7000ft from the 8000ft elevation of CBBA (Cochabamba). We made conversation with our driver as we traveled the route. He spoke some English and had lived in Virginia for 8 years. It is so nice to finally be able to communicate with the people here. We talked about family and politics and life in Bolivia. He was a very nice guy and we were happy to get to know him. We finally arrived at our hotel which was a collection of cabins with a central eating hall and kitchen much like a small camp all overlooking the convergence of two rivers. As we waited to get into the gate the driver pointed out a monkey in the trees beside the van. The kids thought this first siting was pretty cool. We got to our room cabin with two separate rooms and a screened porch. We quickly realized that the ceiling fans in our rooms would not be enough. It was spring in the Chapare region which meant highs near 35C and humidity in excess of 90% day and night. Fortunately there was a pool and it was well used. We settled in and started to relax immediately. Amazingly, despite the fact that we were in a small town (think rural Saskatchewan) were almost no one spoke English we were content and managing with our Spanish quite well. We went out for dinner, came home and went to be early. The next day we relaxed in the morning and then took a short walk to Parque Machia to visit the monkeys. There is a monkey sanctuary run by volunteers and the park is a place for the monkeys and other animals to run and play. We were able to have a very intimate encounter with some Capuchin monkeys and then see the more sinister side of semi-wild monkeys as we watched the alpha male capuchin bite the hand of another vistor then the ankle of yet another visitor. She was bleading quite badly. We realized it was time to leave and that God had protected us from a possibly bad situation. That night we continued our adventure and headed to another hotel for dinner in their restaurant. It was a few kilometers out of town and after dinner I went to the front desk and asked for them to call a taxi. She said that was not possible. I was confused but she said there were taxis on the highway. We walked down to the highway and stood feeling very white and exposed and realized that flagging down a taxi travelling at highway speed in the dark of night would be impossible. After 15 minutes we walked back to the hotel and Brian tried out his forceful Spanish vocabulary. She tried making a call and said that there were only moto taxis available, that means a motorcycle taxi. Just when we were starting to get worried the man who would later call our angel arrived at the hotel with a group of people. We jumped in and headed for home. I told the cab driver of our problem and he clarified that we would not have found a cab at this time of night (8:00pm) and that most of the taxis were not available after 7:00pm. Who knew? We arrived home thanked God and went to bed. The next morning we headed off to a ropes course set up in the jungle called "la Jungla". After a narcotics checkstop (the chapare region is the coca capital of Bolivia) and a few kilometers of cobblestone highway and a short trip on a dirt road in the jungle, we arrived. It was lots of fun and everyone took a turn on some high swings that were set up in the jungle. Brian was brave enough to try the highest of them at 18.5 meters. Lots of fun having the pants scared off you. It was surreal to stop and listen to the sounds of the jungle all around. We finished and we went back to the gate to inquire about a cab. We had asked about taxis before we left and they said they came by regularly. We should have figured out that this meant Bolivian time. We waited for 15 minutes and finally a taxi arrived but he said he was going in another direction and could not take us. One of his passenger told us that we should walk out to the cobblestone highway because there were many taxis there. We decided that this would be our only way and began walking. We had only walked 50m when who arrived but our taxi angel. He recognized us and gave us a hard time for not calling him this morning for the trip out. We were very grateful and thanked him. We relaxed at the hotel for awhile and then walked over to one of the major river that flows through Villa Tunari, rio espiritu santo, yes that's the Holy Spirit river. It is a wide fast flowing river that is calm in some parts and extremely powerful in others. Sounds like a sermon. We waded in and enjoyed the current and then went rock hunting. We came back to our hotel and had dinner. By this time Brian noticed that his hands were very red and itchy and not looking good. We decided to see how they looked in the morning and leave according to the situation. It was a long night for Brian and we woke to find that his hands were on fire, swolen and blistering. We decided to leave immediately. We inquired to the hotel manager about a taxi and she could not find one so Brian walked into town in the rain to find a taxi. The situation was very bleak and confusing. Usually taxis leave early in the morning to CBBA with produce and return in the afternoon to pick up passengers. Brian gave up after 20 minutes of waiting and asking. He was almost home when he noticed the local taxi stand. He walked over to notice our taxi angel parked there. I explained my situation and asked if it was possible for him to drive us to CBBA. He said, "of course". Praise God. Within 15 minutes we had made a quick stop at the pharmacy for some antihistamine cream and we were off. He drove like a mad man and we were home in 2.5 hours. Within an hour Brian was in the local hospital rounding out our Bolivian vacation experience. The doctor diagnosed the problem as some sort of bad infection from an unknown source since there were many options in the jungles of the Chapare region (monkeys, contaminated pool water, dirty river water, plants in the jungle, spiders, etc.) Today Brian has completed 5 rounds of IV antibiotics and has another 5 rounds to go. It is a good opportunity to expand his Spanish vocabulary. Through it all God has been good. The problems with Brian's hands came at the end of three days of much needed rest. There were only a few tense moments and the trip back wondering what the problem was and how to fix it. His hands are healing slowly with every day and he has enough mobility back to type this long blog entry. God is taking care of us and we are finding the more you live your life relying on His grace, the more peace you have. Enjoy the pictures of our adventure. God Bless, Brian