One of the goals of the Etnos training program is to give the students an opportunity each semester to get off campus, see more of Bolivia, and get a practical, realistic taste of what ministry can be like among the various ethnic groups of this country.
This past week I had the opportunity to accompany my coworker Howard and the 8 students to a village north of Cochabamba called Oromomo. It is a small community on the Sécure river, populated by 80 families of Chimane and Yuracaré ethnicity. Oromomo is accessible by river (a week or so, from Trinidad) or by air (one hour, from Cochabamba).
As we planned the trip, we talked about several purposes that we wanted to emphasize and I believe that we accomplished all of them:
-rustic living
-language and culture learning
-relationship building
-church planting strategy
-working alongside others with a different philosophy of ministry
The following is an assortment of stories and photos. More, fully-captioned photos can be found in our Picasa web album at this link. And don't forget that you can click on these to see them much larger.
Sunrise on Jorge Wilsterman Int'l Airport, Cochabamba
We flew out from Cochabamba by small plane, operated by Mano a Mano. The 4 singles and Howard took the first flight in a Cessna 206, without any baggage. The 2 couples and I loaded up the bigger Piper Navajo with the bags and were on the platform getting our routine police inspection when the pilot got the call that it was raining in Oromomo. The airstrip there isn't long enough for him to land the big twin-engined Navajo in the wet, so we had to cancel.
Group 1 on their way
The forecast didn't look good and there was a good possibility that those 5 were going to have to spend the night without any clothes, sleeping bags, mosquito nets, or bug repellent! Oops.
Thankfully, the weather lifted enough in the afternoon that I was able to go out by myself in the 206 with all of their bags and mine too. Unfortunately, the pilot and I miscalculated the weights and accidentally loaded about 50 kilos overweight. We had a tough time getting up to 14,000+ feet to go over the ridge! However, after turning a few climbing circles, he was able to coax enough power out of the engine and 45 minutes later, we were landing on a beautiful little airstrip in the middle of the Bolivian jungle.
Oromomo airstrip
Of course, everyone was glad to see their things arrive and we set about setting up camp in the house that we would be working on.
Howard showing the gals how to set up a mosquito net
My mesh hammock was a nice lightweight bed
The next morning, the 6 of us that were in Oromomo set about working on the projects that we were there to do. One of the big things was to plumb a bathroom, which Dennis and I jumped on, with some help from the girls.
We started by removing an elbow that had been installed backwards :P
Eli started a fire so we could form bell joints on the PVC and Naty helped her keep it going, even in the rain
Around mid-morning, the 2 couples and baby Esteban flew in. After accommodating themselves, we all got back to work.
We worked on 3 main projects: plumbing, doors and and window coverings, and church signage. Several other small projects were mixed in as we went along.
As mentioned, Dennis and I pretty much handled the plumbing. We plumbed the drains, then supply, and set the shower pan, toilet, and sink.
Meanwhile, Howard and Matias were working with Pastor Tito on making doors and window coverings. Tito is half Yuracaré, half Chimane. He grew up speaking both languages and learned Spanish in school. He has a very interesting testimony and is a crazy man on many levels. He handles a Stihl MS660 like he was born with it.
Leo worked with Cristian (Mano a Mano's supply buyer and accountant) to put the name of the church up on the building in all 3 languages.
The gals often helped where they could on our projects and employed themselves in a variety of other useful ways.
Boiling river water for drinking was a continual task, as was cooking, all over a fire
Eli prepping meat to make charque
Eli and Polette brightening up the kitchen
Our last day, Naty helped me grade and compact the passage between the kitchen and house
Kristen helping some of the kids with homework
During all of this work, we had many opportunities to rub shoulders with the ministers on-the-ground and the people of the community they are trying to reach.
Much of life was centered around the Sécure River. It was our water supply, bathtub, washing machine, refrigerator, and swimming pool. We loved it!
Hauling water for washing, cooking, and drinking
We swam at least once a day, usually twice, to cool down and clean up
Tito's girls having a swim
The river was also a major food source; we ate a LOT of fish. On Saturday night around 11pm, Tito took us guys fishing. We went upriver about 2.5 kilometers by canoe, where he shot a couple small sábalo with his bow, for bait, and dropped us off on a beach. Dennis and Leo caught two surubí each, but I got skunked! I did catch one the following night, though.
It was Leo's first time fishing. That one on the left weighed 20 pounds, cleaned!
Most Sundays, there are two families that come to church consistently and a third that is occasional. A few of the teachers from the school have been attending as well. We were asked to share in the main service and in the Sunday school classes.
Tito leading the singing
Leo preaching
Kristen and Naty teaching the younger kids
Meanwhile, Dennis, Mati, and I were frying fish and listening from the kitchen!
Sunday evening, half of the group shared their testimonies.
On Monday, we worked in the morning and then Tito took the whole group upriver to meet his mom and see her place. We had a good time in the boat!
Bow group
Stern group
That final night, we hiked about 20 minutes downriver to another part of Oromomo known as the Zona Baja. The plan was to have another meeting there, in which the other half of us would share our testimonies. I didn't find out until we got there, but most of the people that live there speak only Chimane, so Tito would be translating!
Nathan sharing his testimony with lessons about faithfulness in teaching generation-to-generation from II Timothy
This experience solidified in most of the students' minds (as well as mine) the commitment we have to teaching in the heart language of the people. We had no idea what Tito was communicating. It is terribly difficult to keep a flow of thought going with the back-and-forth of translation. We had no background on these people, how they think, or what they already knew about the Gospel. For me, this was one of the best experiences that we could have had for our students, so they could see the value of what they are learning in this training program.
Finally, on Tuesday morning, it was time to say goodbye and fly back to Cochabamba:
I'm writing this from my desk, watching a heavy rain fall outside, and I can't help but think about the people downstream. Some are saying that these are the worst floods in recent memory and this rain certainly isn't going to help. This incredible video from Cochabamba's main newspaper mentions: -56 dead -11 missing -58,000 families affected -worst flooding in at least 18 years (according to the man in the canoe)
The footage is from an air force helicopter on relief missions based out of Trinidad, the center of operations. According to today's paper, Trinidad itself is now under water, as the rivers overflowed the levies this morning. On Friday, we left the Etnos campus at just before 3pm. We had an uneventful drive to Puerto Villarroel, located on the Rio Ichilo, arriving around 10pm.
Dinner by the side of the road:
In the morning, we were able to wander around and see some of the damage right there in town. Although the river was still high, it had returned to its banks. This area drains very quickly; downstream it will take weeks to recede. You can see the watermark on this house, which had about 2 feet of water on the floor:
Many people had pulled everything out of their homes, to dry:
A few homes were very wisely built on stilts, like this one:
Our task was mostly just to deliver the supplies and be an encouragement to the pastor and the church, who will continue the process by distributing everything downstream by boat, to affected families.
Breakfast was masaco (fried banana, mashed) and fried wild pork
That job done, we took the opportunity to take a boat ride on the river:
On the way, we went by a community of ethnic Yuracaré which was under water. It is just across the river, so they were able to get assistance from the port.
Please continue to pray with us for the affected as well as those that are actively helping. We have one pilot friend here who, although he is unable to land on the flooded airstrips is doing food drops in communities where he has contacts. Please pray for his safety and that through him, these churches, and our small efforts, people would get the food, clothes, and medicine they need, as well as take the opportunity to hear about the Bread of Life and take spiritual shelter in the Rock of Salvation.
Our life is never dull, that's a fact. Here's what's going on around our house:
No more classes! Kaylee finished her formal Spanish study at the end of April, officially closing the latest chapter in our long road to tribal ministry! Anne finished her year of Kindergarten the following day. Kaylee has a few words and photos at her personal blog: Life of a Missionary Wife.
Packing! For the last two weeks, we have been slowly sorting and packing our things to get ready to store them for our trip to the US in June. We're still sorting out the details of how that's all going to work out, but it is coming together. In the meantime, our house is a shambles:
Planning! We have a full itinerary for our summer in Bozeman and are trying to work out the details of our move to Urubichá when we return. It is coming along slowly, mostly due to the wide variety of options and opinions that we have to work with! Please pray that God would give us wisdom as we inch forward.
I had the opportunity to give a presentation at our church here about our plans a couple weeks ago:
Civil Unrest! Please pray for Bolivia right now as the government and workers' unions are having difficulty resolving an issue regarding salary and retirement pensions. There have been blockades on and off over the last few weeks (including one where miners blew up a bridge west of here), but this week they have started blocking non-stop and things continue to escalate. Please pray for safety for those involved and that the situation would be resolved peacefully. If it does not resolve soon, it may affect our travel plans.
This is a local news photo of one of the blockades between us and the city. Blockading at night is very uncommon, a sure sign of escalation.
Kaylee already posted about her thoughts and feeling regarding our trip to Urubichá, but we decided that we should also write about the trip itself, as it was very stressful (especially returning!).
We set out from Cochabamba on the 15th of February, headed for Santa Cruz. It was an uneventful trip and we felt quite comfortable on the road, since we had been over the same 300 miles just five weeks earlier.
On the morning of the 17th, Kaylee and I said goodbye to our girls and my parents and got on the road to Urubichá. The first 185 miles to Ascención de Guarayos is on one of Bolivia's major highways and is paved pretty well all the way. Then you turn off the main road and go another 25 miles on dirt.
I recently purchased a GoPro camera and have had a lot of fun filming our latest driving adventures (more about that in this post, including the video of me getting the Patrol very stuck in a big mud hole). Take a drive-through look at the town that is going to be our shopping headquarters and the first part of the drive to our future home:
There is a gas station in Ascención, but it didn't have any gasoline! We had filled up in San Ramón, 150km back, but thanks to a wonky gas gauge, I thought we had less than a quarter tank left. By the time we actually got out to Urubichá, it was reading empty. According to our coworkers and the people in the village, the fuel truck would come on Tuesday (the day we planned to leave), but there would be a huge line of cars waiting and not all would get gas. So we purchased 50 liters from a friend, enough to get us back to San Ramón.
Here's a video of Urubichá, taken as we left town:
The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, other than never being sure about how much fuel we had and a couple of problems due to my international driver's license.
Uneventful, that is, until we reached Villa Tunari and were on the last leg of our trip home to Cochabamba. We got about halfway up the very steep climb out of the lowlands and ran into a huge line of trucks, buses, and cars. We weren't sure what was going on, so we decided to stay wait and see what happened.
During rainy season, that particular road is fraught with landslides and unstable areas. When there is a problem, the truck traffic starts to get backed up and the little cars and even the coaches start to pass them, often packing up 3 lanes wide! Even after the roadway is passable again, it takes forever to get the traffic mess untangled!
We waited for 2 hours and, since it was already 4pm, decided to turn around and find a place to spend the night in Villa Tunari. The idea of spending the night on a mountain, in the car, with 3 little girls and limited food and water did not appeal to us. This is what happened when we turned around:
Thankfully, I was able to get through to my brother on the cell and find out where they have stayed in the past. We ended up in a very nice bungalow-style hotel with a great pool, a good restaurant, and nice rooms with AC.
The next day we tried again in the morning. This time, we took a chance and followed some other cars up the wrong lane as far as we could. We didn't even get to the same spot as the day before! Kaylee asked a trucker how long he'd been there and he replied, "Since 3am!" A police officer was coming through the traffic on his motorcycle, informing everyone what was going on and it didn't look promising, so we turned back, checked back into the hotel, and enjoyed another afternoon in the pool!
On Sunday morning, I went down to the roadside restaurants near the
hotel and talked to several truckers about how the road was. They all
said that the problem was fixed for the time being and traffic was
slowly making its way through. Sure enough, we made it home, with no trouble!
We didn't know until later, but when we turned around on the second day, we were 14km (8.7 miles) from the actual problem!! That's a lot of trucks! This is what the situation looked like (click photo to enlarge):
