30. Picture-Filled Sabbath

Today´s Sabbath was packed with picture perfect memories. Therefore, I´ll use pictures to walk though today´s splendid events.

Started the day with song service at the church



Always joyful Max praising away





Then went to Sabbath School where I watched this little goober giggle the whole time.

His name is Enoch.



We had some time before church to get camera happy.

What a perfect family!!



Church. Today was communion service.

Armando singing away.

There was no available grape juice so we used Raisin juice.
It´s the thought that counts.

After church I had lunch with the fam, slept for 4 hours, then played with kids until 10:30 p.m.

A great Sabbath!

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

29. I am an Abuelo

Friday, 10/26/12

Woke up at 7:30 feeling like Salmonella...it could only get better from there. It definitely did!!

Today was the start of a short vacation without school. It ends on Monday. This is when kids can go back to their families for three days so they can spend some time with their families.

 Yesterday, Erin asked me if I would watch the kids today since she could go into town. I love these kids, Juan and Miguel, almost as much as my nephews and immediately said yes. At 7:30 I went to their room, relieved Erin, and said hi to the excited boys. I said, " Your tio is ready for a fun day." Erin's two kids, who usually call me tio then said, "You aren't our tio!". With smiles of course. I automatically replied, "Then what am I? Your abuelo?" I guess that was the right answer because it stuck. They love it. I feel instantly wiser too!



Nuevo Esparanza School



We then went with my other family to the Nuevo Esparanza (New Hope) School to play soccer at 10:30. I watched the kids and relaxed with Chad and Calvin in the bed of the truck. The shade and breeze were delightful!! Like always, each of our teams beat the other school's teams. I have a feeling we play too much soccer.

We returned to Familia Feliz and my two "grandkids" had the priveledge of eating at my house with my 7 nephews that did not go home for vacation. Then it was Cashew juice time! I made 5 liters of Cashew juice from a bottle of concentrate I was saving. It only costed 2 US dollars and tasted fresh. I must buy more!!

Who are those cool cats? (On the way to
grab some coconuts)



As if one truck ride wasn't enough, we then went to drop the chicas off at their houses and then bought more coconuts on the way home. I bought 26 for me, 10 for Annie, and 10 for my grandkids and their mama, Erin. The old guy who got them down reminded me of my very old "abuelo" in Brazil that can still climb trees like a monkey.

We returned and ate supper with my family again. I am glad Juan and Miguel got to spend time with them. After Erin leaves, they will be one of the 4 kids to live in my house for the summer and will probably stay there until next year.



Rocket Rides!!



I took my grandkids back to their room. We each had a coconut, then cleaned their rooms and swept the floor together. They took showers, wore my ties, and then we went to dismiss the Sabbath alltogether in a circle.

After a short break, my grandkids hitched a ride on my shoulders and went to Week of Prayer. They would not wanted to go without this fun mode of transportation. It was dark by this point and I was wondering if Erin got stranded in town for the night. We had already planned to have them stay in my house if she didn't return. We were inches from the church, then all of a sudden, there she was.

She had been accidentally abandoned in town and had to get a mototaxi ride to Familia Feliz.  Her kids jumped her and there was all smiles...until she saw what they were wearing. Yup, t-shirts with monkeys on them, church pants, and church shoes. They were also very hyper because I'd been roughing them up and playing with them all day, and they were loaded with sugary cashew and coconut juice. What can I say, I'm just another grandpa that spoils his grandkids.

I then went inside the church to sit with my grandkids and provide them with a shoulder to sleep on. Even though the heavily animated Lisandro was speaking, my kids were drooling on my shoulders by 8:30.  The program ended at 9 and we were off to bed. This time my nephews got the shoulder rides.

Just gotta say that I'm one spoilded guy. I get to be the fun uncle and the spoiling grandpa. Does it get any better than that?

**Keep adventurizing!..I know I will!**

28. The Wednesday that Ended on Thursday

Wednesday, 10/24/12

Here we go again! I play Daddy for my nephews every Wednesday. Thankfully, this was another good one. And quite a long one!



Introducing...Geraldo!!



Playing marbles



Conducted worship at 5:30 a.m.
Fed them
Sent them off to school
Prepared my lesson plans for classes tomorrow
Hung out with Calvin and Geraldo in their room
Returned home in time for lunch
"Encouraged" the kids to wash their dirty clothes, and clean their rooms before swimming
They went swimming in the creek for 1 hour, I was lifeguard but read a Ben Carson book simultaneously
I then played marbles with the kids. My finger still hurts! Hey, it's not as easy as it sounds!
Penalty kick shoot out with the boys. The two winners got the Bolivia version of a Little Debbie Nutty Bar.
Juan and Emy returned.

Then...the real adventure really began!

Chad came to me and said he was asked to bring Liselle to the bus terminal in town. He thought he would be alone so it would be a good idea if I tagged along for safety and entertainment purposes. Changing a flat tire on the highway is no fun in the dark alone. And there is a good chance you would get a flat tire on these treacherous dirt excuses for roads.

We set off, arrived in town safely and waited until two people arrived by bus from Brazil. It was 7:00 and we expected to leave around 9:00. Nope. We were in town until 12:15 a.m.!!! We stayed at Narguila's eating until it closed at 11 and then waited in vain for the two teens to arrive in the bus. We eventually gave up and made the long ride home empty handed. At least we got some good food!

Since we were technically in town Thursday, that made 5 consecutive days in which I was in town. Unheard of at Familia Feliz. Now I just need to find a way into town Friday and Sabbath. Haha. At this point, I'd much rather spend time with my family and make bread than wait in vain in Rurre.

**Keep adventurizing!..I know I will!**

27. How Do I Turn Off the Generator?

Tuesday, 10/23/12

Today was bread day. But I didn't make any.



Managing a goober-smile despite the computer frustrations



I spent two hours taking apart my computer and cleaning the logic board under the supervision of Mac expert, Calvin. It didn't work. I needed more information and wanted to go on google and type in, "How to get shampoo out of my Macbook." Thankfully, Joy brought Calvin and I into town and I actually did get to type that into the search engine. Never though that would ever happen in my lifetime.

We returned back home after 2 hours and I helped Chad and Stephen finish up the bread.

Tonight starts Juan and Emy's night off. I told them to stay the night in town tonight and they did. Therefore, I have been watching the little guys since 5:30.  So far we've had a great time, but it took me 10 minutes to get them to bed. They are finally quiet in their rooms above me, so I can concentrate on writing this.

It is 10:30 and the lights and generator are still on. Juan usually turns it off at 9:30, but he's not here and I have no idea how to turn it off. I better go get Max to show me how. Good night!

**Keep adventurizing!..I know I will!**

26. News

Monday, 10/22/12

Today was my day off. I usually don't blog on my dia libres (freedom days) since I am usually vacuuming up fruit juice, stuffing my face, and uploading this blog, but there were two main things I wanted to quickly mention. Both are actually quite sad.

My friend Mark is now in jail, and in big trouble! He is one of those fellows who are a project for nice people, like those at Familia Feliz. He drinks, does drugs, and unfortunately, gets mixed up with the wrong group of people. He loves talking to Chad and I, however, because we listen to him. I have to be careful which soccer jersey I wear, though, he actually gets irritated when I don't wear my Chelsea soccer kit, because that is the only team he supports.

Anyways, he is in a whole lot of trouble. He was most likely set up by the Bolivian police to get this unwanted British guy out of Rurre, but he still kinda asked for it.We are actually surprised he is still alive. I am just glad noone of Familia Feliz got mixed up in the events. Please pray for Mark when you think of it.

Here is the link to his news story that made it back to major British newspapers:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2222493/British-man-arrested-Bolivia-machine-gun-revolver-cocaine-hit-list-intended-victims.html#comments

Secondly, I bought more shampoo today. However, I put it in the same backpack I had my computer in. On the truck ride home...KERSPLAT!! Shampoo on the inside of my old girl that would have turned 6 years old in two days. Until the time I uploaded this blog, it is still not working. All I know is that, without it, I can't blog at night or show nature videos to my kids and all the other families.  I will have to think of a good solution. I was really looking forward to her birthday party, too. :(

I hope tomorrow's blog will bring a few more smiles for you.

However, I am quite content. As I am writing this on Chad's computer in his and Joel's room, their new puppy, Flipper, is fast asleep on my lap...he only takes up half of it! :)

**Keep adventurizing!..I know I will!**

25. Family Portraits


10/22/12

Calvin, our awesome, Asian-Australian professional photographer got camera happy today and took family photos of Family Feliz today. Enjoy!




There we are! (From Left to Right)
Top Row: Me, Moises, Salvador, Dainor, Recelme, Jose, Juan
Bottom Row: Emmanual, David, Armando, Bryan, Freddy, Juan Carlos, Erik, Emy, Baby Emily

 


Ladies and gentlement...the first family photo in more than 2 years!!

 

24. Ziplining and more

10/21/12

Today, three miraculous events unfolded: I zip-lined and survived, I learned how to drive stick, and I am part of a third family due to outstanding mathematical odds.

1. Yet again, on another beautiful Sunday morning, Chad and I are off on our second adventure into the jungle…this time with a bit more zip!

Our first jungle excursion was a peaceful ride on a sketchy boat into the jungle, followed by a short trek in Madidi National Park. Not today!

Today we went zip-lining—an adrenaline pumping adventure sport where you zip along a seemingly too thing wire chord at what seems 100 miles per hour.

We started our boat ride at 8:00 a.m. After twenty peaceful minutes of singing, taking photos, and trying to make a stubborn kid smiles with the other four volunteers who went with us—Erin, Melissa, Calvin, and Chad—we arrived at our jungle entrance.

We walked for thirty minutes, and then arrived at our launch site. We were conformed when we saw that the equipment that would be used to support our fragile lives was good ol’ American craftsmanship…unless it was counterfeited like most Bolivian brand names.

Needless to say, we trusted our guides and our equipment and had a splendid yet heart-pumping time. Calvin was  a pro, Chad was the fearless novice that even hung upside down on one of the lines (there were eight in total and I was upright for all of them), and Melissa and Erin wisely took a much more cautious approach to each zip. We were given breaks to slow us down, therefore, each was able to go as fast as they preferred. No matter how much I braked, however, I always seemed to smash into the end the fastest due to my aerodynamic physique.


Taking the boat to begin our adventure!



It started with laughter...

...included some adrenaline pumping moments...



...with the jungle as our backdrop...

...and ended with luaghter! (or just being happy to be alive)

 We then took the boat back into town, enjoyed a couple of fresh fruit juices, and then drove back to Familia Feliz—my favorite part of the day! Why? Because I drove stick for the first time!!

2. Melissa finally let me drive stick and patiently showed me the ropes. I first shifted only. When she was satisfied, she stopped the truck halfway between town and the orphanage, and let me take the wheel. I can confidently say that I never stalled once of the 5 mile drive on crazy Bolivian roads…until I parked the big boy…but that doesn’t count does it?

My manhood has been increased 100% due to my newly obtained skill. My father must be proud!

The feeling was glorious and so is the sunlight in the background!
(This was the only picture of when I first drove the truck!)

3. The grand finale of miraculous events occurred when we returned and made bread with Stephen. Here is more background on Stephen. He has a daughter and son aged 23 and 21, respectively. While conversing with him, we realized that something occurred that only happens once out of 133225 times. Chad and I have the exact same birthdays as his children!! September 6 is shared by his 23 year-old daughter and myself, and amazingly, his son and Chad were born on the July 26, 1991!!

The odds were so overwhelmingly impossible that we decided we were officially, automatically a bread baking family. Who would have thought it!

There you have it; three pretty neat events.

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

23. Focaccia

10/19/12

Today we made focaccia bread!! Check out the pictures and your mouth will water. If only I had Mediterranean olives and some Olive Oil. If you desire, I will be sure to make you some loaded foccocia bread for you back in the States.

After we finished our masterpieces at 6, which was definitely the best bread we made all year, I helped watch 7 girls and 2 boys with Calvin as the female volunteers went off to worship. I lost count of the number of rocket rides and tornado spins I gave these kids, but the smiles and laughter were worth it. I, however, am ready for a 30-hour long slumber.

I also made a breakthrough with the most misbehaving girl on campus. A little girl named Rebecca. She is defiant and stubborn to the maximum. However, after she cried about her meal, I paid attention to her and by the time she finished her food, she was laughing and respecting me. While playing games with giggling kids is my favorite aspect so far about parenting, this incident is sure hard to beat.

The proud bread maker

The masterpiece...just needs a few olives

Now about that 30-hour slumber... ;)

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

22. Mud Football (Bolivian version)

10/17/12

Today, I learned my fair share of parenting lessons.

Happy Wednesday! Juan and Emy went to town all day which means I was the sole parent for these mischievous little boys. I am convinced they look forward to this day to see how far they can push the envelope with me. They used to think they could get away with anything, thankfully that phase has passed.

I started the day at 5:30 by conducting worship with them. Through my experiences, I have learned that children prefer to have a structured organized schedule and enjoy knowing what will happen that day. Therefore, I gave them a rundown of our activities today. I did not expect we would actually do all of them exactly as planned.

We then ate, and they were off to school. Chad and I spent a couple hours with our bread guru, Stephen, to pick his brain for bread ideas and baking techniques--His idea, not ours, but we appreciate his willingness to teach us as much as possible…for free! He usually charges for his classes in the States.

The little terrors returned at 12:00 after school for lunch. Afterwards, I made them clean their rooms and do their chores. Then, the worst possible thing happened; it started to rain….hard…for the whole day! Now these kids really became rambunctious! I had warned them earlier that if they fought with each other, they would not be able to watch the video. Well, four of them did. Henceforth, I made true with my promise and they were not allowed to watch the video. They thought I was joking…but from now on they know better!

They really enjoyed the next part of the day and were looking forward to it during their classes. My mom had sent some hair thingies for all the girls. I figured now was a good time to give them out. The boys would get to give gifts, their favorite thing in the world, and we could get outside of the house.

After our good deeds, it was soccer time! In the mud and rain! We played for two hours. What better way to tire my nephews out. I’m sure we will sleep like rocks tonight.

My day concluded with swimming, a penalty kick shootout, some Bible reading with the kids and their new Bibles, and then Dutch Blitz with the other volunteers. A fulfilling day. Each Wednesday is a lot of work and dedication, but I look forward to each one to fine tune my parenting skills.

My kids frolicking in the mud and rain

Freddy is excited to give gifts to the chicas

Smiles on both the givers and receives

Mud Football

And more!!

Look at all the pretty colors

My David found a dragonfly

Then he put it in his mouth!

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

21. Bread, Dress-Up, and Church

10/16/12

Like most days, I made bread all day long—garlic bread! Before Chad, Stephen, and I arrived, the kids had bread once every three weeks. Now they have it every day…almost for every meal. I have been learning from our own personal master baker, Stephen. I am working on my skills at making regular bread, ciabbiatta, garlic bread, and my favorite…foccocia!! I look forward to treating you all with some!

I also had to watch Erin’s two boys for six hours. I let them swim, fish, and help me with the bread. Then at night, we played dress-up! Haha….in a manly way of course! I tried to teach them how to tie a tie and look all handsome-like.

This week and next week is Semana Oracion (Week of Prayer). Normally, I have to watch the kids while Juan and Emy go to the church. I don’t mind since I only understand half of the sermon anyways. However, today was special as Juan was speaking the sermon. This was only his third time speaking up front, but he did a mightly fine job!

As I was listening to the sermon, the odd beauty of this humble church struck me. A small building, maybe only 600 square feet in total, with a simple pulpit in the front of the church. However, the church’s odd mystique is enhanced by the bats flying around the church, tarantulas walking on the ceiling, and the cows popping their heads through the windows. I will just have to get reused to life without bats in the congregation back in the States.

 **Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

20. A Happy Sabbath

10/13/12

For the first time in two weeks, I was able to go to Sabbath School and Church. I enjoyed every second of it. While primitive, church over here is extremely meaningful.

My house brother, Juan, was the pastor today. I had a great time all week listening to his ideas. This was also the first time I understood and entire sermon. This is only because I am so used to talking with Juan, that I can understand what he’s saying through his twinkling eyes. My Spanish is definitely not sermon-ready…yet!

I then went on a walk to the Toma for the third time. If you don’t remember, it’s a river that takes two hours to walk to. This time I went with the older high schoolers and American voluteers (one of us four is Canadian but that’s close enough). We had a great time trying to catch fish in the small swimming hole at the end of the walk. Chad even got stung hard by something. Memories! J

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

19. The Short One

10/12/12

Today, I organized a penalty kick shootout for my nephews. The winner got a chocolate. We had three competitions. Out of us ten contestants, I never won. Bummer. But watching how determined they were to win chocolate kept me amuzed the whole time.

I decided I want to do this each week.

That’s all for today! Have a great one and take heed of my advice in my tagline! J

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

18. Teaching and ¨"The Scare"

Written on 10/11/12

This may have been my favorite day yet!!! First off, because the date is in numerical order!! Secondly, I love my new high school students…so far!! Thirdly, I had a great time talking to my parents in town this afternoon! Ultimately, because I had caused a “international emergency” without lifting a finger!

I teach three English classes each Tuesday and Thursday to the 7^th, 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th graders. They are bundles of energy and laughter. While I made sure to assert myself first thing with a speech and discipline regulations, we had our share of giggles.

Here was my first lesson plan ever:
            Objective: Introduce me and see what they know
            Schedule: Prayer…in Spanish (they were impressed)
                                  Introduction/Speech
                                  Communication Evaluation (I brought each kid up front and had a conversation with them)
                                   Vocab Evaluation/Game (I pointed to something and a person from each team had to run to the front with the answer)
                                  Homework Assignment (Translate 10 words)
                                   Prayer



My nicer classroom



I would have done a few things differently. But…I felt quite confident on the first day. Plus, being able to teach the exact same classes three times in a row (because each class knows the same amount of English) gives me room to improve on the second and third classes. I look forward to next class…even if there is only so much you can teach them in the 1 month left of school.

In the afternoon, I got to go back to town for the third day this week!! However, I was feeling much better so I could enjoy myself and talk to my parents for a while. It was great to see their faces and we talked for exactly 1 hour 0 minutes and 11 seconds. A new record!

The main thing we talked about was “the scare”.

So, apparently, the world though Chad and I were being assassinated while Chad and I were oblivious. Chad’s father received a mysterious, and quite ominous, Skype message at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. It read, “n.help”. A little later, another message reading, "Urgent", was sent. Now, if your son is in a different country, I would have freaked out too.

Being responsible parents, Chad’s dad and my mom went into Mission Impossible mode and contacted the world to find out if we were okay. I am not exaggerating in the slightest. They contacted the police, hotels, GMI, Southern Adventist University, and I am surprised the United Nations was not contacted either. My mom is Super Woman when it comes to contacting people. It must be here secretary ingenious…not to mention the fact that she is Portuguese…and proud of it!!!

Eventually, I was able to Skype and prove that we were okay, but it took them almost a whole day to contact us due to our primitive living conditions. Chad was mortified when we told him the news that night. We still don’t know how that happened.

What a day!!

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

My not-so-nice classroom...but it works.

17. I Could Not Think of a Good Title

Written on 10/10/12

For some reason, I always love days where the number of the month matches the number of the day (just wait til this year’s December 12). They always seem to be good days for me.

Well, I did nothing today, but it was still a great day. I would say I am 60% healthwise, which is way better than the 5% I felt two nights ago. I slept the whole morning and took care of the kids the rest of the day since it was Juan and Emy’s day off. They swam in the river and played soccer while I watched…you know I don’t feel well when I’m not kicking the ball around with my nephews.

When evening elegantly rolled in, we had worship then my boy’s watched an Adventist movie entitled Ultimate Battle. I fell asleep at 8:15!! A record. Good thing, for I would need the energy for my first day as high school English teacher.

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

16. Salmonella

Written on 10/9/12

I was sick. An understatement. I was even described ask, “He looked dead.” While I love adventures, this is one crazy one that I woudn’t have minded skipping over.

I had Salmonella…at its finest! Everyone went to bed Sunday night, but I was awake. I threw up 15 times by midnight. At this point, I had no energy left. I could not walk. All of my electrolytes vanished. At moments, six of my muscles were cramped at the same time. However, being a “tough guy”, I told noone.

Finally, amidst the prayers, I decided it might be a good time to get some help. I literally almost crawled to Juan’s door and politely said, “Ayudame, por favor (Help me…please!).” He was my knight in shining armor as he and Chad rushed me to the Hospital and even spent the first night with me. I thank God for their presence.

I could write a book on my experience, but Chad did a great job in his own blog. Here is the link to his take on the story. He’s a world class author in my book. The link to the story is:

http://myboliviaadventure.blogspot.com/2012/10/lake-week.html

(Scroll down to his post under October 8, 2012.)

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

15. Sabbath Meal

10/6/12

Today, I fed the multitude, and celebrated Freddy’s birthday.

This was the menu for the first day that I cooked all three meals for someone; (it just happened to be for 100 people):

Breakfast: Fruit salad (watermelon, papaya, pineapple, and bananas) with a loaf of Quinoa bread
Lunch: Pita bread filled with either veggies (cooked tomatoes, caramelized onions, peppers, and garlic) or a hummus mixture (chick peas, kidney beans, scrambles eggs, and salt) Delicious. Seriously my favorite meal so far…with bias aside.

J

Supper: Semola cereal (Like cream of wheat with sugar)

Pineapple. Not cheap down here...but worth it!

We are good! :)

Introducing the pita pocket to Bolivia

We started at 5 a.m. and worked straight until 6 p.m., minus a 2 hour nap after lunch. It was the most I have worked on a Sabbath, but the smiles and compliments of the people we are serving made it worthwhile.

I mentioned my amazing 2 hour nap. Well, I set my alarm…I didn’t have to. Two minutes before my alarm is supposed to go off, the loudest, most disturbing crying sound reached my ears. One of my nephew’s, Freddie, was bawling his eyes out. I’m pretty sure he made himself temporarily deaf. I jumped out of bed and found him sitting on the steps alone. Apparently myfamily had left him sleeping and went to a watering hole called Asunta. It seemed unfair to me, especially since he is the youngest in the family, 8, and is the cutest of my nephews by far.



The masterminds getting a chance to relax and enjoy



Well, after he calmed down, I decided to distract him with work. I had a new helper in the kitchen for the next two hours. While he happily helped me clean pots from lunch, I chatted with him. I eventually asked him when his birthday was. He replied, “ahora! (now).” I wasn’t impressed. I have asked about 30 kids before and they all seem to say that day so that they can get a gift from you. So…I didn’t believe him.

Well…it actually was! Doh!! When I found out when our family returned two hours later I felt like a mean person. So, I made it up to him. I gave him bubbles and we watch Disney’s Lady and the Tramp with the whole family.

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

14. Passion Fruit

Written on 10/5/12

No matter what happens to me the rest of the year, I will be content? Why? I had the passion fruits of all passion fruits today!  My favorite fruit in the world!! I’m am certain that this was the sweetest one ever created…maybe second only to the ones in the Garden of Eden.

David, my nephew, knew that it was my favorite fruit. Apperently he was given two as gifts today from someone. They are really rare in Rurre, so the fact that he gave one to me continues to amaze me.

I also spent the entire day mastering my cooking skills! It is was Annie, Chad, and myself slaving away for 100 people all day for Sabbath meals tomorrow. Chad and I are extreme rookies, yet we were motivated to debut with a bang. We made pita bread for the first time in the history of Familia Feliz, and we also put chick peas and beans to soak over night.

That evening was a special time for communion. Us four student missionaries--Erin, Chad, Annie, and myself—enjoyed an American delicacy after supper with our families: Worthington Big Franks!! Chad haggled a can from the states and made this a special occasion. We ate them in our pita bread.

While we all enjoy mingling with our Bolivian families and comrades, onece in a while it is a blessing to be able to fellowship with as an English-speaking family.

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

13. The Excursion

Written on 10/4/12

Excursion day! Time for a day-long field trip to the closest lake for a picnic, soccer, and swimming. This is a day I was looking forward to since I heard about it last week. However, the kids have been anxiously watching their calendars for this day for the past three months. It was worth it…but it almost didn’t happen!

 Two days ago all of the volunteers met and discussed logistics about the excursion, and they discovered some major problems: it is a three hour long truck ride on bumpy roads to the nearest lake, all 87 people would have to stand up in the back of a cattle truck for 6 total hours, the forecast predicted rain, and…it is very dangerous! So dangerous, in fact, that I am told it is common for one or two children on a given day to die due to anacondas and crocodiles. Wow! I wanted to go—but it was sounding less and less like a good idea.

The lake. Gorgeous even on
a stormy-looking day

Well, after much debate, everyone ended up going. I could not understand how it could be worth it—especially if a kid got injured by an animal. I just hoped to see an anaconda—from a distance! We piled ourselves, the food, and my sports balls into the truck. As we set off, my heart sank; there was no room to move. To make it worst, we all had to stand while our hired driver stopped for twenty minutes in town and ate breakfast!!!!! Not cool! 

Relaxing at the lake



We eventually made it. I decided instantly that the trip was worth it. The views were gorgeous and they had a great place to dive into the crocodile infested water. We ate, played some soccer, then I took a big gulp of air, said a prayer, and dove into the water. Refreshing! I tossed kids, played chicken, volleyball, and constantly looked around for a creature sneaking up on us.



Happy to survive our swim
without becoming anaconda food



After much fun, we had to return home. We were half way back when I saw what had to be the most beautiful, greenest soccer field in all of Bolivia! I was even more excited when we all got to play on it! That was the highlight of my day. We returned home and Islept like content baby.

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**