Merry Christmas?

My friend Cornia’s ministry (El Jordan) does a couple of cool things at Christmas time. Most of you have heard about their “Christmas on the Streets” where they cook and distribute nearly 5000 meals on Christmas Eve to street people. Another great thing they do is pass out Christmas cookies to various ministries around the city. A lady comes down every year from Canada and bakes literally thousands of cookies. This year they expanded their outreach...

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I broke my toe...

... So much for my promise of getting back here after last Friday.  But Mom and Dad didn't end up leaving when they'd planned.  I went to pick them up the morning of their flight and found that Mom had gotten really sick during the night.  There was no way she could fly.  In fact, she spent the next three days in the hospital...some kind of bacterial intestinal infection (so they tell me).  They eventually left on the following...

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It's officially been a month...

... Yes, yes I know...it's been a month since I've posted anything.  Funny how that coincides with my parents visit here.  =)  I have lots to say, but it'll have to wait until Friday after they leave.  Tomorrow's our last day together and we've got some fun things planned.  In the evening we've got a big BBQ planned (Bolivia style) and I've got a Mariachi band coming to play for them.  That parts a surprise, but since they won't be looking at my blog before tomorrow night, it doesn't matter what I write here. ...

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Our Day of the Dead Pool Party...

... Yesterday was the "Day of the Dead" here in Bolivia.  It's kind of a day of rememberance for family and friends who've died.  In Catholic tradition here, it does go deeper than that of course.  People hire musicians and cook the favourite foods of the people they're visiting in the cemetary.  It's quite involved.  Another day maybe I'll write more about it...it's fairly interesting really. But in good Ken and his guys...

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Prayer requests and some whining about the heat...

... So...Saskatchewoneans...remember the summer of 2009 that never really happened? Well...I guess it kind of happened briefly in September but then a week later it snowed, so that doesn’t really count. Anyhow, it seems that God has decided that what He took from Saskatchewan in July, He would give to Bolivia in October. Trust me when I say that I’m thankful every day for God’s blessings. But I’m pretty sure it would be okay with me if Saskatchewan...

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Spiritual attacks? You tell me...

... It’s 2:09 AM and I’m not asleep. I won’t be asleep for at least another five hours. I didn’t sleep last night either. Unless you count the ten minutes I was able to nap in my truck. I did manage to catnap a couple of times today, but it didn’t amount to much. Why you ask? That’s a good question. Not sure I know the answer. My friend’s mom is sick and needs to go to a doctor. She has insurance with an excellent hospital (which is good) but it’s...

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Thanksgiving in Bolivia...

I have some great memories of Thanksgivings past, here in Bolivia.  I have a few friends who know how to do it up right.  Probably my best Thanksgiving was a few years ago when I lived up in Cochabamba, another city here.  My friend Therese put out the best spread I’ve seen short of my mom’s house.  It was impressive.  What was just as impressive (if not more so) was that, after heaping my plate like I hadn’t heaped it since...

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Another prayer request...

... This is just a quick note to pass on some sad news and to ask you to pray.  Those of you who've been here will know who Jose Miguel is.  He called me this morning (he's not living here these days, but we've kept in good contact) to tell me that his father died yesterday.  This comes less than a year after his mom dying last February.  This has, obviously, already been a difficult and sad year for him.  I'm leaving right now to go out to the town where he lives (it's a couple of hours out...

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My Bolivian day...

... Sunday I had what was likely the most quintessential “Bolivian” day I’ve had in a long time... It started after church when we decided to head to the river to eat “typical” (traditional) Bolivian fare for lunch.  Actually...it probably started in the morning when I forgot that we were having breakfast at church that day and got up at around the time we were supposed to be leaving.  That meant showering/shaving/ironing my shirt in fifteen minutes...screaming out the door...buying doughnuts (yes, yes...I know) for our contribution...

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What happens when it rains...

... And here we are with....the next installment of "Ken's Home Videos..."!  (Roar of applause...) It's hard to describe what the rainy season here can be like.  This past year it was relatively dry.  The water only soaked through one side of the house and peeled all the paint off the walls on that side.  Oh....and I guess there was the time when our patio flooded and the water ran past the sliding glass doors and waterfalled down the stairs to the first floor of the house... But all that pales in comparison to the rainy...

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My latest run in with the Police...

... Okay people...you need to circle this day on your calendar, or put a big X on it...or whatever it is you do to mark important days in history... I got pulled over by the police this morning and they were mostly honest with me and didn’t come at me with big dollar signs flashing in their eyes. It was kind of a special moment.  If you’ve been following this blog for more than five minutes, you know what kind of relationship I normally...

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What's going to happen...

... I had lunch today with one of the guys who's asked to move in.  I was thinking that I'd tell him he needed to wait another month before moving in...even if I had to help pay for his rent...while I thought and prayed about this a bit more.  But the conversation went well, and some of the concerns and questions I had were answered.  I talked to the guys here at the house about the situation, and we agreed that he should be given an opportunity.  So he'll be moving in tomorrow.  It seems that he understands his mistakes...

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A big prayer request...wrapped up in a novel...

... I’m facing a bit of a dilemma right now, and I could use some prayer. A little background first of all.  While I was in Canada, one of the guys here decided to move in with family.  That was a good decision on his part.  He was making some bad choices and causing problems in the house...I was actually thinking I might have to ask him to leave.  In the end he recognized that the lifestyle he was leading was not going to be possible with us, and so he left.  We’ve maintained good ties with him and we continue to pray...

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