Visit to Mennonite Colony

Yesterday Corny and I got to go out to a Mennonite community for a visit. This had been a dream of ours when we first heard about the Bolivia mission trip. Corny and I have both been raised in German Mennonite homes so this was of great interest to us. However the missionaries that serve there were having a 2 week Bible school and would not be able to take us out there. But God saw fit that we could go. We happened to meet their daughter who was able to take us with her. The settlement is about 1 1/2 hours from Santa Cruz. So Monday morning we piled into the taxi and off we were for a wild ride. We made it there for lunch and got right to work. We chopped up LARGE amounts of potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage for the borscht for supper. Rudy & Erna Friesen have been serving there in Pailon for 5 years now. Their main ministry is through low German radio broadcasting. They have just recently opened up a ministry center for retreats and other ministries & a women's center for abused women. They now had a team there that was doing VBS for 2 weeks. This is for ages 4- adults. Here they teach the children about Jesus and the adults have classes on parenting, marriage, health etc. Some people traveled 1 1/2 hours in the back of a grain truck with 32 people piled in the back. They feed them supper and a snack between classes. Some of the children came with no shoes and very empty stomachs. Coming back for seconds and thirds. This was heart wrenching to see. But the smile on their faces when they were done eating was priceless. God is really working in the hearts of the German Mennonite people here in Bolivia. They are searching for more and this ministry is definitely reaching out in a way that speaks to them. Praise God we got to go, it has really touched our lives.
As for the rest of our team they got to tour the city and listen to a great testimony of a Bolivian woman. Today we continued with our VBS and lots of painting, sanding & bending rebar, and we're exhausted again. Weather has been great. Thanks for all your prayers. God's great!
~ Corny & Laura
The Couple in the first picture are Rudy and Erna Friesen, the missionary couple that we got to go see there.

Pictures from Monday

We went to visit Elba, who was a maid for Bob & Denise when they lived here. Friesen's helped build her house for her.
Elba's house
Shopping in the market

VBS crafts outside - a challenge in the wind.
David with the principal of the Christian School where we are working.
VBS at the Christian School.
Maddie is right in the middle of it allHey, this is Kaitlyn and Talley! Today has been a full day! We ate an early breakfast and crammed into the Micro for another long day. We went to the Christian school and they were having Day of the Teachers (dia de la miestros) and they were dancing for the teachers. They even drug us into it! The teachers on our team thought we should have this holiday in the States! We had VBS and ate lunch with the orphans. It was a bit of a challenge with the wind! The craft was also kind of a difficult one for the kids. We went to the market and saw many interesting things! The most interesting for me (Kaitlyn) was the meat isle! It was not a pleasant sight! There wasn't any refrigeration and the meat was hanging right in front of us. There were whole chickens just sitting on the table in front of you! We got to buy some fruit from that market and experience fresh Bolivian fruit! We haven't actually gotten to eat it yet because it has to be disinfected. After we were done in the market, we went to a lady named Elba's house. (See picture above) We got to experience Empanadas and Cunpe and they were very tasty! We heard Elba's story and then went on a walk around the neighborhood. It was amazing to see the lifestyles of the people. There were many stray dogs around and lots of chickens! The streets are full of trash and we saw kids playing in their yards and in the streets. After the tour, we went back to the hotel and we got to rest. That was much needed! Some of the kids went swimming in the freezing cold pool. We went to Los Lomitos for supper and it was very good! It was more traditional Bolivian food! One of my favorites in fried Yuka. It's really good! We came back and had devotions and now it's time for bed! We have another long day tomorrow!

Sunday in Bolivia

Picture 1 & 2-Spanish Church Pictures 3- the crowded micro Pictures 4 & 5- Shopping in the Plaza. Picture 6 - Do you think we're tired?

(Marie writing) Hello everyone what a awesome day we had today. PRAISE GOD we were able to sleep in this morning. It was great to be able to start our day off refreshed. We had breakfast loaded the micro(boy were we ever packed!) We headed to church, attended Iglesia Universica, then had lunch at the plaza. After lunch we were able to have some down time shopping at the plaza. It was alot different than the mall. We finished up with some awesome ice cream at Bits & Bites. We then loaded back up on the micro and headed back to the hotel. After an hour of free time we walked about a quarter mile to a restaurant for supper. We had eaten so much today that it was hard to be hungry but we enjoyed good Bolivian food anyway. Back to the hotel and after a little time to refresh we had a great time of singing and then we divided up for devotions.

Picture 1 - Pastor Darren being hugged by a monkey!
Picture 2 & 3 - Our soccer camp and nail painting today.

Well, we did get to do our soccer camp today. The sun came out while we were at the concho (soccer field). It turned out to be a very nice day, just a little windy, which made us Kansans feels right at home!

Bennett was better today and joined right in - thanks for praying.

We are all very tired. Tomorrow we get to sleep a little later as church starts at 10:30 (or so). Hopefully we can get a little downtime to rejuvenate by Monday before the work begins again. The plan for tomorrow is to go to church and then go souvenir shopping after lunch.

Beginning tonight we are down to one micro (bus) for the whole team. We had 35 people or so crammed in there tonight (a 20 passenger micro) and will most likely need to have more in there tomorrow (along with Laura's shopping bags! :)) Should be a real cultural experience.

More tomorrow. . .

Thanks for your continued prayers. We feel them. (Sherry)

Saturday Morning in Santa Cruz

(It was late last night when we got our post up, so be sure to look for it if it doesn't show up on your screen with this one.)

Just a quick note this morning before we head out. Plan "A" today is to have a soccer clinic this morning and then play with the kids at Talita Cumi this afternoon before a gathering with local missionaries tonight. There is no "work" scheduled for today. We'll see what is reported tonight when the day is done - Plan A, or B, or C . . . you get the idea!

It looks cloudy and cool this morning, but no rain so far. Please pray for strength for the team as we are tired - not much "down" time. Also, a 7-year old boy from the NC team, Bennett, was sick with a fever yesterday and he and his mom stayed back at the hotel. Please pray for healing for him and health for all of us. The transportation is an experience and you can pray for our safety as we ride the micros. It is a wonder there aren't more accidents! Also, the Gospel will be shared at the soccer clinic today, please pray that the children would be receptive to God's Word!
More tonight . . . (Sherry)

Day 2 (or 3 or 4 or ???)

Day 2 in Santa Cruz: Maddie - Christina was my prayer partner and I liked to play with her. She is really fun, even though I can't understand her!

Mallory - My favorite part so far was going to the orphanage and meeting the orphans - especially Juan de Dios! He's my age!

Morgan - I enjoyed eating lunch with Tiburcio and Luis Enrique. I also met Juan's brother, Evwin. He's fun to hang out with!

Today was a busy day. We started with a great breakfast, then traveled to the school to work or orphanage to work. The rain caused us to move VBS to Trinity Church, which worked out great. Our team was in charge of crafts and the NC team did games. After VBS we got to eat lunch with the TC orphans at the church. In the afternoon we split up to work. Half of our team worked at the school doing various jobs and the other half went to the seminary to clean and paint. We ate a fabulous supper at Brasargents, which is a Brazilian food place. We ended the evening with a devotion led by Pastor Darren. We sang, shared and had a wonderful close to the evening praising God! We especially need prayers now for strength as sleep is getting slimmer. We are also enjoying our new friends from both North Carolina and Bolivia! - The Edigers

PICTURES:
#1 - Part of our group painting/cleaning at the seminary.
#2 - Michelle and Denise working on getting the fans down to clean!
#3 - Maddie playing with Christina at VBS.
#4 - Mallory with Jaun de Dios at VBS praising God!
#5 - Corny and Laura working at TC orphanage.
#6 - Setting up tables for VBS plan 'B'!
#7 - Kindergarten class at the school. (Michelle especially loves this group!)
#8 - VBS at Trinity Church.
#9 - Working on the chairs at the school.
#10 - Marie showing off her skills!
#11 - Kaitlin sanding a chair at the school.

Good morning!

A bed and night's rest sure felt WONDERFUL after so long of traveling and a day of orientation and touring! It looks cloudy, rainy, and cool this morning, so please be in prayer for the weather as we head out today (VBS is outside). Corny and Laura are going to Talita Cumi to work on the construction project. The others will be at the Christian School to either work on construction or do VBS from 10:30-Noon. After lunch those who ran the VBS will either help on the construction project at the school or go to a seminary to work. More tonight . . . (Sherry)