Up coming dates

Today I went to church, and for the first time in a month I understood every word that they said! Maybe it's because the church is in English. Yeah, there is an English speaking church real close to where I am staying. It was nice to finally sit through a sermon and actually know what was going on.

Yesterday, the neighbors had their church over to play volleyball, basketball, and soccer. It was a good time, they wore me out though. I am glad I decided to just watch the soccer match. And I think now would be a good confession time, it gets old when you can't talk to the Bolivians because you don't know Spanish. It only gets magnified worse when the six year old missionary neighbor understands more than you. I need to study Spanish more.

As far as this next week, I will be off with the other missionaries to their yearly retreat. We are going to Rio Selva. I have very little information about what this place is like, but what I hear sounds good. It's going to be a great time. I am leading the youth sessions during the retreat.

After the retreat, I will once again be living out of my suitcase. I leave the retreat with Joe and Ellen Kunkle. We will be heading to their home in San Borja, then off to Trinidad with John and Pricilla Kunkle, and finish off the tour with a trip to Ascension to meet Nina Kunkle. It's the Kunkle Tour 08! I wonder if I get a t-shirt? Anyways, I will be returning to Santa Cruz on the 26th? Something like that.

Which brings me to my next point, once again, I don't know what kind of living arrangements I will be in. So if you don't hear from me for a couple of weeks, I maybe out of contact. Just keep checking the blog, something will appear eventually.

-Pray for a spiritually refreshing retreat.
-Pray for safe travels for all missionaries.
-Pray that God will continue to use me to further his kingdom.

God Bless

Tastes like chicken....kinda

This week I have been getting a chance to meet the missionary families in Santa Cruz. Each day I have had a meal with a different family. It's a good way to get to know each family more on a personal note. Today I went to lunch with Betsy and Gerson Tejeda. If your wondering, Gerson is a Bolivian. Anyways, we went out to an all you can eat buffet. How it worked was you take a plate and fill it up with what you wanted, but no meat. They brought different meats around from the grill and would cut it off of the bigger slab for you. They had a rather large arrangement of meats. They had me try several different types, but would not let me know what it was until after I had eaten it. One meat was white and looked real fatty. It had an indescribable taste, wasn't bad, just not a good texture. I asked what it was....cow udder. I think that's the last time I will eat that. I also was given chicken heart, that was pretty good, just hard to get the thought out of your mind.

Anyways, we had a prayer meeting today. Had a good time singing and praying. I've really not had much going on this week. Worked on some homework and preparing for next week. Kinda nice to have some time to just relax after having two crazy weeks.

Another interesting thing going on around here is the constant pounding on a hammer and chisel. There were leaks in the roof during rainy season and they are going through my living room and chipping out all the plaster that has been water damaged. They were supposed to be working on it before I even got to Santa Cruz the first time. They just started yesterday. Go figure. They operate on Bolivian time. (Kinda remind me of Pa Kettle. "I'll get to that one of these days.")

-Pray for safe travel for all the missionaries going to the retreat this next week.
-Pray for Rick Lampen's father as he is having stints put in around his heart tomorrow.
-Pray for God to continue to bless the ministries here.

Jon

I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (1 Corinthians 1:4-9)

In my somewhat more permament home

Hello everyone. I am now unpacked in Santa Cruz. It appears that I won't be here very much until school starts in Aug. I have this next week to prepare for a youth retreat. If all the plans go correctly, I will be heading to several different places with several other missionaries here in Bolivia. I could be living out of my suitcase for the next 4 weeks. Some places mentioned on my schedule include; Rio Selva, Guarayos, Beni, Tarija, and Chaco. Of course everything can change but the hope is that I will be able to visit these places next month.


Now, I am sure your wondering "what is up with the Jesus statue?" In Cochabamba, they had a statue of Jesus at the top of a hill looking over the city. It was built in the 80s? At least I think thats what I was told. Anyways, he is a pretty big guy, I thought they said something about having a 120 foot wing span (he should try out for the basketball team). Ok so that was a lame joke.

Yesterday, I spend most of the afternoon in training with the assistant field director. He gave me information about the expectations of the Bolivian missionary team. It was a good meeting. Afterwards, we went to supper at Burger King. Apparently it's the only American food chain that has made it down here. Then we went grocery shopping. It's hard to shop when you don't know any products, correct prices, or where anything is. I think I'll make a habit of shopping with someone for a while. One thing that was mentioned to me is that WGM will pay for Spanish tutoring if I am interested. I am very interested. Once I get back to Santa Cruz, that is one thing I want to get worked into my schedule.

Today I went with the Browns to church. Not sure what they said but I did get through half of 1 Samuel before the sermon was over. By the way, if you haven't read 1 Samuel, I would recommend you take some time to do so. It's good reading. After church, we went out to dinner and enjoyed some Bolivian food.

As far as the weather here, It has been overcast and windy here. I would say it got up to about 55 here today but it felt colder. The wind is a south wind. That would be like a north wind in the US.

As you may have noticed, I am in the process of figuring out how to add pictures and videos to my blog site so that you can see what's going on. The site may be in construction stage this week.
Continue to pray for safe health (especially since I am supposed to start drinking the water here.) It isn't bad, the water at my house is well water. But you never know. Pray that I will continue to stay focus and do my reading for school so that I don't get behind. Pray that I will continue to be an effective tool for God's work.

God Bless,
Jon

One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel.
Samuel answered, "Here I am." And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.

Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
"My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down."

Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD : The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!"
Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:2-10)

Continue to listen for God's voice, you never know when it will come and if you aren't paying attention, you may miss it.

Wrapping up

Well we are wrapping up the two week work trip today. We leave Cochabamba at 12 today and everyone leaves out of Santa Cruz at 11 tonight. I am really going to miss this group. They have been such a great group to be with. Hard working and very welcoming. There wasn´t a time with this group that I felt out of place.

Last night was yet another exciting experience. One of the Bolivians who works with us has a band on the side. His group came to the hotel to play for us. As they were playing, the church showed up. We had 40+ people in an apartament style room. I was fortunate enough to get one or two on video but I have to wait till my battery charger is here before I get it online. Hopefully I can put it on here, if not, maybe some pictures.

We didn´t eat supper till 10 last night, by that time, I was just ready for bed. I didn´t even finish half my plate. Everyone was confused. (If you know me, I can almost always finish my plate and maybe someone else´s.) I even passed on ice cream.

As for the seminary, we didn´t "officially" finish the job, we were three rows off. But we actually, did about 3 times as much as they expected us to get done. I am just glad it´s over without more injury. We had a number of aches and pains down here. Bruised wrist, appendicitst (sp?), bummed elbows, jammed fingers, sore backs, and other similar pains. We sure kept the doctor busy. Even still, God was with us the whole time and we all grew out of this experience.

As for me, I will be back in Santa Cruz this next week and then we leave for a missionary retreat the first week of July. I have to lead the youth sessions for the retreat. Time to get started on the planning. After the retreat, there has been mention of being on another work trip before I start at the school in late July or early Aug.

Pray for safe travels and easy adjustment into my next assignment.

God Bless
Jon

flame throwers and t-shirts

today has been a rather interesting experience. instead of having the normal work day, we took a break. at the moment, we may be able to finish all the work for tomorrow. if that is the case, it would leave thursday for everyone to get rested up before traveling on friday. so instead of working, we went shopping. well actually the ladies went shopping , the men just stood around. after going to an orphanage on sunday, we made a list of items that the kids needed and the ladies went shopping for them today.
fortunately, i joined the other group. by now i´m sure you are wondering what the title is for. here it goes. we decided that there are some of us here who could use a haircut. so we broke from the group and went to the barber. i had the privaledge of being the first one in the chair and being the great missionary he is, dan did not tell me anything. after they put the apron on, he lights a match and a wick. i am kind of curious now because the wick is attached to a spray bottle. then he proceeds to pick up a comb and sprays it. of course the spray is highly flamable and i am beginning to freak out (in my head). surely he isnt going to fry my hair off. fortunately, he was sterilizing the stuff from the last person (u never know who has lice). the barber proceeds to cut my hair much like those from the early 1900s. with sissors and hand propeled clippers. it was a rather unique experience.
now on to the other part of the title. after we were all trimmed up, we began our walk back to the other group. we went down this road that contained a lot of used clothing stores. just browsing along when all of a sudden, a grey t-shirt caught my eye. whould u have guessed that a huntington university t-shirt would be on a manican here in chocabamba, bolivia? sure enough it was here and if i had a camera (battery is dead, im waiting on a charger) i would have taken a picture. i guess it is a small world after all. well thats all for now.

God bless,
Jon

One Week Down

well today marks the first full week here in Cochabamba. We have a lot to be proud of. It was estimated that we may have laid over 12,000 bricks in one week! Way more than the missionaries expected. So much that we may be out of work sometime next week. This group really knows how to get to work. Last night we went for Italian. (I know, why italian in Bolivia?) It was real good. I had lasagna and ravioli, and chicken fettichini (sp?) and your wondering how I had all of that. Well you just make sure you sit by the girls and wait for them to give up. And I thought I would lose weight, not with this good food. Just wait till I have to buy my own food, then I may lose weight.
Tonight, we are going out to a youth service which starts at 8 and goes till 10:30. It´s 45 mins away too. Talk about a long night. Tomorrow we go to church in the morning and are going to an orphanage in the afternoon.
One last note, we have a guy here who found out last night that his grandfather has passed away. Just ask that you pray for Matt and his family as he has a hard decision to make on whether to leave early or stay and finish his trip.

God Bless,
Jon

new adventures, friends, and random stuff

cochabamba has been great so far. the group i am working with really knows how to work. apparently i have made a name for myself, i am now know as the farmer. i also was given the opportunity to lead devotionals tonight. i went over james 5:13-18. this group is so good at making discussion happen so it turned out to be a good devotional time.
last night we went out to a restaraunt called dumbos. you can imagine what it is like (i thought it would be like a chucky cheese) but it was actually a nice sit down restaraunt with good ice cream. the only problem was their inabilility to cook their chicken properly. i guess you cant get everything.
we have been hard at work laying bricks at the seminary. today i spent most of the time putting cement mix into buckets and pulling them up to the second floor with a rope and pully. i feel like i just got done baling hay (those who have done that, know how your fingers hurt from constantly grabing and lifting). tomorrow we will continue to lay bricks and more bricks and oh yeah did i mention that we are laying bricks?
one last note, we have been going to the worksite by way of taxi trufi, basically you pay the equivalent of 20 cents to ride in a cab that runs the same route all the time. if there is room you squeeze in and ride until you need to get out. there are times when you may have six people in a toyota camry. oh did i mention that most of their cars are stickshifts too. lets just say you need to be comfortable with your body sometimes because you may be crammed in a car like sardines.
well thats all for now, pray that God will open up doors of opportunity for minstry.

God Bless

in cochabamba

hello everyone, it is a suprise but i am in a hotel that has internet! unfortunately, the keyboard isnt the best so i cant capitalize anything. needless to say, this will be primative but will still help keep you up to date. yesterday, we arrived in cochabamba (coch.) and got to see a few sites. we went out to steak last night. your right dad, the steaks here are really good. we also went to the top of a hill they have here (in indiana we call it a mountain). at the top is a statue of jesus. it is really an interesting city. beautiful weather. the work group i am with have been real good at welcoming me into their group. we have had some good laughs and i cant wait to get working with them. today we are going to church, playing volleyball 0r soccer and then church again tonight. tomorrow we start building a church? i think thats what i was told.
it has been interesting here in coch. the altitude is approx. 8500 feet. so it doesnt take too many stairs to lose your breath. plus we live on the 9th floor. good thing they have an elevator.
well i have to admit, there was one thing i did forget. i dont have my battery charger for my camera. so, there arent a whole lot of picture yet, but we will take time to get one tomorrow.
and for those who want to know, gas is about 2 american dollars a gallon and renting a good house is about 100 dollars a month. i would recommend retiring here. ok thats all folks.

GOD BLESS (the all caps works).

jon

I've made it!

I am finally here in Santa Cruz, Bolivia! It was a long night as I flew out at 11pm. and didn't get into Bolivia until 8:30 this morning. I got right through customs and baggage claim without any interference!
It's a beautiful day today! Sunny and about 24 degrees (76 F?). I've meet a lot of the people today since I am staying in a guest room on the compound tonight. I will be flying out tomorrow with a group from OH or PA? not sure where. We are going to Cochabamba which is a 1/2 hour flight but a 9 hr drive. It's hard to drive up the mountains. I'll be there for 2 1/2 weeks working with the group on a work project. I doubt I will have internet access up there.

Praise God for a safe trip. Pray that God will continue to keep us safe from harm while we are on the work trip.

God Bless

flying out

Well tomorrow is the big day. I fly out of Indy at 12:30 and make stops at Chicago and Miami before taking off to Bolivia at 11pm. I should arrive in Santa Cruz at 8 am. Hopefully I will have time Friday night to blog before I fly out on Sat. for Cochabamba. I don't know if I will be able to blog while on the work trip.
Packing has come along rather smoothly. Most everything is in the suitcases. I'm having a hard time deciding what stuff I need and what stuff can be bought when I first get there. I hope I don't forget some stuff.
I want to thank everyone again for their prayers and support. I am so fortunate to have a great group of supporters to help me with my internship. Continue to pray for safe travel and for a smooth transition. Pray for peace for me, the airports, security, and weather.

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26


Blessings,
Jon