We apologize for not updating you sooner about Dan’s flight and maintenance tests. He was not able to take the tests as planned because the paperwork to approve them has not been returned. Once we get the approval from the Bolivian FAA the tests can be scheduled. So, it’s just a waiting game now! We are very much learning that life here is “hurry up and wait”. It can be very discouraging and a huge test of patience sometimes. The Lord is definitely teaching us to let go of our American mindset of time!

Laura’s parents were just here for a 2 week visit! It was great! Anna and Benjamin took to them so quickly, which was a pleasant surprise for all of us. Every morning they would wake up and ask for Nana and Grandpa. They are still asking for Nana and Grandpa but now they say “airplane”. We told them that they had to go on an airplane to go home. We also celebrated Anna and Ben’s second birthday with a small birthday party and Benjamin got his first (much-needed) haircut! Below are some pictures of our time together…..

We now have a few “normal” weeks before Dan’s brother, Chris, comes in July with a team from his church. They will be doing projects for us at our hangar and leading some seminars. We are really looking forward to having them!

Thank you for your daily prayers for our family. Life is hard sometimes and sometimes the only thing that keeps us going is knowing that we have a team of people praying for us and rooting us on. You are very important to us. We all need “cheerleaders” in our life. Thank you for being ours!

Much has been happening recently and we just wanted to give you a little update. Last night our family went to the airport to say goodbye to the NTM field leader of Bolivia, Todd, and his wife Tammy. They are returning back to the States after many years of service here. We know that they left with heavy hearts but felt that this was the best decision right now based on some pretty serious health concerns. Besides them, many are leaving our NTM team or not returning to Bolivia due to family concerns, health, etc. We, as a field, are going through many changes and it’s hard to understand what the Lord is doing, although we do know that He is doing something! Dwight Brown, who is the chief pilot here with NTMA, has been asked to step into the field leader role for the next two years. Please pray for him and his wife as they seek the Lord in this decision. Dwight is trying to get Dan and Joel (the other pilot) to the point where they will be able to make flights on their own– which is no small task! It is a long process of becoming familiar with every airstrip we fly into, learning the different terrain of this country, and learning the “proper” way to communicate over the radio!
Dan is scheduled to take his maintenance test on May 8th and his flight test on May 12th. Please pray for his peace of mind and clarity. Please pray that Dan would be a witness to his examiners in the way that he conducts himself and responds under pressure! These tests are difficult enough in the US where everything is familiar and in your “heart” language!
On a different note, Laura’s parents will be coming down to spend two weeks with us (although we think they just want to see Anna and Ben)! We are so excited for their visit! They will be arriving shortly after the twins turn 2 on May 12th. We (especially Laura) have been struggling with home sickness, so their visit will be like a little piece of home. It will be a busy summer (or winter, down here) for us with many visitors! In July, Dan’s oldest brother Chris will be coming down with a team from his church on a missions trip for 10 days. In August, Dan will be in the States for a week for a conference and his mom will be coming down to help Laura with the twins! It will be a blessing to have someone else here to help her keep her sanity! There is much to look forward to!
Thank you for your partnership with us! Thank you for being a blessing!

Our daily routine has been changing a bit recently. Dan is pretty much done with his Spanish study and is now learning the ropes at the NTMA hangar and getting ready to start the check-out process for his mechanic’s and pilot’s license. With him going to the hangar more, we are trying to balance home life as well as Laura’s Spanish study. Laura is progressing in Spanish, but it will be more difficult to study as Dan is gone more and there are 2 toddlers running around the house requiring attention and supervision! (That is definitely a prayer request!)

Anna and Benjamin are almost 2 years old now and are growing up so quickly. Although they are not as much work now as when they were babies, we have to deal with other things, like breaking up “fights” and temper tantrums! They love to play together, though, and we love to watch them! Their vocabulary is also expanding rapidly. A few of their favorite things to do are looking for “buggies” and then squishing them; playing on the “shwings” (swings), playing “side” (outside), riding their little tricycles around our dinner table, and eating. They are both shy when it comes to meeting new people– especially Bolivians. Bolivians love to touch them because they are so fair and Ben and Anna don’t particularly like it. Please pray for them as they adjust to things they are not used to and that we, as their parents, would be patient and not expect them to be little adults. Please also pray for Anna and Ben’s hearts as we raise them to know and love the Lord. Our biggest prayer is that their hearts would be sensitive to Him and His Word.

We now have our 1 year visas and are waiting to complete the process for our Bolivian ID cards!

For the funds to purchase a vehicle and return the one we have been borrowing from a friend.

For the tribal works NTM is involved with and for the training of Bolivians to reach their own people.

For patience and perseverance as we deal with the stresses and inconveniences of living in a different country.

First, we want to thank you all for your prayers and faithful support. We know the economy is going through some hard times, so we are even more appreciative of your sacrificial giving. Our transition to life in Bolivia has actually been smoother than we expected. We are feeling more at home here which is a huge praise. The twins have also been pretty healthy which is another huge praise.

Many things have happened since our last newsletter and we just wanted to get you up to speed! We moved into a new home in October. We were having a major problem with scorpions in the condo we were living in and needed to get out of there quick. We found a house only 3 blocks away which made the move very easy! We are really enjoying our new place and the twins love having a little yard to run around in.

We also had the privilege to attend NTM’s Field Conference the beginning of January at a hotel in Santa Cruz. For three days we had meetings (all in Spanish) in the mornings and evenings and had free time in the afternoons for socializing or swimming. It was a good time of getting to know our fellow missionaries who work in Bolivia and hearing about the different tribes that New Tribes is working with.

In February, Bolivia celebrated Carnaval– a holiday that celebrates the goddess of the earth, Pacha Mama. The big thing down here during this time are water balloon fights. People throw water balloons across the street at each other and sometimes even at cars driving by. We decided to have a little water balloon fight in our yard with the twins and another NTMA family, but somehow it turned into a 2 day water balloon “war” with our neighbors!! We went through about 1,000 balloons in those 2 days and had so much fun! Also during this time, our landlord and his family came over to “bless” our house (which is part of celebrating Carnaval too). They put up some decorations outside, threw confetti in our yard, sprinkled rubbing alcohol and beer on our grass, and set off firecrackers. It was a very interesting experience.

Before we left the States to come to Bolivia, many people told us they wanted to send us care packages.  So… here are some ideas!

- shoes for Anna and Ben, size 7 toddler and up

- lead pensils (.5ml) for Dan

- candles!

- Sudafed, Benadryl, Tylenol, non-drowsy Dramamine

- Children’s Benadryl, Children’s Tylenol, Children’s Motrin

- Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts Coffee grounds- Decaf

- Baby Toothpaste without fluoride, toddler toothbrushes

- magazines- any kind

- Orbit gum (any flavor- even the pink one!)

-  White standard pillow cases

-  White pillow protectors

-  coloring books and crayons

-  bleach pen

-  note cards/stationery

I’m sure we will add more to this list as we think of things!  There are a couple requirements for sending packages here:

- It can’t be over 4 lbs

- It must have a GREEN customs label on the outside of the box

-  send it regular ground mail

Our address is:

Dan Swanson

Mision Nuevas Tribus

Casilla 522

Cochabamba, Bolivia

Let us know if you have any questions!!  Thanks!

It has been like Christmas in our house this week!  As I was looking at all our containers, I all of a sudden realized that I can live with a lot  less than I thought.  We have a nice house and have been able to buy things and have received things from other people to help us set up our home here.  And now we have all our things from the States to make it feel even more like home!   As we were waiting for our crates to be released I had to really think about the fact that I might not see those things again and if I was okay with that.  I honestly don’t know if I totally came to the place where I was 100% okay with it, but I know the Lord was working in my heart toward that.   

Thank you so much for your prayers!  We know people were specifically praying that our crates would be released.  We felt those prayers and we saw God answer those prayers!  Thank you again!

The day after Christmas, when most people in the US are out shopping and getting good deals, we were called to go down to Immigration to do some more paperwork for our visas. This has been a long process. We had already been down there once before for about 3 hours with the twins and one man refused to sign our paperwork. So, when we got the call to go back we thought it would be a short thing- sign a paper and leave. We ended up being there for 3 1/2 hours- going from office to office to get paperwork done and spending lots of time waiting. It wasn’t exactly what I had pictured my day looking like. The twins did great and ended up eating only crackers for dinner since we had not planned to be there that long. Now we know for the future that whenever we have to do any paperwork or government stuff we need to go prepared- with food, enough water, toys, etc. Fortunately, most of our paperwork got done. Now we just have to go back on Monday to sign one more thing. This time without the twins.

As hard as it is to live in a foreign country, it gives us peace in our hearts that we are here for a reason. That reason keeps us here when everything in our hearts is telling us to go home to be with family. As we celebrated Christmas, it was pure and simple- not a ton of gifts, not a lot of glitz, no family but the four of us, but we had our mission "family" down here that we celebrated with and we read the Christmas story as a family and thought about how simple that first Christmas was. The Savior was born in a stinky stable and his crib was a manger. He didn’t come into the world with lots of fanfare. Our simple Christmas sort of reminded me of His simple birth.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

We are getting used to it now and the sounds are now almost normal.  Here’s just a little peek at what our ears hear all day…..

We are up around 7 and shortly afterward we hear the clanging of the garbage truck.   They come down our street three times a week and bang on the side of their truck to let everyone know they are here.  People go running out of their houses with their bags of garbage.

Every couple of weeks, the gas truck comes down our street.  They ring a bell to let people know they are here.  A couple times Dan has gone running out of the house thinking it was the garbage truck!  We are just now able to differentiate betweent the two sounds.

Everyday, throughout the whole day, we hear honking.  We live on a "well used" street and buses and taxis are very common.  It is common practice for them to honk at intersections to let possible passengers know they are there or to warn other cars that also may be approaching the same intersection (there aren’t too many stop signs in Cochabamba).  It’s actually a courtesy, which is weird for us Americans!  We honk out of frustration or anger! 

Every few days we will hear the fruit vendor driving down our street with a megahorn, yelling "Bananas, Apples, Oranges, Papayas!" (in Spanish, of course.)  When we first moved here we had no idea what he was saying because all those fruits sounded like one word!  Now we try to imitate him! 

One sound that we will never get used to is the loud music.  It’s not all the time, but neighbors will blare their music, especially on the weekends.  That is one of the reasons the twins sleep with a fan in their room!   Right after we moved into our new house we could hear someone playing music nearby and we soon realized that is was Spanish worship!  We realized that even Christians here like to blare their music! 

Oh, yeah.  The other sound that we hear ALL the time are barking dogs.  Dogs roam freely all around Cochabamba.  This is one thing that I have a very hard time with.  Most dogs will not bother you at all, but there are some aggressive ones out there. 

That’s just a little taste of what we hear as we go through the day!  It’s totally different than the peace that we were used to in the suburbs of Chicago!