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The good news is that Sifat readers will no longer have to endure our blogs. The bad news is that we have said our goodbys to some of the most amazing people we have had a chance to meet. Today, I made my way here to Rurrenabaque with the last group of this year. Abby, Katie, and Vicki have been here the last two days on a Pampas tour, and should be getting back in town any minute. While Katie and Vicki will return to Internado, Abby and I will head to La Paz, and from there back to the states on Monday. Our time in Ixiamas has taught us far more than we could possibly ever have to share. Through the Internado staff, the kids, and the people of the pueblo we have encountered the love of Christ constantly. I personally have truly been blessed by this opportunity to serve and share. While we are excited about seeing friends and loved ones back home, we will always remember the new friends we have made here in Ixiamas. The final group has truly been a blessing as well. Through various bible school type activities they have really made an impact on the kids at Internado. Last night, they specifically prayed with and for each kid, and lives were genuinely touched and changed. They also finished most of the work on Internado´s new rabbit huch (all but the thatch roof, which no gringo has the expertise to weave….) and the second floor of the new building is progressing quickly. Thank you for your prayers and support throughout our stay here in Bolivia. It has been an eye opening, life changing experience. See you guys soon! Bryan and Abby The UMVIM group from South Carolina has only been here for three days, but you wouldn´t guess it by the amount of wall they´ve bricked. The second floor is really starting to take shape. Two of the exterior wall spaces are almost done, and one interior wall is halfway up. All of the exterior wall is started with at least three layers of brick, though most has more. Their energy and eagerness to serve has been a blessing to all of us. In addition to their construction exploits, the team has familiarized us with a powdered spice known as slap-yo-mama. Lets just say I put a little too much of the stuff in my soup bowl at yesterday´s lunch. Since then I´ve been a little more carefull…. Yesterday was the aniversario of the department of La Paz. The kids spent the better part of the afternoon cutting bamboo and filling a notch with fuel and a rag to use as a wick. They then joined the rest of Ixiamas below the age of 20 in a huge torch bearing parade. It was a pretty neat sight. The parade ended just off the town square with the singing of the national and departmental anthems. And finally, I am proud to announce the latest addition to the Internado family. She stands a proud 1 foot tall and bosts a three inch tail, thick black fur, a cute little face, and the ability to sleep just about anywhere on just about anything. Her naming process is a story in and of itself. The original idea was to name her Snicker, which is pronounced down hear like the tennis shoe (sneaker). We then realized that the latter might be more appropriate because of her little white paws, so we changed the official name to Sneaker, and the kids never knew the difference.  She seemed a little wary of the place at first, but she´s starting to get the hang of things.  And Scott and Stronger have been more than accomodating.  Not much time left! While we are excited about coming home, we will all miss the kids, the place, the staff, and this beautiful country that has been our home for the last couple of months.  Hasta Luego, Bryan Granted the title insinuates that all that we did while the kids were away is eat, which is not true, but it was one of the enjoyable things we partook of while they were absent. While the kids were away spending time with their families we decided to dine on a few more traditional dishes such as, for the 4th of July we had green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet tea, and apple pie. oh and we sang the national anthem as we brought it out to the table, and abby recited the pledge of alligence in Spanish. Needless to say, Pastor and hermano Andres found it very amusing. Apparently the appetizing nature of it all encouraged us to eat plenty. I say this only because while climbing into bed the other day it decided to give way… and im on the top bunk. Abby was not below don’t worry, but the whole mattress decided to give way me included and i ended up in a heap below. No damage done though, merely checking to see if gravity is still in effect, it is. We quickly ascertained the problem, merely a loose sideboard, and Brian had it fixed in a jiffy the next day. So I headed to the hammock next door for a wonderful nights rest. Meanwhile I discovered that there is indeed a bat that lives in Brian’s wall, when it did laps around the common room at around 4 in the morning. One mystery solved. But all beds are now very secure (we checked them all) and everyone is safe and sound. The group from South Carolina arrived yesterday and we are glad to have them. They have already begun construction. The chicos are now all back and full of energy, yesterday several of the group members and kids played a rousing game of football, (soccer) girls vs. boys. Unfortunaetly the boys won, but only in the final seconds. The girls definitly held their own, I think our best player is Ruth, who is about 4 feet tall and 9 years old, she definitely showed the rest of us up. Life goes on here at the internado, and we are excited about the work that this group will bestow upon us and the group to come. Ciao, Katie Our vacation too rurrenbaque was INCREDIBLE. When we set out…we had no idea what was instore for us.  The pampas tour sent us swimming with alligators and dolphins and searching for anaconda´s (WE FOUND ONE!!! or rather our guide found one…but we got to touch one!) and we have pictures to prove it. We saw lots of beautiful birds…many alligators and cayman…and some big rodent thing.  We took an early morning boat ride to watch the sunrise, and it was incredible.  It was a beautiful reminder that the glory of the Lord is all around us if we will just open our eyes and recognize it. Special thanks to a member of Christ Community Church for recommending the cheesecake at julliana´s it was INCREDIBLE. So we finished up our vacation and headed back to Ixiamas to prepare for the arrival of the kids this weekend…However…vacation has been extended….once again. The 2 week vacation is officially a month long now. We are sad to not have the kids back, but another week of vacation will allow us to finish all of our projects. Abby´s cook stove is coming along very nicely. She and Katy have been working hard making bricks and designing a beautiful stove (just pray it works….) We´ll test it out this week before the kids get back. Bryan´s working hard with Maestro on the new building, and it looks like my ferro-cement tank is going to come together afterall (i will never again take for granted sewing machine´s or cement trucks). It´s been hard, but very rewarding work. Sorry for the lack of pictures. Seems it´s a little more difficult to upload than we anticipated. If we get a chance we´ll send some your way. Back to work for the day! Tú Hermana en Cristo -Olivia A team from from Georgia came here from June 15-19, They  left last weekend with Rachel to Rurre and to LaPaz. The team had been a great blessing to us as Vicky |
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