Eating Potatoes on a Dirt Floor.

We wanted to share some of our rich experiences with you.  Here is a journal entry of Chris’ from May 17^th when he visited a Quechua village north of Cochabamba.  Pictures included.

We are in Bolivia.  The first month has been very difficult! Ups and downs almost every other day.  Today, however, was one of the neatest experiences I have ever had.  I went to a Quechua village with Ruben, Fernando, and Santiago to talk with the village about the possibility of separating some land to build an evangelical church building for the body of believers that already exists there. 

When we arrived, Gregorio invited me into his home, along with the other men for food.  It was a mud hut with a straw roof and a dirt floor.  The food was purple potatoes in one bowl and onions, tomatoes, and a little cheese in another.  The bowls were set on the floor and we were given tiny wooden stools (6 inches high) to sit on.  We ate with our hands and it was delicious, even without salt.  

While this village got electricity six months ago and there is a truck that brings them to the city weekly, most villages don’t have these luxuries and they live on only potatoes and meat (llama, cow, and sheep).  During lunch I shared my orange and some fruit snacks with a Quecha woman [below, the lady all the way to the right]whom I was told by Reuben is older than 100 years.  Though I must admit, she looked her age (not an insult here), she moved around quite easily.  What an amazing experience this was!  I wonder if I will ever be a part of ministry to the Quechuas?

While we don’t know all the ways God will use us here in Cochabamba, Bolivia, I wonder if it will be possible to get some of my students excited about Quechua ministry and even bring them on trips into the mountains with me.  Our church here (in part planted by SIM missionaries) plants new churches in these villages.  I was honored to join them on this excursion.  Since then, our Spanish-speaking church has gotten approval to build.  They will provide supplies to the Quechua village.  The village will be providing the labor and actually constructing the building.  God is moving in Bolivia through His missionaries as well as His local church.

Highlights (and lowlights) of entering a new culture

Glacier attended a birthday party of a Bolivian classmate during our second week in our new home and flip-flopped between tears of confusion (everyone spoke Spanish) followed by jubilant smiles (there were many sweets offered). “It’s rude not to eat what they give you mom,” he defended. Yes, I did say that, though five desserts was not what I had in mind! In any case, the ups and downs of Glacier’s day represents the emotions we experience on a daily basis. We are definitely in transition and it is invaluable for us to lean on God during this time of flux. Here's some snapshots of our first month:



Not enjoying the attention!

Coral: Blond hair and blue eyes are rare, so Coral gets loads of attention. When we walk through the grounds at Carachipampa Christian School, no less than ten girl students instantly surround her. “I like your baby.” “¡Qué hermosa!” “Oh, can I hold her?” “¡Qué linda!” They all jabber back in forth between Spanish and English while Coral tries to get away. At one and a-half, all she wants is her freedom, but her mama appreciates the sweet students.





Canyon with Bolivian classmates

Canyon: He’s the most shy of our three but his highly energetic preschool class doesn’t seem to notice. His classmates rush to him with arms wide open when he walks to school. “¡Canyon mi amigo!” they shout while he runs behind my legs. He’s doing great though, considering the fact that all his classmates are Bolivian and none of them speak English (apart from a few phrases). In the few weeks we’ve been here, his teacher told me that many students are working hard to learn English just so they can talk to Canyon, and he usually comes home with lots of smiles.




Glacier working hard

Glacier: One of Glacier’s highlights in Bolivia has been practicing for and competing in Field Days (2 days set aside during which the entire school is involved in races and field events). Glacier was very successful in his age group, receiving a 2nd place trophy in his division. Because my birthday fell on one of the race days, Glacier was so excited to give his trophy to me for a present!





Our road - come visit us at kilometro 10.5
de la avenida Blanco Galindo

Chris and Lynnie: We don’t have a car yet, so our primary mode of transportation is either by trufi (a public bus) or taxi. After a few days of having a Bolivian accompany us around, we were on our own to explore and survive. This included memorizing landmarks to make sure we could direct a taxi driver to our home or get off a bus at the right location. The best way to learn is just to go for it, and learn we did! After getting in a taxi one day, Chris shut the door (a bit too hard) making the driver wince. “¡Lo siento! (I’m sorry!)” Chris apologized only to slam the door again on his way out. Ooops! Lesson learned – gently close doors in Bolivia! 




Home sweet home Bolivia
(we live in part of a long building)

I also struggled one day when trying to direct my driver to our destination. I knew the word for “right” was “derecha” and hurriedly assumed “left” was derecho (which actually means ‘straight’). All too soon I realized my mistake when the driver didn’t turn (and on a four lane highway, it was not an easy mistake to fix). The next time I was in a taxi, I confidently stated “a la izquierda aquí” (to the left here), but still found my driver a bit confused. I later learned that I should use cardinal directions – north, east, south, west – to get the best results when trying to make it home!



Stay tuned for more ridiculous things that Lynnie does.  (Chris wrote this last sentence).



Happily waiting for her brothers

Canyon found a different sort of friend

Resting up those legs with a bit of electric scooter
(yes we fit it in a suitcase!)

 
  


Carving out time for the important stuff

There are many obvious tasks that have to be completed before we head to Bolivia on March 2nd, but some "to-dos" make the list simply to keep us sane in the chaos of departing.

Father-son trip: Glacier and Canyon went on their first winter camping trip with their dad. While they may not have had the most nutritious trip, their dad's menu of Raman noodles and chocolate cheesecake made the boys' experience a delight.

Girl-time: Coral's priorities these days include hanging out with the girls in the family. In the top picture, Coral and her cousin Hannah love to make their mamas smile. Below, Coral and her cousins, Aspen and Skyler, admire their princess dresses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking a break: My (Lynnie's) relief from the packing and checklists takes the form of winter running. There may not be snow, freezing temps and wind to compete against in Bolivia, but at 8,392 feet, the elevation of our city (Cochabamba) will pose a challenge all its own. I hope I'm ready!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrations: Birthdays are a big deal in our house....especially when a lobster is involved. Chris' birthday purchase provided quite a bit of pre-dinner entertainment for our curious boys. Canyon was disappointed when Chris wouldn't let him keep this big guy for a toy, and Glacier couldn't understand why we didn't mount the lobster alongside the deer mounts in Grampy's cabin.

 

 

While visas, buying tickets, and packing our suitcases are all essential tasks, the "to-dos" that make the top of our list are spending time with our family and friends.  It would be a lot easier if we could simply pack up these special people to take with us!

It's a great job!

While support-raising is a full-time job, our other (just as important) full-time job is pictured below in the lives of our beautiful children. What a wonderful responsibility God has given us in raising these kids.

Glacier's smile is missing something these days!

The boys are trying out the 1970s snowmobile that Glacier and Chris got running....though it probably would work better with a little snow!

A recent November thaw meant getting the bikes back out, and this time, Canyon took to the road without training wheels!

Coral is overjoyed to be walking and talking as she tries to keep up with her brothers. Her favorite phrase, "uh-oh spaghetti-o!" makes us all giggle.  

After I experienced a rough day this week, Glacier asked Daddy to take him to the store to buy a flower for me with his own money. I was humbled by his consideration and love. Wow, what an amazing family God has given me who fill my life with joy and encouragement.



Training Complete

We survived! Our road trip with three kids through 8 states from Pennsylvania to Colorado and back was quite the journey to say the least. But we knew it was worth it even after the first day of classes at Mission Training International (MTI) in Colorado. For the last month our mouths and ears have had quite the workout as we strove to hear and annunciate the sounds of the phonetic alphabet in preparation for learning a new language. We explored a brand new concept of “pulling language in” rather than having it taught to us. Furthermore, our minds were stretched to consider our own “Americanness” and the hidden values we didn’t know we held: values like timeliness and efficiency that we may have to flex as we move to Bolivia where relationships are prioritized over productivity. We explored how we handle stress, our personal conflict style, responding to grief and loss, and the impact that our move will have on our children. These issues just scratch the surface of all we processed and experienced during our training in Colorado. Returning to Pennsylvania with saturated minds and hopeful hearts, we are simply longing to get the field!

Here are a few pictures from our journey:

Lynnie with Pramila, a language helper from India, who invited our family over to her home for an amazing Indian meal.

Dwight, one of our language experts/intructors, developed a written language for the Jeh people of Viet Nam when he and his family were missionaries there before and during the war. His wife retold a few of their stories and we couldn't get enough of them!

Chris trying out the methodology of language learning in a Russian classroom with his language helper, Henri. 

Canyon exploring some of the beautiful rock formations in Colorado. We loved waking up to a magnificent view of the Rockies each morning. 

Coral all set for her "classes" for at MTI. Coral took her first steps during our time there!

Glace posing with his new friends and MTI teacher. While we were in classes, our kids also learned about language and culture at an age-appropriate level. 

Glacier, Lynnie, and classmates learning about the challenges of cultural transition through an interactive demonstration.

We are thankful for all the teachers, staff, and new community of missionaries that made our experience at MTI so rich. We pray that we will remember the material we learned and have the courage to implement these strategies for God's glory. 

End of the summer - Picture update

Glace didn't have to go far for his first day of kindergarten. Chris is doing a terrific job as his teacher until Glace can join his new kindergarten class at Carachipampa Christian School in Bolivia.

Canyon loves to get a reaction from us when he finds a new accessory to wear. Here are some of his recent looks:

 

Glacier turned six in August and celebrated superhero style with his cousins. If Glace could have a super power he would want to FLY!

Lynnie chopped 13 inches for locks of love. It's her third time donating and she's planning to grow out again!

 

 Before:

After:

Coral is definitely a beach baby. Check out the video below of her introduction to sand:

We are looking forward to fall even though we long to hang on to summer. In mid-September we are off to Mission Training Institute in Colorado Springs, Colorado where we will take classes in language acquisition and cross cultural communication. The kids also have their own program to help with the upcoming move to Bolivia. Our excitement is building as our target departure date in January draws near!

Opposites may attract, but can they work together?

      I still don’t know where we should start” Chris stared blankly at the ceiling.
     “Just talk about how we became interested in missions when we were little.” I suggested. I was anxious to get something on the blank screen in front of me.
       “That’s not going to work for me, Chris replied, I wasn’t thinking about missions then.”
I threw out another idea. “Ok well, just talk about missions trips when you were growing up.”
      “Nope, that’s not really what got me to this point,” Chris countered. I’d like to talk about people who impacted me…”
      “Ok, great,” I cut him off. “I’ll make a note of that and maybe add a picture that represents that time period in your life.”
      “Wait Lynnie.” I could see Chris carefully choosing his words, trying not to offend me. “It’s not meaningful for me if I’m reading off your script. It’s got to be in my own words in my own style.”
       “What do you want me to write down then?” I shifted the laptop over to him. “Why don’t you take charge?”
        Chris shook his head. “No, you know what looks good. I can’t take it in here anymore. I’ve got to get outside to clear my head.”
      
       Feeling the pressure of the clock, I nodded but didn’t join him. We had been staying up late for a week, trying to put together a ten minute presentation for our fellow missionary appointees at a SIM training conference we attended last year in North Carolina. The task seemed simple enough – create a power point presentation that detailed our journey into missions.  As teachers, Chris and I were both comfortable with public speaking, so we didn’t anticipate any major obstacles. What we didn’t foresee is that our styles were completely different. It has always been my desire to work with Chris in ministry together. Not only would we be doing meaningful service together, but we would have endless quality time with each other. Now this dream seemed to be dissolving before my eyes. How in the world could we work effectively in Bolivia together if we couldn’t make it through a basic presentation?

      The week was a painful but worthwhile experience for us. By God’s grace, we did figure out a decent presentation and since then, we’ve gotten pretty good at working and presenting together. It wasn’t until a recent conference at Houghton College, though, that we began to appreciate our differences as one of our greatest strengths. During one particular session, we reviewed our personality types according to a Myers-Briggs assessment. Chris and I found it humorous but not at all surprising that our personalities were completely opposite in each category. I have an ISTJ personality, otherwise known as an organized, plan ahead, detail oriented, responsible introvert. I am married to an ENFP who is a big picture, spontaneous, heartfelt extrovert. So while opposites may attract as evidenced in our story, can they really work together effectively? It was a question for us to mull over before moving our entire family to a foreign country where teamwork and unity in our marriage could make or break us.

         The process is not pleasant, but it’s times like this when God’s handiwork really becomes clear in our lives. Now that we are working together constantly, we have to turn to God when conflict arises. Instead of criticizing each other when we differ, we are starting to pray more for each other and with each other. The result is usually not a changing of our spouse, but a softening of our own hearts towards each other. We are also learning how to build each other up by commending the uniqueness of the other’s personality during this challenging season of life. Instead of asking me to be more flexible or less particular, Chris has helped me realize how my personality is valuable in our marriage and needed for ministry. “Lynnie, can you do your ‘thing’ with the house?” he will say when we are scrambling to clean up before guests come over for a Bolivia appointment. He knows I’ll make it look clean and inviting and he takes time to point out that that aspect of my personality. The other day when Chris was packing for a big trip he shouted, “Lynnie, I need your super power! Do I have everything I need?” I love it when he refers to my knack of details as a “super strength.” Vice versa, I am learning to value my husband when he uses the gifts God has put within him. Even as I am writing these words at the park, I can see my husband in the distance chatting away with a couple he just met. He has the unique ability to strike up conversations with just about anybody. He is a genuine relationship builder which is an essential component of an effective missionary team.



Celebrating our 8th anniversary with a beautiful hike

         Reaching this point in our relationship where we see our differences as strengths has been a journey.  While working together on a constant basis has opened up painful areas in our relationship, through the process, we have seen how God has uniquely designed us and made us creatures who best shine when we are dependent on Him. Ultimately our effectiveness in Bolivia or anywhere will depend on us allowing God to use the personalities he has given us for His glory. Our effectiveness also requires extending grace to each other when our styles differ and conflicts arise.  I aim to encourage him when his “super powers” are evident as he does for me.  Please continue to pray for us as God works in our hearts and molds us according to His plan.