Hola!

It's Monday evening and Mom and I are both in El Jordán's computer lab working on e-mail. This keyboard is set up for Spanish, but the keys are labeled with the symbols they actually type, so the symbol you need is easier to find. (The keyboard down in the office that I used on Friday is a normal English keyboard, but doesn't type like one.)

Saturday was a good day. The trip to the "feria" started later than intended and lasted past noon, but we were able to get the baking ingredients we needed and about 2000 small toys for the "Christmas on the Streets" gift bags. The neat story behind those gifts is that the first 1500 were bought with money from three young boys (probably in Canada or the USA) who asked for donations for Christmas on the Streets instead of birthday presents this year. Because of their sacrifice 1500 people who rarely get a gift of any kind will have a new toy this Christmas.

After returning from the feria, we had a light lunch with Corina and Marco and spent a few hours baking cookies. The supper and fellowship at Marilyn Wry's house that evening was wonderful. We enjoyed the coolness of her dining room, hot running water for washing dishes (all tap water at El Jordán is the same lukewarm temperature), and the delightful conversation (mostly in English). It was great to hear some of the experiences of these missionaries who have been serving in Bolivia for about 60 years.

Sunday was a real day of rest for us. We did not go to church (which felt strange to me because I usually do go to church every Sunday while here), but we did rest and remember and praise God. Corina took us to some property out in the country and we spent the day relaxing under mango trees. The whole seven acre plot of land had an abundance and variety of fruit plants. There were lemon trees and several kinds of trees with fruit which you may never have heard of like chicharu and ambaiba. There were trees that grow gourd-like fruits that the people here cut, dry, and use as cups or bowls. We also saw some pineapple plants, but the abundance of fruit was not the only amazing view of God's creation. There was an abundance of beautiful butterflies with blue wings outlined in black and a tiny caterpillar who was only about 1/2 inch long but had soft spiky blond hair at least as tall as it was long. It also had a cute little face and long straight tufts of dark hair that shot straight out at the sides about where you would expect ears to be. Who but God would create such a cute, living, tuft of fuzz?

Today was mainly a baking day. Mom and I joined the volunteers in the office for devotions this morning. It was Jenny's turn to lead. She is a volunteer from Canada who is learning Spanish simply by being here, so Corina translated for her and we got devotions in two languages. She shared a good reminder of God's sovereignty for times when we can't see His purposes in the circumstances around us. Mom and I baked for the rest of the day, stopping for lunch with Jenny and Julie (another Canadian volunteer). We we were able to bring the total cookie count up past 1000 even with a couple hours of interruption with a power outage in the middle of the afternoon.

The days here seem to be getting hotter and more humid, but we are both feeling well and sleeping well now. A slightly chilly shower feels better every morning.  In fact, now we sometimes take showers or get partly wet with the cool water more often. We drink glasses of ice water frequently and we have an abundance of fresh mangos (picked up on our visit to the country) that can be used for a refreshing mango drink. Perhaps we are spoiled. I can't say we are suffering even with the hot weather, but if you would like to send some cool air this direction I would be happy to try to blow some of this hot air your way!

God bless,
Medin