FOTOS

Presenting...January 2011 Trip Video

2011-05-24T21:51:00.000-07:00

Two Trips to Chi-Town

2011-03-24T19:00:00.001-07:00

Trip 2: Last weekend in February. Bizzy and her friend Erien drove up to Michigan and we all went together to Chicago. No specific reason, we just like Chicago! We spent Saturday with Nathan and a friend of Erien's who I also knew from Open Door. We got Giordano's pizza which I maintain is the BEST! Then we walked to the zoo on the blustery wet day. I think we drank lots of hot chocolate/tea that day! Met up with my friends from Bolivia that night for Chicago style hot dogs--which weren't quite as impressive as I expected...but I guess if you don't like hot dogs, even Chicago style aren't that exciting. I went for the company though, not the food, and they are some of the coolest people EVER! ;) Sunday morning we went to church with Katie and then had Thai food for lunch with the cousins and a friend from my church in Ohio who attends seminary there.

So thankful for good friends. :)
I think these were the bolivian monkeys...! Bizzy, Me and Nathan.
Frisky tiger...not sure if he wanted to play with or eat Nathan...!
No witty caption necesary--I'm sure you've already thought of one!
Mmmmm, the best pizza ever!

It was a soggy day.

Our gracious hostess who let us take over her house (Thanks Jen)!

________________________

Trip 1: Feb 6 weekend. Four of my former co-workers from Bolivia live in Chicago--reason enough to go visit, right? Well, then our other friends the Spies were passing through on their way to Australia for furlough and I knew there was not a good enough excuse to make the trip out to visit everyone. My cousins also attend Moody and Nathan sings in the Chorale. And another surprise? It also was Founder's Week! So I got to see Nathan sing, hear Erwin Lutzer and get pizza with Nathan, Stephen & friends! Such a good time. :)
Katie was a super sweet hostess!
Sweet Reunion! L-R: Jen, Me, Katie, Elsa, Matt, Nate & Kate.
We had a tea party. Lily has the cutest Bolivian accent--she also apparently liked my hair! That's Daisy on Katie's lap.
Made it just after the "snowpocalypse". It was so crazy, I felt like I was in a movie or something. So surreal, I got a good workout helping Katie shovel out her car though!
I also got to have breakfast with Rachel's best friend Anna who lives in Chicago!
Moody Chorale. :)

I highly advise that you go see Chicago if you ever get the chance--even though my friends are way cooler and that makes the trip better...I'm sure you can still find fun things to do. I can make some suggestions if you want!

Potosi January 2011

2011-01-13T05:57:00.000-08:00

Team minus little Edwin.

breathtaking scenery

Some of thegirls and an hermano from the town of Vacuyo

Just a sampling of two of the beautiful women of Kharimayu Frias

Jed and Edwin--note Edwin's leg which still needs some medical attention.

Town of Belen Urmiri where we stopped en route to Vacuyo

Hermano Jorge--our fearless leader!

happy recipients!

Choclito (aka Dr. Waldo)

A few of the houses in Kharimayu Frias

Team minus Dr. Jorge

me and Edwin at the Terminal

yummm...boiled sheep head in one hand and anti-parisite medication in the other!

Stay tuned for more...

Shop South America--NEW ITEMS!

2010-07-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

Updated 3/2/2011

Hermano Jorge asked me to bring these handmade products back from Potosi to sell. The women from the villages up in the mountains make all of these things by hand. All the money will go back to the Bolivian people. Everything is made from llama wool (*unless otherwise noted), and colored with natural colorants from the Andes. There may be slight size/color variations. Let me know if you have questions. Thanks for looking!

Bracelets $3

Table coverings/placemats $18/each (There are matches for each color that you see here).

Large table covering $$58
Table runner $22
Alpaca Scarf $25
Table covering $15

Bag without top --$15 (Only WHITE left)

Bolsa con Tapa (bag with top)--$18

Chus'pas (small purse with tassels)--$9

Hats--$12

The best overnight layover ever!!!

2010-06-23T16:51:00.001-07:00

Up on the Mountain

2010-06-22T19:29:00.001-07:00

Jorge and Nidia's family.
That's how we traveled
That's where we slept
That's what we took
That's why we went!

The school was donated from the Japanese Ambassador.
Recycled tire sandals. And it was soooo cold!
Toothbrushing lessons

Bible lesson

Cat and Mouse game.
This is so hard!!
The kids all got parasite treatments
I got conned into being in a skit--as the main character!! I guess it's because I had just said that God uses the things that make us most uncomfortable to get us out of our comfort zones so He can work...
"Hoof Jello".
Girls got teddy bears
Boys got t-shirts
Potatoes, anyone?
making lunch

This is where the children play!
Caterpillar crawl

Even the adults play

Adobe bricks
This is the first time we got stuck
It was pretty cold and they didn't want us to help

This nice lady loaned us some llama skins to sleep on. She also let us eat in her house the next day.
We had to carry rocks down to put under the tires. These little angels showed up and helped us.

This is the second time we got stuck. They didn't let me pick for very long...!

This is a Bolivian version of Alfalfa.

Gusy p

Had to give a testimony
Jorge preached, and his translator fell asleep!!
My little patient and his mother
Everyone came out to say goodbye.

Edwin and Margarita. These kids were ADORABLE!! We took them back to the city so they could get more thorough medical attention.
I played them a kids song.

Scenery in Potosi

2010-06-22T19:02:00.001-07:00

Flat Stanley goes to Bolivia.

2010-05-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

On the airplane, Stanley rode safe in my bookbag.
In La Paz we had Devotions over toast and tea to help with altitude symptoms. Stanley wasn't too bothered by it though.
Flat Stan and Hector liked each other. Their friendship is a strange one though...

There's the pretty lake. It was just us and the fisherman.
Flat Stan and Annie having a picnic lunch.
Our trip up to Parque Tunari (The mountain behind our house.) It took TWO hours to drive up there. Then we wandered around the lake, took pictures and tried to gather "WOOD"! It was above the tree line and we finally gave up and went back down a ways to where there was a more abundant supply of real firewood.
Then the boys were splashing everyone. The next day Flat Stanley got laminated! (It costed 9 Bs!! Must've been the gringa special!)
Can you guess where Flat Stanley is?
With Annie and a new friend at the center.
On the TRUFI. The lady to Stan's right was falling asleep and almost fell out of her seat several times!
This is our lunch. The tienda was not well stocked...
Sleeping on llama skins. The nice lady brought them down to us. In K'harimayu Frias ((Potosi). It was very pretty!
Lunch prepared by the ladies...we weren't so sure about the chicken since it hadn't been refrigerated in at least 3 days...but we ate up anyways.With our medical patients! :) Edwin loved Stan, but Dr. Waldo took him away when Edwin got bored and was chewing on Stan's hand!With a political advertisements.Flat Stan LOVES empanadas too!!
Flat Stan, Reynato and Sam. What can I say? He makes friends very easily! :)
Flat Stan's new guardian.

The Kids (-1)

2010-04-09T04:22:00.000-07:00

Potosi. (Days 6-11)

2009-12-07T19:06:00.000-08:00

What a cool dog! He's gonna miss us.
This is how we roll!
Llamas!

Sylvia preparing dinner. Check out that kitchen. Sara taking over the back seat.
David demonstrating the relay.
Kim found a friend

This picture just makes me laugh! Doing some stretches at the gas station. As if we need to draw more attention to ourselves!!

Girls soccer game twin bananas
Three peas in a pod! :)

Haha! Gotta get pictures of the cows!
Dr. Jorge giving a team devotional.
Notice the dry, windblown effect.

Kim and my class. We loved those kids!A few happy recipients of Operation Christmas Child gifts.

Dr. Waldo
Dr. Jorge--our fearless leader!
Me and Miss Sylvia.
The kids.
Majestic scenery
That's us!

WE had some minor transportation issues
aprovechando some free time
Did I ever tell you that Bolivia is wonderful?

Cochabamba (days 3 & 5).

2009-11-15T22:06:00.001-08:00

This is Nate and Cindy *and Abigail. She made her appearance just this week!

Working at Nate's:

Remberto's baby girl: Judit.

With the kids from the Frutillar orphanage:

The Frutillar kids with their new shoes.

at the center.
Picante de Pollo. Traditional chicken dish served with Rice, "salad", and chuno (freeze dried potatoes).
very typical way to carry babies, or other cumbersome loads.

Christmas Parties!! [Santa's House.]

2009-02-04T20:23:00.001-08:00

This was the LAST thing that I wanted to do in Cochabamba. No joke. So I rounded up some friends and we saw Santa. Bolivia style. There were also some dancing polar bears that I don't even have any pictures of. Sad.

Christmas Parties!! [Frutillar.]

2009-02-04T20:09:00.001-08:00

me and the kiddos. Soooo happy. *Especially Ariel.
Presents from the interns.
Frankie thinks he's so sly...but I knew. I did. ;)
Saying Thanks. (Navidad en Bolivia project).
Jhonny and Frankie.
Viviana. What a beautiful girl.
This would be our promo picture... just because Jen's so cute and the cookies look so good. and there's a picture of Jesus on Jen's shirt.
Can Ariel be any CUTER??!
The overachievers of the group...

Yep...that's safe...
Ewww! Dirty hands!! But soooo fun!

Christmas Parties!! [Villa Israel.]

2009-02-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

Me and Samuel.

Making sugar cookies!

Presents from the interns!

Neydi.

The Familia. *With new houseparents and grandma.

With my roomate and Brandon. (he's one of the boys I tutored.)

Me w;ith the Kids!!! Love it. <3

Saying thanks. (Navidad en Bolivia project).
Frosting.

Me & Elian.

Michelle and Erland.
Jen, Erlan, Jhoel, Neydi and Miguel.

Video of our trip to Potosí.

2008-10-31T12:02:00.000-07:00

Arroz con leche (Rice Milk)

2008-10-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

Recipe:
This is a very common treat here in Bolivia. Especially good for a cool fall-ish type night.
Arroz con Leche (Rice Milk)
4 cups milk
4 cups water
¼ cup plain white rice.
1-2 sticks of cinnamon
5 whole cloves.
Sugar to taste.
Soak the rice in the milk for about an hour. Boil the water with the cinnamon and cloves. Add the rice mixture and sugar to taste. Boil until rice is soft.
Serves 2-3 people. I think. (Disclaimer: I’m not very good about the measurements, I just make an educated guess…so you might want to adjust some things. I have, however, made it before and it’s delicious!)

Potosi Mission Trip.

2008-10-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

CHILE!

2008-10-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

Big Sister.

2008-08-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

Interns + Kiddos= FUN!

2008-07-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

CarpinterA...

2008-06-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

Babywashing.

2008-06-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

2008-06-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

Video of the Dance we saw up at the Cristo on Sunday.

More IT People...

2008-05-30T20:22:00.001-07:00

North Park May 2008

2008-05-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

Riding on top of el Tanque.

Our project working on beds with Nate from Food for the Hungry.
The girls at Inka Rakai.
Having fun while cleaning out the ministry room.
Mike, explaining the ministry at site 5.

The North Park May 2008 team at Site 5.

Bedford Team

2008-04-27T05:23:00.001-07:00

[World Racers.] Cochabamba

2008-04-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

At a futbol game.
World RAcers last night in Coch.
Trufi madness.
Erlan. He's the littlest at the Villa Israel home, and he offered the prayer for snack (at our Day of the Child festivities.) It was one of the sweetest things I've ever heard!
Samuel, Roberto and Miguel.
Jaclyn, Viviana y Dalia.
Rachel and I made No Bake Cookies for the team one night. (Also known as "Wonder Cookies"!)
Fun times in the Kitchen! Jen, Me, Rachel and Jaclyn.

[World Racers.] Chapare

2008-04-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

After pictures of the project. See the first post on Chapare to see how much we accomplished. I was so proud of those world racers!!

Remberto and Vick's new baby girl!
Yep that's me on the third level of the scaffolding. Dad would be so proud!!
Manicures. Rachel and Magdalena.
And of course there are always lots of big bugs around...

And wildlife.

Remberto and the girls.

[World Racers.] Mount Tunari.

2008-04-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

Mount Tunari is the highest peak in central Bolivia. Just for fun we went to climb it. And we all survived. ´Though the change in elevation gave all of us quite a headache on the way down. It was a good day. And just for the record I was third to the top! Probably over half of the group made it to the top...I forgot to get that picture... It was a good time. We got to the top, ate a quick PB&J for energy boost, praised Jesus, then slid down on the loose rocks. That was my favorite part!
Found a little friend!
PB&J at the top of the mountain. "Awkward!"
Us IT people. Way to set an example!! (Matt, Mike, Elsa, Jaclyn and I)
Rachel, me, and Jaclyn. New BFFs--What a bonding experience!!!
Made it to the top in record time!!
BEautiful!

Here´s the World Racers before the big climb.

*Photo credits: Jaclyn Toohey, Matt Peters... and Me!

IT people

2008-04-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

These are the people I work with. Minus the Timmers...I forgot my camara the day of the family foto... But these are the people I see the most. Me and Michelle.
Yeah, they make BIG pizzas here!!
Blue shirt day!
Roomies.

Matt Johnson, Jaclyn, Elsa Johnson, Me, and Michelle.
Michelle, Toti (from the Center), Jaclyn and I.
Nate, Kate and Lily Spies.

Interns. Jaclyn, Me, Justin and Michelle.

Ministry in Cochabamba

2008-04-17T07:32:00.001-07:00

Having fun.

Takin´a Break...

Story Time...

Maintenence...

Airplane...

Jaclyn, Frankie, Me and Maria...

Hanging out with the kiddos from Villa Israel.

Birthday Parties....

Bubble Gum Blowing Contests...

Hair appointments...

Playing with kids in the Plaza Principal.

Santa Cruz Feb. 2008

2008-04-17T06:54:00.001-07:00

When I first got to Bolivia I had the pleasure of spending the week with my good friend Karen who with her adorable family works with New Tribes Mission at their school in Santa Cruz. (Poor Neal was either in meetings or taking pictures for us. But he´s cool too). Karen was one of my biggest encouragers to follow God´s call to do missions. It was a good week!! ( And yes I took all of these pictures on the same day!!)

NPU Team

2008-04-17T06:41:00.001-07:00

March 2008 Team.

Chapare...The Good and the Bad.

2008-02-29T07:45:00.000-08:00

Special music for Sunday Morning.

Bananas fresh from the tree. Oh, were we ever happy

Cocodrillo that Remberto´s friend caught "deeper in the jungle". He assured us that all of the wild animals were only found deeper in the jungle...except maybe some snakes, bats, and spiders.

Flooding.

This is a normal house in the Chapare...

Cemetary.

Orphanage-Nueva Jerusalén

Side of orphanage. Michelle and I slept in the top right corner room.

The "bathroom". *Shudder*!!

Tarantula that Grover found outside. (FYI tarantulas can swim!)

That´s me working hard.

Before:

After:

View from the upstairs platform:

Río...I don´t remember the name...

Jungle tour:

At the monkey farm. (That´s Remberto next to me petting the monkey.)