R and R

As a reward for Josh finally finishing Quechua the first week in July, we decided to take a little family vacation time! It's been a busy few months, and we figured that from here on out it will only get busier (starting small groups, beginning the contact center, planning for the church launch, finding a location for the church to meet, not to mention the fact that a pregnant woman in her 3rd trimester - or for that matter, a newborn baby - can't travel very well!) We were a little limited in our options of where to go, because we can't leave the country as our visas are in process, and we can't go someplace tropical, because this pregnant woman hasn't had her yellow fever shot! We wanted to see a part of Bolivia we haven't seen before, so in the end, we went south, close to the Argentine border, to a city called Tarija. Our tour book describes it as a "Mediterranean" type climate, very similar to where we live. And this is the area of Bolivia that is the wine producing region! It was lovely! We stayed at a resort on a cliff overlooking a river and the city. It was perfect for our family, quiet, beautiful gardens, a playground for Michaela, a jacuzzi, a frigobar in our room (to keep Michaela's milk), a restaurant open around the clock (most restaurants work on Bolivian time - a 1:00 lunch and a 7:00 dinner, which makes it hard with little ones). The city of Tarija was smaller than Cochabamba, but very well maintained. We walked into town one day, took a tour of the local lake, hiked down to the river around our hotel. But mostly we just rested. Read, talked. Played with Michaela. Enjoyed our first family vacation with Michaela. We're thankful for the overwhelming blessings He puts in our lives - including the priveledge of being able to vacation in places like Tarija!