1st Week In Tarija

Well our first week has been eventful. We started out the first day going in service Justin and I both placed magazines and the householders were very nice. Then after we went to lunch to get some Hamacas (huge saltenas). Then we looked around town a bit. When we got back to the car we noticed all of our service bags had been stolen. Good thing I carried mine with me everywhere we went. Otherwise I could have lost my passport and all the money we brought with us. Justin lost his nice new service bag and dog zapper. Out of the 4 we brought 3 were stolen. So I am the only one who now has a dog zapper which is really needed in service. The Marsdens (the family we are with) lost their bags too. She lost her drivers license and carnet (which is your Bolivian id).Then on Friday we went to the sisters house were we are going to live. It is a nice guest house. The sister gave us a super cheap rent and has been doing so much for us. We are so grateful. We started our paperwork and had to wait until Monday to pick it up. Over the weekend we went to our meeting on Saturday night and service on Saturday and Sunday. We bought things we needed for the house on both days at different outdoor markets that are only on the weekends. They were a lot of fun. We spent around $150 on so much stuff that with 4 people all our hands were full. It is amazing the prices down here and the quality of things you can buy. The food is amazing everything is fresh and reasonably priced. So on Monday we went and finished our paperwork. Today we slept in and did some more shopping for the house. Bought a washer and dryer from the missionaries here in Tarija. Then we took it to our new home and met Jordi which is the sisters kid. He is really nice. They also have two dogs. One reminds me of Dulce and her big eyes and the other is a Boxer. So you know I am loving it. Well I got to go to our meeting. I will post pictures when I can. :)

1st -2nd Day in Bolivia

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1st Day - It Can Not Get Crazier Then This

It was one crazy day. We were flying through the night. We landed in El Alto (The High) to drop people off and get new passangers. We were all set to go and were on the tarmac when one of the planes engines decided to break down. It was a little scary because we were already getting ready to take flight. Glad it happened when it did. Over the planes intercom we were told that we would not be able to leave until then next day because a plane from Miami would have to come and bring a special camara to fix the planes engine. So we got off and started through customs. We saw a couple that was dressed nicely and they saw us and came up to us and asked if we were Jehovah's Witnesses. Well come to find out they are the newest missionaries (Roberto and Ginetta Moya) coming from the 129th class to Bolivia on assignment. So after that we stuck together and went through the rest of the day together. After getting our bags we went to the ticket counter. El Alto is around 15,000 feet high. It was difficult to breathe and carrying bags did not help the cause. Poor Ginette got really sick and had a seriously bad headache. I tried to help her everyway I could while the guys carried the bags and tried to talk to the ticket lady about flying out that same day. We got a plane flight for 7:25pm. So we grabbed our combined baggage of 10 big bags and 8 carryons and went to try to sleep in a corner. At this point we are all starting to get sick from the altitude. After about 3-4 hours sitting there a couple comes up to us and we find out they are the missionaries located in El Alto (the highest missionary home in the world). They take us back to there house and let us sleep a little. That is when I got sick. NO fun. It was the first time I vomited in my adult life. It was terrible. Then it started to get super cold. We were all sick at that time. We were so thankful for the kindness shown to us. The sisters made us the best ginger chicken soup. I wish I could have ate it, but everything made me sick even water. Then at 5pm we took a taxi back to the airport. Got our tickets and checked ALL of our baggage. Then we went through the security check and a woman asked me if I needed oxygen because I was not looking good. But I kindly declined. After we got on the plane and took off to Santa Cruz. Landed in Santa Cruz, went to Bethel and slept the night away. I was glad to have met the Moyas, I feel like we are closer to them now. LOL I guess going through that we are. Their assignment is in a place higher then El Alto and colder. I hope Jehovah blesses them everyday for their self-sacrifice I will miss their company. But we will always have a funny first start to our assignments. :)

Our Almost Empty Apartment

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