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Thursday, March 24 Update
A few factoids about the city in
which we are staying:
- “Cochabamba” – literally means
swampy valley in Quechua
- Cochabamba provides about 80%
of the poultry products for the entire country
- Bolivia is the heart of South
America and Cochabamba is the heart of Bolivia!
- Cochabamba is the headquarters
for Mormon missions in all of South America
Where to begin? The last 24+ hours
have been so full! Wednesday gave us a visit to the
local Compassion International Center (sponsored by one
of the WGM churches here in the city). It was
interesting to see firsthand how this organization, with
the help of the local church, is making such a
difference in the lives of so many needy children. More
could be helped if space was available! We provided a
short program in three different classes giving a Bible
story and accompanying craft.
After a Bolivian lunch of Pollo
Picante (spicy chicken) and potatoes (we’ll tell you
about those later) we prepared to receive nearly 200
children from Compassion’s afternoon program. We split
into four stations to handle rotating groups of children
(and their 2 tutors) to give a lesson and memory verse,
games, refreshments, and crafts. All in all, we thought
it went smoothly and the children enjoyed themselves!
We grabbed a really quick supper
and jumped in the Zimmerman’s old Land Cruiser for a
trip to a mountain village about an hour east of where
we are staying. The name of the village was Molino
Blanca (white mill). It has a Catholic church which
holds services only occasionally when the priest decides
to visit their village. I think this was the highlight
of the week so far! We were visiting with a Cochabamba
church who sponsored the whole evangelistic event and
brought the benches right out of their tiny church and
set them up on a basketball court in the center of the
village. Through the Zimmerman’s projector we showed
the Jesus Film in the Quechua language. When we finally
figured out how to turn off the basketball court lights
and start the movie, the sky turned into the most
beautiful theater ceiling with twinkling stars and a
bright full moon. Dogs meandered around the folks
assembled to watch the movie. Children played games of
tag in the back and a rushing mountain stream filled out
the ambient noises that are typical of a rural village.
As the evening progressed, the
breeze picked up and the temperatures dropped. MUCH
cooler than it’s been down in the valley! We thought
our evening was over when the film came to completion
(and we could get to our nice warm beds) but we had
barely driven 20 yards when Spanish voices and whistles
brought us to a stop – a flat tire! It shouldn’t have
been a surprise given the roads we had driven on to get
to the village!
That was quickly repaired and we
were back on the road and in our beds by midnight. All
in all a VERY full day! I hope that explains why we
didn’t get an e-mail out!
Today is our “fun” day. We are
shopping downtown, then visiting the famous “Christo”
statue and enjoying a buffet lunch. 15 youth have asked
to join us for the day so we’ll enjoy the company of
these Bolivians we’ve gotten to know since the evening
of our arrival.
Thank you for your prayers! We
have relied on them heavily!
Much love,
The Asbury Team
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