Ch'airo

Remembering that Ch'airo is a soup made up of a little bit of lots o things, this catch-up post will be that as well, a little bit of a lot of things.

Since the last post there have been a lot of things going on in Bolivia - some big and some little.

Visitor - We had the privilege of hosting a visitor for the ChristLife Church for about a month. He came to observe and serve in anyway that he could. But he really found his niche at the tutoring center. The kids loved him and he did well communicating despite the fact that his Spanish was limited. Thank you Doug for coming and for showing Jesus´love to those kids at the center.

Bats - You have heard of the expression, bats in the belfry, well, we had bats in the A/C. For quite some time we had been seeing evidences of something living in our dining area air conditioner. (They turned out to be mice.) There generally were a number of calling cards each morning. So, after waging a losing a battle, I gave in and called the exterminator. He came and put out poison and so on around. So far, so good. The mice seemed to be gone. But wait, just when we thought it was safe to be barefooted again the calling cards were back. I called the exterminator to see if he could come back. He did but discovered that our new problem was not mice, at least not the usual kind,  but , that's right, mice with wings. In other words bats. Kind of a creepy thought that Dracula is sleeping in your dining room air conditioner. But they now too seem to be gone, thanks to some very pointed efforts by the a/c man to open part of the roof and seal and reseal everything.

Tutoring center - The tutoring center continues to tutor. (Remember the old limerick - A tutor who tooted the flute . . .) I generally have the assignment on my days to work with the kinder and prekinder kids. These are the little brothers and sisters who come with the bigger kids. If we sent them home the bigger kids would have to leave as well because there is on one home, in many cases, to take care of them. So we basically play. Some of the kinder kids will bring assignments from school. It is always having to practice writing letters of some kind. One day it might be four pages of "e" or of the number "7". Some of them even had to practice drawing periods (.). I didn't quite get that one. We also put puzzles together (they really like them), have some duplo type fake Lego's, color (painting they call it), play some games and other activities including play dough, which is also a big hit. I am there usually twice a week. Each session lasts 3 hours. It keeps reminding me how much energy it takes. I am always tired by the end of it. But it is one way I can serve at the center and, hopefully show the love of Jesus to these kids. I don't know much about their homes but I wonder how much some of them see their dads. This last time the one little girl especially was really clinging and demanding my attention the entire time. But that is hard to give with 12 other kids also demanding attention. But we bumble through each time and everyone generally goes home happy. I have to admit i kind of smile when I hear them call me "Profe!" I am currently growing a beard because Niki is gone on a trip. So they now called me Papa Noel (Father Christmas) the last time. Maybe I should start making a list, checking it twice . . .

Family news - We did it. Or maybe I should say she did it. But whoever did it the result is the same. Daughter Dori graduated from Anderson University with highest honors. Niki was able to attend in person. I watched by internet. It was an amazing thing to see her get her diploma. Made me wish that I could have been there too. But I thank God for all his faithfulness to Dori and bringing her to this point in life. Now the real living begins.

Political news - The public doctors are still on strike. They have been on strike for over a month now. This week the transportation people have been on strike in parts of the country and the big labor union group COB (sort of like the AFLCIO) is on three days of strike. I was at the hospital yesterday when the march went by. All the hospital workers were out front cheering on their fellow strikers. It will be interesting to see who finally wins this one, the government or the unions and doctors. Good thing our confidence is not in either but in God.

I suppose that I could continue but will close. If I can figure out how to do it I will post a picture of the new me. Since Niki is gone there is no one to kiss so I have a new look!

Thanks for reading. I will try to get back on track again. It seems that I am always falling off the rail. Thanks for your prayers and interest.