Author: deanandruth

 

Merry Christmas… or in Spanish … Feliz navidad…

We hope and pray that you have had a lovely Christmas day. We went to church last night for a carol concert and I played my flute. There was an amazing thunder and lightening storm with loads of rain through the evening which caused a city wide power cut. So the service was conducted by candle light … very atmospheric … After the service Dean, Chris ( LLink co-ordinator) and I went out and shared bread rolls and sweets with the street children. It was one of the hardest things we have done. It was cold and wet and these little ones were sleeping on top of each other in shop door ways. We got in about 1 in the morning.
This morning we opened the parcels we had picked up from the post office. Invited Chris around for breakfast ( fried egg butties and we shared our very last tea bag …) We then went to Phil and Jan’s house for lunch. It was delicious. Turkey and mashed potatoes with stuffing, followed by cinnamon sponge. We then played some silly games and chatted.
We had been feeling a little homesick over the past few weeks, spanish is still hard and we feel a bit frustrated. We had been dreading Christmas day a bit, but we have had a lovely day. We were walking down the hill to our house this evening, the sun was shining and the air was so clear that you could see all the mountains around Sucre. It was beautiful… breath-taking !!
Some of the other Latin Linkers are coming to visit us on Friday to celebrate my birthday and we are going to see the sights of Sucre, haven’t had much free time yet to do this.
Lots and lots of love. Please send us a message, be lovely to hear your news.

 

December in Bolivia is the start of rainy season and when the sun isn’t out it is really cold. So one day it’s thermals and the next day we could be sitting in the plaza wearing T-shirts and sun cream! Pretty weird eh! It is freezing at night too and we are discovering that Bolivian houses do NOT have central heating. It’s just a case of putting on another layer… and wearing your woolly socks!

We had a Spanish exam last Wednesday. We have a whole new sympathy for students. That feeling of total panic as everything you have ever learnt floats out of your head. We have started at a new school (Latino Americano institute) and plan to just study two afternoons a week. We are getting plenty of opportunities to practice when we meet students and people from the church.

Dean spoke at church on Sunday evening. He shared his testimony and gave a talk on “The Father’s Love”. Phil translated the bits he couldn’t say (most of it!). Over 40 people came forward for prayer and ministry which really blew us away! It’s amazing to be in the centre of God’s will.

There have been a few recent problems in Sucre with protests and marches. We have not been effected by it much as we are staying just outside the town centre. It’s all to do with the Bolivian constitution and the location of the capital.

Tomorrow we are moving to our new house closer to the Universities which we are really looking forward to. Please leave us a message. (We love hearing from home.) Any goodies can be sent to Casilla 215, Sucre, Bolivia…

…more pictures to come.

We arrived in Sucre last Friday after a very long and bumpy Bolivian bus journey through the Andes. We had travelled through Potosi which is at 14000 ft, the highest city in the world. (bad headaches from altitude).

We are now enjoying the hospitality of Phil and Jan Train. Dean had known them for over 8 years since his previous STEP drama teams. They are going to be our mentors here in Sucre. Phil was the pastor of the church we will be working alongside and Jan has been co-ordinating the children’s ministry. They are very experienced and lovely people.

We have been looking for somewhere to live and have visited a few places – we’ll keep you posted! We spoke at the front of church last week – the first BIG test of our Spanish.

We are excited about some of the projects we will be involved with… discipleship and mentoring students, Saturday night event, running camps, children’s work, … and even horseback riding evangelisim/drama outreach to the remotest areas, …. There is also the possibility of leading a small team of students to Paraguay in August.

Will put some new photos on as soon as we get the chance.

We have had an amazing time here in Cochabamba and now it is time to move on to our project in Sucre. The past two weeks have been very busy with language study (we upped the level to seven hours per day!) and we have also been visiting many children’s projects in the city. One of the best moments was spending the morning with Juana (someone I met ten years ago on one of my drama teams). We went to the prison school and met with the kids, played parachute games, did a puppet show and performed drama. We are looking forward to meeting the students in Sucre and beginning our ministry…not looking forward to the 12 hour bolivian bus journey through the mountains at 13,000 ft. A bit scary but a great adventure!

Pictures show; Cochabamba at night, puppets at the prison school and devotional at the metal workshop with Gray Parker.

We’ve been busy going to language school everyday. We are improving and have moved onto the future tense! Our friends from Ireland have arrived (Peter and Karen) and they are also studying before they go off to Oruro.

Last week we went to visit a prison workshop, for women and their children. The project helps them to pay for their cell by teaching them how to make “handicrafts” which are sold in the town. We went one afternoon to do a puppet show and taught them a song…. in our limited Spanish! We will also be leading a drama workshop at the language institute on Wednesday.

The weather here is hot (about 32 degrees today) and it gets windy in the afternoon. We are starting to apply for our visas which is a long and complicated process here in Bolivia. There seems to be so much red tape, it may take as long as 8 months.

We went on a retreat with Latin Link for 4 days last weekend into the “campo” It was nice to meet up with everyone else we met on the orientation. This weekend we are having our first visit to Sucre to meet the church we will be working with. It is a long bumpy bus journey which may take 12 hours or more. We shall be passing through the highest city in the world… Potosi. Please keep in touch… we need messages. (Chocolate and parcels would be good too!)

We’ve only been here a week, but it seems much longer. We had an orientation with some Latin link members who have been here for 8 years. They showed us around and helped us change money etc. We started language school on Tuesday and have had four hours a day – plus homework! We both feel very tired at the end of the day, but feel we are making good progress. Our Spanish is still slow, disjointed and badly pronounced but we have a sense of humour and can laugh at ourselves. Especially when I tried to ask my teacher for a glass of water and I actually asked her for a kiss!! vaso/beso ?!?

The house we are staying in is nice and clean. There is a shower, locally known as a “widow maker” as you can see the bare wires sticking into the wall. No major shocks so far.

We have been to the market and seen some unusual sights and even more peculiar smells…. coca leaves and all sorts and parts of animals for sale! We have been to church (recognised one song … thanks Manny) and met some lovely people.

Thinking and praying for everyone back in UK. Would love to hear from you either by e- mail, message on website or old fashioned snail mail. It takes about 3 weeks to get here. Casilla 4941, Cochabamba, Bolivia. And after mid October it would be best to send mail (or parcels) to our next address which will be Casilla 215, Sucre, Bolivia

We arrived yesterday morning after a 30 hour journey and were met at the airport by Susanne and Charles Windsor who are also part of Latin Link. We are lodging with a Bolivian family for two months and have a nice room and a bathroom. We went into Cochabamba yesterday to watch a parade. It was Cochabamba Day and therefore a National Holiday! We thought they had put on the march especially for us…today we went to visit a market and change some dollars into Bolivianos. We have internet access at the house so keep your lovely messages coming. It feels very strange at the moment, but we are both feeling well and adjusting to the high altitude (light headed and breathless). Thanks Becky for the lift to the airport and the smiley goodbye…not too many tears.

Hello everyone. Two weeks today and we will be on our way to Bolivia …. time is really flying past. We are at “All Nations Bible college” for 10 days to study all about cross cultural stuff and theology training. It is a beautiful old building (where ST Trinian’s was filmed). Every day is packed full and we are getting to know all the other “striders” who are going to South America. It is good to know we are not the only ones.

hi everyone, we have been really busy the past few weeks getting our house ready and packing up all our stuff. We are living with our friend Becky at the moment in Rickmansworth before going off on our orientation on Tuesday at All Nations Bible College. We can still be contacted on our mobiles or e mail. We have also signed up for Skype, so if you have a Skype address send it to us on e mail and we can speak via the internet. We actually leave on Thursday 13th Spetember… getting really excited now!

Both Dean and I have both finished work now. I had my last day at Abbot’s Hill school on Tuesday 10th July. It was really sad to say goodbye to all my friends and collegues. I want to say thank you to everyone for all the suppport and encouragement you have shown me. I shall miss Abbot’s Hill very much, teaching, laughing and especially the delicious lunches.. Mmmm. Dean did the last X:site of the term on Monday and it was great to see so many people down at the Works. Kerry Anne had made a book with comments from lots of young people and their families. It was lovely to read all the messages and we shall take this with us to Bolivia to remember everyone and give us a boost when things are difficult. Our next job is to find someone to rent our house (3 bedrooms, quiet location etc. if you know anyone) and start packing up all our stuff. Keep in touch.
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