A few pictures of Papa Noel's house...

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Just for fun, I thought I'd post some of the pictures of us decorating the house, and the finished project.  This years decorations are brought to you courtesy of Ma and Pa Switzer.  Mom for helping pick them out...and Dad for making his credit card available.  Nice decorations here are kind of expensive (at least by our standards).  You mostly only find the nicer stuff in the stores that cary North American items.  So I hadn't bought that many decorations in years past.  But yea, we rectified that this year.  My Mom is huge into Christmas decorations, so she was pretty excited to help us get things set up. 

The funniest moment was when we saw these fake Christmas trees that looked like they were covered in snow.  I figured I could buy three or four and put them in my front yard like a forest.  I could sit in the middle of them, and except for the sweat pouring off my forehead, I'd almost be able to pretend I was in Canada.  I could see it in her eyes, that my Mom was dying to buy them.  =)  And as entertained as I would have been...there were probably other, more sane, ways to spend that money...

Anyhow...hope you enjoy the pics...

Mom trying to figure out our tree...

Mom and Dad putting up the lights.  I have to say that I'm impressed

with the fact that my parent's marriage has survived so many

years of putting up Christmas decorations...

Unwinding the new greenery...I think the guys mostly thought we were crazy,

and that they should just go along with the gringos.  Besides, I'd promised

them pizza if they helped...

Hanging up the greenery...

The greenery the next morning, after it fell off the beams

and onto the floor...

Roberto untangling last year's Christmas lights. 

My solution would have been to just to go buy more.

 

Greenery and lights up the railing.  Of course by the time

they finished the lights didn't work anymore...

Dad all decked out and ready for...uh...Mardi Gras?

Roberto going all hard core on the tree.  He did a pretty good job

for his first time.  In good parental form, I did wait until he went

to bed before I..um..fixed a few things...

Mom concentrating on something.

Dad mocking Mom...

In good Switzer tradition, we finally had to give Dad something to do.  So his job

was making extension cords.  Sandro, who's not much into decorating,

was more than happy to help...

Around the tree in all it's glory.  =)  If you look closely there are actually

Candy Canes on the tree.  I found some this year. 

I threatened the guys to within an inch of their lives,

if they touched the Candy Canes before Christmas, they would die. 

It worked.  Christmas day they were all still there.  Only now no one wanted

to eat them 'cause they were all soft and sticky from the heat. 

I ended up just thhrowing them away.  Ah...Merry Christmas...

And here's the finished product for your veiwing pleasure...  =)

So there you go...that was our house at Christmas time.  Like I said, if you ignored the sweat pouring off your brow and the palm tree outside...you could almost imagine it was Christmas in Canada.  =) 

My favourite moment was when David came home (he couldn't be there when we were decorating).  He walked in and looked around with big eyes (like a little kid) and then after a moment told me it was like being in Papa Noel's house (Santa Claus).  He figured he'd just move his bed down to the dining room and live there for awhile.  He was pretty excited!  Just another reason why I love that kid.  He makes Christmas fun...  =)

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Merry Christmas!!

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So, just for fun, let’s put Ken in the middle of ten thousand Bolivians with radically different ideas of personal space than the average Canadian. Then let’s get him trying to shop for ten Bolivian guys who have significantly different ideas of what’s “cool” than he does. And just to keep things interesting, let’s get him to forget that he has to buy all these gifts and everything else for the Christmas dinner he’s already invited people to...until a day and a half before Christmas. Yea...that’ll be fun.

Remember that great Christmas cartoon about the green guy who wanted to destroy Christmas? Yea, yea...that’s the guy. So I’ve decided that he and I had the same philosophy about Christmas on or about the 24th of December. You know...before he got all lovey, dovey. Or weak as I like to call it...

Anyhow...let’s start with the shopping. First of all, just getting into the area where the market is, was the biggest gong show I’ve seen in awhile. Let me just say that there were some serious failures in the city planning department somewhere along the way. Or maybe it’s just because of the way people drive here. Probably both...

There are really only two ways in and out of this market. I had to drive past one of the “in” roads (which is one of the main roads in the area...three lanes in each direction) a few days before Christmas. It took over 45 minutes to go about a block and a half. Of course it didn’t help that those three lanes had been turned into seven (unofficially mind you)...but still...

This market, by the way, is huge. I’m might be exaggerating when I said ten thousand people were in it...but not by much. Imagine Midtown Plaza (for those of you in Saskatoon), double the square footage and then jam one hundred times as many stores into it. There...now you get the idea. If you can’t find it in there...it pretty much doesn’t exist in Bolivia. Well...that’s true at least for knock-off stuff.

Jimmy (who was helping me this year) and I probably clocked twenty or thirty klicks walking up and down those tiny, narrow aisles, looking for the right clothes for the right guy. I got bored halfway through and bought myself a pair of shoes. My own personal reward for having the patience to do this.  =)

There are no change rooms by the way. In the “nicer stores” they hold up a curtain for you. In the rest of the stores you just try stuff on. Poor Jimmy spent a lot of time in his boxers, trying on shorts, in front of a crowd of people he didn’t know. Of course...no one cared...including Jimmy, so...

It didn’t help my level of Christmas joy, that on the way back to the truck, we got lost as we were walking and talking, arms piled high with bags and packages. We ended up walking in completely the opposite direction from where the truck was parked. On the upside, as we cut back a different way to the truck, I got to see a side of the market I’ve never seen before. A darker, scarier side...

I spent Christmas Eve, in the great Switzer tradition, frantically wrapping presents and tossing them under the tree. Also, in Switzer tradition, my guys all got socks as one of their gifts. I think they thought it was weird until I explained that my mom buys us socks every year. They like my mom so then suddenly it became the best idea ever...

Christmas morning I had this great “It’s a Wonderful Life” moment planned, where I would cook us all a big breakfast and then we’d open gifts together. The plan was, I’d get up at around nine and have breakfast ready for ten-ish. I figured scrambled eggs...bacon...pancakes...some fresh fruit. It looked great in my head.

Do you know how ridiculously long it takes to fry a kilo of bacon? It was after ten and I was still muttering nasty things under my breath every time I got burned from flying grease. I was manning two frying pans...so there was a lot of flying grease...and a lot of muttering...

The scrambled eggs weren’t too bad. Again, it just takes a long time to scramble and cook thirty eggs with all the good stuff you have to cut up and add to the mix.

The pancakes? Good grief, the pancakes...I still shudder to think of it. I’ve made pancakes many times and never had any problems. I mean...how hard is it really? You just add water and Aunt Jemima does the rest.

Christmas morning with ten hungry guys gazing in the kitchen door wondering what the heck was going on with breakfast? Yea, I couldn’t get a pancake to be my friend if I tried. And I really, really tried. I eventually got enough of them to work that we could sit down to eat...although it was pretty much, one for us...one for the garbage can. One for us...one for the garbage can...

It was a good thing I’d boughten “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” the night before. And it was the extended version (I didn’t even know such a thing existed). It’s a great Christmas morning movie, and it kept the guys busy until I finally managed to get the table set...at around 12:30 in the afternoon. I tried to explain the concept of “brunch” to them, but I was only partially successful. Part of the problem is that “Desayuno” (breakfast) and “Almuerzo” (lunch) don’t combine all that well. So I told them it was “Desaymuerzo”. They just smiled politely and asked for more bacon.

After we finished breakfast, we took some time to read the Christmas story (also a Switzer tradition) and pray together. It was a good moment. =) Then Ken started handing out gifts and the fun started. All in all, I think everyone was pretty happy with what they got. The funniest moment was when David tried on his shorts and they didn’t fit. I’d spent the most time on him, trying to find a pair that I thought he’d like (he’s got a very specific style...he likes to be unique). I told him we could exchange them and he paused for a moment and then asked if he could have a pair like what the other guys had. Really? Well...whatever...

It all turned out good though, ‘cause Alan like David’s shorts better than his and said he’d take them and we could just exchange Alan’s pair for a bigger size. All’s well that ends well I guess. Next time I’m just buying bulk and tossing everything up into the air and letting the guys sort it out.  =)

Christmas supper went well too, by the way. It was a much smoother experience than Thanksgiving. This time I cooked two turkeys so I’d have some leftovers. Turkey buns the next day make me happier than the original turkey meal.

The only difference from Thanksgiving was that I made Apple Crisp for dessert instead of pumpkin pie. Yes (as Ken bows his head modestly)...everyone thought it was total genius. Which highlights (if I may take a moment) one of the reasons cooking for people here is fun. Stuff that is kind of ho hum in Canada? Here, it’s considered the best thing ever. It makes you feel good. Yep, I cut up those apples...and mixed that brown sugar and oatmeal together...and no lie, I'm pretty sure a beam of light touched the pan as I set it on the table.  I may have even heard angels singing in the background. 

Seriously...you feel good.

After supper...in good Bolivian form...we blew stuff up. It also, was fun.

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. Thanks again for your generosity and prayers! You help make this ministry possible!  A (very) belated Merry Christmas to you all...

Christmas breakfast...or "Desaymuerzo" as I like to call it...

Openning gifts...

First the socks...

...'cause you can never have too many socks...

Followed by more gift openning...

Followed by the trying on and modelling of the clothes...

Followed by more modelling of the clothes and many,

many thanks to my Mom for the socks...

...which weren't actually from her...

...but somehow that got lost in the translation...

The boys helping me make the Apple Crisp...

The Christmas Dinner spread...

I'd tell him to be more mature...

Except, you know...our pastor is such a good example...  =)

I just realized, after posting all of this, that I didn't mention Christmas Eve supper.  Here in Bolivia, the big celebratory meal is at midnight Christmas Eve.  And you eat pork, not turkey.  I assumed that the guys would know how to cook the pork (since I have no experience in that area, and it is, after all, their tradition) but as it turned out...not so much... 

At about 8:30 PM I finally said to Sandro, "Shouldn't we do something with the pork?"  To which he replies, "What?"

Well, I don't know.  This is your country.  Just cook it. 

So he did.  In a marinade of soya sauce...mustard...a mixture of spices that he didn't know the names of since they were in English...lemon juice, and finally, a shot of hot nacho sauce that'd been in the fridge since...well, I have no idea really. 

No lie...best pork I have EVER had.  It was amazing.  Melted in your mouth.  Go Sandro.

Sandro cooking the pork...

Mancha, as you can see, wasn't a big fan of the "blowing stuff up" part of Christmas Eve...

Speaking of blowing stuff up...

Note to self...next year limit the number of lighters you hand out. 

The guys thought it was funny to throw exploding stuff

at Ken's feet while he was taking pictures.

Not to mention that there was just a lot of exploding stuff.  All at the same time...

The neighbourhood dog, strangely enough, was a big fan

of the blowing up of the stuff...

I think he thought it was like chasing cars...just in a really weird direction...

Thanks again everyone!  Come back soon and I'll have some pictures up of New Years...

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Filming...

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As a lot of you know, my friend Micah is here visiting for a couple of weeks (more on that at a later date!).  He's filming us for a video/documentary (he's good at that kind of stuff).  It's been great and a lot of fun so far. 

I do have a quick prayer request though...as we filmed one of the guys sharing his testimony this morning, I realized again that there's still a lot of pain just under the surface for some of the guys.  It's tough for them to talk about their pasts without feeling a lot of emotion.  This morning was no exception.  It was fairly difficult for this young guy to share his story at times.  At one point we turned the camera off, and just talked about some of his experiences and how God was there in those difficult moments.  It's good for them (and for me) to remember that.  In very tangible ways (even before they could really understand that), God was with them.  They were never alone. 

If you can pray for the guys as we do this filming and they share their stories.  As I said, it can be painful for them, but also very positive.  This morning we prayed together after talking, and celebrated all the things that God had done to bring that young guy to the place where he's at now.  And trust me...it's incredible to realize how far he's come.

I don't want these times to be opportunities for Satan to attack or try to destroy, but rather times of celebration and understanding of God's goodness and mercy.  Pray for protection and for peace for the guys and that this will continue to be a fun and positive experience. 

So far it's been great fun filming this.  Okay...except for when I was cutting a doughnut in my truck and Micah just about fell out of the back.  I forgot that he's a white boy and doesn't know how to hold on like a Bolivian.  He'll be grumpy about me writing this 'cause he thinks it was one of the other guy's fault.  Well...he probably thinks it was mostly my fault.  Not sure why though...   =)

Anyhow...I'll be back writing here soon enough, by the way.  I've got lots to tell.  Christmas/New Years was a lot of fun this year.  But I'll save all that for another day.  The guys tell me it's lunch time... 

Thanks for praying everyone!

UPDATE:  We continued filming with two more guys this afternoon.  They did great!  But I found something interesting afterwards, in what one of the guys said to me.  Last year he ran into one of his good friends from when he was a streetkid.  His friend was still living on the streets, and we talked a little bit about that experience on the film.  Afterwards, the fellow from our home said that it was hard for him to talk about his friends from the streets.  He said that it makes him feel strange...it always brings up a lot of questions for him.  Why is his life is so much better than theirs?  Why has he received so much?  Why had God chosen to bless him? 

For the guys here, those questions often translate into feelings of guilt and unworthiness.  I don't believe that's God's desire for us, and we've talked about that here at the house a lot.  At the same time, I was thinking today that maybe it's not a bad thing for us to take a minute and consider those questions ourselves.  To think for a moment about how blessed we truely are, and really...how unworthy we are to receive those blessings.  It all comes back to God's grace and mercy to us. 

I'm sure there are people out there who can articulate this all better than I can.  All I know, is that tonight I feel very blessed and thankful for what God's given me...

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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 even more in a new and creative way.

They gave us a dog.

I came home and the guys handed me our plate of cookies that had been hand delivered from El Jordan. And of course, that made me happy. The guys waited until I had a smile on my face, before they told me that there was another surprise waiting in the backyard. I’m not really sure what I expected...but a dog with a note and a ribbon tied around her neck was probably low on the list. The note thanked me for my help at El Jordan this past year. And seriously, that was very nice of them...but you know...everyone else got this cool coffee mug. I really liked that coffee mug. I’m not entirely sure how I rated a dog.

But the dog seemed nice enough and the guys were pretty excited. They’ve wanted a one for awhile now. Sandro especially. He’d already built a little house for her and had food and water close at hand. He kept going back out and petting her. That night I caught him heading out into the backyard with one of his t-shirts in hand. It’s cold out, he says. Not really, I say (unless somewhere along the way +24 C has become cold). But she needs this, he tells me. I scrounged up an old sheet for her bed and told Sandro that would be good enough. He reluctantly agreed, but still wanted to put his t-shirt on her. I told him it was a nice thought, but suggested that she probably wouldn’t like that much anyhow. All I could think was, we are so not going to start dressing the dog up in people clothes.

And...for a whole day, I didn’t mind having a dog.

But here’s the thing...for that first day she was all quiet and shy. Now I realize how nice that was. She was kind of sweet. Tonight, as I write this at 11:30 PM, she’s in the front yard barking and whining and making more noise that a single dog should physically be able to make. I’m sure our neighbours are thrilled. She’s getting every dog in the neighbourhood all worked up. And seriously...there’s a lot of dogs in our neighbourhood.

The grumpy thing is, the guys all sleep so heavy that she could be slobbering on their faces and they wouldn’t even notice (Hmm...that’s a thought...I wonder if she’d let me hold her head steady enough...). So of course, it becomes my responsibility to go out and try to calm the silly mutt down...which I just tried to do...and which inevitably turned into a fun little game of bark at the white guy and try to run past him into the house.

So now I’m the proud father of eight guys and a dog. Life just gets better and better. All I need now is a minivan and my worst nightmare will have become a reality... =)  Oh wait, I forgot to tell you. They named her “Mancha” which sounds nice enough, but is the Spanish version of “Spot”. ‘Cause you know...she has spots. Now we just need a cat name “Socks” and with or without the minivan I’ll wake up in the middle of the night with a scream of “NOOO!” echoing in my head...

In all seriousness, I like her well enough, and I’m sure she’ll settle down eventually and become a good and happy member of our growing family. I was going to say “productive” instead of “good”....but yea, I don’t see that happening. All we really require of her is to bark at the bad guys as they try to rob us...but I’m pretty sure it’ll just become another fun little game of try to run past the funny men in masks and get into the house when they bust open the door. And with my luck, that time it’ll be without any barking...

Tuesday I’m off on a road trip to Camiri (a city south of here) where Andres is originally from. I’m taking him, his brother and two sisters to visit their Grandma and other sister for a couple of days. It should be fun. It’ll be nice to get away for a bit and have some time to hang out with Andres. You can pray for him though. The last time we made this trip, it was good, but pretty emotional for both Andres and his siblings. Their mom died when they were young, and being back in Camiri brought up a lot of painful memories.

If you have a moment, could you also pray for my health? I think I mentioned that I have the same bacterial infection my mom had. I’m on antibiotics, and I’m getting better, but it’s been a bit of a slow process. I’m having a bit of a allergic reaction to the meds, and my hands are kind of itchy and a bit swollen. Oh and yea...my toe still hurts. =)

Thanks everyone! Here’s a picture of our new little friend. As I write this she’s started howling at...something. Or maybe nothing. Yea...probably nothing...

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I broke my toe...

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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 Monday.  Then I ended up with the same thing (not quite as intensely as Mom did though).  High fever...couldn't eat anything.  Then finally, to top it all off, Tuesday I went downstairs (after not eating anything all day) got dizzy and skidded down the last few steps.  Yea, I managed to break one of my toes in the process.  No kidding.  It's all purple and sore. 

All in all a rather entertaining week. 

So...that's my sad story.  I promise I will get back into posting long, drawn out stories here any day now (I'm working on a doozy).  I'm also going to post a bunch of pics from my parent's time down here.  But until then, enjoy this little video clip.  It's from my parent's first South American futbol experience.  In case you're wondering, lots of the fireworks and whatnot were brought into the stadium by fans...not professionals.  Just thought I'd mention that.  =)

This second clip is from just after the Santa Cruz team (who shall remain nameless) managed to tie the game with about 10 seconds left.  They were playing a team from La Paz, so by default I guess I was happy they didn't lose.  But I'm also happy they didn't win (they're not my team).  Suffice to say I was a bit conflicted.  As you'll see at the end of the video, Dad seemed fine with cheering for them.  But I don't think he really cared...  =)  We weren't sitting with the hard-core fans by the way.  Just the overflow who couldn't fit into their team's section of the stadium.

Of course the moment the game was finished, a bunch of doorknobs figured they need to go rumble with the twenty people who came down from La Paz to cheer on their team.  The police shut them down pretty fast.  It was an interesting way to end the game.  I imagine it made Ma and Pa a little nervous, but it didn't even hit our top ten of riot experiences at futbol games...

The police standing between the two groups of fans....

Anyhow...that was our night.  It was a good time.  And now Mom and Dad can say they've been to a real live South American soccer game!  =)

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It's officially been a month...

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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.  =)

The only other thing to say is that we've been decorating like crazy for Christmas.  The house looks amazing.  It helps that Ma and Pa have bought me about five times the decorations I had last year.  David says it looks like Papa Noel's house  (Santa Claus).  But he also appreciates the decorations the most.  He wants to move his bed into the dining room.  =)  All the guys like the decorations, but to varying degrees they don't all care that much.  =)  But that's okay...David and I like them.  Oh...and my Mom does too...

Anyhow...like I said, I'll be back with lots of pics and stories after Friday.  So...for the ten of you who are still faithfully coming here (thanks Kyle and Natasha) check back then.  =)

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Our Day of the Dead Pool Party...

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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 tradition, when there's a holiday and it's hot out, our tradition is...we go to the pool...  So sit back and enjoy our Day of the Dead Pool Party pics!  =)

A little diving to start the day...

Alan trying to perfect his backwards summersault...this attempt

was a bit painful in the end...

Andres getting ready...

The dive...

Andres, Roberto and Alan...

If you notice...Roberto (one of the new guys) always seems to be in the middle of trouble...

Finally everyone decided some retaliation was in order...

Roberto's studying to be a lawyer...and with good cause.  When he's in

trouble, it's all, "Wait a minute, wait a minute!"

He then he goes on to try to talk his way out of whatever

situation he's put himself in...

Roberto underwater...it seems he couldn't talk his way out of that one...

The guys came close to dragging Ruddy into the pool.

But just as this pic was taken, his legs slipped out

and he skidded across the deck pool...

The little kiddie slide...

My guys taking over the little kiddie slide...

It went on for quite some time...

All in all in was a very fun day.  Some of the guys burnt worse than I did 

and are still whining about how sore they are. 

 But it was worth it...we had a very good time!

PS...The guy to the left in the picture below?  That would be "Random Guy". 

Strangely he showed up in more than a few of our pictures. 

When I first took the picture below, I didn't realize he wasn't one of the guys. 

He was, after all, waving at me....

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