Preaching in Salinas

Yesterday we had the privilege of going to preach in an isolated territory. Salinas, Bolivia it is located in a National Preserve. It took us about 2 hours to get there by car. A brother from Tarija and 4 others came for the weekend to help us. We had a wonderful time. Cooking together, sharing experiences and cramming 14 people in one car. At one point I was in so much pain I started to cry. I felt bad, but the brother stopped the car and Justin massaged the blood back into my sore leg. Justin and 2 other brothers sat on top of car. A brother and sister that live out there made lunch for everyone. They do not get to come to the meetings often because they live so far and do not have a car. It cost them $40 or so to drive home from the meetings. Which is a lot anywhere, but especially here. We had great experiences. Justin and I both started a study. We are going to go back twice or more a month to study with them. We also found deaf ones and talked to them about God and shared the Simple version of the brochure Listen to God with them. They were so happy to talk to someone. They loved talking about Jehovah. All in all it was a great day. The sun baked down on us, but we knew Jehovah was keeping us going.

As you can see there is no really good road there. It is just a lot of rock and dirt.

Our new meeting sign. I bet we are the only ones with a picture on ours. :)

Taking a break under the rare tree. Looks like something in Africa!

Enjoying a rest moment.

My new study, Vilma and I. She was so happy to study. She had the book already and read half of it but did not understand it all.

Justin with Willy on top of the truck.

Most of our group. There were 14 in all.

Going home. 3 on top, 11 inside.

Justin Washing Dishes

Here is how Justin washes dishes now. First in the States we had a dishwasher, then in Tarija we had an indoor sink and now we have an outdoor sink. We dry our dishes in the sun because it is so easy and quick.

Special Assembly Day

So this past Sunday was our Special Assembly Day. We took a taxi trufi back to Tarija at 4am Friday morning. We stayed with the Marsdens, got some much needed supplies and dealt with some issues with immigration. Had a very nice weekend. Sunday was so encouraging. We had 4 from Entre Rios baptized. That is 1/3 of our group now. The entire family we are living with were baptized and a young brother in our hall. On Monday Justin played golf with the guys and I went to lunch and shopping with Reenie and Janice. (Thank you so much I had a great time!)

Half of our Group.

Baptism pool. There was so little water in it, I was surprised they could baptize someone.

Leah after her baptism. 12 years old.

Olefa about to be baptized.

Very happy afterwards.

Kevin. 9 years old. Comes to the meetings by himself.

Leonardo a brother we know from Tarija that got baptized.

Wilbur after his baptism.

After the assembly we went with Leo, his family, Juan and the Marsdens to Eli's for pizza.

Working Hard

One of the things that has made the biggest impact on me since moving here is how hard people. We take some many things for granted in developed countries such as cars, dish washers, washing machines and a doodad or device for pretty much everything.

Living here, our kitchen consists of a room. When we wash dishes, it's all done outside. When we need to use the restroom in the middle of the night, we have to go outside in the elements. We're adjusting slowly but it's like going back in time. Tarija over the past year was a big change from the US but will still very modern in comparison to Entre Rios.

Just last week, Stephanie was doing a load of laundry in the washer we brought with us from Tarija. The sister who lives next to us (who along with her husband is getting baptized this weekend) was amazed that we had a machine to wash our clothes as opposed to doing it all by hand. When the carpenter came by to do our screens he was also amazed by this "contraption". We offered to let the sister use it whenever she would like and even though she was initially nervous, she has done a few loads with the help of Stephanie. It has also freed up time for her to be able to join us in the ministry one day extra each week.

Another example occurred yesterday. We went to a brother's house for lunch. Afterwards he was going to make a salsa that everyone here loves. You would think that he would dump the ingredients in a blender and be good to go..... well not here! He mixed the entire batch with a giant rock. What's interesting is this isn't an isolated case or way of doing things. Apparently there is a word for a stone like this; So when searching for your own rock to crush and mix ingredients, you'll be sure to get the right thing.

There are many more examples, these are just a few. It really helps put things in perspective doesn't it?

Linaza a Summer Treat

So I know most of my friends that read our blog live in the Northern Hemisphere and are currently dealing with the fun of winter. But for all my friends in the Southern Hemisphere I have a recipe here for a refreshing drink made of Flax Seed and Lemon. I think I drink this everyday here. It is so good. Like a watered down lemonade. Flax seed also has a lot of good benefits for your health. Here is part of an article I found on some benefits (Just if you wanted to know.):

"Flax seed benefits have been gaining popularity over recent years because over 50% of the fat in flax seed is omega 3 fatty acid, making it the richest plant source of omega 3, in addition to many other interesting “bonuses”.... Many nutritionists recommend the regular consumption because of all the flax seeds benefit which have been shown to prevent or reduce the symptoms of arthritis, colitis, cancer , heart disease and even acne. The oil contained in the seeds is also a known natural estrogen balancer that if used regularly can help prevent and reduce symptoms that arise during menopause. It’s also a great source of fiber which can help especially in relieving constipation."

Recipe for Linaza (Spanish for Flax Seed)
1/2 cup of ground flaxseed
1 lemon
1 cup of sugar or less if you want
a blender
a sieve
a pitcher
water

Flax seed in whole form.

Ground flax seed.. Put about 1/2 cup of ground flax seed and a pint of water in a blender.

Blend well. About 2 minutes.

While the flax seed is blending. Cut up a lemon in small pieces.

Put the lemon in the blender. Pulse for a few seconds.

Use a sieve to pour the linaza in a pitcher.

Add water.

Oh yeah, add a cup of sugar. Sugar makes everything better.

Add all that sugar to the mixture.

Add the rest of the water and stir well.

And that is it. You have a tasty, refreshing drink for summer.

A View of Around Town

While in service this morning Justin took video of the surrounding area. It was raining out so it is a little blurry.

Meeting Time!

So today we went to our first Book Study/Ministry School/Service Meeting meeting here in Entre Rios. We now meet in a small room upstairs from a store that sells bags of concrete. It is small for our growing group and I am sure we will find a bigger place soon. We had a couple that lives an hour and a half away come tonight. They made quite an effort to make the meeting. It was especially hot and humid today as well. We have a fan in the room, but that does barely anything. You just sweat the whole time while sitting on very upright wooden chairs. It is uncomfortable, but you are so happy to see all the effort our little group puts forth in order to have a full meeting. Justin had the Bible Highlights today and I was a householder for the second part. Many more talks to come in the future.

Our room where the meetings are held.

Justin giving the Bible Highlights.

Going to Edmundo's

Today we went to go see a brother, Edmundo, that lives up in the mountains. He lives there with his wife. It is a 45 minute walk up the mountains. He has a wonderful view of the city and was nice enough to let us ride his horse. I really enjoyed that. He showed us around the mountain a little and showed us where the two rivers meet to actually make Entre Rios. At the end Edmundo told us that he was the only witness with his wife in Entre Rios for 3 years. He said they never got new literature and he felt very isolated from the organization. We told him he won't feel like that again.

Entre Rios. That is the whole pueblo.

Getting on the horse.

Riding around the yard.

Justin got on as well. He looked huge on the horse.

After we got off the horse. I think he was happy we were off. LOL

To the east of Entre Rios. The farmland.

Me, Justin and Edmundo. Brandon took the picture for us.

Our Entre Rios Move Nov. 1st - Nov. 4th

So we are finally here in Entre Rios. It was a lot of work packing, moving, and fixing up the house. But we are finally done...somewhat. When we arrived the house was a disaster. The pictures do not even demonstrate how bad it really was. There was so many things on the walls and floors we could not identify. But after 4 days of cleaning, painting, cleaning and scrubbing it is now comfortable enough to live in. There are still a few fixes needed...like screens in the windows, doors need fixed, window put in the bathroom (only a sheet is there now) and a wall fixed for leaks. But at least it is clean and we feel comfortable. Bella is doing great. She loves all the space, but I think she misses running up the poles in our other place. We went in service yesterday and had a great day. I have a possibility for 3 studies. We had such a nice time. The group here is so nice and really helpful. I think we are going to love it here.

Hoagie sad that we are moving

Gabriel helping us pack up the truck for the 1st load of furniture.

The 1st truck loaded and ready to go.

Driving through the mountains to our new home.

We had to back up so this truck could pass.

 

Bella was not happy, but was quiet and good the entire 3 hours.

 

When we first got in the house. Our soon to be kitchen.

Cleaning the tape off the walls and scrapping the old paint off.

Before: The living room.

Before: The guest room.

Before: One of the windows.

Before: Our Room.

Before: The Kitchen

Before: The guest room.

Before: The guest room.

Slowly getting fixed.

Our makeshift kitchen for 3 days.

Workers painting the rooms.

We were told the electricity never goes out here. Guess it does.

Lite some candles for light.

Bella sleeping by candlelight.

Scrubbing the paint off the floors in our room.

Kitchen is almost done.

After: Our living room.

After: Our bedroom.

After: Our kitchen.

After many times scrubbing it. Our Bathroom.

Preaching after a few days of fixing up the house.