This is why i love my dad . . .

So many people think that to be able to do mission work you have to be a doctor or pastor or construction worker, that you have to go to seminary and do something like church planting or preaching. My dad proves everyday that it takes all kinds of people to do mission work, even business men. There are probably dozens of projects running through his head on a daily basis and what i love about him is that he doesn't just think them up and then put them on the back burner until someone donates money. He raises the money himself.

We recently finished a new orphanage in the rainforest region, which is about a one hour plane ride out of the city. Our house parents have just moved in and it is a very remote area so, along with wanting to visit, there are lots of supplies that need to be flown in. The problem is, the plane ride costs about 400 dollars for the trip.

My dad, the crafty man that he is, has found a way to get every plane ride for free. Because the area is so remote, he is able to buy an entire cow for less than the price that it would be in the city. He has figured out that if he has a cow butchered, and quartered every time he flies to the rainforest then he can fly down with all the supplies needed and fly back with the meat, sell it in the market in the city and make up for the cost of the flight. Now, anytime we want to visit this home or bring them what they need, we can do it for free.

But he didn't stop there. The orphanage is right on a lake that is full of a fish called Surubi, very popular in the city. He is having a live well built and put in the river so that the house parents can fish and fill up the well and every time he flies down he will also bring fish back to the city with him. The fish would make a profit because it is so popular and hard to get and the funds would help support the orphanage.

There are so many new things happening here in the ministry every week that its hard to keep track sometimes and keep people up to date. But its ideas like this that get me really excited and make me want to tell everyone about.

You know you're a missionary when . . .

A trip to the United States Embassy feels like a vacation. A little more than a week ago Braeden, Miles, my dad and i got up at three in the morning to drive six hours to La Paz. Braeden said that it was like being on a six hour long roller coaster ride with the twists and turns and ups and downs through the mountain. We got stuck behind too many trucks to count, getting sick from their exhaust and spent forty five minutes in traffic at the entrance to the city.

When we got into La Paz we were so relieved. it was just starting to rain and it was much colder than Cochabamba, a nice change from the scorching sun. The streets are narrow and old, there are lots of cafes and restaurants and it almost felt like we were in Chicago with all of the buildings and busyness. Almost.

Braeden, Miles and i got out and started to walk, asking for directions to the Embassy. We were dreading it, thinking it was going to be a Bolivian version of a government building; crowded, understaffed and confusing. And then we saw this American flag sticking out above a five story tall wall that was about a half a block wide. Nervously we entered the security entrance, crowded with people waiting to get in. The guard told us in Spanish to wait when from behind us we here in perfect English, "Let the couple with the baby go in first." Shocked, we walked in and the sounds of honking horns and car screeches were immediately drowned out. Who new that English was so beautiful as the secretary at the front desk said, "Welcome to the U.S. Embassy, please put on these name tags and follow the hallway."

Braeden and i were speechless as we walked through the Embassy grounds. it really felt like we were in another country. The American flag was everywhere, the hedges were clipped into the shape of the letters U S A and even the grass looked different.

When we got to the correct office we wasted time looking around at all the signs that were in English, the United States seal on the floor and the American Marine that was sitting in a security booth. Even the air smelled different for some reason and when Braeden came out of the bathroom he said that he was sure that you could flush toilet paper.

The application process was a breeze. We went right up to the counter, spoke in English with the lady, played with Miles and were done in fifteen minutes. As we were walking out we looked at each other and admitted that we didn't want to leave yet.

Can you guess what our prayer request is? We are just a little bit homesick.

Good Morning class

Sorry its been so long for an update, we've been really busy down here with my sisters visiting. But they are sleeping in at the moment (lazy), Braeden is at a men's breakfast and Miles is trying to eat the nose off of winnie the pooh so everyone is occupied. The biggest and most exciting news for us is that we have another family down here, The Ross's, who will be taking over orphanage administration, a huge part of the ministry. They have six kids who are all adorable and it has been so nice having another family around. With the Ross's that brings the number of people on our team to twenty four! it's so crazy for Braeden and i that five months ago it was just us running the ministry all alone while our parents were in the states and now we have two other families that will be taking on a lot more responsibility.

Besides being really busy with Miles, getting the new families settled, and everything else going on around here, i decided to add even more and volunteer to teach at my sisters' school. So Monday through Friday for two class periods a day i will be teaching 7th and 8th grade English. i'm okay with the teaching students part, its the homework, tests, quizzes, projects, working at my old school, getting up early, being away from Braeden and Miles every morning part that worries me. But they desperately needed teachers so i just keep reminding myself that being able to talk about books for two hours a day is a plus. And the school was really great about giving me the hours i asked for, Miles is an angel in the morning and he will probably still be asleep when i get home . . . maybe Braeden too . . .

Braeden has started making Mission Moments every week, a short video about something we are doing down here like babywashing or cutting down trees. They are posted on our Bolivia's Best facebook page so check them out.

Miles is getting huge! Well, to us he looks huge, i think he's still pretty skinny for an almost four month old. He already thinks he's a grown up. He hates laying down, is always trying to sit up on his own or roll over. He loves to stand and try to walk while we are holding him and he tries to hold his bottle on his own. He loves to lay in between us and watch whatever movie we are watching, and his favorite part about books is not the pictures but the words. We really can't wait for everyone back home to meet him. And speaking of back home, we have been discussing when we will be leaving and going back to the states and we could really use prayers on this. Since i am teaching it won't be before June but considering the fact that we can't afford another visa for another year, loans, jobs and the fact that our team here has grown so much, we are thinking it is going to be around summertime. We are going to get Miles' american birth certificate and passport in La Paz on the 27th of January. Please pray for that as well. i am dreading it because you never know what they will do here and i am so worried that something will go wrong. Miles is yelling right now so i have to wrap it up. Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement.

Babies washing babies

i have a really cute story for everyone. i told you in my last post that we have a new family here, the VanderWerfs. Their youngest daughter, Emma, is only seven years old and last week i got to wash babies with her. On baby washing day last week we had everything set up to get started, we had plenty of people to dump water, wash the older kids hair, almost too many people to do clothes and just the right amount of people to brush hair. But we were a little short on people to wash the little kids. So i went into the tent to help out and i find Emma, sitting by one of the tubs, ready for her first kid. i went to wash with her, figuring she probably wouldn't help much seeing as how the kids are extremely dirty and she wouldn't want to get dirty herself.

The first kid comes up, a boy probably her age and definitely bigger than her. Emma grabs the shampoo bottle and squirts a big glob on his head. She scrubbed and scrubbed that little boy's hair, telling him to close his eyes when she dumped a cup of water over his head. When we were done she grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his arms and tried to pick up that little boy that was a head taller than herself. i took over then, lifted him out of the tub and brought him to his mom. When i turned around Emma was trying to carry the tub of dirty water all by herself to dump outside.

She kept working hard the entire time we were washing kids, scrubbing hair, washing faces. At one point she kicked off her flip flops because her feet were getting to wet. By the end, it looked like she needed a bath. Her hair was stuck to her face, the front of her shirt was all wet and her feet were slimy. And Emma ran off to play with the kids she had just washed, as if it was the most normal thing in the world for a seven year old not to be timid to wash the grimy feet of someone her own age. Maybe that should be the norm.

update

Sorry its taken so long to write another post. We've been really busy with new visitors and the baby. i wanted Braeden to write something on his trip last month to the jungle but he has been so busy with videos and things that i will just tell you a little bit about it. The boat that they were planning on taking up the river turned out to be a small fishing boat. So for four days they were crammed into this boat with ten guys, eighteen liters of water and all of their backpacks and supplies. They tried fishing for their meals but when they caught their first meal it was all rotted by the time they stopped for the night to cook it. The rest of the days they couldn't even catch anything because a family of dolphins was following their boat and kept scaring the fish away. Half way through the trip they realized that they wouldn't have enough water to get through the trip so they had to ration. Only one small glass of water each every few hours. On the third day they ran out of gas before they reached the first village so they had to hike through the jungle to the village. Once they got there they got as much water as they wanted from a well and bought some gas. Braeden said that it was one of the hardest things he ever did but all in all he had a great time and was glad he did it.

Braeden's mom, aunt and brother visited last week and it was so great to see them again. We got to show them around the city and take them to all of the ministries we do. They got to spend time with Miles and bring down an enormous supply of diapers and toys and clothes. The only downside about their visit is that they had to leave and now we are very homesick. As it gets hotter and hotter here everyday we are really missing the leaves changing color and the upcoming snow. All i want to do is take Miles for a walk in downtown Holland and stop in at JP's. For some reason i am especially missing our church Beechwood these past few weeks. When we sing hymns at our church down here it reminds me of Beechwood and its hard not to cry, thinking of all our friends back home sitting in church at the same time as us. But it also reminds me to be thankful that we have a church that we love so much that it makes us homesick when we sing familiar songs. Thanks Beechwood!

On the ministry side of things we are starting to get busy and will continue to do so. A couple of weeks ago we added another family to the mission here. The Vanderwerfs have three young daughters and they plan on staying long term, my parents will finally have permanent help down here once Braeden and i leave. We are getting another permanent family in December and a couple planning on staying a year that are coming this summer. This coming Thursday we get another intern, a guy named Jed who came down on the first short term mission trip that Braeden and i helped on. We are going to be really busy up until Christmas helping these new families get settled but thats a great thing because it means that the ministry is finally growing in help.