Thursday, December 30, 2010

We've got wheels!

This week the Bolivian Government decided to raise the price of gas after being the same for the past 6 years, the increase was pretty dramatic. The price went up 70% which in turn has raised the prices for taxis, buses, groceries, clothes, you name it. For the past few months we've been using public transportation but it's tough sometimes when you have a Bible Study or you need to go somewhere when it's dark, so we finally decided to get a little moped. Today was the first full day of being able to use it in service and to run errands and it worked out great. What it would be costing us to get a cab to downtown and back, we can now fill up our gas tank. Here's a picture below from service today.

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Sunday, December 26, 2010

Rain Rain Rain

Today we went in service. It was super hot. Then after service we went to the market to check out what they were selling. Then the rain came. It must have rained for about an hour. It was a torrential downpour. Our dry riverbeds actually became rivers again and the streets were flooded. We couldn't get home for awhile so we sat in the car with the taxi driver. When the rain slowed down we drove home. We could not get down our street so we had to walk home in the rain. Our street looked like a small river. The rain finally stopped.

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Monday, December 20, 2010

Pioneer Meeting

We had our pioneer meeting yesterday which was great. We not only received wonderful spiritual food but also some tasty treats afterward. We took a group picture afterward which you can see below. We have a total of 15 pioneers in our hall.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Week 7

A few things have happened this week. We decided to add a new family member (and no I am not pregnant). A friend of ours has a study that had some kittens, and after a long talk and writing down the pros and cons of getting a cat, we decided it best to get one. A sister in our hall was so kind to offer if we ever move to take the cat. That relieves a lot of worry for me. So we got a little girl cat and named her Bella. She has been a very calm cat. Sleeps a lot, probably because she is only 6 weeks old. So she was born a week after we came here. :) Then we had a couple over on Sunday night for dinner. I made a lasagna. Here is the recipe, it was really good: Open-Faced Lasagna. I would recommend trying it. I had to substitute a lot because we do not have canned anything really and bread crumbs you have to make yourself. Which I mean come on is not really that hard. :) Then we had some awesome ice-cream we bought here. There is a place that makes it fresh it was amazing, Mocha-coffee. MMMmmm! On Monday, Justin went to start golf at 6:30 am in the morning, before it got hot. But again like last time it was one of the coldest days. On Sunday it was 90 -100 degrees and then Monday was 50-65. Huge change for us. You can never put away winter clothing because you never know when it will get really cold again. I woke up at 8 and got everything ready to catch a bus to the vet with Bella. It was a surprisingly nice vet. I was quite impressed with the facilities and she was very kind. Then we took another bus to the Marsden's house for our Mexican Fiesta Day. LOL We come up with different meal plans on some Mondays, so we can all get together and enjoy lunch after the guys finish golf. So we made fajitas, nachos and salsa, burritos, corn, and margaritas. It was really good. I was surprised how good Bella was she slept the whole time on my lap. At first she was really bad running under the stove, almost burnt herself, and none stop crying. She just wanted to sit on someones lap and sleep. After that we went home and had Mario (the brother who builds our furniture) come over and go over the rest of the furniture we need. Only small things now like a pantry, nightstand, something to hide Bella's litter box and a decorative cat tree house. It is going to be really neat looking and blend in with the house. He brought his little girl and she loved playing on the iTouch I have. After they left we talked to friends back home and went to sleep. Today we were suppose to go in service, but did not because I could barely talk. Last night I twisted my neck weird and something pulled. Today it is hard to eat and talk a lot. I hope I am better for my talk tonight. I will let you know. Hope everyone is well.


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Thursday, December 9, 2010

Flower of the Week


I bought them at the Mercado Campesino. I need to take a picture of the Mercado, it looks like it is from a movie. Tons of people trying to sell everything and anything. :) They cost about $.75.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

We have FURNITURE!!!

Well that title about says it all. We finally have almost all of our furniture. Today came the last big piece. Our table, chairs and entertainment center. It turned out really nice and it is very functional.

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We are doing well so far. It has been really, really hot so our energy levels are at a low right now. But we are resting so that we can re-energize. It has rained a few times this past week and we are really appreciating it.