My First Week...

Here's a breakdown of what we've been up to since arriving in Bolivia! 

Wednesday- We arrived in Cochabamba.  We were exhausted from 27 hours of travel, but marveled at the beauty of the mountains with the afternoon shadows falling on the green slopes.  With lots of help we got all our bags and suitcases safely to the guesthouse.  We took a long, deep-sleep kinda' nap (best nap of my life!) and then had dinner at TGIFriday's with the Holman family.  A burger and fries?  Oh, yeah!  (Besides a Burger King, this is the only American restaurant in town.)

Thursday- We bought groceries at IC Norte and had lunch at Panchita's...a fast food place in the food court attached to the grocery store.  We had chicken strips and fries.  The kids' meals were awesome... They come in a container shaped like a rocket that held their drink.  Then on top of the drink, there is a cardboard top that they covered with fries and chicken pieces. Very clever way to contain a kid's meal!

Friday- We went to the language school I will start attending soon, and then looked at a potential home to rent. That evening at the guest house the Holman's led a couple's Bible study...all in Spanish.  We were able to meet some sweet couples from Cochabamba International Church.  Seth whispered to me what was said in English, and after the Bible study we all ate birthday cake to celebrate a woman's birthday that was there.  Let me just say it was not a birthday cake like ones I am used to eating...so, between the birthday cake and all the Spanish I had listened to, trying to interpret in my mind, I had my first moment of culture shock that evening.  "Why did I have to eat that cake?!  My head is pounding from all that Spanish.  I don't want to hear any Spanish tomorrow.  Why did we even come here?  The houses are different, the cake is different, everything is different!"  I cried myself to sleep and hoped that the next day would be different.

Saturday-Our friends doubted I would want to do anything on this day after how I felt the night before. I thought I had hidden my emotions well enough, but apparently not :-)  Anyways, we went to the fruit market and Joe told us who he buys from and recommends.  Cruz insisted that Seth buy me flowers, and we also got a few bags of fruit while there. We went home and Seth whipped up some spaghetti, and our new friend, Teo, joined us for lunch.  Teo is a young Bolivian guy who leads Kids Club, an outreach in the south part of town to some very poor children.  We decided to go to Kid's Club that afternoon to help out, but we really mostly just observed.  The location was like no place I had ever seen.  Imagine the most dusty, dry barren looking place and that's where we were. The road leading to it was lined with people trying to sell hand made bricks.  The kids first gathered in a room our missionary friends helped build last summer.  The room was made with practicality in mind...wood planks for seating allowed about 100 kids to squeeze into the room.  They just kept coming in...and with very few mom's in attendance.  Many of them barefoot or in shoes made from tires, they came wearing dust covered, worn out clothes.  One little one had long matted hair, and wore clothes my friend gave him about a year ago...he sees the boy wear it every single Saturday (and probably every day in between.) Joe told us that most of these kids won't eat all weekend except for the snack they get at Kid's Club. This day was definitely different than the day before, and I was reminded of my purpose here...not to be comfortable, but to take risks and love like Christ in a foreign land.

Sunday-We were excited to go to our church here that our friend, Joe, pastors.  The sermons are in English (with a translator for the Spanish speakers), but the worship is a mix of both Spanish and English. We met a few other missionaries and our kids made some new friends.  Afterwards,  we ate silpanchos for lunch.  It was really good, a very Bolivian meal.  That evening I experienced my very first Holman Family Movie Night.  We watched Khumba and ate a "junk food dinner."  Denise made a delicious salsa and we had chips, cookies, and Seth's Nutella bread pudding.  (be jealous ;-) )

Monday-We met with the lawyer that will help us with our visas.  She recently had a baby girl, and she held that sweet little baby as she went over the steps we were about to take to get our one-year visas.  Later, Joe took Seth to get our cell phones working.  Then, last night we were invited to have dinner at the Holman's home.  Denise placed two ginormous bowls of stir fry on the table, and between the five Powell's and the nine Holman's it was all devoured in no time.  Afterwards, the kids all played while we got some precious adult time sitting with Joe and Denise on the back balcony of their home, discussing plans for the future and talking through our transition here.

Tuesday, Today-I was invited to join Denise and another missionary wife, Rachel for lunch at a coffee shop downtown.  We had a great time, and afterwards Rachel let me see her apartment to get an idea of whether apartment living here would work for us.   Then, Denise and I walked through Casaideas...a Pier 1 type store - something I never expected to find here.  She told me there weren't any other stores like it here in Coch.  I walked up and down every aisle, admiring all the nice things...pillows, table cloths, curtains, dishes.  Seth took the kids to a huge park in walking distance from the guest house, and we picked them up on the way home.

If you are still reading this, you are probably thinking the Holman's must be some sort of angels here helping us adjust and take the necessary steps to get settled in Coch. and in Seth's role as a missionary for Ripe for Harvest.  Joe is actually the field director for Latin America with our organization, so we couldn't be in better hands.  They really are just as kind and generous as they sound...giving so much of their time and attention to help get us going.  Seth will work closely with Joe here, managing the guest house (used for short term teams, but also a business that brings in funds for ministry projects), and also working to coordinate short-term trips.  We plan to serve in our church here (CIC), with the leadership of our pastor and friend, Joe, and work to plant churches along-side his ministry here.

That's about all I can put down on paper for now.  It may not sound like we have accomplished a lot, but remember, we are on "Bolivian time."  Businesses here open late (10ish) and close from 12-3 in the afternoon.  Our main priority right now is working on our visas, and learning the culture.  The kids are doing great.  They are making friends here easily, and have been able to Skype grandparents and cousins pretty often. Please keep us in your prayers as we adjust to such a different culture. We love you and miss you so much!

Here's Cruz cutting some strawberries from the fruit market.