Celina's Wedding Shower!

Dearest Celina, we love you very much! We wish we could be there for this special shower, but since we can't, here is a little bit of us :) Love, love, love, Aimee and Rachael

Hola, Chicos!!

Hola, Chicos!! Un video pequeño para decirles que les extraño muuuuuuuuchisimo!! Con mucho cariño, Rachael

Drawing to a Close...

Hey Everyone!

So, we said "goodbye" this morning to Dan and Matt, who headed back to Canada at an obscenely early hour. Nathan and Alex have about two more weeks, and I have ... FOUR DAYS. It's kind of hard to comprehend.

My days are now super busy, trying to squeeze out any "Nathan and Alex" time possible, but also packing, saying goodbyes, organizing my goodbye party, wrapping up loose ends, preparing for my guitar presentation this Sunday...I would appreciate prayers for emotional balance and enough sleep!

However, in the midst of all the noise, we all managed to take time to travel to one of my favourite places in Bolivia, Urmiri!! It's a hot springs location, and the water is so wonderfully hot. It's hidden away in the middle of the valleys around the Altiplano. The Schulz family came with us, and our friend Janelle, so it was great.

Well, must go carry on packing!

Love,
Rachael

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness!!!

You will not BELIEVE what just happened, unless you are one of the MANY people who was in on the secret and kept it so well.

On Sunday night, the doorbell rang, and Carlos went to go get it. He came back inside and told me that there were some guys outside who wanted to talk to me. I confess I was feeling rather exhausted and cranky, and didn't really want to go outside because I was cooking some grilled cheese sandwiches, but I went. And GUESS WHO IT WAS????

Alex and Nathan!!!!! They had come down to Peru to travel with Matt, and then came here to Bolivia, and had managed to keep the whole thing a secret from me!! Shirley and Carlos and Jeremy knew, and had known for months, but apparently I am totally oblivious. And then, the next morning, who should walk in but Dan Fryer!!! And later that night, we were joined by Brandon, who had taken a detour to the Island of the Sun but finally made it to La Paz.

I was SO shocked, and happy! I feel like I'm living in a dream, except I couldn't have imagined anything this fun happening!! Some of my favourite people in the whole world, coming sneakily down to visit me!!

Here are some photos of the boys around the house, and also of us at a big "clasico" soccer game last night. If it looks like I am the happiest girl in the world, it's because I AM!!

Love to everyone,
Rachael

Retreat Center at Last!

Very good news!

Shirley and Carlos have completed the purchase of the new property, have the keys, and all is well! You can tell from the pictures what a nice place it will be to have retreats in. When Matt saw it, he said, "This would be a great place for hammocks!" And they discovered just last week that there are already hooks in place for that wonderful activity.

It is located in Valencia, a small town about 30 minutes away from Jeremy's school. The altitude is actually much lower than other parts of La Paz, certainly lower than here in Llojeta! That accounts for why everything looks so lush and green - palm trees, giant aloe vera plant, flat lawn perfect for croquet...they have it all.

Shirley and Carlos will be working at getting the place ready over the summer, and then moving in sometime before Jer starts school in August. So, I won't get to live there...but hopefully I will come back and visit, when it's up an running as a retreat center!

NEED HELP: I'm facing a 15-hour layover in the Miami airport on my way back home - can you people help me come up with suggestions for what I should do to pass the time?? I shall try to sleep a bit, but I won't have many books for my awake times...I was thinking audio books on my iPod, but I'm not sure how long a battery lasts in an iPod... Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated!!

24 days until I leave...

Love to all,
Rachael

This Is How We Roll

Greetings, everyone!

Today's video: a surprise morning sneak-attack serenade, for Jimena's birthday! It is the tradition for the people from our church to get up really early and serenade the birthday person (notice Jimena inside, just waking up!) and then go inside for a birthday breakfast. Notice also Matt, who doesn't know the words to the song, but is doing a good job of faking it.

I recently attended a Toma de Nombre ceremony, also for Jimena. It's part of the graduation celebrations in a Bolivian school - the grad class chooses a spokesperson or sponsor to represent their class, and they choose a theme for their year. Since Bolivian schools finish in December, they still have half a year to go, but this is part of how they graduate. It was really fun! Jimena definitely had the most international group of supporters - Andreia from Brazil, me from Canada, and Bianca from Germany!

On the tutoring front, things are going very well with Elisa. We just finished her math module for the year, about a month ahead of schedule! To celebrate, we devised the following celebration: we extended our "reading out loud" part of the day to a whole hour, and made it into a game. I brought a bunch of gummy bears, and we divided them into two bowls. Anytime Elisa skipped a word, I took and ate one of her bears. Anytime she pronounced a hard word perfectly, she took and ate one of mine. Needless to say, by the end of our hour, I had practically no bears left, and her bowl was full to overflowing.

Prayer request: please please PLEASE pray that I can figure out how to get rid of the bugs in my bed. Every night I wake up itching and it is driving me crazy. Multiple sheet-washings and vacuumings and mattress-in-the-sun sessions are not seeming to help.

Love to everyone!!
Rachael

The Big Decision

Greetings, friends, family, and everyone else.

So, just thought I'd give everyone the heads-up on the decisions I've been making lately. The big question: should I stay down in Bolivia for a third year, or go back to Canada to stay?

I have been thinking and praying about it for the last few months, and so have Shirley and Carlos. And a couple weeks ago we met to talk about what we have been thinking and hearing. The general consensus seems to be that my time here is finished. The Vargases will be moving out of this neighbourhood soon, and that will effectively curtail my involvement here with the youth group, the worship team, my English class, my guitar lessons, etc. Also, I don't work much with Jeremy anymore, and things just feel like they're at a good place to finish up.

However, now that I have made this decision, I'm beginning to realize how much I love Bolivia, and how sad I'm going to be to leave. Mostly because of my friends here, and because it will be sad to not live with the Vargas family anymore. If you could pray that I can deal well with the transition, that would be appreciated.

Here's a picture of me looking out over La Paz, a city that will always be close to my heart.

Love to everyone,
Rachael

Culture Night!

Greetings to everyone!

Last night was the long-awaited Culture Night at our youth group. Because we happen to have three missionaries from other countries as part of our group, we decided to take advantage of that fact and have a fun night learning about other cultures.

Bianca, who is here for a year from Germany, gave a very entertaining program, which included a sample of German dance, and a tutorial on how Germans have to sort their garbage (see picture). My favourite part of her presentation, though, was a picture of a pair of feet wearing socks with sandals, and the assertion that you can always tell Germans by the fact that they commit this fashion scandal!

Andreia, a girl from Brazil, made us all jealous of the wonderful beaches in her country, and taught us to dance the samba. The cool thing about Andreia is that she's just moved here to work with the church, for a four-year commitment, and she's just learning Spanish! I like being around other people who are learning the language.

And I gave a presentation that mentioned the size of Canada, all our beautiful lakes and trees, our national values, and, of course, hockey!! I was the only presenter who didn't have powerpoint, but afterwards a couple people asked me how to get visas to go visit Canada, so I figure I did a good job!

We finished off the evening with a presentation of Bolivian culture (I got to learn some steps from one of the traditional dances!) and a short address by the youth leader. All in all, a very successful night, and a lot of fun.

Love to all,
Rachael

Bolivia Day at Highlands

Dear loved ones,

So this past Saturday was Bolivia Day at Highlands International School, where Jeremy goes to school. The main event is watching the students perform various traditional dances, with their accompanying gorgeous costumes. The video is of the kindergarten/pre-kinder kids, who, as always happens, were unbearably cute.

Sorry I haven't updated the blog in a while, I'm getting busier and busier lately! I'm back to singing on the worship team, and teaching my English class (plus several one-on-one English teaching times), and taking my guitar lessons. I (wisely? unwisely?) made a behavioral contract for guitar practice - I have to practice for at least an hour every day before I'm allowed to check my homework that day. Penalty: paying Matt 50 Bs.

Also, having Matt around means that we do more fun things - we've been playing Wallyball a couple nights per week! Wallyball is essentially volleyball, but you get to bounce the ball off the walls. And Matt is planning movie nights and camping trips and all that kind of thing.

That's about all for now,
Lots of love!
Rachael

The end of the 3 Musketeers

Hello all you faithful readers!

Yes, sadly, it is true. The end has come. The fabulous trio has been wrenched apart as I, Katie, have returned to Canada. BUT, save your tears. For 2 remain, and will continue the battle faithfully in my absence. It will be hard for them. I'm sure there will be many sleepless nights wrought with tears and anguish. But nevertheless they will be strong. They must be.

And what would an ending be without a list? I started my time with a list, so it seems appropriate to finish it with a list.

Katie's Top 10(okay, 12) Things She Loved About Bolivia (in no particular order):
1. Saltena's. SO GOOD.
2. Minisips. aka: juice bags you can buy on the street.
3. Camping on the Isla del Sol.
4. Biking Death Road with 3 crazy boys. (see pictures above)
5. The FABULOUS jewelery and bags.
6. Hippie pants!
7. The delicious fresh fruit juices.
8. Submarinos! (bolivian version of hot chocolate, watch for an installment near you)
9. Many, many moments of hilarity with Rach, Matteo, and the Vargii family
10. Paying $3 for a 7 hour bus ride...and then paying $3 for one can of Pringles.
11. All the dogs. everywhere. all the time.
12. The random street performances in the crazy traffic. Crosswalk Zebras!

I could go on but, I won't. Suffice to say, I had an amazing time and I would go back in a heartbeat. And if you ever get the opportunity to go down there, do it. Just do it!

This is Katie, signing off.

The Visit Continues

Dear Everyone,

Here are some pictures of various trips to the zoo, Plaza Murillo (where the Presidential Palace is), and the Island of the sun. It may be hard to tell from these photos, but Matt and Katie have been doing their level best to get tanned. They may have gone a little overboard, but we actually found some aloe vera gel down here, so things are looking up.

Today is our last day in La Paz before we head out adventure-bent again. Tomorrow, Katie and Matt are going on Death Road, the most dangerous road in the world. It's about 6-hours of downhill biking madness on this skinny road that drops into sheer cliffs at the side. Look it up on Wikipedia if you want to be motivated to pray for them!

And where will I be? Well, I'll be taking a leisurely bus down to Coroico (a lovely town in the Yungas, a jungly area) and checking in at our hotel, and waiting for them to show up in the evening, exhausted and covered in mud! We'll be at the hotel for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, returning to La Paz on Monday. Katie leaves on Tuesday, which I'm trying not to think about too much.

Well, that's all for now. Prayers for safety would be appreciated!!

Love to all,
Rachael

The Island of the Sun

Dear Everyone,

Well, we did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you to everyone who voted on the poll and encouraged me to lose my wimpiness and just DO IT. We did indeed spend a night camping on the beach of the north side of the Island of the Sun. And it was great! We arrived at the south end of the island on Thursday morning, and hiked across the island (about 12 km) with all our gear. Yes, Matthew carried most of it, but Katie and I carried bags too. We got lost as soon as we started out, but in our defense, there were no signs anywhere!! Fortunately, when we were splitting up in three directions to head into the bush to follow questionable "trails," a local came along and I was able to ask him for directions. We eventually found the Inca trail again.

We set up on the beach and settled in for a great afternoon and evening. Katie went swimming in the lake, because she's hardcore like that. We met some other Canadians, we found a bathroom after I had talked to several of the townspeople, and we enjoyed the sun. The sun went down around 7pm, and we went to bed soon afterwards, for what I shall call politely an uncomfortable sleep. Sleeping on sand seems very similar to sleeping on rocks. But I wouldn't have missed it - the moon was so bright it was easy to see everything around the beach, and so many stars! Matt saw the most of the sky activity (including a meteor shower!) because he slept outside under the stars, while Katie and I had the tent.

So, passing lightly over all the fun we had in Copacabana as well (trout, jewelry, cheese fondue, my favourite hostel...), I shall conclude by saying that we are all very well and happy, and have one day to recover and do laundry before heading out again.

Much love to everyone,

Rachael (for the team)

Mining in Potosi

Dear Everyone,

Well, we just spent a fun-filled weekend in Potosi, tour-guided by the lovely Celina Schulz. One "highlight" was a tour of the mines wherein we spent maybe an hour and half crouching, scrambling, and going up and down ladders in search of silver. Sadly, we were told that most of the mines these days don't produce as much silver as they used to, but mostly zinc and other assorted minerals. It was an interesting glimpse into a hard way of life and we all came out blinking in the sun and grateful that we are able to have lives and jobs above ground. The short video that you see really sums up our time in the mine. Or rather, what life would be like with Matt the Miner.

Another highlight took the form of a trip down memory lane for our lovely Celina. The first day we were in Potosi she took us out into the hills around the town, where there is a natural volcanic "lake". It was at this lake that she learned how to swim when she was a child. It was kind of more like a large pond than a lake, but the temperature was a beautiful 30 degrees celsius. It made for a glorious swim! One of the best things was that we were the only ones there. Aside from 2 ducks who apparently enjoyed the warm water. After a delightful picnic lunch we hiked back to the road and caught a bus back to town. Sound amazing? It was.

We also did 2 tours in town. One at a convent called St. Teresa, which used to be a cloistered convent. Once the girls entered the convent they were not allowed out, and could never see their families again. They weren't even allowed to sleep with mattresses! It was a very interesting tour although a tad bit long. By the end we were all ready to sit down and have a good meal. The other tour we did the next day was of the Casa de Moneda, or the local mint. Up until 1951 Potosi was producing coins for all of Bolivia. After 1951 other countries took over the process, with the 5 Boliviano coin being made in Canada! Who knew?! It makes sense once you know though, because it looks like a much smaller version of our toonie. Another funny thing was that we were able to have our tour in English, and right as we started another guy joined us who turned out to be from Calgary, Alberta! Potosi is a small town and not to many foreigners go there, so it was pretty funny that in our tour group we were all Canadians. It really is a small world after all.

All in all it was a great weekend. The Schulz's were kind enough to let all of us crash at their apartment, and that had the added bonus of being located in the heart of the town. Potosi is much smaller than La Paz, and it has so much character with its old churches and narrow, cobbled streets. We were there on Bolivian Father's Day(friday) and on our way back to the apartment at night we ran into a full on marching band that started from the plaza outside the apartment and went up the street. So cool. We enjoyed a couple of the local restaurants, including one with delicious crepes and an intense game of Jenga. Rachael may or may not have been the one to knock it down...but we're not talking about it. We also went up the Mirador, which is a tower with a restaurant on top that gave us spectacular views of Potosi at night. Us girls also enjoyed watching the effect of Matt on the locals, particularly the men. We left on Saturday night on an overnight bus to La Paz, and arrived back at the Vargas house early this morning. We all promptly fell into bed and slept for 5 hours and then got up to do some much needed loads of laundry.

And speaking of laundry...it looks like the rain is coming so we must go and fetch it off the line!

This segment of Rachael in Bolvia is brought to you by Rachael and Katie. Featuring: Matt the Miner.

chick flicks and constipation

Hola

Matt shannon here....I quit spanish. its a good thing i can point to food and usually they understand me. The visit thus far has been great. aside from the few headaches and the delusion of never having to use the washroom till they say you could die, our experience in Bolivia has been grand!

Just the other day Rachel was teaching a student some English, french or spanish. I can't keep track of that girl anymore (only what she cooks). While she was at her students place, katie and i ventured out into the open world on our own. Just buying some water was on our list and we did it! we were on top of the world, my next plan was to communicating with every gorgeous girl there about water! Agua is water in case you readers didn't know. And who doesn't drink or have water that you couldn't communicate with right? so romantic

We met the youth group. it was one of those special, first moments that you have when you're getting use to the culture and you accidently kiss the guys on the cheek instead of just the girls and you say good night when you enter the room. Rachel so kindly translated everything for us during our time there. by the end of the night they were trying to speak to us in English cause Rachel has been giving lessons. It made things more comfortable and it was fun trying to communicate with them in Spanish and them back in English. I'm sure im changing lives.

I know im changing katie's life. seems like everyday she tells me she loves me in spanish. all i hear is "Dame un beso!" and "Te deseo". Also Rachel got some chick flick that is 17 hours long about some girl cleaning some cranky ladies place who has a son who is "charming" or something stupid like that. But the real sad thing is this other boy who is speaking "romantic" crap like katie speaking spanish to me and for some reason its cute. katie and Rachael were falling apart at the scenes of this guy and this guy was falling apart, crying and creeping out this chick's window in the rain. I thought being down in Bolivia would have changed the girls. sigh....i guess the next rain storm i have to confess my undying love for some girl.

pray for the next 16 hours of movie watching i will go through, and our daily adventures in South America.

Coca Tea, Horrible Spanish Accents, and Friendship!

Ola!

Today's break in your regularly scheduled program is brought to you by Katie Horton. Yes, that's right, Matt Shannon and I have arrived and taken over Rachael's life. This includes forcing her to teach us her excellent grasp of the spanish language, consuming her delectable baked goods, and tying her up in a corner so we can take over her blog. Juuuust kidding. She's sitting in her room. Promise.

But yes, we have officially been in La Paz for over 24 hours and Matt and I are pretty much locals already. Yeah, no bigs. Matt seems to have made it his goal to learn as much spanish as he possibly can and I'm assuming by the end of the week will be fluent. Or at least will have his phrase book memorized. The altitude hasn't been affecting us too much...it may or may not have affectd Matt more than me....and I was feeling prideful about this fact until I woke up this morning with a headache and had to suck back some oxygen myself. So far no stomach bugs and hopefully it'll stay that way! The Vargas household has welcomed their 2 newest house guests with open arms and we already feel at home. Since Rachael likes to do lists I figured I would do one too.

Things I Love About Bolivia Already:
1. riding the minibuses in the crazy traffic! reminds me fondly of uzbekistan.
2. the geography of La Paz. its an incredible city to look at and i'm sure i'm going to take WAY too many pictures
3. coca tea! sweet nectar of the foreigner.
4. the little bolivian ladies sitting in their traditional dress at their roadside stands
5. the vargas house. its so cute and comfy and relaxing!
6. Rachael!!!!!!!!

I'm sure this list will get longer. We haven't even been to any markets yet!! But today we are going to venture out to the artisan market. Oh the excitement! Well, I think that's about all I got for now. So far the 3 of us has have probably laughed 3 years off of our lives, and we've only been here a day. If Matt's spanish accent is any indication of the things to come than let me tell you, we are going to be YEARS younger.

Adios!

Top Ten Reasons Why I Am Filled With Happiness

10. It may seem shallow, but I got to drink rootbeer today! Sometimes one of the local supermarkets brings it in for a limited time, and Carlos bought some, and it was soooooo gooooooood!

9. Three times in the last week, I have been walking along the streets downtown and randomly run into someone I know. What are the chances? I guess I really live here!

8. After much struggle and despair, I am finally getting the hang of F major on the guitar.

7. I get to have a girls' sleepover tomorrow night!

6. My current side project is that I'm re-doing the songbooks for our worship team. They are currently a dilapidated and torn set of sheets that reside in two broken-down, too-small binders...but by Thursday, they are going to be three large,colour-coded, sleek, gleaming, white, pristine, new binders. I LOVE organizing and refurbishing!

5. I was downtown photocopying the songsheets, and I was getting it done at a place I went to once before. The lady remembered me because the last time I was there, the copy job was rather long, so I had taken a seat and chatted with her for a while. She remembered I was from Canada, that I'm a missionary, that I teach an English class...it was so cool to make a connection like that. She introduced me to her husband today, and they were both asking me about what I like about Bolivia, and they said to come back and say goodbye to them before I leave the country. Awwwwwwwww!

4. I am loving worship practices more and more. They are Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and so much fun!

3. I was introduced to two new girls today, friends of a friend, and we chatted for a few minutes, and then one of them remarked (with great sincerity) that she was very impressed with my Spanish, especially my ACCENT! She went on and on about how good it was! Take that, Alex and Nathan!

2. Katie and Matt arrive in two days.

1. Shirley is home.

Love to all,
Rachael

Update

Hey Everyone!

So, the transit strike is over, thank goodness, although not before it prevented Carlos' mom from coming to La Paz to welcome Shirley home. So inconvenient. Apparently, the government won, they are not going to change the law.

Yes, yes, yes, Shirley is home again!! A delegation of us went up to the airport at 6:30 am to get her, complete with flowers and a reception of music (our good friend Mario serenaded as Shirley walked out of the gate).

As for my police check to verify where I live: well, therein lies the tale! I had to report to the police officer's office at noon on Friday. Being a good Canadian, I was there 15 minutes early, and stood waiting patiently as he finished up some things. I was dressed to impress, wearing my good black fancy shoes that I hate, and some rather dressier clothing than usual. Carlos says it sometimes helps the process along if you dress professionally. If you can believe it, I even wore mascara! So anyways, I stood there waiting, with my patient smile, reading a book (Little Lord Fauntleroy - if you haven't read it, DO SO!!). Eventually my officer seemed ready to go - we were going to head out to the street and get a taxi to take us up here to Llojeta, where my witnesses were assembled.

And then, just as everything was going well, another fellow showed up for HIS house check! Apparently, the officer had been double booked. It seems that every lunch hour, he has to go do these domiciliario checks, and sometimes he forgets that he has already booked one, and books another. I could tell he was wanting to get mine done, seeing as I've been a model of patience through this whole process. But the other fellow was very, very insistent. Finally, the officer proposed a plan: all three of us get in a taxi, go check this man's house, and then the officer and I would make our way up to Llojeta afterwards. Creative, yes. It would throw my time schedule off, but I figured it would still work, so I sweetly acquiesced and we headed out to the street.

On the way to finding a taxi, the second fellow seemed a bit unsure whether his witnesses would be present on time or not. The police officer appeared annoyed. The second fellow ducked into a call center to call his witnesses to make sure that they'd be there, sensing correctly that the police officer was inches away from telling him, "you know what, how about we do yours another day?" While he was calling, the officer started chatting to me about how long I'd been in Bolivia, if I liked it, what I was doing here. You could see the wheels starting to go around in his head when I told him I was a missionary. He looked at me speculatively, and after a pause he said, "you know what? I trust you. How about you just go get your witnesses to sign these papers, and bring them back this afternoon?" I was more than happy to oblige. He hadn't even asked for a bribe! So he showed me where to get the papers signed, and he and the other fellow climbed into a taxi and drove off into the afternoon.

I went home, got the papers signed, went back downtown, found the officer again, handed over the papers, and it's all done! I just need to go back on Wednesday to pick it up. Praise the Lord!

Sorry for the overly long story, but I just thought it was hysterical! And I hope to bake the good man some cookies and take them back next Wednesday.

Love to all,
Rachael

The Bus Strike

Dear Friends and Family,

So, happy March to all of you! I usually have a dim view of the month of March, but this year it is my favourite! Shirley comes home in TWO DAYS, praise the Lord, and Matt and Katie arrive a week later. It's going to be a humdinger of a month!

Today, in the whole country of Bolivia, there is a transit strike. No public buses in cities, or between cities. Things are at a standstill. No school for Jeremy. No tutoring for me. No traveling. The reason: the bus driver unions are upset. There is a new law that was just put into effect, stating that if a driver has any level of alcohol in their blood, there are much more severe consequences than there used to be. Also, the unions are made more responsible for such behavior, and everyone in the union is punished as well. (Or something like that. The finer details sort of escape me).

So, there were rumours of a strike going around last night, and Jeremy was elated because it meant a temporary reprieve from his homework. We got the call from the school around 10:00 pm, so in consequence we all went to bed rather late and got up late, too.

It was supposed to be just a 2-day strike, but after listening to the news, it sounds like it might be indefinite until the striker's issues are dealt with. This is very unfortunate. Prayer would be appreciated.

In other news, I was at the Police station for hours yesterday, waiting in line and getting gratuitously inked for fingerprinting and talking to various people in various capacities. Long, long, long story short: on Friday a policeman will come to our home to make sure I really live here. And then, finally, I can go to Immigration and get my carnet renewed, and all this bureaucratic nightmare will be a thing of the past.

Love to everyone,
Rachael

The Prayers of the Saints

Dear Friends and Family,

I would like to thank everyone who has been praying for my health these last few days, I really appreciate it so much! The latest in my series of medical misadventures is that I have apparently picked up quite a nasty stomach infection. Coming as it did on top of a bad cold, infected tonsils, and a bout of altitude sickness, it really did seem like the final straw, and much of Friday was spent in wishing that someone would just put me out of my misery. However, late Friday night Carlos took me to the doctors, who got me on some different antibiotics and whatnot, and sooner than was probable, things started to turn around. I really attribute this to all the prayers being said for me, so thank you!

In an effort to keep a cheerful outlook, I was meditating on all the things that I can be grateful for about this latest sickness:

-that Carlos has good friends who are doctors
-that the doctors kept their clinic open late to treat me
-that I didn't end up needing an IV, thanks to prompt treatment
-that the worst of my symptoms stopped unexpectedly on Friday night
-that I can afford medical care
-that I live in an age when we have effective medicines, and therefore shall not die from a stomach infection
-that Carlos takes such good care of me
-that nasty medicines now come in fruit flavours, to increase palatability!

So, on the whole, God is so very, very good. It's so funny - when I hear about other missionaries getting sick far away from their homes, I always think to myself, "I could never endure that, I just couldn't!!" But then it happens to me, and somehow God gives me the grace to get through it.

Prayer Request: TOTAL and COMPLETE healing! Once my antibiotics are finished for this stomach thing, I'll still need to get treatment for my tonsils...and I want to be in tip-top shape for when Matt and Katie come down to visit me!!!

Thank you all so much for your support and prayers,
Love,
Rachael

Weekend in Chile

Dear Everyone,

So, this Monday and Tuesday were Carnaval down here, and in order to avoid getting a severe wetting from the water-balloon-wielding male population of La Paz, I went to Chile with some friends! We went to the coast town of Arica, and seven of us stayed in a little condo by the beach.

Highlights of the weekend: lying on the beach reading a book; eating gelato under a palm tree on an extremely sunny and hot afternoon; seeing a McDonald's again; and lying under the stars at night, listening to the waves coming crashing into the sand.

On Valentine's Day, which to our surprise they do actually celebrate in Chile, all seven of us got dressed up and went into the town to find someplace festive to eat. We were having no luck, but then a sidewalk recruiter told us to follow him, and we went down a side street and found ourselves in the cutest little restaurant, all decorated up for the holiday! We had such a good time, and took more photos than was strictly necessary.

That's about all for now; more about Chile in my next blog!
Love, Rachael

PS - Prayer Request: Although I felt a lot better, health-wise, in gorgeous sea-level Arica, now that I'm back home I'm suffering from altitude sickness. Plus, my cold still will not go away. If you could pray for my health, that would be so wonderful.

Recently...

Hello friends and family!

Recently, I have been doing more paperwork, trying to get that carnet done. However, hopes were dashed yesterday morning, when we learned that to get two major requirements done, my InterPol police check is needed. Said police check will take longer than two weeks. When it is finally handed over, then I can start my other two requirements. Long story short, I am totally busted and will no doubt be fined, because I´ll be at least two or three weeks late with my carnet. Nothing to be done about it, however, except wait!

Recently, I am in the throes of the Head Cold That Wouldn´t Die. It´s been eight days now, and I´ve just passed into the stage of not being able to breathe and eat at the same time, due to major sinus congestion. It´s a blast - every mealtime becomes a fun-filled game of "do I chew with my mouth open, to keep on breathing, or try to be polite and therefore pass out?" Also, certain friends will be pleased to note that I am forced to drink tea for my poor throat.

Recently, Celina and Janelle and I have booked our hotel at a beachside town in Chile! We are going to spend the weekend of Carnaval (coming up soon) in Chile, on the beach, reading and relaxing. We tried this formula out in Copacabana, and it was wonderful. And it is so cheap to travel down here!!

And, recently, I am becoming so so so SO excited about my friend Matt coming down to visit!!! He's coming in March, to stay for at least a couple weeks, and I have no doubt at all that it will be a wonderful time. I think my two main occupations while he is here will be baking and laughing.

Love to all,
Rachael

PS - these are pictures of the goodbye party for Ed, our one-month missionary, who has now returned to the UK.

Visa News

Greetings, loved ones!

So, the exciting news is that I've been issued my 2-year visa, good until December 2011! My passport is back where it belongs, with me - not serving as a doorstop at Immigration, which is where I fancy they put it when it's awaiting "just one more signature."

However, I have been given 25 days to follow up with that and get my carnet, or else there are presumably dire consequences. The "carnet" is an identification card, everyone needs one for performing a variety of business transactions. To get a carnet, though, I need to go get a certificate of good behavior from one governmental authority, and I have to once again do a "domiciliario" to prove where I live.

This last, the domiciliario, proved very difficult last time. You need to get a police officer to accompany you to your home, where you have assembled two witnesses from the neighbourhood who can testify that you do indeed live where you say you do. They have to go through a rigamarole of signing things and all that. Last year, there were needless delays and broken appointments and all manner of nonsense. Hopefully it will be more straightforward this year.

If you could join me in prayer that I could get everything in order in the required 25 days, that would be swell.

Lots of love,
Rachael

Life Starts Again

Dearly Beloved,

Well, last Sunday Carlos and Jeremy returned to La Paz! It's so nice to not be living alone anymore! I was so excited that I got up early and made them a nice breakfast, even though they got in at about 7 am. I pumped them for information about all my friends and family in Canada, and was very jealous that they got to see everyone :)

Since then, things are back to normal. I tutor Elisa three mornings a week, and work with Jer less and less in the afternoons. Carlos and I have started jogging again three mornings a week - although our running track has been severely disrupted by a huge chunk of it falling into the river it runs beside. We kind of have to detour now, and watch our footing.

Wonder of wonders, I am now a part of the worship team down here! It's a pretty small team, and most of the time they don't have a female singer, so I got drafted. Which, in my mind, constitutes a miracle, because I have had a microphone-phobia for a long time. As Beto says, the way to stop being afraid of them is to use them!!! I imagine it must be a little funny for the congregation to hear a gringa singing their worship in a funny accent, but I do my best. I'm just learning so many things down here!!

Love to everyone,
Rachael

Vacation Bible School

Hello, all!

In an effort to take my mind off how impatient I am for Carlos and Jeremy to get back, I have been helping out at my church´s Vacation Bible School. As you may recall or be aware of, it is summer down here, so kids are off of school for quite a while.

I have enjoyed parts of the VBS. Not so much the singing-and-actions part, because I actually get quite out of breath doing that! The altitude is still affecting me strangely. But it's fun meeting more kids from the neighbourhood. In particular, the little fellow in the orange and brown sweater, Brayan, has completely stolen my heart.

For part of the afternoon, we are at the church for singing and the Bible lesson, and then we all hold hands and trot down to the property where our house stands. There is a small soccer field, and also a trampoline, and the kids love to play here. Only one day have we been rained out (it is rainy season).

The other gringo in the photos is a guy from England, Ed, who is here for a month to work with some VBSs around La Paz. He's a natural with the kids!

That's all for now,
Love,
Rachael

The Sign Says It All

Nothing Like A Good Routine

Hey there, everyone!

Well, as we're entering the home stretch of my temporary solitude (only 11 more days until Carlos and Jeremy come home!), there's really nothing much to report. My friends from youth group have all gone to a youth camp in Sucre, so my English class was cancelled, as well as my guitar class. In order the quell the rising restlessness that comes from having no fixed occupation, I have instituted a somewhat regular schedule for my days:

1. Wake up, because Brego is scratching on my door to be let outside.
2. Have breakfast (usually cornflakes, except the day when I opened a bag of milk I had just purchased and it came out chunky...I opted for a sandwich instead)
3. Feed Brego breakfast.
4. Have a shower (the earlier the better, just in case they shut off the water).
5. Have a quiet time with the Lord.
6. Practice guitar.
7. Check my email. Yes, I'm close to being addicted.
8. Cook more dog food for Brego.

The rest of my day usually varies, but after an orderly morning, everything feels so purposeful!

If anything exciting happens, I'll be sure to keep you all updated!
Love,
Rachael

PS - Bolivian Tid-bit: Did you know that in Bolivia, the garbage trucks drive around ringing a big bell, like a dinner bell, and when you hear it you have to grab your garbage and run it out to the street? Pretty good exercise, gets you moving fast. You can't put your garbage out until you hear the truck, or else the ubiquitous packs of street dogs will tear them open and do their part to contribute to pollution.