Friday, October 30, 2009

... 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...

Thursday, October 22, 2009

... 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...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

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...

Friday, October 9, 2009

... 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...

Monday, October 5, 2009

... 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...

Saturday, October 3, 2009

... 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...

Thursday, October 1, 2009

... 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...