Visit from the Chessers

The last 10 days, we've been blessed to have a family from Austin Ave. here to visit us. The Chessers are a dear family to our team, because Rodney and Tracie came with us on our initial survey trip of the city (not to mention the fact we love their girls, Chelsea and Ruthie). They came bringing care packages from Austin Ave. (including a horse shoe game set for Josh!), and we spent a wonderful time in fellowship during their stay. We took a day trip to a popular family site about half an hour from Cochabamba. It's next to a lake, and so had a variety of activities: playgrounds, paddle boats, a zip line (which Michaela went on with Josh!), and a restaurant that serves local fish. The Chessers spent a night at each family's home, and we enjoyed the personal time we had with them. To wrap up their visit, we hosted another grill out/game night at our house. We enjoyed the new horse shoe pits, good food, and a round of Mafia (and the kids loved the new sand box Josh built for Michaela). The Chessers were also able to be here for several landmark events in the life of the church (our first meeting in our contact center, and the finding of the location of the future church building). We are so thankful to have friends in Jesus like the Chessers, and especially grateful for the encouragement they were able to bring from our Austin Ave.
**For lots of fun pictures of the Chessers visit (including some random pictures of Cochabamba and our new meeting place), please click on our flickr badge.

A Little Sister

We went to the doctor this week for an ultrasound at 24 weeks to find out what we're having. And the doctor is 100% sure that it is another little girl! So Michaela will have a little sister, pretty close in age. We're thrilled, of course. Like I told Josh, so many practical things are easier with having 2 girls so close in age (sharing clothes, sharing a room, already knowing how to change her diaper!), but mostly I'm thankful that Michaela will have a sister and I'm praying that they will grow up to be as good of friends as I am with my sister. I treasure my relationship with my sister so much! I love you, Laura!

New pictures on Flickr

Just wanted to let everyone know that I finally posted some new pictures on our flickr website - just click on the flickr badge near the bottom of our blog. These are pictures from June and July. Enjoy!

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!

4th of July

One of the great things about having a house and a garden is being able to have barbecues! Josh got another excuse to use his grill on the 4th of July. We decided the 4th couldn't go by uncelebrated - even in Bolivia - and so invited the team and some American friends from the language school over for a grill out. It was a great experience - hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, baked beans, apple pie. All the great American favorites. And we even mangaged to find Dr. Pepper and Root Beer. After dinner, we lit sparklers and some fire crackers (to the dismay of the babies!), and Josh initiated (and won!) the bobbing for apples contest (although it feels a little different in 60 degree weather, instead of 100!) As 2 missionary kids should know, it's important to celebrate the traditions of both your host and your home culture. It helps our kids maintain their "dual" identity.

Graduation

After 5 long months, we are finally done with language school! It has probably been one of the longest semesters of my life (for various reasons: school, being a mom and wife, culture shock, homestay programs and moving, first trimester pregnancy), but with His help we made it through. The experience with the institute of Maryknoll was a great one, and we'd highly recommend it to other people. My Spanish has improved gramatically and conversationally and Josh begun learning Quechua. We have made invaluable contacts with the teachers, our homestay family, and the other stduents.

Graduation ceremony was a special time of dedication. The teachers sent each group of students off with a special blessing and a candle symbolizing our light to the world. Afterward, we celebrated with a barbecue. We are thankful for the opportunity to receive such a quality eduation. Thank you to those of you who made this experience possible through your support towards our one time fund.

Christmas in June

Before we left the State in January, we sold almost everything we owned and boxed the rest up to go in a container shared by all 5 families. Since January, we have been waiting for our shipment to arrive. In April, the container finally made it to Cochabamba, but since then has been sitting in customs, where Josh was in charge of completing all the paperwork. It has been a South American experience working through all the red tape.

However on June 9th (which just happened to be our 6th anniversary), we finally got our stuff! It was the best anniversary present I could've asked for. Since then, I have been busily unpacking stuff (I actually told Josh I feel like a little girl playing house!) It has been wonderful to get pictures on the walls, kitchen utensils (thank you, Mary Ann, for all the Pampered Chef stuff), Michaela's rocking chair (we've been reading on the floor for 3 months), Kenyan tea and spices, and especially maternity clothes! Thanks to the compiled efforts of 3 women, and many donated clothes, we have enough maternity clothes for 4 women. Jamie Custer and I had a lot of fun going through them and spliting them up. And it wasn't a moment too soon, because I am finally beginning to pop out. At 21 weeks, I am half way through our 2nd pregnancy.

We are so thankful that God provdies not only for our needs, but also so much more. Many thanks to all the prayers that have been going up on our behalf for this and our visa process. Having this taken care of has sure taken a lot of stress off of Josh. Not to mention, he's been enjoying all the meals I've been cooking lately!

A Visit From Grammy, Grandpa, and Uncle James

We had our first overnight visitors the last 2 weeks with the presence of Grammy, Grandpa, and Uncle James. It was a wonderful visit (although we had to get creative with some of the "household supplies" as our container still hasn't made it out of customs.) But it was exciting to be able to host family as our first guests in our home.

We picked Momma, Dad and James up in La Paz, since Dad and Momma were doing a conference there for the church. That in itself was an experience, as we drove our own car and made it our first Bolivian road trip. We arrived over the mountain passes without too much problem (although I left my purse in a little restaurant on the way, and had difficulty finding an open bathroom!) We enjoyed 3 nights with Momma, Dad and James in a quaint hotel in La Paz, and then made the trip back to Cochabamba, which turned out to be even more of an experience! Our car wouldn't start the morning we left, and when we stopped for lunch Mom's purse was stolen, and when we came to a split in the road on the way home we took the wrong highway and ended up in Oruro - the opposite direction from Cochabamba. The incredible part was that when we turned around to catch the right road, there was a paro (strike) in the town we had just left! In Bolivia, a strike means a lot of people sit across the road, blocking traffic in all directions. So we had to go offroading - Josh got to use his 4 wheel drive for the first time - in order to get around the blockade and back on the highway to Cochabamba. Needless to say, we arrived later than we expected in Cochabamba.

The rest of our visit was a little bit more low key. Momma got to babysit Michaela in the mornings while we went to school, and then we just enjoyed the usual family activities (movies, games of spades, time with the team, shopping excursions etc.) On Sunday, April 30th, we celebrated Michaela's actual birthday (her party was the day before) with a picnic trip to a children's park here in Cochabamba. Momma, Dad and James left a few days ago for Santa Cruz to give another conference there, and from there are heading back to the States on furlough. Michaela greatly missed them when they left - she loved especially playing with Uncle James and all the attention from Grammy and Grandpa. We love you guys and are so happy you were able to share our lives in Cochabamba!

First Birthday Party

Although the Bolivian custom is to go all out with a first birthday party (i.e. renting a huge facility with blow up air toys, having a clown, serving a full sit-down dinner to 50+ guests), we decided to go a little bit more low key. As Josh's dad says, "Keep it simple, keep it fun." But we did "Bolivianize" her birthday party to some extent. We decided to make it a "saltenada", or a party in the middle of the morning that serves saltenas. Saltenas are a very Bolivian pastry filled with meat that everyone eats on the street about 11:00 in the morning. We had Michaela's party in our backyard, and thanks to Josh and his dad, our yard was looking more beautiful than ever (they planted flowers the night before). Josh ordered 50 helium balloons to decorate (which Michaela loved almost more than her presents), and we served cake and opened presents. We invited the team, all our neighbors, our Bolivian homestay family, and the most special visitors were Josh's parents and little brother James who came down from Ecuador just for the occasion. It was an enjoyable experience (although this mom still can't believe her baby is one year old!) For those of you who would enjoy seeing more pictures, click on our "flickr badge"!

Michaela enjoyed the balloons almost more than her presents!


One of her favorite presents was her Raggedy Ann, sent all the way from the US by Nyanya and Babu.


Michaela sure enjoyed her loot, including a swing, sandbox toys, clothes and dolls, and a special teapot from Grammy.


The best part was having Grammy and Grandpa and Uncle James at the party (and of course the cake!)

One Year Old

We celebrated Michaela's first birthday on April 30th! Although I'll do a specific blog article about her birthday party, I wanted to post some of our cutest, most recent pictures of our one year old. I can't believe that a year has gone by already, and as I look back on the year and where God has taken us, I can truly see His hand at work. I can't imagine our lives without our little bundle of joy - her beautiful eyes and smile, her laughter and fascination with the world, her energy and cuddly personality. We are truly blessed!

Michaela and Mommy


Reading with Daddy


Learning to walk


Swimming with Daddy


Cutie Pie


Can you see my teeth?

The Things You’ll Do for a Stamp in Your Passport

One of the joys of living in a foreign country is leaping through all the hoops to get your paperwork legal and in order. We have been working for months on getting our permanent visas, but the process has taken longer than we anticipated. So, we were left with 2 options: pay a fine for the days we were in the country without a visa, or leave the country in order to receive another tourist visa. The Marcum blood in Josh was ready for an adventure, so we opted to go to Peru with the Forbesses in search of a stamp in our passport.

We left on Thursday and took a bus from Cochabamba to the capital of La Paz. It is a 7 hour bus ride and was a long trip, but it was made more enjoyable with the company of the Forbesses. The most uncomfortable part was not being able to go to the bathroom very often (when you’re 2 months pregnant, that’s even worse!). I had to ask the driver to stop at one point and reverted to my missionary kid experiences of going to the bathroom in the middle of nowhere (i.e. find a covered spot and squat!) But we made it safe and sound, and because it was my birthday weekend, we put up in a nice hotel in La Paz and ate at a superb Middle Eastern restaurant (I don’t know when food tasted that good!)

The next day we took a 4 hour bus to Copacabana on the border of Bolivia and Peru. One of the highlights of our trip was being able to see the spectacular scenery of Bolivia. Copacabana is on Lake Titicaca, one of the largest lakes in the world and also the highest navigable lake in the world. We had to cross a section of the lake on a ferry, and as it was a little windy, the experience was slightly terrifying. I was sure our little ferry was going to capsize at any minute! Once in Copacabana, we took a taxi to the border and proceeded to fill out the paperwork required to leave and reenter the country. After some hassles with the border officials (at one point they told us we would have to stay in Peru for 24 hours before returning to Bolivia!), we acquired the coveted stamps in our passports and made the 4 hour bus trip back to La Paz.

After another pleasant night in our hotel, we boarded another bus back to Cochabamba, this time a “bus cama” or “sleeper bus” with a bathroom for my pregnant body. Unfortunately, after on the road, we discovered the bathroom was out of order. You can’t win for losing! All in all, Michaela and Jubilee did an excellent job with all the traveling. They really enjoyed playing together on the bus, and it made the trip much more bearable to have the Forbesses along. I enjoyed aspects of the trip (although I can’t say I enjoyed every moment), but at least we got our visas, and Josh got his travel bug out of his system (at least for the time being!)


Crossing Lake Titicaca


Crossing the Peruvian Border


On the Bus


Lake Titicaca

Blessings!

The past month has been filled with blessings upon blessings - and, yes, a few trials too. But as in everything, we can see God's hand working things out for the good of those who love him.
*We discovered that we're expecting baby number 2! Although it came as quite a surprise, we are thankful for the blessing of a beautiful and growing family. Michaela's brother or sister will arrive around the 6th of November.
*We found a car! We prayed and thought long and hard about the kind of car we wanted to buy. We ended up buying a '94 Land Rover in excellent condition, but that doesn't look too fancy. We are thankful for the fact that it has room to seat 7, so we have the ability to transport our growing family as well as visitors.
*Josh began taking Quechua classes. Quechua is the ancient language spoken by the Incan empire before the Spanish conquest. It is still widely spoken in areas of Bolvia, including Cochabamba. We are thankful for this opportunity because we feel that it will open doors into sections of Cochabamba that would not be as readily accesible without it.
*I celebrated my 27th birthday. The team made it a special time at one of my favorite restaurants here, complete with cake and presents. Josh also treated me special by taking me to a nice hotel and paying for a massage!
*We had our first visitors from Austin Ave.: Roland and Carol Bowen. Not only was the fellowhship much enjoyed, but it felt like Christmas with the care packages from Austin Ave. and my family.
*Although Josh was very sick with amoebas for about a week (one of the trials we've experienced), we were thankful for the blessing of good medical care at the clinic here. I told Josh I wanted to see the clinic before our baby is born, and he decided to check it out in person!
*We had a team retreat that allowed us to get away from the bustle of the city and the stress of language school. We enjoyed the time to share together and to enjoy one another's company. We are daily thankful for the support that God has provided for us through our team.
*We are still holding worship services in our homes, but our group has grown with a handful of Bolivian brothers and sisters who were previously converted in other locations and are now living in Cochabamba. It is exciting to see our group growing already!


Our Biggest Blessing!


Team Retreat


Julie's B-Day celebration


Thank you God for a Healthy Family


Worship service in our home

Carnaval

The month of February in Bolivia is the month of Carnaval. Historically, Carnaval (similar to our Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans) is a festival leading up to the month of Lent, the 40 days before the Holy Week (Easter) on the Catholic calendar. In South America, it’s a chance to revert to your childhood ways (in other words, soak each other with water balloons), or unfortunately, indulge in ‘adult’ appetites (in other words, get drunk very often). However, Bolivia is one of the countries well known for their Carnaval celebrations. In Oruro, there is a day long parade with elaborate costumes and floats. Unfortunately, it’s not an outing recommended for small children, as it’s cold, packed with people, and noisy. But we were able to watch the festivities on national TV, and we celebrated with our Bolivian family: eating the traditional food, having a water balloon fight, and going to see the Parade of Children.

Meet Our Puppies

Meet Daisy and Chazca (which means star in Quechua), our new boxer puppies. Last weekend we went to the Parade of Children in celebration of Carnaval, and on the way home, just ‘happened’ to walk by the market where people sell dogs on Sunday. And so we bought Daisy (for a great price) and our family grew once more. The next week, we bought Chazca, so Daisy could have a friend. They are very playful puppies, and now that we are in our own house, we are enjoying having pets once more.

We’re moved!

The past 2 weeks have been a flurry of activity. We found out that we were going to be able to move into our house a little sooner than expected, and so we’ve been shopping like crazy, trying to get the essentials before we moved in. We managed to buy a fridge, a stove, a mattress, and a washer before arriving at our house, and our landlady has been gracious to loan us a table and chairs. We are so thankful to be settled at last in our own place. The last few months have been wonderful in some ways, and difficult in others, but we feel that we’ve made our last transition into a permanent state. I’m enjoying cooking (and even cleaning). And as our furniture is being delivered, and we get cable and internet, it’s beginning to feel even more like home. We are now looking forward to the arrival of our container with anticipation, because then we’ll have our pictures and the things that will really make our house a home.

My new nephew!

On Februrary 28th, Alexander John Campbell made his entrance into the world after a very long labor! He was born in Japan to my sister and brother-in-law. We are so thankful that he’s here, and that mom and baby are doing fine. My parents are there right now, meeting their new grandson, and we only wish we could see them too! What a handsome baby!

Cabanas a Tolavi

This past weekend, Josh took me to some cabins about half an hour from Cochabamba in celebration of Valentine's Day. The grounds are beautiful and it is a very quiet and relaxing place. We enjoyed the time alone (well, alone with Michaela) immensely. It was a much needed get-away from our homestay.

On the Move

Michaela’s favorite new past time is burning rubber with her walker. The Arcos have a beautiful shaded patio outside, and Michaela loves running around in her walker, chasing the dogs and cat. She is definitely on the move, as she can now pull up and cruise along furniture. We hope she’ll be crawling before too long!

“Parte de la Familia”

We had only been with them a day, and yet at the market the father of our home-stay family introduced me as his “hijo” (son). Within a day we had gone from complete strangers to a part of the family. This simple phrase completely describes our relationship. We have been adopted into a Bolivian family and have experienced love, service, concern (and sometimes even invasion of privacy) just like any other member of the family.

In our family, the father does most of the cooking. Yes, this is abnormal for South America, but for Rolando, it is part of his nature. In his mind, meal time is for the whole family to be together, and it is his way to maintain connection with his loved ones. You could say “cooking for” is his love language and our family is loved every day with mostly agreeable meals. One special thing he does for me is to save a bowl of the noon-meal soup (which I’m unable to eat because I’m in class) for me to have with my dinner.

Our Bolivian mother helps Rolando in the kitchen, washes our clothes by hand, and somehow finds time to work in their leather shop as well. She has a sweet disposition and loves to engage in meaningful conversations. She and her daughter have especially fallen in love with Michaela. It is nice to have two who are so willing to take her at any moment: to sing to, dance with, or take outside.

We have been blessed to be welcomed into this family. Of course, we had our concerns at the beginning. Were we going to get along with them? Were they even trustworthy? Both of these anxieties have proved to be empty worries. Time after time they have tried to protect us “gringos” from getting taken advantage of. Just the other day, Eli returned 1000 Bs. to us (around $120) that I had hidden in a sock. Julie didn’t know about it and had thrown it in the wash. Though I was trying to be careful and avert temptation, our Bolivian mom assured us we have nothing to fear.

Lest I paint a picture too perfect, there have been definite challenges to our new family situation. The American side of us feels that we’ve been stripped of some of our personal independence and privacy. We might even go so far to say that these people are “overly enmeshed.” Julie and I have been given ample unsolicited parenting advice and financial suggestions (if they think we’ve spent to much on something). We have to lovingly bend with some things and set boundaries with others.

I don’t believe our experience is unique to just our family. As I’ve talked with the rest of the team, it basically typifies what all four of the families in home-stays have experienced. The very people, to whom we’ve come to give God’s love, have first shown us an incredible love and acceptance. We pray daily that our 24/7 witness and communication, though it often be in broken Spanish, will only further strengthen these bonds until they are founded in Christ.

Tarata

Last weekend, our host family dad took us on an outing to a little town called Tarata, about 45 minutes away from Cochabamba. It was our first taste of the countryside around Cochabamba, and a myriad of images struck me as we traveled in a crowded micro (little bus): tall, slender eucalyptus trees; usually arid rolling hills turned green by the rain; small adobe villages; Quechua women in their full pleated skirts, braided hair, and broad-brimmed straw hats; babies tied on their backs in brightly colored mantas. Tarata itself is a historic colonial town that received its name from the multitude of tara trees found there. The fruit of the tara tree is used to cure leather. Tarata is best known for being the home of mad president Melgarejo in the 1800’s. It also has an ancient neoclassical church, and a Franciscan convent. We walked the narrow cobbled streets, visited the churches, and ate fried chorizo (pork sausage) at a little café.