NTM

The other day we decided to go over to the NTMA hangar at the airport.  I had not been there at all since we arrived here and really wanted to see what it looked like.  We took the twins with us and they had fun walking around and exploring.  It was extremely hot out so we didn’t stay too long.  Check out the pictures under our photo section….

Please pray for our language helper Diego.  He is not a Christian, but is very open!  Dan has been able to have some really good spiritual conversations with him and Diego has come to church with us three times!  Please pray for the Lord to continue to soften his heart and that Diego would respond to His Call.  We are so thankful for his friendship! 

Please pray for us and we transition into our new house.  We really like it, but have had quite a time getting things done!  We are so thankful to have such a nice place for so cheap! 

This is a somewhat superficial prayer request, but please pray that our crates would come soon!  From what we understand, they are just sitting in customs here in Coch.  We are feeling very impatient and would love to get the few things we packed.  We are at the point where we need the clothes and shoes we packed for the twins- they are outgrowing the stuff we brought with us!  Also, please pray that nothing would be missing. 

Dan’s birthday was the 18th of this month and I was trying to think of a birthday present for him that would be special since this was his first birthday here.  I emailed the chief pilot with NTMA and asked if there was any way that Dan could go on a flight with him sometime- as a gift!  Our main "ministry" right now is language study- so it doesn’t leave time for much else and Dan has been so eager to get up in the air again! 

A few days later, he called and said that he had an emergency medical flight the next morning and wanted to know if Dan could go.  Well, we were supposed to be moving to our new house the next morning, but we postponed that until the afternoon so Dan could go.  He was so excited!!!  He hadn’t been up flying in about 6 months and was excited just to get back in a plane again! 

They flew out to a village where they picked up a missionary lady who had been in severe pain for a few weeks and needed to see a doctor.  When they left Cochabamba, it was nice and cool.  When they landed at the village they were sweating!  What a huge difference in climate!  Dan said it was amazing to look down on the country that we came here to serve.  They actually flew so high (to get over the mountains) they had to use oxygen!  He came home renewed and re-energized about why we came here.  It was so good for him to get his focus again.  We sometimes get discouraged just doing language study, and yet we know that it is so important.  The Lord has us here for a purpose- we just need to be patient and wait on Him when we feel discouraged. 

Check out the Photo section under Bolivia Pics for more pictures of his flight!

We are now getting settled into our new home!  We moved this past Monday with the help of some friends and  are getting adjusted to life in a bigger house!  We miss our neighbors at our condo, but since the condo is only three blocks away from us we can go see them whenever we want! 

This week has been very busy and stressful with trying to get things figured out.  The house did not have a water heater, so we had to purchase one and have it installed.  Once it was installed (outside), Dan tried it out to make sure it worked and because it is so windy here, some of the wires inside melted from the wind blowing the fire!  So, now that has to be repaired.

During the installation of the water heater, we realized that the water pipes had a cross-over somewhere in the house!  So, the plumber said the only way to find it was to break into every wall where there was plumbing!  Fortunately, Dan had an idea to look up in the attic (the house is wired for solar heat) and found the problem! 

We are still without hot water for doing laundry and dishes.  We can take hot showers because the shower heads are electric. 

The Lord is teaching us alot about patience in this whole process!  As Americans, we want things done NOW.  We are used to same day service and not having to wait for things.  Our culture is one of instant gratification.  It has been a hard lesson for us to learn to WAIT.  For example, we had to have curtains made for all the windows in our house.  She told us they would be done on Tuesday at 4.  That gave her 5 days to make 4 curtians!  When we called on Tuesday to check about picking them up, she had not even started them yet!!!  So, we had to wait another 2 days.  This is only 1 example of many!  We are learning to be patient and not get all worked up about these "little" things.  They really are little things in comparison to real reason we are here- to reach them with the Gospel.  Please pray for us that the Lord would give us the patience and understanding we need to be a witness and that we wouldn’t come across as loud, obnoxious Americans.

We are moving to a new house- hopefully this weekend!

We have been living in a nice condo since we arrived here but have had a little problem with scorpions!  Actually, a big problem in our eyes!  We have found 10 in our condo in three months.  For us, that is 10 too many.  We thought we had done everything to take care of the problem- covered up drains, put seals under the doors, fumigated, and still we found them.  The Lord was so gracious to us and allowed us to find every one of them before the twins did.  We have just not been able to feel comfortable in our place knowing that there could be one anywhere.  So, we decided to start looking for a new place.  We found a house only three blocks away from where we live right now!   It is very cute and "new"- not lived in yet!!  Wow!  We never expected anything like that!!  What a blessing from the Lord! 

Please pray with us that all the little things would get done before we move in.  It’s been hard to balance language school with making lots of phone calls, running errands, signing contracts, etc.  It’s so much more complicated to rent here and the Lord is teaching us patience!  Please also pray that our crates would be released to us soon.  They are just sitting at the airport in customs and we are just waiting for the phone call that we can go get them! 

-That our crates would arrive soon. From what we understand, they are in Cochabamba and we should hopefully get them this month.

-For our language learning abilities!

-For the health of our family. It’s very easy to get discouraged and want to throw in the towel when you (or your kids) are sick.

-For finances to buy a vehicle.

We thought it would be kind of fun to share with you some differences we are experiencing living in another culture!

-We buy our milk in bags, not in plastic jugs.

-We go to class in something called a Trufi. It’s like a taxi and a bus in one. They use a car but they run on pre-set routes and pick up as many people as they can along the way.

-It is cultural here to have a maid.

-You don’t say no to people unless you have a good excuse.

-Many places do not give you a “factura” (receipt), so, basically, there are no returns– even if it breaks!

-There are no “Rules of the Road”. It’s okay to run a red light as long as there isn’t a cop around. We’ve actually had cars honk at us because we didn’t go through the red light!

Without sharing too many specifics, we would like to ask you to pray for the country of Bolivia.  There is a lot of turmoil here between the government and the opposition.  Please pray for safety and for resolution.