Well that about sums it up. LOL Today was awesome. We woke up at 6am and got ready to do some early morning service at 7am. It was so nice to have the support of our friend Denielle who is pioneering also. We had a really good morning. Justin got a Bible study at his very first door he did today. That made me a little jealous because he is so awesome at Spanish. Well you know me. If someone else does it so do I. At the very next door I got a Bible study. :) Jehovah was so blessing us today. Denielle was doing so good this morning also, talking to all the Spanish people we met at gas stations. So this is the very first day of how the rest of our life will be. :) We had to take pictures so I am posting a few.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Atlanta Weekend Trip
Well we are back now. Justin and I went to Atlanta on Saturday after service. We enjoyed seeing the Atlanta Braves play. We got to sit in the row right behind the where the Braves players sit. Then today we went to the Georgia Aquarium. It was nice. I still like the Chattanooga Aquarium better. It is amazing that the Georgia Aquarium has the biggest tank in the world. They had 4 teenage whale sharks. The tank can hold 6 mature adult whale sharks. The tank is a football field long without the end zones included. They had manta-ray in the tank too it was really amazing to see them swim around. The average wing size is 15 feet wide and the biggest recorded was 33 feet wide. Then after the aquarium we went to the Coca-Cola Museum right across the way. It was cool to see the different things that Coca-Cola was involved in. Also we got to taste 60+ different flavors of Coca-Cola products around the world. The best was from China. It was a candy pine nut drink. Super sweet and good. But that was it for today. We enjoyed our short visit. Here are some pictures of our trip.
Monday, July 12, 2010
District Convention 2010
This past weekend we went to our District Convention in Dalton Georgia. It was a very nice convention center. We had 29 baptized. I felt a lot more comfortable with my Spanish and did not get the headache I usually do. That gives me a lot of hope. :) It was strange to have people come up to us who knew about our upcoming move to Bolivia. I felt like a celebrity. LOL We met a lot a lot of really nice friends and hope to hang out with them before we leave. It was also strange realizing that this was our last convention in the States. I will certainly miss the comfortable seats. But anyways here are some pictures.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Finally an Update
Sorry I have not updated the site recently. I tend to forget about this site. Well we went to Bolivia and are back now. It was an amazing experience and we can not wait to go back. The area we stayed in most of the time was considered richer. But Bolivia is the poorest country in South America so you can imagine "rich" in their eyes is different then it is in ours. The people are extremely humble and so nice to talk to. So to show you how poor it is let's talk about their money. 1 US $1 = 7 Bolivianos. So if you want a hair cut for instance it would cost you 1 US dollar. We had a steak dinner for 4, drinks, and sides at a five-star restaurant for $20 US dollars. Most people on average make only a $1 a day so it is very expensive to their standards. Now things that are a little bit more pricey there are electronics, gas, and beer.
We had a few interesting foods one of which was called "pata de vaca" literally translated "hoof of cow". They boil a cow hoof for I think what was 2 days and then it is soft enough to be able to grind into a pudding-like consistency. It was amazingly good and I actually can not wait to have it again. One of our favorite foods their was Sultenas, which are similar to Empanadas. That was our favorite street food. Much of the food there you have to be careful how they wash it. But fried and boiled things you don't have to worry about.
So on to service. It was amazing. It is strange to do house-to-house territory again. It was neat. Every morning the group meets at the designated plaza. Then you make your plans and pray in the middle of the plaza. Then you go two-by-two to the surrounding area and preach. I had such and enjoyable time. My Spanish became better when I had to use it, because none of our friends down there understood English. I actually got to speak to a Catholic Priest and he listened.
Justin and I were a very unusual sight there. Being tall, white and me with my short hair. The people are a lot shorter and all the women have long hair. The women from the mountains are short and strong, with two long braids down to their lower backs. They all carry these big towels like things on their backs that serve as a backpack. Its funny because we were at a Special Assembly day there and we watched a sister pull all kinds of stuff out of it. Like her meeting bag, lunch, cushions for the hard concrete, a kid....(lol just kidding).
The usual day down there for us was: 7am wake up and eat breakfast, 8am service, 10am stop service, 10am-12pm make lunch, 12pm-2pm eat lunch and take a nap, 2pm-5pm walk around town or service, 5pm --> relax, study, eat small dinner, watch movie, go to bed. It is a very comfortable and relaxing atmosphere. There is never a rush to get anywhere or do anything. I love it.
A few things that we got to do down there was stay with the district overseer and his wife. We actually traveled to Bolivia with them. You would not believe how big of a district he has... ALL of Bolivia. Check out how huge the country is and then you will be shocked. We stayed with a couple in Tarija, Bolivia who has been living there for a very long time, who before that was in Ecuador and originally were from here in TN. We also had the privilege to stay at the Bolivian Bethel in Santa Cruz. We had a wonderful time and the Bethel family was extremely helpful and kind.
Well that is all I can remember right now. But here is a link with some of the pics we took. You will see the "pata de vaca", Bethel, the women who made Sultenas on the street, a protest we saw, the beautiful surroundings of Tarija.
We had a few interesting foods one of which was called "pata de vaca" literally translated "hoof of cow". They boil a cow hoof for I think what was 2 days and then it is soft enough to be able to grind into a pudding-like consistency. It was amazingly good and I actually can not wait to have it again. One of our favorite foods their was Sultenas, which are similar to Empanadas. That was our favorite street food. Much of the food there you have to be careful how they wash it. But fried and boiled things you don't have to worry about.
So on to service. It was amazing. It is strange to do house-to-house territory again. It was neat. Every morning the group meets at the designated plaza. Then you make your plans and pray in the middle of the plaza. Then you go two-by-two to the surrounding area and preach. I had such and enjoyable time. My Spanish became better when I had to use it, because none of our friends down there understood English. I actually got to speak to a Catholic Priest and he listened.
Justin and I were a very unusual sight there. Being tall, white and me with my short hair. The people are a lot shorter and all the women have long hair. The women from the mountains are short and strong, with two long braids down to their lower backs. They all carry these big towels like things on their backs that serve as a backpack. Its funny because we were at a Special Assembly day there and we watched a sister pull all kinds of stuff out of it. Like her meeting bag, lunch, cushions for the hard concrete, a kid....(lol just kidding).
The usual day down there for us was: 7am wake up and eat breakfast, 8am service, 10am stop service, 10am-12pm make lunch, 12pm-2pm eat lunch and take a nap, 2pm-5pm walk around town or service, 5pm --> relax, study, eat small dinner, watch movie, go to bed. It is a very comfortable and relaxing atmosphere. There is never a rush to get anywhere or do anything. I love it.
A few things that we got to do down there was stay with the district overseer and his wife. We actually traveled to Bolivia with them. You would not believe how big of a district he has... ALL of Bolivia. Check out how huge the country is and then you will be shocked. We stayed with a couple in Tarija, Bolivia who has been living there for a very long time, who before that was in Ecuador and originally were from here in TN. We also had the privilege to stay at the Bolivian Bethel in Santa Cruz. We had a wonderful time and the Bethel family was extremely helpful and kind.
Well that is all I can remember right now. But here is a link with some of the pics we took. You will see the "pata de vaca", Bethel, the women who made Sultenas on the street, a protest we saw, the beautiful surroundings of Tarija.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Adventures Starts in 1 Day
So today is the day before we go to Florida to visit my family for a few days. Then the real adventure begins. On Sunday at 10pm Justin and I are flying to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We will be staying at the D.O's house for that day and the next day we will be flying to Tarija. We will stay with the Marzdens until the next Sunday. On that Sunday we will be able to go to the Special Assembly day there in Tarija. Then on Sunday night we will leave for Santa Cruz and stay at the Bethel Home until Tuesday morning. That is the end of our trip, that's when the real work begins. Simplifying AGAIN and getting all our paperwork together in order to get our residents visas, and making a decision where we end up living. I can't wait. :D
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Adventures Begin
Well I haven't updated the site in awhile so I figured today was the day. So next week starts our adventure to Bolivia. We are so excited and can not wait to meet all of our brothers and sisters down there. We leave May 13th and fly to Florida to spend some much needed time with my family. Then on Sunday May 16th Justin and I fly out from Miami to Bolivia. It is about a 7 hour flight, not to bad. I am glad that we are flying through the night that will make it a lot easier. I am excited too because I put together small gift bags for the children. I put a packet of crayons, a stencil bookmark, different kinds of stickers, a bouncy ball, and candy. I put some of my favorite candies like a ring pop, smarties, tootsie rolls and laffy taffy. I can not wait to share with you all all of our experiences down there.
Also we figured out when we are going to be leaving to live in Bolivia for good. When we come back we will be buying our plane tickets for the middle to end of October. We are very happy and thank Jehovah so very much for his support and help throughout this time in our lives.
As far as this weekend, we are driving to Ohio to see our friend Amy get married. We are very excited and can not wait to see them. It will also be nice to see Justin's mom before we leave on our vacation next week.
Let the vacationing begin.....
Also we figured out when we are going to be leaving to live in Bolivia for good. When we come back we will be buying our plane tickets for the middle to end of October. We are very happy and thank Jehovah so very much for his support and help throughout this time in our lives.
As far as this weekend, we are driving to Ohio to see our friend Amy get married. We are very excited and can not wait to see them. It will also be nice to see Justin's mom before we leave on our vacation next week.
Let the vacationing begin.....
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Photo Card For Bolivian Friends
Well after being at the International Convention we realized the importance of always coming bearing gifts. :/ So this time we are readily prepared. For the families I figured we would give this small memento from our congregation and for the children I will make small baggies of candy. I am told that candy is a very special thing, since children down there do not get to buy it often.
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