BOLIVIA JOURNAL 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Actually, we are beginning the trip with a side trip to Machu Picchu. I have always wanted to visit this ancient and
holy place and I thought it might be a possible fundraiser to bring people here as a pretrip to the mission or the
visitors can just go home after coming to Machu Picchu. Naturally I would prefer for the visitors to see our mission
in Montero, but that would add another leg to the trip and also add another week. As always the journey began in
Highlands. Due to a shortage of coverage for the emergency room where I work, I was only able to spend six weeks
on this year’s trip and I covered the ER until noon on the day we left for the airport in Atlanta. We usually like to
take the early flight out of Atlanta and spend a long time in the layover in Miami which gives us some options in
case something happens causing the flight to Miami to be delayed and then missing the most important leg of the
journey, which is the long flight to South America. If one misses that flight and other flights are full the following
days, it can be a long time before you get to your destination. In the past when I took the late flight I have missed
my connection two of the six times. When Michelle and Steve Hott and I got to the airport we discovered that the
plane had mechanical problems and it would be delayed and my worst fears were about to be confirmed. We
finally got to Miami with only 30 minutes to spare before the flight was scheduled to leave. We were lucky to find
that the plane left from a nearby gate. We would make the flight, but our bags would surely get lost. Arriving at
the gate just in time we found that this plane, too, had mechanical problems. At least our luggage would be on the
plane! As the hours slowly passed, it became evident that this plane would not be flying tonight. Fortunately, we
were able to board another plane and left for Lima, Peru around 2AM. The original flight was to leave at 11PM and
arrive at 5AM. Now we would arrive at a more reasonable hour of 7 or 8AM. Which was an advantage. Since we
were unable to book passage to Cusco before we left we would have to do that when we got to the airport in Lima
and the ticket offices there didn’t open until 8. We arrived safely and went through customs in a strange airport,
not knowing what to expect. That part of the journey was completely stress free with really no inspection of the
bags and a quick stamping of our passports. Buying tickets for the trip to Cusco was also easy and soon we were on
the way to the mountain city of Cusco, the beginning of the Inca trail and the place where we would meet Daniel
Ortiz, our translator and good friend for many years in Montero. We were also to meet a recently graduated
student from Ole Miss, Kully Woodruff who was in Montero with the group in 2007. She will be entering medical
school in the fall. Her plane was also delayed and hopefully she will join us tomorrow. We had planned to spend a
day here to get accustomed to the altitude, so her presence does not affect our plans to go to Machu Picchu in two
days. We were lucky and found a good taxi driver who helped us find a hotel. Danny had arrived a day earlier and
told me where he was staying, but when we went to his hostel, he had checked out fifteen minutes earlier. Since
we had conversed by Internet, our meeting place was to be the main plaza, la Plaza de Armas. I went there and
Danny saw me immediately. By this time it was time for lunch. Since we had not eaten since the dinner at 3AM on
the plane, we were hungry so we found a restaurant overlooking the plaza to eat. It had also just begun to rain
being the rainy season here and also in Bolivia, so it was a good time to talk, look at the center of the city and
make our plans. We apparently choose a good place to eat as there was a band of local singers there playing on
typical Andean instruments: guitar, zampoña, a small mandolin like instrument called a charango and the
ubiquitous flute. The food was good and we all ate the fish, as it would be a long time without eating seafood
when we entered landlocked Bolivia. The food and the music were excellent. Danny and I went to book our travel
arrangements at the local agents, which were legion while Michelle and Steve looked around the plaza following
lunch. Each agency was selling the same product: a trip to MP. Having never been there before we didn’t know
what we were buying. Not wanting to purchase to cheapest or the most expensive, we bought a plan for a medium
price. This included passage by car rather than the more expensive train. Not knowing how far MP was from Cusco
(I thought it was closer by looking at the map, but like Highlands, in the mountains, looks can be deceiving‐ in
reality, you can’t get there from here) we chose the trip by car that included lodging and a dinner in Machu Picchu.
We had plenty of time to look around at the various churches in the square and in the nearby areas. These
churches were the most important religious places in early colonial times and the two on the Plaza de Armas were
built in the exact spot where Pizarro defeated the last Inca emperor, one being their holy site and the other the
home of the emperor. I have been to many churches in Europe and other places and these could stand with honor
with any of them. The altars were carved from cedar wood, covered with plaster and layered with gold. The
architecture of the building, especially the ceiling was unbelievable and beautiful, especially considering the
frequent earthquakes that affect the area. Many of the stones used to build the church were taken from other Inca
holy sites like Saqsayhuaman that is still very impressive. The altitude and the lack of sleep from the trip caused us
to make an early night of it. The hotel had Internet in the lobby and we learned that our last volunteer, Kully, did
make her flight and would join us tomorrow, landing at 9AM, the same flight we took from Lima.
Plaza de Armas in Cusco
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Like most days, we had good news and bad luck. Kully arrived on time, but the hotel notified us that we would
have to leave as they had a large booking coming that day. Our cab driver, Carlos, luckily found us another hotel,
closer to the plaza, cheaper, and, I think, better than the one we were in. We spent the early part of the day
showing Kully the places we had seen and after lunch we had our driver take us on a tour of the nearby Inca sites.
The stops included Saqsayhuaman (pronounced just like sexy woman), Pisac and an interesting animal clinic where
endangered species were helped back to health. There was a pair of pumas that were brought there and not
released back into nature as they produce four to five kittens yearly that are released to the wild. There were
birds, including three condors, the largest flying bird in the world and several kinds of parrots. The condor is the
national bird of Bolivia and there are only 500 pairs left in the entire world. Pisac was an Inca village with a fortress
on a mountaintop and terraces where crops could be grown. The rocks for the terraces were culled from the rocky
soil serving two purposes, making the soil better for growing things and providing the stones to build the terraces
and prevent erosion. These terraces have been here for over 1500 years and the ground is still in perfect condition,
ready for planting. These fields would be able to produce three crops a year, and there were springs with which
the Incas could irrigate in the dry season. Springs would prove to be essential in the main Inca cities. Defensible
places with stored food and plenty of water were needed knowing that in times of need, the people could be
protected. In the old days, they would be safe from other tribes, but these defenses would prove to be helpless
against the Spanish conquistadors. The Incas, like the people in Medieval Europe, were always fighting among
themselves. I have a watch that gives the altitude in addition to the time and it proved to be very interesting.
Cusco was about 9000 feet above sea level and this place about 10,000. As we moved to other areas it was fun to
see how high they were above sea level and also determine the change in the topography from top to bottom of
the ancient cities. This one had a change of almost 1500 feet from the bottom terrace to the fortress at the top of
the mountain. At the fortress we found the beautifully carved stones and a spring that would have provided water
both for drinking and irrigation. The water system was still functional after all these years. We returned to our new
hotel, cleaned up and went out for dinner. Having to arise early to leave for Machu Picchu, we again went to bed
early. I remembered when I first visited Highlands; the altitude caused me to tire easily and sleep was deep and
sound. These last two nights were the best sleep I have had in a long time.
The condor is the national bird of Bolivia, the largest flying bird in the world
Michelle and Steve Hott, Kully Woodruff and Dr. “B” at Pisac with the amazing Inca carved stones
Monday February 16, 2009
We arose at 6AM to be ready to leave at 7:30, but we are not the only ones riding in the otherwise roomy van. We
were told the van could carry ten people, but we are lucky and we are five plus the two women from Chile for a
total of seven. I can’t imagine ten people being stuffed into the van, especially when the trip would take eight to
nine hours. The train was more expensive but only took four to five hours and one could move around. The first
half of the journey was on excellent roads until we reached mountain peak of 14,000 feet. Almost as soon as we
started down hill we ran out of paved road and entered a jungle. There was a drop of 5000 feet in less than an
hour and we went from treeless mountain tops to lush jungle forest. What an amazing change! We stopped for a
few minutes in a small town with Inca ruins on the both sides of the valley. I thought we would be able to visit
them, but we soon moved on. It would be very good to have the time to visit all the Inca sites we have seen in the
short time we have been here, but that would be impossible. Several hours later we ate dinner in a town at the
river bottom. The town was unremarkable, dusty and hot. The food was average, but it tasted good after the long
trip. The river was remarkable in that it was a high flow river reminding me of the Colorado River. Not much drop
but lots of whitewater due to the high flow rate. This would be a fantastic river to raft, but if something happened,
there would be little hope of getting help. Soon we were on the road again. The main road, if one could call it that,
was closed due to a landslide, so we took a second road. This was the better of the two alternate routes.
Apparently, landslides are common which is not hard to explain or understand. These mountains are like the ones
in Bolivia. They are made of decaying granite and dirt and stone. Blasting is rarely necessary to make these roads.
Only a bulldozer is needed. We traversed roads where only a few inches of loose gravel protected us from a two
thousand foot drop. We forded rivers almost at every turn. This was exciting, but not for the elders that might
come with us next year. Even though it would cost us more, I am thinking that we need to take the train back.
Eventually we arrived at a train station where we would board a train for the last part of the journey. Later we find
that this train is only a few hundred yards from Machu Picchu in distance, but several thousand feet below. The
train switched back and forth, not being able to go steeply up hill. This was an interesting part of the journey just
to see how they managed to engineer such a train. We eventually reached our destination beside the raging river
where a tourist town had popped up, servicing only the travelers to Machu Picchu. Our hotel was right on the river
and our meal there was included in the trip fare. I am sure there were other more luxurious hotels, but it was clean
and quiet and had private baths. Before retiring we went to the hot springs.These were a disappointment to me, as
one could not see the source of the hot water. Obviously there is a deep cleft coming the earth’s crust. I would
have liked to see the source, just from a geological point of view. I like to know how things work. The presence of
these hot springs were probably another reason why the Incas chose this place to have their holy city. We needed
to rise at 4AM to make the bus trip to the top of the nearby mountain called Machu Picchu.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
We did, indeed, rise at 4AM. I went to bed so early that I actually woke early and was ready to get up when the
alarm rang. It was completely dark in the room and the light didn’t improve when we went outside as sunrise was
still two hours away. We ate a light breakfast, also included, and went to the bus stop. We had to do this early as
we needed to meet the train at noon to take us to our waiting van so the van can travel the dangerous part of the
unpaved road during sunlight. I am thinking that we need to take the train both for safety and to see if it is a
better alternative to the van for the trip next fall. That would also give us more time on the magic mountain. The
bus ride was as interesting as any of the rest of the trip. The road switches back and forth as it rises toward the
top. There is a continuous flow of the buses that do nothing else but bring visitors to the holy mountain. Finally we
reached the top. We went from 5000 feet at the river to almost 8000 according to my watch. Our guide met us and
we were off to see the place that has attracted people ever since it was “discovered” by Hiram Bingham in 1911.
Actually a family lived there and a child was Bingham’s guide to the places that were covered by dense vegetation,
having been abandoned several centuries before. One cannot help but be amazed and enchanted when one finally
reaches the plateau of Machu Picchu. The brickwork all done by primitive tools of stone and bronze still stand after
all these years and various earthquakes. There are some gaps in the stones revealing that the stones are dressed
clear through and not just on the surface for looks. Also there are strange angles that probably helped keep the
stones in place during the frequent earth tremors. Like the other sites we had seen, there were terraces enough to
make the place self sufficient for food, and there were natural springs that run year around, used for irrigation and
drinking, but now are only for show, although the nearby hotel ($850 a night) uses this water for plumbing and
drinking. Actually, after walking the distance to get here, I am sure no one was anxious to leave. Words could not
possibly describe the uniqueness and beauty of the place. Immediately we decided to take the train so we could
spend as much time here as possible. In the morning the site is shrouded in clouds, according to the guide. These
usually cleared by 10AM and today it was raining. I was glad I had packed my foul weather gear and a warm vest.
As the clouds began to dissipate, the surrounding mountain peaks began to appear. The mountain that most
people think of as Machu Picchu is actually Huayna Picchu, or Young Mountain, while Machu Picchu, or Old
Mountain, is actually on the other side of the site. It is taller and thus it’s name. We explored the site with our
guide seeing many things that seemed impossible to believe. The condor used natural rock formations for the
wings and the body and face were carved in the stone at the floor of the “animal.” The most interesting
architectural building, from my point of view was the Sun Room. This is a round natural rock formation to which
about twenty ranks of carefully carved stones were added continuing the same round shape of the natural stone.
You could not, even today, insert a thin piece of paper between these rocks. There were platforms that surely
served as sacrificial altars, sun dials and many other things the use of which would only be conjecture. While the
three brave ones (or crazy, I am not sure) began their trek up Huayna Picchu, I set off in less trodden paths around
both sides of Machu Picchu. The first path led to the Inca Bridge. I actually walked up about 800 feet above the
main part of the site, while my friends climbed 1300 feet to the top of the “Young Mountain”. The Inca Bridge was
very interesting and I immediately felt that it must have been an escape route as it was built across a sheer cliff,
falling off about 2000 feet. There were two logs placed over a gap in the path again made of finely dressed stones.
These logs could have been removed in any escape to deter anyone from following. How this was made will always
be a mystery to me. I later found that my supposition about it being and escape route was a correct one, or at
least, the experts agreed with my thoughts. The rest of the path was just as treacherous with 2000‐foot drops and
no guardrails. I don’t like heights but I felt OK as long as I kept looking at the path and not the drop off. At least the
path was two to three feet wide, while I learned the path up Young Mountain was much narrower in places, but
the really dangerous places had guide wires. We were told that four to ten people die here falling off the cliffs each
year and four had lost their lives this year so far. I returned to the main plaza and walked around the other side of
the Machu Picchu where I had a good view of the river, the small village where we slept last night and the road to
the site. The serpentine trail was even more spectacular viewing it from above as it was actually riding on it. How
the Incas ever got up here with all their goods and tools is a mystery. I went to the bus stop where I waited for an
hour on the rest of the group. The van had long since departed and I hope they didn’t wait for us. I tried to find the
two women from Chile so they could tell the driver not to wait or to worry about us but they were not to be found.
While I waited I met many interesting people. I met three young ladies from India, a couple from Tryon, NC (it
really is a small world), several Germans and I watched a Japanese TV crew get ready to do a documentary. It
began to rain just as they left so I hope they were to be here for several days. I checked out the hotel at the bus
waiting area and found that the rooms began at $840 for a double. This did include a breakfast, so I guess the price
was not that bad. I asked the very nice woman at reception if they normally stayed booked and she said “yes,” and
reservations were required months in advance. The rest of our group joined me having just come off the mountain
as it began to rain. There had been many slips, but none fatal. Who knows what would have happened if it had
been raining as it was now.
I was nearly 4PM as we took the bus down the winding road once again. Although we had decided long ago, and
thankfully so, to take the train, there was no guarantee that there would be space on the train that left at 6PM.
The last train left at 9. Danny and I went to the train station that was just across the river and was located on the
other side of a market filled with vendors selling much of the same type of Andean souvenirs we see in all the
shops in Bolivia. It made me wonder where all this stuff is actually made. We were luckily able to make a
reservation on the next train but we had seat assignments in different cars. Still, we made it back at about the
same time as we would have by the van and it cost about $40 for a one‐way ticket. It was well worth the price to
stay a bit longer in that spiritual, magical place. Returning to Cusco at about 9PM, we quickly went to bed after our
last dinner in Cusco to rise early for our bus trip to Lake Titicaca, where we would cross the border into Bolivia.
The magic of Machu Picchu
The Inca Bridge
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I was disappointed to find that the transportation arranged by Carlos, our taxi driver, was actually a tour bus. It
was very nice, but it made four stops along the way. I was, at this point, anxious to get to Montero to begin
planning the rest of the mission. Our first college group was to arrive on March 5th and I had no way to contact the
pastor at the church where I hoped we would build classrooms for the feeding and educational program there. The
first stop was at a church in a town of 2500. It was obvious from the topography that this village along a plain next
to the river was and still is a major crop‐producing region. The Spanish built this church in this place to try to wean
the local Inca remnants from their old religion and bring them into the Christian fold. The altar was as magnificent
as the one in Cusco, but not quite the same quality and there was only the one. On the walls were huge paintings
of various acts of Christ and Peter. It was really amazing to see such a church is this remote area with a population
now no more than Highlands in the winter. We went to several archeological sites, which were interesting in their
own right and then stopped for lunch. The meal consisted of local food that was very good and was accompanied
by an Andean band playing typical music of the area. Finally we reached our destination where they told us the
border closed at anywhere from 6‐8PM. We hired a taxi and we were able to drive to the border some two hours
away. We had our entire luggage in the back and five of us had to cram into a small Toyota. It was uncomfortable
but we finally arrived at the Border between the small village of Yunguyo, on the Peru side of Lake Titicaca, and
Copacabana on the Bolivian side. The frontier was indeed closed for the night. There is a lot of smuggling between
the two countries and I don’t know if the border closes to make that practice more difficult or easier. It was dark
when we were brought to our hostel suggested by our driver. Whether all the drivers are this nice, or we were just
lucky, I do not know, but we have been blessed by meeting many fine people. We were hungry by this time and
none of the restaurants were open, not that there were many in the first place, as we found the next morning
trying to get breakfast, but a relative of the hostel owner took us to his place to serve dinner. He had three fish and
some chicken. As he only had three fish, I thought it might not be fresh so I and all but Danny had the chicken.
Actually the trout was very good as Danny let me have a bit. There was really nothing to do after dinner except to
explore the village square by the light of a few streetlamps. The shrubs in the central plaza had been shaped into
animals and this plaza was as magical as Machu Picchu had been in a totally different way. I hoped to have the
opportunity to take some pictures of the plaza the following morning.
A dog in the plaza of Yunguyo
Thursday, February 19, 2009
It began to rain in the night, waking Danny and me as only a thin sheet of metal separated us from the elements.
The border opened at eight so we found breakfast on the square where I took some photos in the rain. Taxis were
hard to find, but finally the town director of traffic ran around the corner bringing a taxi with him. Most of the taxis
in this place and many like it were motorcycle tricycles with a covered area for the passengers. We would have
needed three of these to get us to the border only about ten minutes away, but we crowded into a similar taxi as
the one that brought us to this small village. Never having crossed the frontier like this, it proved to be a new
experience. We had to visit two different offices to leave Peru, and then the bags needed to traverse the area
between the two nations on a tricycle made from a bicycle that proved to be the most expensive part of our
journey. The taxi rides were very cheap compared to this 50‐yard trip. The driver needed to push the load by hand
as it was too heavy for him to ride. On the Bolivian side, I think they were surprised to find that we had visas. In
only about five minutes we had our passports stamped and we found our way to a van that didn’t leave until it had
19 passengers. As there were many people crossing the border, the wait was not long. Along the way to the city of
Copacabana passengers were let off and some got on creating all sorts of confusion that was taken in stride by the
locals who were used to this. The road was strewn with rocks and tree trunks, as there had been a blockade two
days before. It is really amazing how things change just crossing the border. Blood wise, these are the same
people, but in their habits, they are completely different. Vans filled with people like we were going to the city just
didn’t exist on the Peru side and there were none of the motor tricycles so ubiquitous in Peru here just across the
border. Also there were no motorcycle taxis in Peru. Bolivia could not exist without them. Danny found a bus to La
Paz and our bags and we were soon on our way. We could not have made this trip without his help of the language
and his innate sense of knowing what was good and safe for us. It was a real comfort to have him along. We
traversed along the edge of Lake Titicaca until we came to the narrow part where we crossed in a boat while our
bus went across on a barge. In the past few days we have been on a plane, a van, several taxis, a bus, used a
tricycle and now a boat. What an adventure! I needed to get to Montero to discuss the mission’s plans at the
Rotary Club that meets on Thursday night, so Danny called his boss, Dardo Chavez and they booked a flight for me
from La Paz to Santa Cruz that left at 2:30PM. There was an hour time change so we had little time for error if I was
to make my flight. The bus began to make stops in El Alto, the city that grew up around the airport. Twenty years
ago there was no town here, but now there are businesses and houses going up everywhere and the city has over
one million inhabitants. I made it to the airport in plenty of time, having taken a taxi from the second stop of the
bus. The rest of the crew would catch an overnight bus from La Paz and arrive in Montero the following day at
about 9AM. That much sitting just isn’t good for an old person like me.
I arrived in Santa Cruz at about 4PM where Dr. Dardo Chavez, a really remarkable man who runs several clinics in
Montero and was the first person I met here in 1998, met me. Returning to the Pinocho, our hotel and my second
home in the world, I had time to shower and go to the Rotary Club meeting at 8:30PM. Since I did not know for
sure I would be there, no one knew I would be there. It was a surprise for all as they entered the spacious place. It
was cooler than usual for the lowlands of Bolivia and in general it was a very pleasant night. I explained our hopes
for a successful mission and then went off to the hotel to sleep. The meeting was very long lasting until midnight
and I had been nodding off since 11. I have been to Rotary meeting all over the world and none have ever been
this lengthy.
Friday, February 20, 2009
There are days when you know you are supposed to be here and that God is leading the way. This was one of
those days. One of the reasons I wanted to come to Montero before Carnival was to try to organize the projects for
the coming weeks. Unfortunately, I did not know how to get it touch with the pastor at the church where we
would do the construction project, so there was nothing I could do by correspondence, either by phone or e‐mail. I
was surprised to see that Steve and Michelle were at breakfast, having arrived at 8 instead of 9AM. Unfortunately,
their luggage had been loaded on the bus first and, thus, was in the back of the luggage area. The driver would not
unload all the bags to get to them, so Danny went to Santa Cruz to pick up the bags and would return later.
Following breakfast, and a little time to clean up, we went off to the small Presbyterian Church, La Fe, The Faith, to
see if anyone was there. After a small error in navigation we found the churchyard full of children and the
classrooms that we were to build already there. The pastor had used his and his family's money to construct the
buildings. Our project was already completed! I assume he didn't know for sure that we would return and took the
opportunity to finish the project himself; however, no project in Bolivia is ever finished. The center still needed a
living area for the pastor or whomever will live at the church to provide security and there needed to be a roof
added to the walkway to provide shelter from the rain in the rainy season and from the sun the rest of the time. I
told him to prepare a plan and to bring it to me on Monday morning at the hotel. The children were in their
classrooms so we visited them all and received a greeting in each room. Certainly this is our reward for all of our
work, both raising money at home and the work we do here. One of the members of the Compassion Mission was
there, just by luck, and he explained the concept of a three‐part program. Learning about Christ and a correct,
religious way of life, eating good food and healthy habits, such as brushing the teeth after eating, and honest hard
work. It reminded me of the three Inca laws: don't steal, don't lie and work hard. Following our visit there and
being on the way home, I decided to see if Madre Rosario would be at the little girl's orphanage, Hogar Sagrada
Corazon. Just by luck she was there. After a brief visit around the grounds, as the girls were at lunch already, we
sat down in her office and had the obligatory plastic cup of Coca Cola and a cookie. We had the same at the church
earlier. Business is never conducted in a rapid fashion here. I asked if they needed anything and she replied that
they needed the walls painted. I thought to myself that that would be perfect. Since this is the rainy season, we
need an indoor progect to do in case of rain so we will always have work to do in spite of the weather.
As we are not yet having meals at the Pinocho, we stopped by the market to get some bread and sandwich meats
for our lunch. We had yogurt and fruit juices to drink along with our sandwiches. After eating a lot on the trip, it
was good to have a light meal. Also a few of us, including me, are having a little gastric upset. We rested after
lunch since all but me were on the bus all night. We had to prepare for Carnival, which began this night. Herman
was to pick us up at 8PM for the parade.
Herman arrived at eight and we all went to his house that was only a block from the parade route and then walked
from there. Hardly anyone was there but the usual cacophony of noise coming from competing bands and
loudspeakers blaring noise from CD's was omnipresent. I really don't like Carnival, at least not here. There is no
organization and nothing begins on time and the parade should only last about three hours, but due to the poor
planning and the length of time between the floats it goes on and on here. Finally, at ten, the first float appeared.
The next arrived about fifteen minutes later and so it went. The dancing was, for the most part, not organized like
the groups in Oruro, or other places where Carnival is taken seriously. There is a lot of drinking, lots of water
balloons and cans of foam that are sprayed at the dancers and the crowd. Over the years the dancers have come
to carry their own cans of the foam, surrendering any semblance of class and order that might have existed in the
past. At midnight we left leaving the rest to carry on into the wee hours of the night when fights were inevitable.
On the way home we saw a drunken motorcycle driver have a minor accident right in front of the police station
where he was apprehended by a policeman on foot. Perhaps we will see him at the jail tomorrow when we visit.
Saturday, February 20, 2009
We met Dr. Plata at the jail at 8AM sharp. He is the most punctual person I know here in Bolivia. He is a
gynecologist, but does general medicine as well and has been giving up his Saturday mornings to serve at the jail
for about fifteen years. We saw several patients who were having problems relating to having been stabbed, shot
or otherwise injured while drunk. I know because I asked them about their mental state when they were injured. I
knew that Steve and Samuel, a Bolivian in AA, would give a program about AA later and I wanted them to be
thinking about their injuries and their problems while they spend time in the jail. I suspect that a majority of the
inmates are here because of alcohol related problems. After seeing all the patients, Steve began his presentation.
He brings AA material in Spanish every year, as alcoholism is a very big problem here. Drinking is such a big part of
the culture here, especially during Carnival that identifying the disease and doing something about it, generally,
just isn't being done. Steve mentioned several times that, "If you are in jail because of something you did while you
were drinking, you might be an alcoholic." Samuel talked later very eloquently for one who was not well educated,
as he is really big on "the program." Several inmates took the reading material after the meeting and I hope a few
will gain insight and begin going to meetings, which are fairly sparsely attended. This kind of thing takes time to
develop. Samuel comes here every week to have meetings with whomever will attend.
After the jail we finally got to go to the foster home. The gate was closed, but not locked, so no one needed to
come to open it. The boys were happy to see us, but not apparently overjoyed. They all seemed to be somewhat
subdued, but that all changed when we began to play baseball and soccer. I went to the carpentry shop to see how
the equipment had faired and several of the machines were in disrepair. There did not appear to be many working
and little being produced. It was my dream that the shop would eventually fund the foster home and provide
technical education for the boys and perhaps a place to work when they left the home. We have a new
administrator who just started two weeks ago and I hope things can be turned around. I think it was a good
concept. I found the small lathe that I brought three years ago, but it clearly had been plugged into the 220‐volt
socket, which is almost impossible to do, as the sockets are different, and was inoperable last year. I brought a
replacement speed regulator that I hoped would make the lathe useful again. The newer and larger lathe looked
unused since I last saw it, but I could not check it out because someone had taken the electrical cord that went
from the transformer to the electrical socket. I had two projects to do before we could make some pens: fixing the
old lathe and making an electrical cord. There were plenty of wood pieces cut from morado wood last year and we
cut those to the proper length and drilled holes in them. This is the easiest part of the process and all the boys can
do it. The holes seemed to be slightly larger than they need to be as the tubes that are inserted into the wood fit
far too easily. I discovered that the drill bit has a very minimal shake that makes the hole about 0.05 millimeters
too big. The boys tried to put the glue on the tubes and insert them. They usually use too little glue, which is not a
big problem when the holes are the right size but the holes being too large caused this to be a big problem that we
would only discover tomorrow.
I loaded the small lathe into the truck and we left for the Pinocho. We were invited to go to the home tomorrow
for lunch, a meal I surely look forward to. The Carnival was in full action with streets blocked off for street dances
and parties and passage through the streets was complicated by the youth throwing water balloons, a tradition
here that will last until Wednesday or until the water runs out or there are no more balloons. All these actions
have symbolic meaning. Carnival is symbolic of the influence of the devil and the water is symbolic of the cleansing
of the Holy Spirit, but I don't think many are thinking of that while they throw the water missiles.
I fixed the lathe in about ten minutes. I couldn't believe it was that easy as the new piece just screwed into the
lathe where the old one used to be and then it just plugged into the lathe. With the ease of this repair I thought
that perhaps this is a common problem and maybe it had not been abused electrically, but who will ever know.
The cable to the transformer was equally easy to make. Since I have a transformer here in my room, I was able to
check out the lathe and it worked perfectly.
In the evening we were invited to the house of Dr. Patzi for dinner. His wife, who does not like Carnival, traveled to
Miami and Orlando yesterday with their daughter. We arrived on time and the food was just being cooked on the
grill. We enjoyed some conversation and refreshments as we waited for dinner and more guests. The guests
trickled in over the next three hours, ultimately reaching about 30 guests by the time we left. There was beef, ubre
(cow udder), sausages, including blood sausage, and the usual assortment of rice, potatoes and salad. For dessert
we were served a pudding. No one went away hungry.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
We rose early to attend church at the small Presbyterian Church where we will work. We arrived at 8:30 only to be
told the service began at 9:30. No problem. The Dios Es Amor church had their service in Queshua at 8:30 so we
went there. Even though I don't understand Queshua, I realized the pastor was talking about us when he saw us
enter the church. Every Sunday they invite all the new visitors of the church to come to the front and say a few
words and this day was no different. We were asked to come forward with the 7 or so newcomers to the church.
All of us gave a short testimony and then the congregation came forth to greet us, shaking hands with the men and
kissing the cheeks of the many women. I recognized many faces fondly from our many feeding projects in the past
and they returned polite greetings. I always have a warm feeling when I cone to this church. At 9:30, the
congregation got up to go to classrooms for Sunday school and we returned to the little church where the children
were singing. In years past Martha Rodenbeck had given skits for the children. We had no such program for the
children, but Michelle got up and sang "Our Father." We left shortly thereafter and went to the foster home. Steve
played football and catch with the boys that were not in the carpentry shop with me. Everything worked well
except the small machine that was just fixed gave the boys a small electrical shock, even when the lathe was not
turned on. I could not figure out what was happening, as I didn't get a shock until we began to cut the wood with
the chisels. It was not a big shock but it was not pleasant. The electricity here does not have a ground and these
machines should be grounded properly, but there was never a problem before. I found a piece of wire and
connected it to a nail I drove into the cement floor. This seemed to solve the shocking problem. We managed to
make a few pens but about half of the pieces of wood came off the tubes when being tooled due to the large holes
and too little glue. We were able to salvage all of the tubes and reinsert them into new pieces of wood, this time
with more glue. If one had to buy the wood, this would be a very expensive matter, but our wood is free or nearly
so as we normally use scraps from the shop. These pieces were left over from last year and there is a whole sack of
morado wood, which is dark, brown and very beautiful when finished. The wood, if bought in the US can cost $5
for each pen. We all played with the boys afterwards, only allowing the boys to make one pen each. Then we sat
down to lunch with the staff and boys who sang grace before we ate. We supped on rice, roast chicken and beans
with bananas grown on the property for dessert. These bananas have a softer peel that probably makes them poor
candidates for exports, but these bananas are softer and sweeter than any I have ever eaten. We resumed the play
with the children after lunch and we brought out the balloons I had brought from the US. These are larger and
stronger than the ones they sell here. This is not always good, as they sometimes don't break when a good shot
lands on its intended target and falls harmlessly to the ground where the very tough grass often manages to pierce
the globes. Finally, thoroughly exhausted, we left for "home."
We returned near dark to take dinner at the hotel. We decided to give the owner's wife, the cook, a break during
Carnival as we continued to make our own food for lunch and dinner. While we were making sandwiches, Gringa,
Herman’s wife, surprised us with a whole roasted duck, which we quickly substituted for the German style ham we
had bought. Imagine, roast duckling instead of lunchmeat and cheese sandwiches!
The children at the Fe Church
Monday, February 23, 2009
My wife and two other women are arriving tomorrow and Steve and Michelle Hott are leaving. I had a meeting
with the pastor of La Fe Church before breakfast and he gave me the costs of the project with the roof included.
This still was well below the $10,000 the board of directors had allocated to the project. As always, new projects
and needs will arise so I am not disappointed with the $7000 budget he brought me. Perhaps there will be some
left over for other projects. We ate breakfast and returned to the foster home. This is a day when people throw
mud and colored water at people and cars. My white pickup is now spattered with purple ink. Fortunately all these
colors are water‐soluble and will disappear after the first rain or at the local car wash. They tell me, out of respect,
they usually don't target nice cars, but taxi drivers are primary targets. We made more pens with the wood we had
drilled and glued the first day and we continued to have the same problem. We were still able to make a few pens.
Working with two lathes really hastens the process and makes learning easier as the boys can see the others work.
Some pick up the art quickly, but a few really are hopeless. I don't know what will happen to those boys. We have
a fulltime psychologist working at the foster home and there seems to be fewer fights among the boys this year
compared to last year. Fortunately, one of the slower boys really likes to clean up. He does a good job at that and
someone has to do this. Perhaps everyone has his/her place, but he really wants to try to do a good job.
Unfortunately, every time he is almost finished with a piece, it broke. Some is bad luck, but he does not follow
directions and that is the big problem. I keep hoping he will finally be successful in this little project for his feeling
of self worth. Because of the Carnival there is no school today or tomorrow so we have the whole day with the
boys again. That is good, but it is practically impossible to plan our projects, especially the music festival which is
planned for March 21 only four weeks away. On Wednesday I hope we will be able to start the project. Exponorte,
basically a county fair event, is also being held on the same weekend we have chosen for the event. I think the
people we will target to attend the music festival are a different group, but we will see. Steve, Danny and Michelle
helped to set up the musical instruments in the second module for the older boys where I hope there will also be
computers when the laptops arrive in the next few weeks. These are Dell computers that have been reconditioned
and cost between $300‐350 each. Desks for the computers will be made in the shop and locked doors on the desks
will keep the computers safe. The desks can also be used for music lessons and homework in general.
We had beef today cooked in the oven. They generally do a barbeque that makes the meat very tough. This meat
was full of flavor and as tender as a pot roast. We are going to have a pizza dinner for the staff and give Irma, the
housemother, and the cook a break. The boys will help make the pizzas in the oven they have here in which they
make bread. I am looking forward to that.
After lunch we continued to play with the boys. Since Steve and Michelle were here for such a short time it was
good for them to spend most of their time with the boys. In the evening they went to another AA meeting, but
returned soon afterwards as the church where the meetings are held was closed. Carnival is a major magnet,
sucking people away from recovery. Only one more day and Bolivia will return to "normal."
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Michelle and Steve left today and I picked up Joanna, my wife and two other women volunteers, Dianne Ray and
Mary Shambaugh. We returned to the Pinocho and enjoyed breakfast at 10AM, took showers and went directly to
the boy's home where we ate lunch again. Chicken, rice and vegetables with the same bananas for dessert. I could
eat those every day. There are about ten banana trees on the property, but I have no idea how many times a year
the trees produce fruit, but I am told that the limb that produces the stalk of fruit will die, but others grow from
the base of the tree in its place. We would eat dinner, for the first time at the Pinocho tonight so it seems like we
are eating all the time. After lunch I gave a tour of the foster home and introduced all the children to the new
group of women. This was the last day of carnival so we were able to enjoy the boys until we had to leave for
dinner. We made a few more pens and some of the boys are really getting good if not fast at making them. Soon I
will introduce them to a new type of pen or a corkscrew that is even easier to make. These pens have little room
for error in the final phase where the wood is only 1/16 of an inch thick. The corkscrew wood is many times that
thick. The ground wire seems to be working as no one is complaining of shocks.
Dinner was very good, as usual for the Pinocho. The presentation is as nice as the food taste. Again, the main
protein food is chicken, served with several kinds of vegetables. Teresa, the cook, always tries to introduce us to
different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Tonight we had mostly things I recognized such as tomatoes, avocado,
carrots, green beans and peas. Of course there was rice and two different kinds of potatoes. There are over 200
kinds of potatoes in Bolivia, so we will never see all the varieties. Outside the last vestiges of Carnival still survive.
My truck has purple dye and pieces of balloons in the bed. There has been a running battle between the boys
whose parents’ work at the hotel and the group of boys that live across the street. This battle has been repeated
all over the city and today it was very difficult to get where you wanted to go for all the blocked off streets filled
with Carnivaleros, the people celebrating the last day before Lent. The sound of bands playing lulls us to sleep.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The weather has been cool for Bolivia at this time of year, in the low 80's and even in the mid 70's when we arise.
It was actually warmer today in our room than it was outside when we woke up. There is a strong wind from the
south, which signals a high‐pressure area and fair weather and no rain. The sun, however, is fierce causing sunburn
in a few minutes without sunscreen. Following breakfast we went to the home where the women helped teach
English using some books Joanna bought in Highlands that were meant for children just learning to read. These are
perfect for these boys. Because of the cost, school is taught mainly without textbooks here; thus, the children
really don't have the opportunity to learn very well. I took the boys that were not involved with the lessons to the
carpinteria to continue the pen making. It is good not to have so many boys here at a time. I had glued some tubes
in the wood yesterday to see if the problem was the technique or the holes. We still broke a few pieces but
generally it was better making me believe the problem was mostly not using enough glue. I had to mix three times
the usual amount of glue as usual, much more than I use at home or here last year when the holes were the
correct size. I don't think the drill press can be fixed and for most jobs the wobble in the bit would not be a
problem. The English classes are proceeding well and I think with so many native teachers the boys will really learn
a lot of English and without the heavy accent the teacher has.
In the afternoon we visited some of the medical clinics and found that the new obstetric part of the Cruz Rojas
Clinic is to open in March, but it looks far from being able to open then in my estimation. We have been waiting for
this for three years and they did not tell us it would be this March, but we have hopes. All our equipment is still
here and in working order. Over the years we have brought an ultrasound machine and a fetal monitor that can be
used during labor. Finally these tools will begin to be used to their potential.
At 3PM we went to the Rotary Club to meet several people. One was the administrator and the pastor who
received his check for $7000 to begin the project at the church. I also met with Danny who had worked on publicity
for the music program. We will present our plan the Club tomorrow night. The prizes for the whole event will be
about $650 and renting the sound system will cost about $200‐250 so the whole evening will be about $1000. We
will sell food but entrance is free. This is not a moneymaker, but an experience for our volunteers and the boys
who will actually make and sell the food and, hopefully, perform. We will practice making pizzas this Saturday as
that and sandwiches will be the food we will offer and we will sell drinks. I do not expect to see a profit. The big
problem is the competition from the Exponortre, but I think our audience will be different and entrance to the fair
is substantial on that Saturday. We will be busy with advertising after we get approval tomorrow. Following those
meetings we went to experience the market. You can buy practically everything here from food to clothes, paint to
paper, electrical equipment to shovels and picks. Many of the stalls were closed even though the Carnival is over.
Many people just take the week off. The market was still a place of action and interest. The women decided to
bring the boys here, two at a time to buy their own football uniforms, practicing their English, translating for the
non‐English speaking women that will actually pay for the clothes. This way they will get some experience buying
something and handling money and practicing their English at the same time.
After dinner just as we were getting ready to retire, two Rotary friends came by to invite us to see the new daycare
center that the Rotary Club just completed with money given by the local government. I am anxious to see it as
they plan to name it after Joanna in honor of her volunteer work here. They told me last year that it would not cost
our mission a penny, but they need some furniture and other things to be able to open, so I think they will need
something from our mission despite what they said. I am not at all surprised by the need of money from our
mission and in the back of my mind I had allocated the $10,000 intended for Beni for this project, as we really
don’t have the time to go to Beni this year. Beni is the place where they had two years of terrible floods, but this
year they have been lucky and there have been no floods to this date. As long as the money goes toward helping
children, our mission will be happy.
Some of the boys really get excited making the pens. Here Marcelo holds the wood as Marcos drills.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
This is another glorious day with cool temperatures, sun and wind, but also the presence of clouds and the
expectation of rain in the near future. We will enjoy the lack of rain for as long as the Lord gives us these days. The
temperature is 80 but working in the sun is difficult. We arrived at the home seeing the boys working in the
garden. I am sure they would be amazed to find that we do this type of work for the love of it. The plot of ground
they were weeding is about as big as my garden is at home. This soil is very hard and it is difficult to believe that
things grow so well in it. I would be adding rice hulls, sand and wood chips from the shop to enrich the soil, but
they grow things well without these amendments. One can only work about ten minutes in this sun and if it were
not for the wind, probably only five before resting in the shade. All the boys have gravitated to the shady patch of
soil to work. At least they are smart when it comes to this kind of knowledge. I general, most of the boys are very
clever and bright. Two are challenged and need a lot of work. Fortunately they are receiving it now. I think we have
a good program here at the present time with a full time psychologist, computer teacher, music lessons, English
and swimming occasionally.
After a while we just couldn't work any more and went to the shade of the shop. I had talked to a man about
getting a riding mower to cut the grass as the push mower died after three years. The grass is really tough here and
Pedro is mowing the grass with a weed eater. This machine is dangerous and cannot be used around the children.
Every day I see a small patch where he has cut the grass and at this rate, he will need to begin again before he has
even finished. The grass is so high that playing football is nearly impossible as the grass inhibits any passing of any
length as the ball just stops. Also, this is a large place and the grass needs to be cut to keep it looking nice and it
also cuts down on the insects that are ubiquitous around here. While we were beginning to do the pen work the
mower man came to talk to me so the boys were really on their own. We only had two pen sets ready for the
lathe. Marcos did one all by himself and I was really proud of the way he worked the project. Very neat and
diligent. Irieno, one of the two slow ones had finished one half yesterday and managed to finish the other with the
help of one of the other boys. This made me feel happy that the boys help each other. Unfortunately, putting the
last piece together, he inserted in too far making the point of the pen unable to be retracted. All that work and
ruined at the last second. I told him to give it to the housemother, who, like a good mother, thought it was the
best thing she ever received. Actually it works just fine if you don't have to put it in your pocket. Eventually, Pedro
found a way to pull the workings out a bit so it worked just fine. I don’t now how he did that and he didn’t offer to
tell me, but the people here are generally clever.
In the afternoon we visited the project the Rotary Club had just completed, the day care center named for Joanna.
It has a very impressive appearance on the approach to the building. The face of the building is concave, bearing
the name of the building in large letters. Inside the rooms were spacious and tiled beautifully on the floors and
walls so the surfaces can easily be cleaned. Unfortunately, there are no screens yet and the floors were covered
with dead bugs. This would be a dream for and entomologist. The building has no furniture and the Rotary
president asked me if the mission could help with the furnishings. I don't know what plan "B" was if I had said no,
as the place is planned to open in two weeks.
Joanna and Mario at the new daycare center
Since we were near a feeding center where we had worked in past years, we stopped in and looked around and
eventually bought several things the women made in their workshop. They had jewelry and the stuffed pigs that
we bought last year. The jewelry was made from local seeds that are drilled and tied together with string. Most
had no parts that needed to be bought. All these women are being taught to be independent and health wise.
They are taught skills such as these projects that cost nothing to make and cooking skills. Most have been
abandoned by their husbands or boy friends and need to exist on their own as there is no help from the
government. On the way home we visited another center to get reacquainted with the staffs, which had not
changed in the last year. Both of these centers are helping women become independent and strong. They are
doing a great job teaching skills that can be brought into the work force. We bought a few items there as well and
found their herb garden filled with basil and oregano. We harvested some for the pizza night in two days.
Everything is falling into place.
I went to the Rotary Club to discuss the music festival. The members are concerned about the lack of planning and
the fact that we are competing with Exponorte for the audience. Expo is a huge event but this is the only weekend
we can have the festival, as it was the only time our music people could come. Also, Danny and I have been doing a
lot of planning on our own that is sufficient. Still, it was gratifying to know that the Club cares and is willing to help
if needed.
Friday, February 27, 2009
It began to rain, as we got ready to go to breakfast. It was just a shower, but it was a portend of things to come. By
the time we arrived at the Hogar, the rain was coming down hard. The women set up the English lessons with
small groups while I ventured out to the shop with two boys. Reading the books with the women is strong
competition for the boys. We had no kits made so we were again starting with the first step. We drilled holes in
the wood and inserted tubes, but our project today was to make corkscrews. We found another kind of wood that
is red and white and should make nice corkscrews if the wood takes a good finish. We will find out tomorrow.
There are lots of learning opportunities every day. Some of the wood we had was cracked and even though it
looked good, if you didn't look too closely, it would break if turned. After showing them the first bad piece, they
looked at each piece and discarded to bad ones. Sometimes you just can't tell and the wood breaks while turning
but that is just part of the process. Again, the boys had to be encouraged to use more glue. There was plenty on
the outside of the pieces, and we will see if enough got into the middle where it belongs. Also when the glue gets
on the fingers it takes two days of normal activity for the epoxy to come off. There are no solvents for this kind of
glue. It was still early when we returned to the house where the boys were reading in English. Not wanting to be
left out, I picked up a book and had the boys that had been with me read. They have the most trouble with words
with multiple vowels as all these are pronounced in Spanish. Very few words have double vowels in Spanish so
words like "seen" or "been" give them trouble and the vowels have different sounds. Generally they read very
well, but their comprehension was poor. All this will improve with time. The ones that are good in sports, the lathe
and are well behaved are also the best in English. At eleven we left to go to the market again to have two different
boys translate for us to buy soccer uniforms for grandchildren back in the US and their reward is buying an outfit
for themselves. The price at the market is one quarter of the US. There are many good deals in clothes. I will have a
tailor‐made suit fitted for me soon. The price will be under $100 and the quality will be excellent. Nothing comes
close to the price or the quality back home. I needed to pick up the pants I had hemmed in the workshop above
the market but my seamstress was out to lunch. I keep missing her. Yesterday the pants were not ready and today
she is gone. By the time we left the rain had stopped. Our boys/translators were able to ride in the back and we
were more comfortable with only five in the truck instead of the seven with which we came. We dropped them off
at the gate and headed to the Pinocho for lunch. Chicken again. It is a good thing I like chicken. It is meatier and
has a better flavor here, which is good as we have it twice a day at lunch and dinner. There is a lot of variety in the
other vegetables having grilled zucchini and eggplant along with fried yuca and other vegetables. Every lunch is
started with a soup also. It has been cool enough that hot soup is welcome. When it really gets hot, I don't want
hot soup.
In the afternoon we ventured out to the Villa Cochabamba clinic where Joanna planned the home visits for the
coming groups and our group as well, while I resumed my quest to find the suitcase with all the lead testing
equipment we used last year. The nurse that was continuing the project left to live in Santa Cruz and no one seems
to know where the equipment is. I have looked twice before and have found nothing. The storeroom is large and
there are a lot of things hidden there so it is not impossible that it is still here. Finally, Danny found the
dust‐covered suitcase and everything was there as I left it. There are enough tests left to check 400 children for
lead levels, but there doesn't seem to be an urgency here to continue the project, as we found no serious problem
last year. I checked out the machine that still had the batteries inside. This is something I never do here as the
batteries leak in the heat and ruin your equipment. Fortunately the batteries still worked and the machine seemed
to be fine. When I actually ran a test, twice on myself, the machine gave an error that the temperature was not
stable. What ever that means, I do not know. Perhaps the test strips or the machine got too hot. That I can easily
believe. After it gets used to the cooler temperature in my room I will try it again.
Having a few minutes of spare time we traveled to the nearby town of Portachuelo to visit a hospital where we
have supplied monitors. The Madre in charge of the place was happy to see us and after serving refreshments,
took us on a tour of this lovely hospital. As compared to other hospitals in the area, this one is neat, clean and well
managed. There is no graft or stealing money here. Most of the hospitals are given plenty of money to care for the
patients, but the administrators are usually political appointees and their title gives them the opportunity to take
money. One of the honest ones was a friend of mine who refurbished his hospital several years ago and then was
accused of fraud because he used the income to improve his hospital and didn't pay some taxes. Later he was
absolved, but I think he was accused because he was not like the other administrators and he made them look bad,
so they got rid of him.
Mary Shambaugh, Dianne Ray, the Madre, Joanna and Kully Woodruff admire the hallway of the Portachuelo
hospital
On returning to Montero we went to the market to buy all the things we needed for the pizza dinner tomorrow,
e.g. eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, peppers and spices. At the supermarket we added tomato paste, flour, oil, cheese
and a few other things. Two days ago the women had gone to Santa Cruz to buy the meat, shrimp, cheese and
sausage so we are ready to go. The Hogar has all the things we need like sugar, salt, and yeast. At 7:30 the past
president and president of Rotary came to dinner with the administrator of the Hogar who began working three
weeks ago. He presented his plan for the wood shop that has been loosing money since the day it was started and
we agreed with his changes. Apparently the shop had been working without the proper government approval, or
NIT. This is needed to pay taxes and we could be arrested for not complying. There were many other problems that
were apparent to me and he seemed to be aware of all of them. I think he will be an asset despite his salary of
2700 Bolivianos per month. If the shop is ever going to become profitable, it will need good management.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
This is the pizza day. I have checked out the oven where they make bread at the Hogar and it should be perfect to
bake up to eight pizzas at a time. The pans in which they make their rolls, much like a hamburger bun, have the
area of about two large pizzas and we need to feed up to 30 people, depending on how many of the people we
have invited actually show up. The boys and I made the dough, masa, in an industrial bread dough mixer. For our
job, it hardly filled the bottom. Adding two bags of flour, a bit smaller than our bags, some oil, yeast, sugar and a
bit of salt and we were ready to mix. Adding water until it was ready, the machine kneaded the dough until it was
ready. This we let rise in the refrigerator until after lunch. While we were making the dough, Diane Ray was busy
with Kully Woodruff and Mary Shambaugh making cookies from scratch. Dianne is a great cook and she really
enjoyed the experience of buying all the materials in a foreign country and seeing how the food was packaged.
Butter comes in 200‐gram packages that are slightly smaller than two sticks of our butter. Of course, she could
have bought the butter in bulk that sits in the meat department in a big bowl. Who knows how long this butter had
been there and whether it has been contaminated with the meat juices over the course of time. We bought the
smaller packages of butter that were neatly wrapped. Cheese can be bought in the same categories as the US, e.g.,
mozzarella, provolone and parmesan, but the most common cheese here is what we call farmer's cheese, which is
generally made from raw milk in the farms, thus the name. I have seen it made there. It is soft and full of holes.
This is dipped in salt and aged in the US where it becomes Cheddar. I have also seen this made in Wisconsin and
the first product after cottage cheese is this farmer's cheese. We bought a kilo, 2.2 lbs. of this cheese also. The
women continued to make the cookies and grate the three different cheeses while the boys and I went to the shop
again. Since we were giving the foster mother a day off from her duties, we took the boys to a restaurant to eat
lunch. Feeding all them and their guests cost about $30. One of the guest's wife works at a soft drink company and
she brought a cooler full of drinks that we would use at the dinner later. After lunch we all piled into the truck and
went back to the home. It was very hot and we had to take many breaks while playing football. Several of the older
boys who were children of the workers here could not keep up with our boys. I played goalie for the visitor’s team
and our boys needed no goalie. I must have stopped at least ten shots but three made it past me. Our team rarely
passed the ball past the centerline and made no shots on goal. In the end the score was three to nil. Now began
the serious work. We took the dough out of the refrigerator and split it into seven pieces. It was well over 100
degrees in our baking room so the dough rose quickly. It soon became apparent to me that it would take two
pieces of dough for each pan and I quickly made one more batch of dough half as big as the former one. We
worked over an hour spreading the dough in the pans until the whole pan was covered and then we let it rise for
the last time. Meanwhile the sauce was being prepared with the spices we obtained at the feeding center two days
previously. The basil and oregano were fresh and plentiful. The boys had carefully peeled the garlic earlier and all
these ingredients were added to the sauce.
Finally the children assembled the pizzas after being shown how with the first one. The boys and their guests all
pitched in. It was so fun to watch that I forgot to take pictures of them. Actually there is no right way to make a
pizza. Pizza has become the world's most popular food for just that reason. Pizza is a freshly made piece of bread
with whatever you like on it. We had grilled eggplant, tomatoes, salami, sausage, three kinds of cheese and the
tomato sauce all sprinkled with fresh basil and oregano. We did have some help from the cook who knew how to
use the oven. The gas needed to be ignited with a flaming piece of paper and with a roar, the cooking finally
began. We kept a close eye on the pizzas and finally the first pan came out of the oven. It fed all of the children
that numbered at least 20. We had six more pans! Each pizza was different, including one made with shrimp with
an alfredo sauce. That was the second one out of the oven and that one was enjoyed mostly by the adults, not that
the kids were offered any. Each pizza came out when done until the last one was brought to the kitchen and no
one wanted any more. Just then the family who provided the drinks drove in. Fortunately we still had one pizza
left. In the end we ate them all. The cookies kept disappearing throughout the day and by the end of the evening
they, too, were gone. One boy had ten that Dianne could count. How many he had that she didn't see, we will
never know. We left at 8:30PM but it felt like midnight. You can imagine how hot the oven room was. It felt so
good to go outside in the 90‐degree temperature after being in there. Everything is truly relative. Danny finally
arrived with the copies of the music festival application. We will distribute these tomorrow at the various
churches. I took a shower, which I rarely do at night, just to cool off. It was a very satisfying day.
Kully and Mary cut and eat pizza
Sunday, March 1, 2009
We started out at the Dios Es Amor Church where we handed out several of the music fliers. This church is located
in the Mercado area and here almost all the parishioners are mostly mountain people and I hope they will come
and play some traditional mountain music. This is the kind of music that people usually relate to Bolivia, but here
in the tropics, the music is more like Mexican or even our music. I hope we will have quite a variety. The prizes are
700, 500 and 300 Bolivianos in three categories, solo, duet and group.
We gave another copy at the Fe Church where we also attended. The sermon was much about the gift God gave
them for our coming. We really were led to this church much by accident several years ago. Then it was a church
for the deaf and the pastor’s daughter translated the word into sign language. Now she is fourteen and a lovely
young girl. The church became the church for the mostly unwed mothers who came to this area because it was
inexpensive to live here and there is a school nearby.
I bought a Flip Video camera at Walmart for $75 before we came. I had bought one for my grandchild for
Christmas, who is seven and I was amazed how easily he learned to us it and he loved to see his “movies“ on the
television. It just plugs into the TV or your computer. I thought the boys would enjoy making their Movies as well. I
had been taking videos of them over the past few days to demonstrate how it works and then I will give it to them
to do a day in their life. I went to the home to show the movies we had taken on the television. The boys were
transfixed by seeing themselves on the screen. I explained to them that each one would get the opportunity to do
their 30‐minute video, one at a time. Pedro finished the conversation with some rules that hopefully will make the
videos serious, but useful and childlike. Each video will be named, "A Day in the Life of XXXX."
We ate lunch and then ventured off the Santa Cruz to purchase a few more guitars for the boys. On Sunday many
of the store merchants come to the plaza behind the church where they have a booth. Local artisans fill out the
rest of the booths. There is only one music instrument seller and I recognize her from seeing her in a small shop in
the craft guild area that we visit every year. She has been here selling instruments for five years. Not seeing the
variety we would like to see before buying, she takes us to her shop that is nearby. It was nice to look in the
windows of the shop without all the other people being in the way. A guard kept a close eye on us as we looked at
the instruments. Dianne Ray paid for three guitars and Mary Shambaugh purchased the cases for them to keep the
instruments clean and protected. I bought a zampoña for Les Scott when he comes. I know he has one, but this
one is a bit larger and the dealer said it was as good as they come. I can't play one, but Les, our music director will
know how good it is.
We went to the church on the main plaza to look around. It was right before mass. The museum there was
supposed to be open at the time we arrived. We have been to the church multiple times and never at the right
time to visit the museum so I was anxious to see what was inside. About fifteen minutes later, a woman came and
opened the door and I went in. Entrance was 10 Bolivanos. I paid for the group, but only a small room was there.
Soon she opened another door that led to a room exhibiting certain vestments of the clergy there over the
centuries. The church was built in the 1700's. Soon another room was opened to the silver collection of religious
items and finally we were shown the stairs to the last room containing many interesting and valuable objects of
religious interest from medals to diamond rings. I think we all felt honored to have seen this collection of
marvelous things from the beginning of the cathedral to the present time. Following this we went to a good
restaurant and got back home by 10:30.
Monday, March 2, 2009
We had been invited back to the place where they make the handbags, placemats and other useful things. The
women teach each other and all the money from the sales benefits them. There are no middlemen to raise the
price and the quality is very good. The women bought several items and then we went to the Hogar where they
taught English again and I took three of the younger boys to the shop to do some simple tasks. The youngest,
Franklin, wants make a pen, but he is six and far too short to even see what he is doing. He wants so much to try.
While the equipment is reasonably safe, it can be dangerous, especially for one as young as Franklin. Since we got
there late, there was little time to work. We prepared four pen sets to complete tomorrow and made one
corkscrew. I think one of the ladies will buy that right away. Ireino, who completed the pen yesterday, presented it
to Dianne who bought it. I was proud that he remembered to give it to her and to whom it was to be given. Maybe
there is hope for him yet. I know he tries hard, but he learns so slowly. Two boys worked on the corkscrew. I only
have one set of the bushings for that project, (bushings are the guide to measure the thickness of the wood), so we
can only use one lathe. Tomorrow we can do two projects at the same time since we will making pens again. Two
of the youngest boys went to the market today. Their English is as good as the older boys as the younger one is,
the easier it is to learn a language. In the US we try to teach languages in high school, and, in my opinion, the
language area of the brain is already closing making learning a language difficult. No wonder most students hate
language classes. This needs to be started much earlier to be effective and easier. After doing the translations,
each boy gets to choose pants and a shirt for a soccer uniform. They would receive these at any rate, but they get
to handle money and use their math skills. These things we take for granted, but they are learned skills and very
important ones at that.
In the afternoon Daniel and I went to several radio and TV stations to spread the word about our music festival.
We did a live radio interview at the Catholic Church station, which is the most powerful in the area, broadcasting
religious messages throughout the day. We just walked in and the woman running the network interviewed us. I
said a few things and Danny did the rest. He was like an old pro with the way he conducted himself. I managed to
be adequate. I hope the interview was taped so they can run it several more times. Finally we ended up at the
major TV station where they told us we could be interviewed at 7AM the next morning. I love free advertising.
Joanna has aching all over and generally feels bad. No gastrointestinal ailments at the present. She has no rash, but
feels itchy. If she develops a rash, she might have dengue fever. This can be mild to really serious. At this point, it is
mild if that is what she has. She had always been a magnet for mosquitoes. It is transmitted just like malaria but
there is no treatment for dengue. She rested for a while and was able to go to Santa Cruz with friends to enjoy a
birthday dinner at a very nice restaurant.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
I arose early and without breakfast I went to the channel 8 studio where I met Daniel. We walked in and we were
asked to sit down in the mixing room where there were about six monitors. The two female hosts were checking
out the lights and then they were on the air. No rehearsal or wasted time. They gave the news, chatted for a bit (I
couldn't understand a word of one of the girls) and then they broke for commercial. We were asked to come in
and the one I could understand asked us a few questions and then the interview began. She asked me the first
question about the festival and by now I had rehearsed a fairly good conversation. Danny filled in the details and
she mentioned some facts she read from our three‐page letter of explanation. Finally she asked what the festival
was for, being no charge for admission and I said it was a gift to those who couldn't afford or didn't want to go to
Exponorte. I think this turned a negative, on the same night as the biggest festival in town, into a positive, a gift.
Her eyes lit up at that point and I think she was really inspired by our project at that point. She invited us back
anytime and we may surely return, especially if we don't have many participants. During the next break she
cleared her throat and I told her I was a doctor. I noticed that she was a little hoarse during the interview and she
said she had been like this for a month. I gave her my card and told her to call me for an exam.
I went back to the Pinocho for breakfast and all the people there had seen us on TV. I hope others did as well. I
have passed out all 20 of the fliers and we will make 40 more today. We went to the home where the English
lessons continued with a twist. At the end the boys taught Spanish to the women. They were very exacting with
the pronunciation, having had very good teachers. The new lawnmower had arrived and it was a beauty. It had a19
horsepower motor and two blades that could cut a swath more than a meter wide. This is similar to one I have but
more powerful and well constructed. Later I cut a few swaths that hadn't already been cut. The whole place had
been mowed in a morning whereas previously, only small circular plots had been cut. Now the boys can play
football and actually pass the ball. I went to the shop where several of the boys were working, sanding and
cleaning up. These are the chores they do on a weekly basis. Two worked on projects and did a good job on the
corkscrew and a passable job on the new pen style. Pedro, the housefather got the pen, as it was not good enough
to sell. Also the wood was a new type and it didn't look that good. Perhaps with a better finish it will look better.
The administrator, two young boys and I went to the town to look at computer printers. We will have four new
laptops for the boys to use and learn when the group from UNC‐A arrives in two days. The administrator received
the computer he will use today and we need a printer. I told him that it is his to use as long as he works here, but it
is not a gift to him personally. These things need to be made clear. I took a picture of the computer desk at one of
the stores so we can make four of them in the shop. It will probably be cheaper and it will keep our workers busy.
The two boys had the opportunity to visit several shops and see what looking for the best deal entails. I had them
ask questions and I think they are learning how commerce works.
In the afternoon we went to the market again to buy some supplies we need and then returned to the hotel. This is
the hottest it has been, 95 degrees and the heat really robs you of energy. After dropping off the ladies, I left to
distribute more of the fliers to the churches. Most of the musicians play in the churches on Sunday, but also have
secular bands that play on other days. The fliers were accepted with great anticipation on several churches.
Mary Shambaugh works as a beautician giving facials and she is providing these to our group and to the staff of the
Pinocho. I probably won't recognize anyone tomorrow. The main ingredient is avocado, which is practically free
here. We are the main consumers of this wonderfully fatty fruit. Most rot on the ground and a big one sells for
about 10 cents.
Mary gives a facial to Anna Maria, the administrator of the hotel in the courtyard
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Being the last day before the first big group comes, I spent most of the day preparing for their visit. At the Rotary
Club I arranged to housing for the students and a bus to bring them to the Pinocho. They will eat breakfast at 10
and then go to their rooms here or in the houses of Rotarians. This arrangement is equally a benefit for the
students and the Bolivian families. We went to both the children's hospital and the general hospital where Dr. Patzi
met us and gave us a tour with the new medical director. They need many things again. The laboratory equipment
we brought in years past is all broken and all the tests are done the old fashioned way, by hand like they used to
do 75 years ago. The equipment fails for two reasons: it is old when we bring it, and they don't know how to care
for it very well. The same equipment we brought to Dr. Patzi's lab, for which he paid, is still functioning. Actually
the old equipment can be repaired, as it is not so technical. The new equipment is all run by computers and needs
a technician to keep it running. Even in the US the machines fail. Here they cannot be repaired. The same can be
said for the X‐ray machine. It is finally on its last leg, or even its last toe. They have three Korean War vintage
machines that have been used for parts and now the only functional machine is almost dead. They really want a
new (used) machine and table. I am afraid that a really new one would also be impossible to repair, but there is a
Siemens representative in Santa Cruz, only 60 Km from here. I left the women here to watch babies being born.
They saw several C‐sections and two live, natural births. Also, there were three fetal deaths during the night. Our
fetal death rate is between 6‐7 per 100,000 live births, while the rate here is about 60 or ten fold ours. One
highlighted the problem here and in the US. She had a rupture of the membranes two days before she could reach
the hospital. The baby died of sepsis. Many women in the US don't go to the doctor until the baby is being born
causing out fetal death rate to be three times that of Iceland or several of the Scandinavian countries where a
woman would never think of not getting prenatal care.
I finally got to the foster home with Joanna and we had just enough time to view the video of Pablo before we had
to take two more children to the market for their English lesson practical. The video was good, but short. He didn't
want to do any more so I brought the camera home and made a short movie of the material. The program allows
one to put in titles, splice and cut the segments and is less than thirty minutes we had a reasonably good short
movie. I will put all these together and have a nice video program for our fundraisers, I hope. The two boys did
fairly well at the market. Each day the boys are younger, but many of them have learned English well. The pants I
had hemmed last week tore out the first time I tried them on so I had them hemmed at the tailor shop where I
ordered my suit. They were going to do the hemming for free as I am giving them business for the suit, but for the
sake of the lesson, I had the boys ask how much it would cost and it was 6 Bolivianos. I gave them a 10 note and
they got the correct change. When you live in a sheltered environment, there is little chance to learn such
mundane things.
In the afternoon, I met our carpentry shop foreman at the church where we built the classrooms in past years.
They needed doors for the bathroom and I thought we could make them, thus providing work for the shop and a
good product for the church. In the evening pastor Abraham brought over his revised list of expected costs,
including the doors. If approved, this project will cost about $2000. There is very little our volunteers can do here
except watch, but it is a fun place to go and see all the children in their classes. They asked our group to come for a
birthday dinner on Sunday night at 7PM. That should be interesting, as we were at a similar dinner last year for
father's day. I went to the Catholic Church on the plaza where I knew the music teacher we used to hire at the
home was working. I asked where he was and they told me he was in the church. It was just before 4PM when I
entered the church and found a congregation of mostly women standing, hands raised accepting the blessings of
the Lord. I sat down and they started speaking in tongues. I thought I had gone to a Baptist Church by mistake. I
was enthralled by the service. Not only was it evangelical, but also three very powerful women ran the service. The
church has made some serious changes. The only male involved with the service was the music director; however,
after more than an hour of praise singing and testimonials, I began to get worried. I had other places to go. When
the main woman began to read the scripture lesson, I thought the sermon had not yet begun, despite three fairly
lengthy messages given already. One woman on the other side of the aisle got up to leave and I did the same,
leaving to go to the home to return the video camera for the next boy to take videos of his life and pick up the
women at the hospital after the birthings. Tomorrow maybe they can deliver a few by themselves. On the way
back, some 30 minutes later, I saw the three women that led the service and the music director come out of the
church, so I stopped and gave them all our flier about the music program. At this point no one has signed up, but
usually everyone waits for the last moment, they say. I told the women how exciting their service was and
admitted that I was a Methodist. They invited me to their Friday night service anyway. The evangelicals have really
stolen away many members of the Catholic Church over the years, and now they are fighting back with vigor. I
think it is a good thing that an institution as big as the Catholic Church can make some changes. This was as
evangelical as any service I have ever attended. They all seemed interested in the music festival and I hope some
will come. They all had wonderful voices.
I received word from Mercy, the Rotary secretary that the houses for the students and the bus for the morning
were all arranged. All the projects are ready, although I did not have time to visit the Presbyterian Fe church due to
lack of time. I am sure they will be ready for us tomorrow. All the home visits are arranged, the hospitals are ready,
the foster home and the orphanage are also ready for the volunteers. Now I can rest for one night. We had apple
pie for dessert. What could be better than that?
Thursday, March 5, 2009
As I was finishing my shower, the phone rang twice. I knew two people were waiting for me in the lobby, but I
couldn't understand the young woman at the desk. I got dressed and went to the lobby. Hugo, our bus driver was
there to introduce me to the new driver who would be picking up the group so I would know who he was. The
other man was a member of the fraternity that has its meetings across the street from the Pinocho of which I was
made an honorary member and a friend from the first year we were here. We ate in the restaurant his wife owned
the first three years of the mission before the Pinocho offered lunch and dinner. Roxanne, his wife, also helped me
with a student going to college that Joanna and I financed. In addition to being a good cook, she is also an
accountant. He brought with him a magnetic resonance of her neck, as she had been hoarse for four months. At
the bottom of the scans were her lungs. Unfortunately there was a softball‐sized mass at the top of the left lung
that clearly was trapping the recurrent laryngeal nerve that goes to the voice box. This is why she was hoarse. The
diagnosis was clearly cancer and Roxanna never smoked. This was probably alveolar cell cancer that affects
nonsmokers as well as smokers. What a way to start the day! She was to get a biopsy soon. I told him we would
pray for her and we will get the churches to pray for her also. Prayer works and that is her only hope at this point.
The plane arrived on time and soon we were driving back to the Pinocho, Dwight Bryant and the two faculty
members from UNC‐A in my truck and the students in the bus. It was more confusing than usual in the hotel
because some of the students wanted to stay in houses and some at the hotel, but I didn't know which were
which. We put all the cases in the lobby and went to breakfast. We figured out the housing later. I went to get gas
and pick up the others at the market where the women were doing the English lesson practicals with the youngest
of the boys, where they have to translate into English the purchase process. They said it didn't go well because the
boys couldn't understand the concept, but that project is finished. I am quite sure that young people can learn
different languages quickly, but probably don’t really understand that they are speaking different languages.
Some of the homes weren't ready, which was good as there wasn't much time before lunch. All the students had
just eaten two hours before, but they still managed to eat lunch, being glad there wasn't any dessert. All that
changed when the tiramisu was brought out. No one, however, could eat seconds even though there was plenty
left over. The chicken was the best I have eaten, flavored with rosemary and oven baked. I have tried to cut back
on eating having gained six pounds at the last check, but the food is just so good. It is hard to resist. Also, I
practically never eat dessert and now we eat it twice a day.
After a well‐deserved rest, for the recent arrivals at least, we went to the work site at the Fe Church. The sun was
bright and the thermometer is 95 degrees. The humidity is so high that the water just pours out of the
air‐conditioner. In reality, I told the pastor we would begin on Friday, so he was not there and his son was
removing bricks where we will build a small house for the family. They presently live in the office of the church. I
can't believe they live there when they could have diverted money for the classrooms to build a house for
themselves. This is why I want to help them so badly. They put the children in the community first. We moved the
bricks from the back of the land where they were delivered to the front where the project will begin tomorrow.
We looked like ants following each other with four bricks per trip. I gave a little girl a brick to carry, hoping the
other children would follow suit. Soon the children were helping carrying as many as three bricks at a time. The
huge pile of bricks was soon moved. One hole had been dug for the foundation. I am sure we will dig more
tomorrow. We needed also to remove the barbed wire that surrounded the property. This was no easy task as we
had no gloves and the wire cutters were awful. Basically they were good to hold the wire and bending the wire
eventually caused it to break. When we were finished, looked at my watch and we had been working only an hour.
It seemed like four. We went to the market that was nearby and bought another hammer and chisel for removing
the bricks, some trowels and gloved. We are now ready for tomorrow. We returned to the Pinocho to relax before
the Rotary meeting at 8:30. Everyone needed a rest. It would be nice to begin working at 6AM, work for two hours
and return for breakfast. We will see if that plan works. The heat today was just horrible.
The UNC‐A group and the Highlands volunteers moved the bricks with the help of the children
There were other groups at Rotary this night. The District Governors from Wisconsin and Indiana were present to
pledge their support for the Etta Center, named after the exchange student who died in a bus accident here
several years ago. Ironically, Sara, who almost died in the same accident, was the translator. This is the
organization that feeds 250 children a day and teaches their mothers skills such as hair cutting, sewing and
business skills in addition to healthy eating and cooking skills. We have been supportive of this project as it has the
same goals as our organization. Once again the meeting lasted into the night. We got home at 11PM. If we ever
had a meeting that lasted this long everyone would quit.
Friday, March 6, 2009
It feels like the group from UNC‐A has been here a week but they haven't actually been here a whole day. Three
groups ventured out today; three students to the hospital, three to home visits with a nurse from the clinic, and
three went to the church to construct, or really destruct the area where the living quarter will be. The rest of us
went to the foster home where most of the morning was spent watching a video teaching English. The lesson
today included a "trip" to Chicago. Since I was raised there they were able to ask me questions about the place.
They asked mostly about the weather, which can be very interesting in Chicago.
The afternoon work will need to be short as Mary and I both have appointments at five o'clock. It is cloudy, but still
hot, 96 degrees.
The girl's orphanage and the Fe church are close to each other so we all piled into the truck to make only one trip.
The three girls going to the home visits went in a taxi. We were all getting ready to work when the "blue phone"
rang to my cell phone. We have three cell phones and we try to get one with each group. The clinic where they
were dropped off was not the correct one. They were, however, near the Pinocho and were walking back there. I
usually drop everyone off at their appointed destination and this was the first time I sent a group in a taxi and look
what happened! I called the clinic and explained that they were dropped off at the wrong destination and they said
they would wait. The girls arrived about 30 minutes late and I arrived at the work site with only an hour left to
work. Things are fairly unorganized at this point, but by Monday we should really be able to work. We spent the
afternoon straightening out the rebar and chipping away bricks and cement. When we finally get to the building
aspect, the project should rise quickly. Soon we were back to the girl's Hogar and back to the Pinocho where I
showered and got ready for the TV interview. We arrived a little late but it didn't seem to matter. This was
obviously a station that appealed to a younger audience, as youths were everywhere and the atmosphere was very
casual. We were first up and our interviewer was a young woman dressed in a small satin pink frock. She had no
time to rehearse, similar to the last interview. It went well and all to soon it was over. I could look at the monitor
and see that they played some scenes from the Hogar while our voices were on the air. I think it looked very good.
Once again, Danny did most of the talking. I then went to get a haircut and go to the Casa de Cultura to see if they
would pass out flyers for the music program. The media just happened to be there and we set up an appointment
for Monday morning at 9AM. I always get my haircut in the same place and they remember me there. As I left I
told them that I will be back for another cut in a year and they said that was really inexpensive to get only one
haircut a year. I got some cash from an ATM just incase to trip to the jungle costs something as we are going with a
guide. I don't want to be short on cash, as practically no one takes plastic in the smaller towns. Herman came in
during lunch and asked if I had time to talk to the mayor on the way to the jungle. Maybe they have a Rotary
project in mind. When someone wants to talk to me it is usually about money, but that is why we are here and
some of the best projects have come about by chance meetings.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The Jungle
Herman agreed to help us take an adventure to the jungle in the Amboro Park. The National Park extends along
the eastern edge of the Andes from La Paz to the southern end of Bolivia. The park name changes but the area, I
think is contiguous. We left at 8:30 for Buena Vista, a beautiful, peaceful town about 60 miles from Montero. The
road there is quite good and with two trucks only a few needed to ride in the back. We passed fields of sugar cane
as we rode toward the west seeing the mountains in the distance shortly after leaving Montero. We met the
mayor of Buena Vista as we arrived in the plaza. The roads of the village are all paved with brick and the village
square is very pretty and clean, not cluttered with all the paper and plastic cups as there are in Montero. We had
coffee and refreshments at the local cafe and soon the mayor reappeared with two guides. They the adventure
really began. The paved roads ended and a series of dirt roads, each getting smaller led us to the jungle. Finally, all
covered with dust, we came to the first of many rivers we had to ford. I had been here twice before and knew that
this was the largest river. We had been told that rain in the south of the country had made the river rise as there
had been little rain here since out arrival, but the river looked placid and we crossed without incident. I was
concerned because this is not my vehicle. On the other side of the river I changed out of four‐wheel drive and
there was a horrible clanking sound as I went through the gears. I hoped that the transmission was not going out
due to the trip through the water but I had no idea what the problem was. After some nervous moments, I put the
truck into reverse and then went forward again and the noise ceased. Perhaps the transmission had not
completely disengaged from four‐wheel drive. I was relieved, as were the rest of us, but in the back of my mind I
was worrying about being stranded here in the middle of the jungle. We forded three more smaller rivers and
eventually arrived at a small came to which I had come several years before. Here we met another guide who lived
here, caring for the trails and looking out for poachers. There were two small buildings where visitors used to be
able to sleep at night but now were only used by the ranger. There was a covered area where we ate lunch being
12:30 by now. There were two bathrooms but you had to flush with a bucket of water. There was a running water
system but the reservoir needed to be filled by using a generator, which apparently had little use recently. Soon
we finished the sandwiches provided by the Pinocho, split into two groups and left for the paths in the jungle. I had
realized several years ago that we actually live in a jungle in Highlands. In fact, there are more wild animals in our
woods than there are here. All the animals here are nocturnal and we had no time to stay the night. The guide
brought us to the river where the bed was sandy, as the river only rises as high as we were walking four to five
times a year when the rain falls for two hour or more. We saw tracts of two tigers, which I estimate weighed 100
pounds by the size of the paws. He told us how to protect ourselves if a tiger approached. We were to all grab the
belt of the person in front and stick our heads out in different directions and the tiger would think we were a
many‐headed beast and the tiger run away. Of course, he had no such defense as he was here all alone most of the
time. He new the names of the trees and there were some very large and interesting ones. The Bibosi Giganti was
the mast interesting to me. I had seen this tree seven years ago but I had not noticed the huge root system. The
tree sat on the crest of a hill and root systems ran for many kilometers in different directions toward the various
streams that run through the forest. Twenty people could not put their arms around the base of this tree, but the
roots were the most interesting part, coursing over the ground in every direction. The other Bibosi tree is a
parasite, growing up other trees and eventually killing the host tree. When that tree dies and falls down, the bibosi
tree also dies, giving rise to a song about working together in harmony, not like this relationship in which both
eventually perish. We swam in a river at the apex of our trek and ventured back exhausted from the hilly climb and
the heat. Mosquitoes were there but our repellent must have worked, as no one seemed to be bitten. There were
pesky little black flies omnipresent, but unlike the ones in the north of the US and Canada, these didn't bite and
were just a distraction, nothing more. Soon we were retracing our steps in the pickups and about midway to Buena
Vista, on the dusty road; we stopped at the shop owned by the guide's family where we had one of the best beers I
have ever drunk. Not because the beer was really that good, but because we were dusty and dry. Refreshed we
returned to our journey to Buena Vista where I bought raw chocolate and coffee beans grown nearby. In the past
both of these things have proved to be very good. We had seen raw chocolate cakes offered for sale in the market,
but these at least look more sanitary being pressed into round hockey puck shapes and covered with plastic wrap.
They very likely are made the same way. I always use them in cooking, which requires the chocolate to be boiled
for several minutes, killing any germs that might be hiding within.
We ate the rest of the food before coming in to the Pinocho. There we had told them that was would not be eating
dinner so everyone was on their own. I for one was not hungry and ready to retire after a nice shower.
Sunday March 8, 2009
This was a special day in many ways. Dianne had never been baptized and was so enamored with the small church
and its pastor that she decided to do it here. I had told the pastor last week and he was happy if not proud to do it.
Flowers were on the altar and the sacraments of bread and juice flanked the vessel of water. The service had the
many songs, the tunes of which were familiar if not the words. Soon it was time for the baptism, which was very
interesting. The words, as far as I could understand, were very similar the ones used here. The water was dripped
three times and they we had communion. All those who had previously been baptized were welcomed to join in,
the children having been allowed to go to their Sunday school classes. Soon we were off to the foster home with
all the UNC‐A students. The service went past the time we were supposed to pick up the students and we took
another tem minutes to change clothes to go to the Hogar, it being already 95 degrees at 10:30AM. A few clouds
were forming in the heavens portending cooler weather, I hoped. Even though we arrived an hour late, we were
among the first to arrive. We played with the boys who were somewhat subdued due to the heat also. We sat
under a tree, and I thought I felt a drop of rain, even though there were no clouds in the sky that I could see. Soon
there was a brief but brisk shower that forced almost everyone into the shelter of the home. I went to roll up the
windows of the truck, but on that side of the building there was hardly a drop of rain. The solitary cloud was
directly over the Hogar, only visible if you were not near the house. Soon the rain was gone and the sky became
cloudless and the heat insufferable, approaching 100 degrees and 100 percent humidity.
As we drank some refreshments, a mariachi band began to play having been ushered into the house in secret to
surprise us all. We began to dance while the media took videos of us. I imagine we will be on the news and in the
paper tomorrow. Even dancing in the shade was hot. The leader of the band put his sombrero on my head (these
are really heavy) and after two songs I gave it back. Finally the food was served and all partook in the feast
prepared by the Rotary women and cooked on the grill by two men who must be used to the heat. As hot as it was
outside, it was at least twenty degrees hotter where they were. They should receive a medal for their work. Then
came the traditional cake event. The birthday person takes a bite and someone pushes the face in the cake. I know
to remove my glasses and go along with the gag. I kissed the woman who pushed me in the cake and she got the
frosting on her cheek also. It took me a whole package of napkins to get most of the frosting off my face. It was a
gooie, sweet, white frosting with a caramel drizzle so it stuck to my face very well. After eating three different
cakes, not to offend anyone, we played football. I was the referee and the gringos played the boys in the Hogar.
The boys won 3‐0 and everyone was happy to stop. Actually I called the game at 1‐nil, but the gringos wanted to
play on to even the score. As the previous game had gone, there were many more scoring opportunities on our
goal than the boy's.
At 7:30 we went to the Nazarene Church for a dinner. Several of the students were feeling tired and even ill from
the heat and the games at the Hogar so they stayed home and rested, missing a really good evening. The small
church was decorated for us and after the wife of the pastor sang a song, we sat down to eat. In addition to singing
and helping with the church, she also cooks for weddings and festivals, but very inexpensively. The meat here is
tasty, but very tough. The cattle are free range and not fed corn. She made the beef tender by cooking in wine, red
or white, with onions, for four hours. Nothing more or less. The meat tasted like pot roast and had the same
consistency. It was the most tender meat I have had in Bolivia. There was the ubiquitous chicken that was also very
good with vegetables of various sorts. For dessert we managed to taste all three of the cakes in banana, pineapple
and strawberry flavors. That made six cakes all total for the day. After all the activity we all felt ready to go to bed,
but the effort from this small church was certainly appreciated by all.
Monday, March 9, 2009
We had told the pastor at the Fe Church that we would be there at 6AM and three of us made it there. Dwight and
Dianne went to the orphanage at the same time to paint. We spent the morning bending rebar in various jigs to
form shapes that would be welded together for the roof, or tied together with wire to be set in concrete for
support. It was a monotonous job, but interesting, as the tools were all hand made of discarded junk. The
ingenuity of these people to make something out of nothing just amazes me. Having a meeting at 9, we left at 8AM
with the weather looking foreboding for rain, but cloudy and cool. This was a good time to work, as it was quite
cool. It was also interesting to see all the activity in the town at this early hour, the sun just rising at 6. Following
breakfast and a shower several of us went to the Casa de Cultura, to be interviewed. The Culture House decided to
become a sponsor for out music festival. They asked a lot of questions that really still don't have answers, like who
can perform and when does it start. Once we have the groups signed up, then that question may be answered.
This is the first activity like this to be held in this town so who knows how it will pan out.
At about 10, we split into two groups, one at the orphanage to finish the painting and the other to the foster
home. I had only just arrived at the home when I received a phone call about the pastor who had performed the
baptism service yesterday. He had abdominal pain and wanted me to give him a second opinion. I rushed to the
hospital, one I didn't know before, and he clearly had a ruptured appendix. He had been sick for three days and
now had all the signs of peritonitis. He didn't look that ill, but he didn't look good either. I noticed him sweating
during the service yesterday and wondered if he was feeling well. It was very hot so sweating was not unusual, but
he was perspiring more than we people who were not accustomed to the heat. With my blessing they prepared
him for surgery as I left to return to the home, at this time to pick up the people to return to the Pinocho for lunch.
Following lunch we went to two locations again, The Fe Church and the orphanage. AS we arrived at the church,
the pastor said that the one with appendicitis was not breathing after the surgery. Returning to the hospital we
found him on the respirator. All his vital signs were fine and the anesthesiologist there was an old acquaintance
from the laparoscopic surgery we did four years ago. I did not hold him in high regard and we refused to operate
with him the following year. He explained that the patient had awakened during the surgery and he administered
more fentanyl. There was no drop in the blood pressure or lack of oxygen, but the patient would not wake up.
When he left I asked the surgeon of this were common here and he said this was the first case. I hope he just got
too much medicine and will wake up after a few hours, but we all decided that he should be sent to Santa Cruz
where they had intensive care units. The worst thing he could have is a stroke in the reticular activating system, a
pea‐sized area of the brain stem that controls waking and sleeping and breathing. When this is affected, everything
is normal, pupils, brain waves, heart and other bodily functions but you don't wake up. Something like this
happens about once in 10,000 operations. We prayed for him in the hall and I offered, from the mission, to pay for
two days in intensive care. At that time we will know how serious this would be. IN the car on the way back to the
church, the pastor of the church gave me his testimony and how he did penitence for three months when he found
Christ. He really didn't seem all that upset by his friend's illness. Perhaps he is not aware of the gravity of the
situation. We returned to find the students had bent almost all of the steel that needed to be bent and soon we
went back to the orphanage where helped to finish the painting. Tomorrow this group will return to the foster
home to paint the bedroom, the other rooms being in fair shape at the moment. I couldn't quit worrying about the
pastor in Santa Cruz. By tomorrow he will be alert and well or in very serious shape. We will be at the church again
at 6AM. The rain did come to the south of us, but we just had a cloudy and cooler day.
Two of the volunteers had small skin problems, one a large wart on his elbow area and the other a piece of glass in
his arm from an auto accident in December. I took them both to the Cruz Rojas Clinic where I excised the former
and removed the later. Apparently no one does this kind of work as three nurses came in later to ask if I would
remove various skin lesions from them. I have left suture trays here every year so there should be plenty of
instruments. This time I had disposable suture trays that had been given to us as samples. In the past the
instruments were so bad in the disposable kits that they were not worth using, let alone, throwing them away
afterwards. I have to admit these kits were just the right thing for here. There were drapes, syringes, three sizes of
needles, a needle holder, a hemostat, gauze and two tweezers, one with teeth and one without. The nurses here
couldn't believe these were disposable and frankly, neither could I. I will certainly bring more of these next year. I
burned off on lesion from the nose that was so small I could hardly see it and another woman had a growth I will
tie off on her neck. Another had a mole on her abdomen that somehow bothers her. She has several on her face
that would be of more concern to me. Many people here have large moles on their faces. Perhaps these are
considered beauty marks.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Only two of us made it to the Fe Church at 6AM again, Kate Bove, who was here last year and is the only student
from UNC‐A to come twice, accompanied me. It remained cool and cloudy but no rain. The temperature was a fine
change for us after the oppressive heat and humidity of the previous week. It looked like rain to the south on Santa
Cruz but it is hard to tell. There is no weather channel here. We bent pieces of metal again. This work is boring and
the students will not be able to see the fruits of their labor. Kate had done this kind of work before in Costa Rica
where she helped build a house. After two hours we went back to the Pinocho where the group greeted me with
Happy Birthday. Since we had all the parties Sunday, I hope that will be the last time I hear that tune today. I did,
however, get many congratulatory phone calls throughout the day. Following breakfast we left for our
destinations, hospital, Fe Church and the Hogar. There was no good news about the pastor who remains on the
ventilator and we plan to go to the hospital tomorrow to visit him. Kate was the only one to get off the "bus" at the
Fe Church so I asked her to try to take a taxi back to save us some time. Kate is a really gregarious, pretty young
woman and I certainly would have stayed to work with her if I were one of the students. She also has asked if she
could work with the foster home next year after graduating. She wants to spend a year improving her already very
good Spanish and really getting immersed in the culture here. I think that would be a great thing for our home and
for her. I will be very supportive of her in her endeavor. Almost all of us went to the home to paint and work in
other capacities with the children. We made a few more pens but the kids seem a bit lethargic about working,
even though it is cooler. The younger ones really want to do the lathe work, but it can and could be dangerous
even for adults. Some of the students made pens for themselves this morning and many come to the carpentry
shop to try their hand at it. Joanna brought two boys out finally to be taught pen making in English. I generally try
to speak in both English and Spanish as many of the words for the tools and parts I do not know in Spanish. Two of
the girls went to Santa Cruz today and will meet up with us when we go there tomorrow afternoon. Their
housemother, Ericka, took them and her daughter stayed with them. Soon it was time for dinner and home for the
night.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Again I went to the small church, this time with Violet Swindle. It is hard to get up this early but it is a great time to
be able to work in the cool morning air. We finally got to finish something‐ a long piece of steel, four large rebars
connected by the small quadrangle pieces we bent over the pervious three days. This will be buried in cement
eventually so no one will see it, but it is good to finish something. I don't know it this will be foundation material or
used over the first floor wall to give strength for a second floor if that ever comes to pass. Breakfast was at 8 and
then we went to finish the painting at the home, teach English and make pens again. Almost as soon as I had
arrived, I got a call on my cell phone reminding me of the meeting at a kindergarten. I knew I had a meeting today
but I couldn't here where it was or with whom due to the noise in the shop when I received the call. I had on dirty
work clothes but I rushed off to the appointment. The women at the kindergarten were somewhat known to me
one being the wife of a Rotarian and others were well known in the social structure here. They needed another
classroom, a covered area for the children to play in the sun and rain and a computer for the office. As usual, I
asked them to make a list of requests to be considered by the board of directors of the mission. I took several
photos showing how neat the place was and what impressed me most were the classrooms where all the children
wore uniforms unique to the classroom. I suppose it makes it easier to know where each child should be. I left with
a good feeling about the place and we are always looking for work sites for the volunteers.
The carpentry shop is now very busy, but I am appalled at the amount of sawdust and other wooden detritus that
is piling up. This should be removed daily or even more frequently if there is a lot as it causes friction in the
machines. Perhaps that is why so many of the machines don't work. Several of the girls made pens and the boys
also tried, but the girls seemed to have a better eye for what was right and proper. All the pens will write,
however. The weather remained cool and cloudy. I don't think I have ever had so many days of clouds and no rain,
but I am not complaining. We actually could use some rain, but I am afraid to pray for it here, as I know how hard it
can rain in the tropics. We almost always go to the big city of Santa Cruz on Wednesdays and today was no
exception. We went to our favorite shop first and then we dropped off most of the people off at the plaza. The
microbus then took us to the Baby Jesus Hospital II where the pastor still lay in a coma. I talked to his hospitalist
and I was very impressed by his knowledge. He had been in renal and hepatic failure from the sepsis but both the
kidneys and the liver were almost normal now. He did not respond to pain but his eyes fluttered with stimulation
around the eyes. Most of the major organs have the capability to recover from shock but the brain often doesn't. I
went to the cashier to try to pay for a few more days of care as there is some sign of improvement but they only
took Visa and I have Master Card for the mission. When we return to Santa Cruz, I will bring $1500 in cash. The
cost per day is much more than the doctors in Montero had said. On the way out, Dr. Lima walked in offering his
support to the family. That was nice of him and I think he feels a bit guilty. While I was here I remembered that
tomorrow there will be a cleanup of the city to help get rid of the dengue fever. Everyone is expected to cleanup
his or her house and yard to get rid of anything that could hold water and promote mosquito growth. To make the
mandate work, all the stores are to be closed and no traffic is allowed. I called the Sub prefect who just happened
to be in a meeting about the issue at that moment. He called me back an hour later and arranged for us to get a
special permit to be able to drive about the city.
We went back to the plaza to see if a restaurant there would accommodate the 24 of us and all the tables were
small and round so we decided to go to the Casa del Camba Restaurant where the bus driver could join us. He can't
bring the bus into the center of the city. The restaurant is good, not great, but the atmosphere is wonderful with
live music and a wonderful wait staff. Also they can accommodate parties of a hundred or more so our group
which has grown to 24 with the addition of Dr. Dardo Chavez and his family. Dardo is very important to our mission
with his clinics providing home visits and clinic space for me and not the least of things, the use of his truck, which
has been invaluable. We have hardly seen him as he has so many responsibilities. Daniel is his employee and is
basically hired as a translator, but he works with the mission groups when they come to Montero. Due to the
political situation, there have been fewer groups but we have noted no animosity of any kind. The people love us if
the government doesn't. This country would be much worse off if all the missionaries didn't come here and there
are many places that do welcome groups like ours. Our friends here make it easy to return. We ate and then
danced and returned to Montero at 10PM, arriving at the hotel and hour later. I wanted to go to the fraternity to
thank them for the scraping of the road to the Hogar, but getting up to be at work at 6AM is beginning to wear on
me so I went directly to bed, finding the special permit lying on my pillow. It sure is nice to have friends.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Joanna, Dwight, Kully and Dianne all got up at 5 to catch a 7AM plane to Cochabamba. It was raining, finally, so I
thought I could sleep in, catching up on some sleep. At 7:15 I got a call to reminding me that there was a Cesarean
section at 7:30 that several of the group wanted to see. I also wanted to watch, as it was twins and I thought I
might be of some assistance if the babies weren't OK. We rushed off to the clinic, not three blocks from the hotel.
Because of the edict concerning driving, the usually prompt doctor was a little late and we had plenty of time to
change clothes and enter the operating room before the surgeon arrived. In walked Dr. Lima, the same
anesthesiologist who cared for our pastor friend. I watched him carefully as he gave the spinal anesthetic. I used to
give those myself when I used to deliver babies many years ago before malpractice made it impossible to deliver
babies in a small hospital. Everything went well this time and both babies were fine. A pediatrician took the babies
to the neonatology room where we found them in the same incubator. I returned to the OR to see Dr. Plata repair
the wound and we returned for breakfast at 8:30. Since no one could drive except us, our lazy beginning to the day
was quite well accepted. The rain was steady but not hard. We all went to the Hogar were the road was beginning
to get muddy again. I told the men who had the road scraped that they needed to put stone on it also and now
they would see the reason why. It will be as bad as ever in a few days if the rain continues. We managed to split up
into several groups and I gave the video camera to the fourth boy to do his day in the life. I have made a movie of
the first three and I will show it in the afternoon. We made some of the older corkscrews and some of the very
small children, Franklin and the new Marcos, we now have three, helped sand. They were thrilled. They were all
studying in the afternoon when we returned and I showed the movie to break the study time. They all went back
to studying afterwards.
It was remarkable to drive around the city without traffic although soon I suspect, many people began to drive
around although all the stores were closed. We need to get ready for our festival on Saturday, but no work on that
can be accomplished today. The pastor at the Nazarene Church has several teams from the group of children they
feed at the center and they will come to play our boys and enjoy the food. Dianne Ray is planning to have deviled
eggs, hotdogs, chips and banana splits. Hot dogs are not a common food here so we will have to have the buns
made specially and the hotdogs made from scratch. All this will take time tomorrow.
Rotary took up the evening, again lasting to nearly 11 o'clock. There was a new group from the Etta Center that
had arrived today. Our group was made smaller by the absence of the ones who went to Cochabamba, but there
were plenty of visitors. This club has done many good things with the help of other Rotary Clubs throughout the
world. They certainly have been a great help to our projects.
Friday, March 13, 2009
The UNC‐A group will leave tonight giving them almost a full day of activities and the opportunity to say "goodbye"
to all the places we have worked. Because of the rain there were no 6AM activities, but three went to the hospital
and the rest went to the Hogar at a more decent hour. After staying there all morning we said goodbye and went
off for lunch. After eating some went to the girl’s orphanage and the rest to the Fe Church to finish building. I left
to pick up the rest of the group who went to the market to buy the baked beans, mustard, ketchup and
mayonnaise. I had called Herman to send 120 eggs to the Pinocho so they could be boiled and deviled tomorrow.
Also, Fernando was to bring 180 soft drinks. The ladies came out of the market and walked down the street after
dropping off their purchases. I waited, double‐parked in front of the bakery while they ordered 200 hotdog buns.
While they had been in the market, I went to the meat market down the street and ordered the sausages, the
closest thing we could find to hotdogs. I also bought a large bag of cat and dog food. These were almost $50 each.
No wonder everyone gives their animals leftovers, but rice and left over soup don't make for healthy animals. Our
dogs and cats really like the dry food and the boys like giving it to them. They would be ready tomorrow morning. I
had to go to the airport to pick up the Ole Miss group so my morning would be full.
A bus took the group to the airport and Joanna and I went to the Rotary president's house for dinner. It was an
interesting evening. Poncho an old friend here really controlled the conversation before dinner and then the
women seemed to take over after the meal. Everything was cooked in a Lebanese style with stuffed grape leaves,
small fried meat balls (I don't remember the name of these) squash and vegetables. Dessert was fruit. They kept
talking about the fruit in the market being dirty, which I have no doubt is true, but the local grapes such as these
were sweeter and clean. I ate one and worried about my choice and bravery or carelessness as the case may be. I
said we needed to leave at about 11PM but no one seemed to take notice. Finally I just got up and all the other
guests followed suit and we made it back to the Pinocho at 11:30. I will need to go to the airport earlier as the time
has changed in the US.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
The group coming didn't have extra baggage so I met the driver at the hotel and we went to the airport together.
The plane arrived an hour late, having had mechanical problems again. This placed my schedule one hour behind. I
had lots of things to do and places to go to pick up all the items we ordered yesterday. The butcher shop called me
to be sure I didn't forget to pick up the sausages, being over $100 worth and, being a friend, he didn't make me
pay yesterday. I brought the students to the hotel where they ate breakfast while I went out to do errands. I picked
up the meat, went around the corner, double parked again in front of the bakery, (this is perfectly acceptable here)
and picked up the 200 buns. They looked fantastic. We should be so lucky to be able to get freshly baked bread like
this, and they cost about 6 cents a piece. I needed to purchase ice‐cream, but I thought I would do that after I
picked up the students, not wanting the dessert to melt. I had told the new team that I would pick them up at
noon and I discovered that there was no charcoal at the Hogar. Therefore, I took Pablo to the market on the way
home to buy charcoal and a new soccer ball for the "tournament." There is a special place in the market where
they sell homemade charcoal and we bought a really big bag costing about $3.00. I picked up the students and
rushed to the ice‐cream parlor where we got nine kilos of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice‐cream. Fortunately
there was room for all of this in the freezer after a little rearranging. The soft drinks had been delivered and the
supply had been depleted by the boys who drank as many as 10 apiece. I don't think they will play very well with
all that fluid in them. We started the fire. It was almost 1PM and Dianne wanted us to eat at one. The other teams,
and ours too, were not even on the campus having all gone to a religious service where they also were fed.
Everything worked out fine in the end, just not on the schedule we North Americans had set. The fire was very hot
and the students did some Ole Miss engineering, raising the grill with bricks and putting empty cans in front of the
grill to protect our shins from burning. When done the dogs were put in the oven after we figured our how to light
the gas. The stove and oven in the kitchen ran out of gas and that needed to be changed also. Fortunately Pablo
was with us and knew where it was and how to remove a little plastic plug that probably indicated the tank is full.
At about 2PM the other teams arrived with their parents and I feared we would not have enough food. Our boys
were eating all the time despite admonitions from me. They were to play the winning team played between the
two visiting teams. The red team was very good and well coached. Our boys just play and have no set plays. The
first game was 3‐0 for the red team. Since our boys all had on red t‐shirts, they changed with the loosing team to
reduce the confusion. I was proud of our boys holding the score down to 1‐0, and we had several good chances to
score goals, but missed. Our goalkeeper kept the game close. Finally, everyone was ready to eat. We had been
bringing the adult spectators a plate of food during the game so they were fairly well satiated. The soft drinks were
completely gone before the games were completed, but many just filled the empty bottles and drank water from
the faucet. The adults played a game including some of the really young players that had no chance to play in the
real games. One took a ball in the stomach and was out for the duration. Franklin, six years old, stole the show as
far as I was concerned. Even against adults he showed no fear. He already speaks three languages, although I don't
think he knows what is one language or the other. He speaks English very well to us, Spanish, his new language
only speaking it for a month since coming to the home, and Queshua, his native tongue. Pedro takes him to the
market for him to be able to speak Queshua so he doesn't forget it. I fear he will soon at any rate. The score of this
game was 1‐0, but I am not sure who won as the teams were confused and most didn't know which side they were
on. The rest of the afternoon was filled with Frisbee throwing and the children playing on the playground we had
made four years ago. Our boys rarely play on it and it was good to hear the playful laughing of children playing on
this really nice facility. As the shadows lengthened, it was time for the visitors to leave. A few had come on
motorcycles, but most had walked to our place. It was probably a mile walk and no one seemed to mind. It was a
very successful gathering and they want to come back monthly to play a similar round robin tournament. Our boys
really need this kind of interaction. I wouldn't be surprised if the local school where the boys attend wouldn't like
to come as well. This soccer field is the best in the town, including the one at the stadium.
We got back to the hotel just in time to eat again. I was not hungry and as 11Pm rolled around I found the answer
to the grape question last night. Actually whether it was the grape or the same illness that affected Jill last week,
who will ever know, but I was up all night. The music from across the street blared unto after 4AM so I got little if
any sleep. I had a temperature of 100.4 and felt achy.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Since I was not feeling well, I got Luciano, the husband of Anna Maria to take Dwight, Dianne and Mary to the
airport. I went to breakfast only to let the house staff clean my room. I went back to bed and slept for the first
time, needing to get up periodically due to the illness. In the afternoon I worked on the movies the children had
made and spent most of the afternoon trying to change a misspelling in the text of one of the movies. I did this
before but the solution alluded me today. I quit before frustration overcame me. It was a beautiful, cloudless day
and I missed going to church. Perhaps I will feel well enough to attend an 8PM service.
In the evening I felt better but I had no energy to do anything. I ate a little food for dinner and had no ill effects. I
had a backache from sleeping so much but I went to bed instead of trying to do anything. I think it is safer.
Monday, March 16, 2009
I am feeling fine again, but still have the backache. We dropped off the groups at the three locations, the hospital,
and the two churches. I was hoping Dr. Patzi would come by the Pinocho like he did in past years, but he did not
arrive so I took all the students in the truck and introduced the three to the rounding doctors. Poor Dr. Patzi was
nowhere in sight. I fear he tries to jam too many hours into a 24‐hour day. Since Kully was with this group, I felt
confident she would get them back to the hotel for lunch, having been here almost a month now. The others went
to the churches. The work at both locations is slow and tedious. At the Nazarene Church, the pastor is tiling the
bathrooms to preserve the walls. It is at best a three‐man job and there were six students there. Tomorrow we will
have house calls and that will distribute the load better. They are still putting the steel frames together at the Fe
Church. This, too, is tedious and not very satisfying as, for example, laying brick as your progress can be measured
on an hour‐to‐hour level. Still, the work needs to be done. At the Hogar, Alfredo made the video of the three
smallest boys sanding the corkscrews that I carved on the lathe. Franklin, the smallest really wanted to do
something and this was something he could safely do. Even the psychologist said it was good for him and the other
boys to do this for their pride. They actually did a better job than the older boys, as they were not in a hurry to
finish. Later the group from the children's Defense League came to ask questions and find out how Franklin was
doing. They were very pleased to find he was fitting in well and was doing such a fine job in all his work. They
asked me what I thought of him and I said he was a very intelligent boy. They seemed happy as they left. There are
very few places here that offer as much help and activities as our boys get. I am proud of that.
On Monday afternoon I had a meeting with the leaders of the carpentry shop. The new administrator was put on
the hot seat. He had done a lot in the little time he has been employed but he had not completed all the reports as
he was supposed to do. Dr. Plata looked straight ahead and voiced his displeasure. Mario looked like he might cry
as I thin he thought he had brought a good report. Actually he did report a small profit, be he had not done all he
was supposed to do. I wouldn't mind having Dr. Plata running my business, but I don't think I would like to have to
work for him. We scheduled another meeting Friday to allow him to gather all the rest of the information. It is hot
again and it is difficult to do anything due to the heat. The shop has potential, but we finally agreed that the old
administrator is the one who got us into the poor situation we are in and he will have to go. None of us have
confidence in him. Also, for years we have had no contracts with the workers. While this is quite normal in shops
here, we could all be sued if something were to happen to one of the workers. The old administrator is missing a
thumb from an accident in another shop where he worked before coming here.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
We went to the airport to pick up Susan Clearman and Les Scott, the music duo from the Highlands Methodist
Church. We arrived at the airport just as they emerged from customs. I have spent hours waiting in this airport, so
this time I asked Anna Maria to call and see if the plane was on time. She said it had just landed and we were still
here in the Pinocho! It usually takes 45 minutes to get to the airport and at least that much time to get through
baggage claims and customs so I thought we would be OK. As we drove into the airport, the fine hotel buses and
several cars were coming toward us indicating that some had already found their bags and had left the terminal. I
was concerned that they might have arrived and thought they were stranded, so I was relieved that they were just
coming out. Of course I told them we had been waiting for an hour. All the flights have been late this year until this
one. You never know!
While they rested, I went with Danny to develop some advertising for the festival and pay for the lighting, dropping
Joanna off at the Casa de Cultura to join the boys who were brought there for their first dance lesson with the
fitness teacher at the center. By the time I got there, everyone was completely soaked with sweat, including the
teacher, who is in great shape. I joined in with one of the dances just to prove that dancing in not only a girl
activity. It really is great exercise and the boys seemed pleased to see me join in. I was quickly out of breath and
sweating with the rest of them. It is still hot. Finally we went back to the home where we had little time before he
had to pick up the various teams. The hospital teams are good at getting taxis as they are in the middle of town,
but the other work sites are not near busy streets although there is a motorcycle taxi stop near the Church or the
Nazarene. I do not allow them to use these, but I know they occasionally do. There are no fender benders on a
motorcycle, but here it is not unusual to see the driver, a mother and three children riding a motorcycle. Social
services would be called in a minute in the US. The record from my experience is six people, but that was during
the taxi holiday when the drivers take their families for a ride.
In the afternoon I got Herlan, the music equivalent of Susan and Les together and they worked on a few numbers
for the festival. He wanted to sing a song for Father's day, which is always on March 19th here, no matter what day
it is. That is the day after tomorrow and it is a Thursday. This will be televised and give us a chance to talk about
the festival again. Not many groups are signed up yet, but I have hopes as they continue to tell me that no one
commits until the last minute. We were missing two who were at the Pinocho with the same bug I had so I am sure
it is a virus at this point with a three‐day incubation period. I am feeling guilty as I probably passed this one around
on Saturday, the day before I fell ill. Fortunately, this is a 12 to 24 hour illness and the Lomotil seems to help the
symptoms.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
We split into the different groups as usual. The Fe Church project is almost ready to pour concrete for the
foundation. The holes are deep, as deep as any I have seen for construction as they anticipate the structure being
more than one story someday. Still there has been no paid labor used. They did use my laser level in the evening to
make sure everything was perfect. I have had this level for years and now it has found a home here in Montero.
Now all the houses will be perfectly level and with exact right angles. At the boy's home we had a very good time.
Les Scott and Susan Clearman played songs for the boys to learn English. The first song was about putting your
finger on different parts of the body. All the boys, especially Franklin, the youngest, know all the body parts. Then
there was the Sammy song, who went to the store to buy bread. Sammy gets tired of walking and imagines he
would like to be an animal. The boys have to choose an animal and then act as though they were going as that
animal. Even the older boys seemed to have ball being snakes, rabbits and kangaroos. Les really has a way with
children. Susan played on her accordion to give volume to the song. It is really pleasant to watch two such talented
people work together. I hope they will be appreciated at the festival. We found out that the Rotary secretary has
been in the hospital with an infected leg for two days. Today is the last day for the people to sign up so no one has
been able to do so. Tomorrow when we go on television again, we will tell them that they can sign up until Friday
at 4PM and waive the entrance fee.
In the afternoon we usually go to Santa Cruz for shopping and dinner and this was no exception; however, I had a
meeting with the principals working at the home. Dr. Plata wants there to be a regimen, which is good, but I fear it
won’t last long as it is not in the nature of these people. Everyone worked out a plan for all the children to be
pared with one young and one older. Each of the new areas of the home will have someone in charge, e.g. the fish
farm, the ducks, the pigs, the wood shop, cooking, cleaning and the farm, growing fruit and vegetables. The
planners at the Muyurina school think we can actually make a little profit selling the produce, thus giving the boys
incentive and teaching them about life and making money and taking responsibility. All these things are important
if the older boys stay until they are 16‐18 years old. During the morning dance class, Lucas, who still is a student at
the Muyurina School and had done his externship at the Hogar, came in and you could tell in an instant that the
boys loved him. He will be in charge of the older boy's house when he graduated in a few months. He plays guitar,
works with computers, sings and is good at all the areas of work listed above. He is the answer to my dreams and
when he leaves in a year, other people from the school can fill his position, giving some stability to the staffing of
the older boy's house. The problem that I can see at this point is that I know that this organization likes to take
over projects that they see as working out well. Someday, the mission and I will not be in a position to do so by
ourselves, so maybe this is not a bad idea, but I hate to loose control.
I went to Santa Cruz late with Danny and went to the immigration department to extend our visas, as they only
give us a 30‐day visa. Finally we found we just have to pay 14 Bolivianos a day that we spend here beyond our visa.
I didn't notice it but I received a 90‐day visa when I crossed over the border into Bolivia from Peru so I am OK. After
shopping we went to the Brasargent restaurant, A Brazilian style restaurant where you eat meat after meat all
served on swords. They also have a very nice salad bar for the vegetarians. The three thinnest people just kept on
eating way after we had all had too much to eat. The dessert bar is to kill for also. I almost got sick watching them
continue to eat. They tried everything from the meats we all would enjoy, and then the kidney, chicken hearts,
cows utter and blood sausage. When we got home, they all went to Exponorte, the county fair‐like exhibit that
happens this time of year. Youth! It is wasted on the young. After I went to bed, Emily Laird woke us up
complaining of belly pain and diarrhea. I thought she probably had what the rest of us have had and gave her some
diarrhea pills and told her to see me in the morning. AS I went back to sleep I thought of the story of all the people
who had food poisoning, but one had appendicitis. She had pain. The rest of us did not.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
This would prove to be one of the most challenging days ever for me in Bolivia. Emily came to my room for a more
complete examination. She had had bloody mucus in her stools and the pain that was in the upper abdomen was
now more in the middle. I told her that pain in the middle of the abdomen was generally benign and her bowel
sounds were active. She had no vomiting and a low‐grade temperature like the rest of us. I told her to rest and eat
liquids and the music crew went to the TV station. We arrived at 7:15 and Danny was already there. The Bolivian
singer was nowhere to be seen. They asked us to come in but we told them we had to wait. They had the Miss
Exponorte there so she jumped into our spot. Again they were ready for us, but still Herlan, the musical director
from the Catholic Church was nowhere in sight. The Miss Expo came out of the studio and introduced herself to us.
She was the niece of Dr. Patzi, whose daughters were Miss Exponorte a few years ago. Fortunately the Queen of
the Expo was also there so they interviewed her. Finally, much to my relief, Herlan arrived. He had no guitar but
we had fortunately brought one of ours that we would give to the boys for their music lessons. Soon the guitar was
tuned and the song was rehearsed one final time and we were on. They performed like they had been working
together for years. It was beautiful. Then we were asked about the festival on Saturday. Danny did all the talking,
but forgot the most important part about the Rotary being closed. That fell to me and I think I did a pretty good job
telling the audience that they could still sign up until 4PM on Friday and it would be free.
I brought the musicians back to the Pinocho to practice for Saturday and then drove off to the Muyurina School to
actually see their operation. In addition to all the trees and the fish farm, they make yogurt and ice cream. That we
will not do. We discussed working together and how the Hogar could be part of their co‐op program where the
students make a little money working on weekends. I certainly agreed to this especially if any are like Lucas. Finally
things are really falling into place. I was also invited to see their home for drug addicts and alcoholics where they
work a similar program as the one suggested for our place. We only take young boys who may have problems, but
not the type that the teenagers tend to have. I look forward to my visit there on Monday.
The boys were practicing dances for the show at the Casa de Cultura and they had improved immensely from the
previous practice and, more importantly, they seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as I enjoyed watching
them. We all ended back at the Pinocho for lunch and following the meal, I reexamined Emily. Her pain had moved
to the right lower quadrant. She had no rebound tenderness, a sign, if present, indicates inflammation of the
peritoneum, the sack that lines the abdomen. Bowel sounds were still present, which is also a good sign. I felt we
needed lab testing. We went to the lab of my friend, Dr. Patzi where the CBC showed an elevated white blood cell
count, typical of appendicitis. The blood work does not make the diagnosis. One makes that with the ear and the
hand. You listen to the patient's story, which was now quite classical, listen to the abdomen, and feel the abdomen
with your hands. All signs pointed to her needing an operation. All my friendships built over the years would now
come into play. I called the good doctor and he came over to his office to see Elaine. He agreed with the diagnosis
and we tried to find a surgeon. Easier said than done on this, the day of the father. This is really a big holiday here.
We went to the general hospital where they had the laparoscopic instruments we had brought about five years
ago. We waited until 8PM when the guard asked all the visitors to leave. I finally talked a nurse into letting us wait
in the pre/post operative room. There were no beds in the hospital open and no one who knew how to use the
laparoscopic equipment was willing to come in on Father's Day. The surgeon finally arrived and we had two
possibilities: one was to do the operation open here with Dr. Lima as the anesthesiologist or go to the Clinica
Norte, run by Dr. Plata. From the description of the way he works, you can imagine that is a well‐run place. We had
bought medicines, IV fluids, tubing, etc, for the operation, a common practice here so we were ready to operate
wherever we went so we set out for the clinic. The new anesthesiologist, Susy was doing a Cesarean and would be
right over. We waited about an hour and when she arrived for the spinal, Dr. Vaca and I washed up and got ready
to operate. I had many things to do this afternoon to get ready for the show on Saturday, but this was what the
Lord had given us to do. Dr. Vaca is a very good surgeon. We worked with him almost exclusively when we brought
the laparoscopic equipment years ago. He made a 3 CM incision lower "so she could wear a Bikini, but not a nasty
one." Quickly we found the appendix surrounded by a lot of clear fluid. It had not ruptured, fortunately. In fact,
only the tip was swollen and inflamed. This was probably the earliest appendicitis I had ever seen. Soon we were
closing up and Emily was taken to a private room with TV and air‐conditioning. She felt well but couldn't move her
legs from the anesthetic. It was nearly 11PM and while I was not really hungry, I realized I had only eaten one meal
today. Kully who watched the procedure, Jim Delancy who had to wait outside the OR and I decided to go to the
Expo for dinner. I had heard that things didn't get active there until after midnight so I was willing to try. After all, I
was too psyched up to sleep anyway. After assuring ourselves that Emily was all right, we caught a taxi for the fair.
At the roundabout in the north of the city, the driver said, "look at the drunk driver." We all looked at the big car or
truck coming right toward us. We all expected him to get back into his own lane, but he kept driving toward us.
The taxi driver pulled off the road on the right side and tried to accelerate but his old car didn't respond and the
car hit us on the driver's side but in the back quarter panel. He never stopped or even slowed down. Someone had
asked if I had ever seen a wreck here as the traffic is so terrible and I had said "No," and now I have seen one.
Fortunately, because the driver had made an evasive maneuver, the blow was a glancing one and no one was hurt.
The driver seemed to take it in stride and was picking up the pieces of the car that had fallen off and the phone
rang. Robert Wicks was calling. He and Emily's sister were here three years ago. Both are second year medical
students now and the sister had called Robert to see if we had told the whole story, I suppose. I never hold back
the facts so I had nothing new to say to him. We all decided that the accident was an omen and we told the driver
to take us back to the hotel, food, now, not seeming to be important. I went to sleep seeing those bright lights
coming toward us and being thankful that he was not going that fast and the taxi driver had seen him coming and
made his move at the right time. Thanks be to God!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Right after breakfast, had I not missed so many meals yesterday, I would have gone before, I went to visit Emily
who was doing very well. She had had some bowel movements, having had diarrhea before the operation and had
not vomited. She had active bowel sounds and was ready, in my opinion, to go home. The surgeon would come at
noon so we tried to get back to our usual schedule. The Fe Church was finally pouring concrete for the foundation,
having completed some yesterday. Several went there, while a group went to the little girl's orphanage. I took the
rest to the foster home where Pedro had just returned from taking the boys to the Casa de Cultura. Plans are ever
evolving here. The plan had been that they would go tomorrow, but they have some religious schooling on
Saturday mornings, as we found with the football game. Now the boys were really getting good. Since only six will
perform on stage with costumes, it will be a hard choice for the teacher. We gave the boys a break as we danced
one of the dances with the instructor and soon all the boys were joining us on the stage. These same boys wouldn't
dance three days ago.
I left and went back to the hospital to see if Emily could come home after noon and the doctor there, not the
surgeon, thought it would be better for her to stay until tomorrow. Dr Vaca will come at noon and we will decide
together. The Pinocho is a fine place to recuperate as I found when I had my heart attack. After lunch and taking
the groups to the girl's orphanage and working a bit at the Fe Church, I went to the clinic and after some waiting,
Dr. Patzi and finally Dr. Vaca arrived and Emily was able to come "home." She was quite relieved to be in her own
room with her roommate, Kristen and all her own things packed neatly in their own places. The time all this took
had put me behind my schedule, but made me delegate and hope things got done, which is not easy for me to do. I
began to catch up on my journal and suddenly realized that it was almost 6PM and I had told the workers that I
would pick them up at 5‐5:30. I called the church and Arileo, the pastor, said they were waiting. I rushed off to the
church only to find they had left. They had walked to the mercado and took taxis from there. I was relieved, if not
somewhat embarrassed, to see them there. Joanna and I were invited to the birthday party of the owner's son,
who had spent a week with us in Highlands, but we were far too busy to go. I would have liked to go as he just
returned from Spain and I like the young man. I would have liked to have the opportunity to talk to him about all
his travels and experiences there. He was in the army in Spain as that was an acceptable alternative to service in
Bolivia. I am quite sure being in the armed forces in Spain was a far better experience that being in the army here if
the barracks next to the jail is any example of the living conditions one could expect to have here.
Most of us went to the Rotary House to have our practice for the show. The sound system was set up and the
decibels were far too high for me. Perhaps the youth like this but it is painful to me to have to listen to such noise.
When asked to lower the volume, the man said it is easier to judge the talent when the music is loud. One of the
singers was good, two were off key, but this may be the only time they can sing before an audience, and I will be
happy for them in any case. The daughter of the minister at the Fe Church did a dance to the Hora. I suggested that
she have live accompaniment with our musicians. They worked on the dance for about thirty minutes and it looked
very good. She is thin and beautiful and loves to dance. She has a very good chance to win a prize. Only about five
groups practiced and eleven have signed up. It should be a good show tomorrow with Les and Susan filling in
between the acts. They are taking this very seriously, as professional people should. I know they will be
appreciated. I went home tired and weary. It was cloudy and looked like rain all day, but the clouds only produced
a few short and mild showers. Still it was cooler, in the low 80's and that was nice for a change.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
During the night I was awakened by the steady sound of falling rain. This let up some, but still made going to the
jail a moist experience for those who needed to ride in the back of the truck. I had not been to the jail during the
rain and the group had to stand under the roof on the opposite side of the jail from the small medical exam room.
One at a time they came into the office to watch the exam and see the findings, if any, on each patient. Dr. Plata
needed to leave again giving me the opportunity to examine the patients alone. Many of these fellows don't speak
clearly, at least to me, and I expect some have accents often associated with the lower class just as many of our
prisoners have different accents. Everyone has been very polite to me all the years I have gone to the jail and I love
helping out there. There were no really interesting cases, mostly a cold that was going through the cells. With as
many people jammed into such small spaces, it is a miracle that there are not more infectious diseases. By the time
we left the rain had slowed down, but by the time we had to go to the Cruz Roja Clinic for a ceremony, it had
started up again. In addition to the truck we hired a cab for comfort, and Emily joined us not to miss out on the
recognition of the ceremony. I had no idea that they were going to commemorate our service to the community
and to the Red Cross during this time. It was a moving event for me. Dardo named off all the things we had done in
the 11 years of the mission. The list began to become embarrassing long, but it did remind me of projects we had
done a long time ago and while not forgotten, the memories of them had grown dim. It was nice to remember all
that the mission has done over the years. Of course the things done in private were missing and some of those
were the most important to me like the two children who were able to come to the US for their heart surgery. I
remember where Jesus said if you receive your recognition here, you have already received your Earthly reward,
while those things done in private are stored as treasures in heaven. After several important people said a few
words they unveiled a plaque honoring Joanna and I for our work here. Then it was my turn to speak. Over the
years we have brought over one million dollars of goods and services to this area, Montero, Portachuelo and
Guibira, but none of these things could have been done without the help of such people as Dardo and his staff, the
friends at Rotary and the government of Montero, the mayor and the sub prefect. It was good to see all the people
working together rather than competing and pulling in different directions and ultimately accomplishing nothing
other than enmity. That is not a goal anyone wants to accomplish.
After the ceremony we ate lunch and then set out to finish up the last minute things for the festival. We bought
bread for the sandwiches, the meat and cheese, the mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard and aluminum foil. While
the students made the sandwiches, I went to the plaza to change money for the prizes for the winners. I had
planned to do this much earlier but the operation had thrown off my schedule. The money exchange place was just
closing, but he rapidly changed $300 into Bolivianos. The first prize is $100 in each of the three categories, but the
other prizes needed to be in local currency. That being done I went back to the Rotary house to help finish the
sandwiches and then a few of us went to get ice for the soft drinks. That was interesting in itself. The ice is made in
large steel molds deep in the ground where the cooling system is. About ten of these are connected and lifted out
of the freezing area and placed in a pit of water to separate the ice from the mold. All this is done with an electric
wench. When the ice comes free, it pops up, being lighter than the water. The molds are tipped and the meter
long ice cubes fall out into the cement floor. Four of these were carried to the bed of the truck. Craig Thelkeld, who
must have hands of steel, carried out the blocks of ice and put them in the old coolers filled with the two‐liter soft
drinks. They would all be cold by this evening.
All this being done we returned to the hotel to eat and quickly returned to the Rotary Club for the festival. The
Club has an area the size of two basketball courts for such events. The stage is on one side and the other houses
the business offices and a kitchen, and three areas for meetings. One is air‐conditioned and the other two are
open, one being open to the air on the second floor and the other closed in case of rain. The whole area in covered
by a metal roof, but it has many leaks. Fortunately the rain had stopped. The show was supposed to begin at 8PM
but the sound crew was doing another sound check and the light people were just beginning to set up. This is
Bolivia, but this was ridiculous. Finally at 9 (I suppose I should be happy it was not 10PM) the show began with a
rock band at painfully high decibels. The singer had not improved from the night before. Soon, however, Les Scott
and Susan Clearman were playing real music while the boys got ready to perform their dances. They came out with
typical costumes of the Alto Plano. They danced a typical dance from there. They were excited and everyone loved
their dance even though it was nowhere near perfect. The littlest children stole the show with their enthusiasm.
Then a group of adult dancers from the Casa de Cultura performed. I knew from their costumes that they would be
good and I was not disappointed. They were fantastic and I knew we had seen the winners at this point. They
performed two dances from the Chaco region of Bolivia. The women were beautifully dressed is flowing gowns
while the men wore the traditional leather hats and chaps made of jaguar hides. The footwork reminded me of
Russian dances with kicks high into the air. The second dance was one I had seen before and it involved
handkerchiefs used in a sort of courting ritual. It, too, was well done. The boys came out for a second dance which
was also from the south of Bolivia with different costumes, white shirts, black hats and dark pants. They all looked
so serious I hardly recognized them. Finally they had a dance with girls of approximately the same age. By the time
they finished it was nearly 11PM and the little girls left with about half the audience. The daughter of the
Presbyterian minister did her dance accompanied by our two musicians and she was captivating with a new
costume, which she may have stayed up all night making. She really has some talent in modern expressive dance
and she won first prize for solos. Next year we will have different categories as the adults really can't be judged
with the children and dance really cannot be compared to music, but we try and learn. The last singers had their
fifteen minutes of fame and the final act was another loud band. We gave out the prizes and thanked everyone for
competing and coming to the festival. The only thing lacking was a large audience, but I think this kind of festival
will be a success in years to come now that people know about it and we need to have it on a weekend not
competing with Exponorte. I knew this from the start but it was the only time our musicians could come. It was a
beautiful show but I was glad it was over.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
We got up, ate breakfast and went to the Dios Es Amor Church. Unfortunately we caught the end of the Queshua
service. I thought it started at 8:30 but it was nearly over. All the new people came to the front and were blessed
and giving a chance to witness. We could learn form these people. This is a really friendly church and you can feel
the love immediately when you walk in the door. We then went to an evangelical church but their service had not
yet started. Danny and I talked to the band and chided them about not performing last night. They had planned to
come but got a paying gig at the last moment and cancelled our festival. They are probably the best Christian band
in Montero. We picked up the left over food from the Rotary Club and rested before our performance at the Fe
Church at noon. When we arrived at the church it was immediately apparent that something was wrong. There
was no one there. I called Arileo, the minister and asked him where we were to be. There had been a lot of noise
at the festival when he had invited our group to play, but I thought he meant at his church, not the one where the
event actually was. Ironically the church was only four blocks away from the Pinocho, not miles away where we
were now. Eventually we got to the proper destination and Les and Susan played for the daughter’s dance routine
and then played more songs in English and Spanish. Les does not speak Spanish but he did memorize several songs
and was very good. The drummer began to play with our musicians and Danny played base guitar. It was what Les
was hoping for when he decided to come here. He wanted to live and learn the music culture of this area and he
felt he had learned it.
Following lunch I ventured out to the foster home with a few of the students who wanted to play with them one
last time before saying goodbye. While they were doing that I decided to take the lawnmower out for a spin and
cut the grass near the fence where it was very long from lack of cutting. I soon discovered why it had not been cut
there. I cut the water line with the mower, not being able to see the plastic pipe sticking out of the ground. I called
a friend who works for the city and he came over to see the problem. We found the cutoff valve and stopped the
flow of water and then he called COSMOL, the water cooperative of the city. They declared it an emergency and
said they would come out tomorrow to fix it. Not exactly my definition of a reaction to an emergency. When
Pedro, the housefather returned as we were leaving, I explained the situation and he didn't seem the least bit
concerned, at least openly. I would have been upset if not angry. It was, of course, an accident. If one of the boys
had done this I thing he would have been very upset. After all, what is one day without water in Bolivia?
The Ole Miss group left at 8PM following dinner. Many had become very attached to the boys and other Bolivians
while they were here. Kully, especially, seemed to form an attachment to one of the new boys, Marco Antonio. She
was here for over a month and she hopes to return after her first year of medical school for the summer. She will
be able to do many things here that she wouldn't be able to do for several years in school. I am always happy to
help students fulfill their desires to learn a language and the culture of this friendly and totally different place.
While they were leaving we went to the service at Danny's brother's church, "Shalom." It is a very evangelical
church, which used to be part of the Methodist tradition, but the Methodists didn't like their type of praying and
dancing during the services so they broke away. We helped build the floor and walls here last year. The service was
quite subdued compared to usual and the preacher was from Santa Cruz. It was the father's day service although
father's day was four days ago by now. Les and Susan sang again and Danny's father requested that Les play the
flute as he had seen him do that on TV earlier in the week. Les sang songs in Spanish which is really a miracle as he
doesn't speak the language, at least when he wasn't playing the flute. Singing and playing the flute at the same
time really would be a miracle. After the sermon and the singing they served the fathers another, for us, dinner.
Stuffed to the gills at the Pinocho, but not wanting to be impolite, we managed to eat the chicken with rice and
corn. We left for home at about 11PM.
Monday, March 23, 2009
This was Les and Susan's last day. They had been working very hard all week, as they were the glue that held the
music festival together. We went to the home where Les taught three boys one of the songs on guitar and I was
happy to see the water was back on. Les and I then went out to the Internet cafe as he needed to write a message
to the church and I hadn't had time to check email for some weeks. I had two messages wishing me happy
birthday, 13 days old, but, fortunately, nothing very important that was timely. I made five calls to the US taking
about 30 minutes and it cost only a dollar. I can't call Sylva for a dollar back home. I walked to the Casa de Cultura
and asked to see the dance instructor as I had two prizes for her from the competition last Saturday. They told me
she would be there at four. We went back to the Pinocho for lunch and then Les and Susan went across the street
to tape some music with Herlan and I went to the clinic to practice medicine in my office for only the second time
this trip and that time really didn't count as I performed two operations on our own group. I did perform several
mole removals and I excised a small sebaceous cyst from the chin of a fellow. I don't know why the local doctors
don't do this kind of minor operations here as I have left all the instruments they need in years past and they are
all here. There was some interest in a vasectomy, which I would be happy to perform. If one is done and the couple
is happy, I think many will come in for this simple procedure. There are far too many babies here.
At 4PM I returned to the hotel just as Les and Susan were finishing up and we all went to Santa Cruz to pick up an
old Walkman Susan had that was broken. No one could fix it in the US, but she thought someone might be able to
fix it here as I had told her that they could fix anything in Bolivia. Indeed, it was repaired, but only to listen to
tapes. That was her main desire as she has many tapes. An MP3 player could hole thousands of songs and weighs
only a few ounces but she likes this old player. She also has an old 35MM camera with which she was taking
photos. She got suspicious when she never had to change to film and found there was none in the camera. Now
the roll of film she put in didn't wind properly. These are thing that don't happen with the new digital cameras. I
never thought I would give up my 35mm SLR, but I rarely use it now and I am supremely happy with my Nikon
digital camera. Perhaps Susan will enter the digital age soon. It is hard to give up familiar ways and things. Les
wanted to purchase a few things and after that we went to the Suisa Restaurant to reward the musicians for their
hard work. In reality they have worked practically every waking moment while here and I wanted to do something
special for them. The meal was, as usual, very nice with duck, lamb, llama meat (don't get upset‐ it is healthy and
tastes better than beef) shrimp, salmon and beef. For dessert we all shared chocolate fondue and crème Brule. It
was an excellent way to end the week of the last group to come to Bolivia this year. I had a feeling of contentment
on the taxi ride back to Montero.
Les and Susan left for the airport before Joanna and I even got up. With nothing special happening this morning we
slept a bit late and were accused of being Bolivian. Actually I don't mind being called that as I feel like I am part
Bolivian. I went out to the foster home to work with the boys with the pens, as I will be gone soon. Jose made a
very good pen all on his own, but Marcos cut his too close to the tube on one end. It looked OK but not the quality
needed to sell. We had a function at 10AM so I had to leave quickly and gave him the pen for his own use. Perhaps
all the boys will make errors so they can have their own pen now.
Joanna, Danny and I rushed out to the Pampa de la Madre section of Montero to attend the opening ceremony of
the daycare center named for Joanna in commemoration of her work here. I knew we were early (on time USA)
when the road grader was just beginning clearing the road for all the dignitaries that were expected to come. Also
the furniture and appliances the mission bought were still in the boxes. Mario and I took all the boxes off, and
when some Rotary wives arrived they began cleaning the grounds. When the men arrived about an hour later they
were very concerned that there were no bars on the windows and the steel gates would easily allow a child to pass
through. If they leave all the things in this building we brought, nothing will be there in the morning. This is a poor
area and many poor people would see this as an opportunity. Finally at 12:30PM the fancy cars began to arrive and
I knew the show was soon to start. Quite frankly, if Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia had shown up it wouldn't
have had much effect. The Camba candidate, Ruben Costas came along with the woman mayor of Montero and all
the other important people in politics here. It couldn't have been more impressive from that standpoint, but all the
children that were here on time had left with their parents to eat dinner and that is what this place is really for.
The dance team that won first prize danced on the sandy ground, making their steps difficult. Still it was a fine
demonstration and Joanna made a short but good speech. After all the other politicians, short is good. I am good
at short speeches too.
I was tired at the clinic and almost fell asleep waiting for the patients. I performed two plastic operations and saw
a two‐year‐old boy with epispadius, a condition that will require a real plastic surgeon. I saw a few other patients
and was told tomorrow I will have a full schedule. I was not upset to see so few patients and I understand I gave
them little warning of my schedule of availability. The whole week is full of meetings we need to attend. I had two
scheduled today during lunch, but now those are scheduled for tomorrow.
Because we are the only ones here now, we do not have dinner at the hotel. We took three boys who were
receiving certificates for their English abilities to the restaurant near the plaza. We spoke in English since they were
about to receive their awards. I actually enjoyed this night as much as Monday at the fancy restaurant as I was
proud of "my boys." We arrived at the Casa de Cultura at the appointed time of 8PM and, of course, we had to
wait a half an hour, but finally the ceremony began. Joanna has been helping with the English lessons here also.
About ten people of all ages received their certificates of completion of the English course and our boys were last.
One of the students performed a song she had written in Spanish and then four girls did a dance. I like to see the
children perform. I am sure I was as proud as their parents. Then the surprise came as they listed all the things
Joanna has done, not only here, but also in Highlands with here volunteer work. The list is very long. Then they
gave us both a certificate for our support of the arts in Montero. These were cased in glass and are very heavy. I
might leave them here with our things we leave until the next year and we can put them up on the wall in our
room. After taking the boys home, we fell asleep quickly. One of the boys was sleeping through the ceremony. It
was late for them.
Tuesday, March 25, 2009
It has been overcast the last few days and fortunately, yesterday was quite cool for Bolivia or we all would have
had heat stroke waiting all that time. There was a shower in the night as there was yesterday but now the sun is
out and I think it will be another hot day, as it is already 84 degrees. Herman came by and asked if I thought it
would be good for him to donate some exercise equipment he had stored away for a long time. It was Nautilus
equipment so I said I would be happy to take it to the Hogar. Interestingly, as I was awakening today, I had a dream
about the boys working out on this type of equipment. I have never had that dream before. We took it to the
foster home and cleaned the equipment up. Thousands of insect larvae washed out. I know why he didn't use the
machines, as two of them were broken. I took the back and abdomen machine apart and saw that the resistance
was made of large rubber bands. This machine must be very old as they all use weights now. The bands all seemed
to be in good shape despite the insects. The metal parts were bent and I spent most of the morning beating them
straight with a hammer. All the time I was doing this, I had three of the boys make pens without my help. I finally
finished straightening out the bent pieces and put the machine back together and discovered that the reason the
pieces were bent was that it was not properly assembled. I had no more time to work on it as we had another
meeting at lunch. Of course the most important person to be at the meeting was over an hour late and I had to
leave early to go to the clinic.
I saw more patients today doing three more cosmetic operations. The people here have lots of moles, many on the
face and large. I certainly would have had these removed if they were on me, but they may be a sign of beauty
here. In any case, I removed them all. I saw a 13 year old who tested positive for Chagas. I did a complete cardiac
exam with cardiogram and everything was normal. If she really has the infection, she probably won't have
symptoms for 20‐30 years and she many never have a problem. I suggested she repeat the test as she has never
lived in the country or stayed in a house with a thatch roof. If it were to be positive, I suggested the mother be
tested as well. Unfortunately there is no treatment to prevent the progression of the disease once you have been
infected, but most people will never get symptoms. A young man had chest pain and thought it was his heart. He
too was totally normal. I saw two elderly people, one actually older than I am, and one probably had on old heart
attack, but had no symptoms and the other had a sugar of 428mg/dl two years ago when I last saw her, but now
had a normal sugar. I was proud of her and her Bolivian doctor.
Paella at Dr. Patzi's is always an event. He loves seafood, as do I and he takes great pleasure in making it. The
seafood ingredients are very expensive and he is still using some saffron we brought to him from Spain five or six
years ago. This night he was working late and his daughter and cook made the dish. First they cook the rice in a
huge pan similar to a wok. This is done over an open flame in the charcoal grill. The spices and vegetable items are
added and finally the seafood. Only his family and Joanna and I were invited this time. Normally 20‐30 people are
present. I don't think there was any less food prepared then when the whole crowd came but now all his children,
two daughters and one son are married with children and living under the same roof. We ate outside, it being 80
degrees and the rain had stopped while the rest of the children and grand children ate in the dinning room. There
was laughter and much chatting coming from that room. Living all together would pose many problems in most
families but Dr. Patzi reveled in the fact that everyone always gets along with one another. I wish it were so back
home. I think we could learn a lot from these people. How can we have peace in the world when most families
cannot have Thanksgiving with the family without having angry discussions or even fights?
Thursday, March 26, 2009
It is hot and cloudy. This is the kind of day when there are intermittent showers and 100% humidity. On the local
news they were talking about a blockade of the traffic to the north and west. There have not been any blockades
around here this year, which is unusual for Bolivia. This is the main form of nonviolent protest here. This blockade
is protesting the lack of progress building the road to the place where I went fishing two years ago. They really
need improvements to that road. The floods over the last three years made it very difficult to bring Soya, sugar
cane and rice to the markets or factories. Bridges were made of fallen palm trees and covered with dirt. This, I am
sure only compounded the flooding of the fields so the farm owners were not happy. At any rate, all the big trucks
are parked where they can find the space and the problem will only get worse as the trucks continue to find their
way here. I guess there is little news of this blockade to help keep them away. The rotunda to the north of the city
was so packed that it was difficult to get through to the boy's home. I finally got there with my tools I keep here
and began to repair the exercise equipment. With good tools it was easier to repair than I first thought. The boys
were carrying sand from an old pile that was covered with weeds. The bigger boys carried the sand in a
wheelbarrow and the younger ones pulled the roots of the weeds out. All this dirt was placed in a low place near
the big boys home where the exercise equipment was. They didn't like to work in the heat, but, ironically, when it
came time to take a break they all came on the porch of the house and began to use the exercise equipment. Like
most exercise equipment, after the newness is gone, it will gather dust and insects again. Everything is greased up
and works well now. One new boy came today and three are scheduled to arrive over the weekend. I gave the
video camera to Franklin, the youngest today to see what he films and finds important in his life. Of course, when
he began to take videos of the boys working, then all had to stop to look at what he took. I finally had to take the
camera away from him or no work would have been accomplished. It started to rain and it looked like it may be a
bad one, but it only rained a few minutes. Still it was long enough to create small lakes in the town.
I wanted to visit my friend who has cancer and is going to Chile to take some treatments. She had further tests that
showed cancer in both breasts, the lung (which I had seen on the MRI before), the spine and the colon. I think she
has at least two different cancers and possibly three. It would be unusual for the breast cancer to spread to the
lung and look like the cancer I saw on the films. Clearly she has little time left in this world unless a miracle
happens. The fast growing tumors occasionally just disappear. I will pray for that kind of miracle. Due to the
blockade I took a different route and got disoriented. I finally found her house and was invited in. I asked her
husband how much she knew and he said she knew about the lung tumor and nothing else. Some relatives were in
the bedroom when I arrived and they quickly left. We talked for a while and I told her that there were many
people praying for her. She looked remarkably well. Roxanna is one of the prettiest women I have met in Bolivia
and we know her well as she prepared our meals at here restaurant the first three years of the mission, before the
Pinocho began to offer meals at the hotel. I said "adios” knowing quite well that without a miracle, I will never see
her again. I did tell her that I would see her next year. I really hope I do.
A lady with Chagas was waiting for me at the hotel when I arrived. This woman is special to me as she worked for
the feeding project years ago when we few over 60,000 meals in three years. I didn't know it then, but I found out
later when we didn't have a feeding program that she gave her time freely at the church when, in fact, she was
working in competition to herself. She ran a small kitchen in the market selling meals as we were, with her help,
giving meals away for free. This kind of selfless volunteer work means a lot to me. She told me her doctor had
prescribed losartan, a good but fairly expensive medicine, for her heart. I told her to come to the clinic today, as it
was my last day. She had to work until 4PM, but she said she would come right after that. I went to our room and
found a bottle of lisinopril 20mg that will work as well as the more expensive drug. In fact, I prefer it to the more
expensive version. As Joanna and I both take the medicine every day, we brought plenty and we don't need this
bottle of 100 tablets. I took the bottle and some other things I had been saving in case we needed them, as this has
been a very sick year for our volunteers. Now that the mission is near its end, I am trying to get rid of the things I
will not take home.
I want to tell you about lunch as it says a lot about this place where we stay and why I love this place. Joanna and I
are the only ones eating now but they insist on preparing food for us. I told them a sandwich and soup would be
enough, so here is what we had today. Chicken cutlets, a crown roast of pork, one for each of us, something like a
potato soufflé served in its own little dish, beautifully presented broccoli, carrots and radishes, yuca fried, soup
and dessert, a flan‐like dish. I tried to eat as much as I could so as to not embarrass the cook, but there was way
too much food. Fortunately I had time to take a small nap before clinic.
I performed a few more skin surgeries. I will have to wait until next year to see the results as none of the sutures
have been removed. So far everything looks good, but dark skinned people often develop keloids, thick scars
where they had injuries or surgeries. There were many medical cases today and most got a cardiogram. I worked
with one of the new doctors, an attractive young woman who was very helpful and knowledgeable. I hope she will
encourage the other doctors to use the EKG machine as it sits here all year long. They do take good care of the
equipment, but I want it used and there are a lot of patients with heart disease. Most cannot afford the treatment,
but at least one can try. My lady with the Chagas came in right on time and she really does have Chagas with a
slow heartbeat. Her blood pressure is good and the rest of the exam was fine and she should be a good candidate
for the lisinopril. I told her the two major side effects and she seemed surprised that I would give her a medicine
that could cause problems. I don't think the doctors here worry about side effects and probably never tell the
patients about them for fear of them not taking the medicine. I think I assured her that the possibilities of a bad
reaction were small and I also took this drug. I hope she was placated and will be compliant. She has three months
of medication free and that will give her enough time to see if it works. At five I was ready to go but they asked if I
could see one more. Of course I said yes, and then there was another and another. Finally at 6:30 I was able to
leave. Since this is Rotary night I didn't have to do anything until 8:30.
The Rotary Club had their Father's Day celebration, as there was no meeting last week, the night of the
appendicitis and the accident. They didn't read all the minutes from the last meeting and all the other
correspondence like they usually do, but a mariachi band came in and played for several hours and we listened and
danced. I like this kind of music even though it is not indigenous to this area. One of the volunteers from the Etta
Projects came to me and asked if her husband could help with the foster home. Of course I said he could and asked
him to go there and see what he thought he could do and email me and we could correspond. He reminded me of
Danny, as he is good on the computer, guitar and English and Spanish. We certainly can use people like this. The
help at the Hogar is beginning to look much better with a fulltime young man for the home of the older boys and
now this man.
Friday, March 27, 2009
I got a call that the meeting that had been postponed last Tuesday would be at 8:30 today. It was 7:30 when I
received the call and I was looking forward to a leisure morning and time with the boys at the Hogar. The meeting
was about the administration of the home and the carpentry shop, which is already beginning to make a profit. We
are going to let the previous foreman go after Mario has enough time to know where he bought all his wood. I
think he will find that he bought it on the black market, something we all agreed years ago that we would not do. It
is, of course, much cheaper, but it is not right and, if caught, the government can shut you down. That happened
to the best shop in town a few years ago. The meeting lasted over two hours and I hardly had time to run out to
the store, buy the crust ingredients and make the dough for the pizzas at the Hogar, using their bread machine.
Lunch at Herman's is a lot like the Pinocho: food and plenty of it. He invited us for surubi, a catfish that grows to be
up to 400 pounds, but the fish was small, probably 5 pounds and that was the least of the meal. First came soup,
then rice, yuca, beef and then the fish. Then came a huge bowl of spaghetti. Any one of these things would have
made a meal. It was good and served with wine. I was ready for a nap, but we had to buy the rest of the
ingredients for the pizza night. Fortunately that didn't take long and I did catch a short nap before having another
meeting with a group that wants to help our home and provide a place for their students to come and get practical
experience working at the Hogar in the garden and with animals including quail and fish. When our boys are older
they will have the opportunity to go to school there and have a better chance of getting into college. It is a good
deal and all we have to do is pay the tuition for the two men that will came to the home on weekends and give
Lucas a rest. It should work out perfectly. The tuition costs about $700 a year for each student, or about$1400 a
year. This is a small price to pay for all this help. I look forward to seeing the results in the coming years. I have
always wanted fruit trees planted at the home and now it will come to pass.
Pizza night and a movie.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
At 8AM I went to the jail not only to see the prisoners there but also to pick up the glucose machine to use at the
spontaneous free diabetes screening I want to do this afternoon. None of the inmates had serious problems and
Dr. Plata seemed to be in a hurry to leave so in less than an hour we had seen all the sick people and I took him
back to his clinic and picked up Joanna and went to the Hogar, where we basically taught the boys how to safely
use the exercise machines. Pablo, the most gifted athlete was able to do 25 sit‐ups while none of the others could
do more than ten. He did 25 several times and I know his stomach muscles will be sore tomorrow. When the boys
went to lunch we left and drove to the Fe Church where there had been little vertical growth in the building but
the foundation was complete and a member of the church was welding the steel for the roof. They build the
superstructure first and then lay the bricks. I wish they had been at this stage when the groups came and then we
could have seen progress from day to day as we laid ranks of bricks. I have a whole set of potential projects for
next year and I will be sure the foundations are done before we get here, but I am glad that the minister hasn't
spent any money on labor. He will get a lot for the money we donated. I asked about the pastor who performed
the baptism and he is still in a coma. He, too, needs a miracle. We need to be faithful and keep praying. Nothing
else at this point will help him or Roxanna. I picked up the baptism certificate, which looked really nice. Dianne will
be proud of this.
Following lunch, a sandwich, I went to set up for the free diabetes‐screening clinic Dr. Plata let us use the area in
front of the clinic where he works and provided three nurses to help. This is on a busy street, but most of the
people are going to Santa Cruz and didn't stop after seeing our sign. I wanted to do this at the plaza but it is closed
for repairs. After an hour and only 20 people had shown up, I decided we needed to go to the market. Three of us
took the ambulance to the market, announcing over the loudspeaker that the clinic was at Clinica Norte. We set up
the instruments on the stretcher and soon there was a line of 15 people waiting, some not even knowing what
they were in line for. This is what I had envisioned the screening to be. In just one and a half hours we had tested
75 people. Several knew they were diabetics and their sugars were all very high. They were referred back to their
doctors. All were given a small piece of paper and the nurse made a permanent record for the clinic also. About
ten people had diabetes and had no idea they had it. At 4:30 I told them we had to leave, but the screening would
continue at the clinic until 6PM. I doubt many would go there, but we were able to leave at 4:45. When we arrived
at the clinic they reported about 37 tests so we check more than 100 people and they were not finished yet. I left
all the material so they could have another screening later. This type of event is very important as most of the
people here don't go to the doctor, even though it is free for the children under 6 and adults over 60.
We always seem to be in a hurry here as opposed to the rest of the population. I hate to waste time. One can
always make more money but there is no way you can get more time. What you get is all there is no matter how
rich you may be. At 5PM we rushed off to Santa Cruz to visit Expoforest, an exhibition of forest products. This is
quite a big affair here as you can imagine with trees being such a big part of the economy here. I enjoyed the art
carved from whole trees the best and some of the furniture, especially the modern styles were very nice. The rest
of the exhibition concerned tools and foodstuffs from the forest including several exotic nuts and drinks made
from things you wouldn’t believe. We really do live in a wonderfully diverse world that provides us with almost all
the things we will ever need if we don’t destroy the Earth first. Most people in Bolivia live in houses that don’t
require a single thing that needs to be bought. We had dinner at an interesting restaurant called the Monks. All the
waiters were dressed as monks and the food was very good. I figured I wouldn’t eat beef again after I came home
so I had the Enrique IV, two fillet steaks smothered in a cheese sauce. After returning home, I went to the
fraternity where Poncho, the sub prefect was in charge of providing the meal. I felt obligated to attend, as he is
very helpful to our mission here. I did have a few drinks but no food. I said goodbye to a lot of our friends but I
would see most at a fundraiser tomorrow at the Rotary House.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
We rested in the morning and began to pack. By noon we were done packing and felt secure that we had done
everything we needed to do to be able to leave at 6AM tomorrow. For lunch we went to the fundraiser for
Roxanna who not only has cancer of the lung but bilateral breast cancer as well. I was lucky and got a parking
space right in front of the club as another car left as I was coming. The place was filled with people sitting at tables
eating lunch. Bingo prizes donated by individuals and businesses lined the wall. Some were impressive. The food
was also impressive: beef sheskabob, pork, other kinds of beef, lots of rice, potatoes and vegetables. We met
about all the people we have ever met in Montero during the event and finally left before the bingo started to go
to the boy’s home for dinner and a movie. As we were preparing to go to the Hogar, we got a call that our boys
were playing in a soccer game at the real stadium before the professional game and at halftime. We rushed to the
stadium and found a parking space right by the door, as it was quite early. The boys were already playing. The
other team was well coached and older so they controlled the game. Our best player, Pablo, looked like the sit‐ups
he did yesterday were affecting him with abdominal pain and he could not run very fast. The other team
dominated to the tune of 8‐0. The field was a regulation field and the goals the same size as opposed to our field
that is maybe a third as big with small goals. They were exhausted running all over the field. They were crestfallen
but their spirits were quickly improved with popcorn and Popsicles and the beginning of the game. The Montero
team dominated to the extent as the other team beat our Hogar team. At intermission our team played again and
the other coach had pity on our team playing younger players and I think he also told his good players not to score
as often. The whole game was played on our side of the center line and finally they scored a goal just before the
real teams were to come out and continue the game. During the game three interviewers came to ask me if I was
going to continue the financial support of the Guabira team. The mission gave the team $5000 a year for the last
two years to support a youth league, the presence of which I have not been able to find. I have used the excuse
that the economy is so bad in the US (not really an excuse, but a fact) and I didn’t think I could continue the
support. I did say that I would bring the issue up to the board of directors for discussion, but only if the money
actually went to support the youth league, which was the original idea. Also I had stated then that they needed to
find other sponsors during these two years, which they have not done. This certainly does not fit the profile of the
projects that we try to support, e.g. feeding children and caring for their physical and spiritual needs. A soccer
league for children would be part of what we could support, but in the absence of any progress in that direction,
my feeling would be to terminate any support for this team.
We lost the game 1‐0, but I couldn’t have been more proud of our boys. They went back to the foster home and
Joanna and I followed after picking up the audio‐visual equipment that I didn’t want to leave in the truck during
the game. We had a small dinner at the home and then showed a movie, projected on the wall where I had just
painted a screen white so the yellow wall didn’t make the movie look dull. The boys will see movies every Sunday
with a projector brought from Villa Cochabamba Clinic. We had donated the projector three years ago and Dr.
Dardo is happy to let us use it every week. Danny will pick it up and bring it back to the clinic every week.
Eventually we will purchase a projector for the home. I left the DVD player, speakers and extension cord there. I
hope all these thing will be there next year. I made the extension cord several years ago as the thin cords you can
buy here are too skimpy to accommodate several electrical devices at the same time and I bought good plugs also.
This is probably the best extension cord in Montero if not Bolivia. I would hate to lose it. After the movie came the
hard part. Saying goodbye to the boys after six weeks is very hard. Pablo opened the gate and was sad. He usually
has a smile big enough to light up the night, but not tonight. I shed a tear or two myself. The music, if you want to
call it that, eminating from the business across the plaza from the Pinocho wok me up at 12:30AM and I couldn’t
go back to sleep. It finally stopped at about 4AM, but we had to wake up at 5:30 so there was not much sleep to be
had. Perhaps I will sleep on the plane.
Reflections:
Dear Friends, It has only been five days since I wrote you last, and it feels like a year. So much has happened since then that the events just sort of melt together, so I won’t even attempt to give you a day-by-day account. Let it suffice to say that Dr. John has been keeping us very busy, and we have been finding a lot of things to do ourselves. We have now been several times to the boys´ home, and we have formed personal relationships with the boys. I have now done several music classes for them, and Susan has been right there with her accordion making the music really something special. I have been giving three of the boys guitar lessons - one of them, Pablo, is sponsored by Jennifer and Robbie Forrester. He is extremely bright and has a lot of musical talent. He learns guitar very quickly and delights in doing so. We have also been playing the music for a dance routine the boys are learning. Being with these children has been one of the high points of my stay here, and I have come to love these boys very much. To those of you who support this home, I just want you to know that the boys are very happy, are getting a good education, and are being prepared for fruitful and happy lives here in Bolivia. Dr. John has been taking Susan and me with him when he attends his patients in the hospital and the local clinic, which is actually a very small hospital, which is equipped to do laparoscopic surgery. We play music for the sick and we, given the language barrier, visit with them and minister to them as best we can. John
is very much aware of the healing properties of music, and he appreciates what we do for the sick who are in pain. We are ourselves blessed by these folk, and we are grateful for the opportunity to serve. One of the patients we visited is one of the group of pre-med students from Ole Miss that John brought here to do practical study and service. She developed appendicitis while she was here and had to be rushed to the clinic for emergency surgery. The students from Ole Miss are a great bunch of kids - very intelligent and just a delight to be with. When they finally make it to "doctorhood", I would be happy to have any one of them for a physician. The music festival last Saturday was a great success and a lot of fun. There were thirteen acts - solo singers accompanied by canned music from a CD, guitarist/singers, dancers, girl-groups, and heavy metal rock bands (think long hair, tattoos, lots of screaming, and ear-splitting volume). Susan and I played between each act to cover set changes, so we had to spend about two afternoons preparing for the show. We made a lot of friends there, and we were able, despite the language barrier, to get a lot of audience participation. A lot of people came up to us after it was all over to tell us how much they appreciated our music. The boys from the home danced at the show in traditional Andean garb, which was made of heavy wool, including wool hats. In this heat they had a really hard job, but they did very well. One of the students had brought some hair gel (which the boys pronounce "hell"), so the boys all put it in their hair and spiked it up punk style before they put on their costumes. Even though the audience couldn’t see it, they thought they were being really cool. Susan has been a really great partner, and her Spanish-language skills, while limited, are impressive. She has been able to get along just fine here, and being with her has opened up many more doors for me than would have been possible if I had been here without her. I hope you all realize what a really great musician Susan is, and how flexible and creative she is in musical settings. She has made the music really special, and because of her we have been able to serve these people well. Dr. John says that we have accomplished everything he wanted when he invited us to come, and he is very pleased with our work. Yesterday (Sunday) we went to a Queshua church in the morning. The Queshua are one of the most oppressed native peoples in Bolivia and live in extreme poverty. Many of them are sick and in pain. However, we in Highlands have a lot to learn from them about warmth, welcoming, and hospitality. Every single person in that church greeted us after the service, even if we were talking to someone else, and our backs were turned to them. They would tap us on the shoulder to shake our hands, to embrace us, and to welcome us. They made it very evident that they were glad we were there. They offered us food, and the pastor laid hands on us and blessed us. We felt very much a part of that community, and we all wished we could go back. At noon, we went over to the evangelical Presbyterian Church to play music at a dinner-on-the-grounds fundraiser. We were met by their church’s band members who joined us to play music. This was exactly what I hoped for when we came here. We were able to play our songs backed up by a full Latin percussion section (congas, timbales, and a drum set) and a bass player. I was in heaven. On Sunday night, we went to an evangelical Baptist church in one of the poorer areas of town, and played music for their service. We were welcomed very warmly there. I think I shook hands with and embraced just about every single person there. As I told you in my last email, Father’s Day was last Wednesday, but everyone celebrates it at church the following Sunday. After the service, food was served and Dr. John and I were invited to sit at the table of honor with the other fathers. Much to our surprise, they also invited Susan to sit with us, and she was pleased to become an honorary father. Friends, there is so much that I could tell you here about our experiences, and I'm having a hard time refraining from doing so now. I guess I’ll just have to save all the stories for when we get back - if you can stand to hear any more. Let it suffice to say that our experience here has been very rich, and I am a man who has been very much changed by being here. Susan and I are so grateful that this
trip has been made possible. We have been served just as much or more than we have served, and we are very blessed to be here. We fly out tomorrow (Tuesday) and will be in Atlanta late that night. We’ll be back in Highlands on Wednesday afternoon in time for our church's afternoon and evening activities and rehearsals. We are both looking forward to seeing you all again and sharing those experiences by which we have been so greatly blessed. In Christ, Les