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
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
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
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
Friday, January 15, 2010
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
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
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.
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.
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