Once upon a time... (hopefully never again)

This has nothing to do with my ministry in Bolivia but I've told some people about this and they told me I had to blog about it. So here it goes...

I was cleaning my apartment the other day (sweeping the leaves out of my entry way) when I happen to notice something scurry out from underneath a leaf. I didn't get a good enough look to see exactly what it was but it was big and black. Well today I was cleaning around the same area and when I opened the door to come into the apartment and there he was! A tarantula! I just a bought jumped out of my shorts. Once I came back down from the ceiling. I grabbed a broom and swept him out the door. Now everywhere I go, I am looking for the guy and hoping he doesn't have buddies.

Ok, now that I have made my confession, I feel better. Hope you enjoyed the story. The moral of the story is... Always remember to check your shoes before you put them on.

Jon

A guiding hand

I have all the pictures from my three week adventure posted on my photobucket account. Check out the link "Kunkle Tour 08"on the right side of my blog. I came into town on Monday afternoon. I was afraid I would be flying back by myself without knowing enough Spanish to get me anywhere in Santa Cruz. The Lord gave me a guide. As we were sitting in the airport restaurant waiting for my departure from Trinidad, a man came up and started talking to John (the missionary). He was heading back to his house in Santa Cruz and it just so happens that he was a bilingual Bolivian. As we talked more while waiting for the plane, I found out that he lives just a few blocks away from the school and his daughters go to the middle/high school. Although we did not ride home in the same taxi (i wanted to go out to the mission office before coming home) he was able to get me in a cab and send me in the right direction. What was even more surprising was the taxi driver knew some English as well. He had spent 5 years in Los Angeles a while back and had picked up some English. So we were able make small talk on the way to the the mission office.

Since arriving back in Santa Cruz, I have had my first major accomplishment. I went shopping by myself. If you have ever been a culture of a different language, you know how big of a step this actually is. It is easy to close yourself up from the culture through the fear of not being able to protect yourself from the environment around you. Not to say the environment is bad, you just don't know how to defend yourself if situations happen to turn that way. Anyways, I have found some things have made their way down to Bolivia. For example, Betty Crocker's pancake mix, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (they are called Zucaritas), Ragu Spaggetti sauce, Oreo cookies, Dr. Pepper (rather expensive though), and Kraft's Mac and cheese and many others.

The future plans for me include flying out for my last adventure before school starts. I will be flying south to Tarija and will be there for almost a week. I am sure there will be lots to do there.

Pray for:
-discernment for my future plans after college.
-the political landscape of Bolivia. (I'll be sure to write about it later, there are big decisions coming soon)
-the staff of the Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center as they are in the middle of class prep. and wrapping up summer assignments.

God Bless,

Jon

Recapping the week

Finally I have time to write another blog. This past week has been split between San Borja and Trinidad. In San Borja, I finished up on my English pronunciation classes and also was able to spend some time with the youth playing Triominos. Not sure how to explain it. Kinda like Dominoes with triangle pieces. On Friday, I said good bye to my friends in San Borja and made the 1\2hr flight to Trinidad. Which now that I think about it, it took 6 hrs to get to San Borja by car and only 1\2 by plane. Doesnt seem to add up. Anyways, today I am now in the final leg of my Kunkle tour. We went out to a ranch to go horse back rideing and the ranch was using all the horses to vaccinate their cattle. So to much dissapointment, we settled for steaks and chicken by the lake. I have also spent close to 4 hrs stuffing prayer letters into envelopes for the missionary family i am with now. I guess I still have to work for my keep around here. Tomorrow we go to church and who knows what in the afternoon. Church again at night and then on Monday, I take an hour flight into Santa Cruz. Home sweet.....home? ok maybe not quite but still looking good for now. Just in time to finish the project that's due on Friday. Pray for safe travel once again as I will be in the air Monday.

God Bless

Long time no talk

Sorry it has taken so long to update everyone. I am currently in San Borja. I have been here for a week now. Unfortunately, the internet connection is about the speed of a snail. By the time I get done checking my emails and replying to everyone, I am so frustrated with waiting that I forget to write on my blog.

Right, on to business. Since I have been here, I have picked up some English teaching skills. I have spent all this week working with the youth in the church teaching them English pronunciation as they have been teaching Spanish. It's a win-win situation. I have enjoyed getting to know them better, also. Tomorrow we are going fishing. I am not sure what to expect but they claimed it will be an all day excursion. Hope the bugs aren't bad.

In my spare time I have been busy helping cutting out patterns for hand puppets. The missionaries d0 puppet seminars for the churches in the area. They teach them how to make a puppet skit and how to make puppets so that they can make their own for the children. Might be a good idea for those who want a Vacation Bible School session.

Next week I will be teaching more English. I leave next Friday and although I have enjoyed being here, I really miss being able to keep up to date on the internet. I also miss being able to post pictures for you guys to see. I've got some good ones.

Continue to pray for safety and God to continue to open the hearts of the youth in Bolivia.

God Bless,

Jon

lost in translation

Finally I have some time to write out a blog. It's been crazy the last week and a half. I am currently in Ascension de Guarayous. I arrived here Saturday afternoon and took time to rest up. I needed a vacation from the vacation (I'm sure you can all relate to that). On Saturday night, we drove out to Nina's church in a little town called Santa Maria. It's about 40 Km. (Don't ask me to convert that.) They have a youth night each Sat. The youth work on thing like Bible memory, singing, and what we called sword drills in the U.S. (looking up Scripture quickly) We turned around and made trip twice on Sunday, once in the morning for Sunday School and then in the evening for their service.

Yesterday Miguel (Nina's assistant) and I went with the pastor back to the church to finish Nina's office. Nina is a doctor who has her own office on the back side of the church and they have just finished plastering and painting it. We went out and hung up her cabinets and moved things back in.

One the way back, Miguel wanted to explain something to me and with neither one being able to speak each others language, my dictionary was our only hope. Miguel grabbed it and looked up the word "perezoso." In English it translates to "lazy or idle". I was confused...is he tryin to say that I was lazy? If so, I don't know about Bolivian culture but in America, that's and offensive remark, espcecially if you don't know the person very well. It turns out that he wasn't calling me lazy, he was trying to tell me there was a sloth in the tree we just passed. Now it makes sense! Lazy...sloth...duh. Good thing we had that dictionary...right?

Tomorrow, I travel to my next adventure. I am heading to Trinidad with Joe and Ellen Kunkle. I there is a meeting with the executive committee of the Bolivian church. So I am not sure what that will include. (I have a hunch it means more Spanish).

-Pray for safe travels as we will be on the road again! (almost broke into song there)
-Pray for the meetings and discernment amongst those involved and that their decisions will continue to further God's work in Bolivia.

God Bless.

A quickie!

It's midnight and I have to be up at 5 am so this is real quick. Had a great time with the missionaries at their annual retreat. I've posted a link to the pictures. I hope it works. The speaker for the retreat was Dave Embreight (sp?). Dave is the senior pastor at Nappannee Missionary Church. I am heading off to my next adventure in the morning. Hopefully I will have time tomorrow night to write a longer blog. God Bless