The Eagle has landed

Hola and buenos dias to all our friends and followers!!

We made it here to La Paz last night (VERY late), and are having a rest day. What an adventure it was! We got up at 2:45 am in Columbus, OH, gathered our things and drove the 2 minutes to the airport (it was nice to be so close), then unloaded our bags so I could return the rental car. Once I returned to the ticketing desk, after wandering the deserted parking garage for 10 minutes trying to find my way back, we discovered that our desk didn't open until 4:30. We were told to check in 2 hours prior to our 6:10 flight, thus why we were early. We used our extra time to re-weigh all of our checked suitcases (we ended up with 5) to make sure they met the 50-lb requirement. Of course we had to re-arrange things a little bit, so it was a very good thing that we had the extra time to do that. We got all checked in, then moved on to the security checkpoint. We've all seen what happens on TV when someone gets pulled out of the line. This time, it was me!! Apparently some of the beads on my dress were metallic enough to set off the scanner (who knew? I would have sworn they were all plastic), so I got the wand, the pat-down AND the chemical wand for explosives. THAT was certainly interesting, but I didn't mind it.

Our flight was delayed coming into Chicago, and our 35-minute layover to change planes was cut to 20 minutes. We had to run across 3 concourses, only to find that our flight had left and we were re-booked on the next flight out, leaving in 90 minutes. So, we walked back to the concourse we had just run thru (by this time we were all ready for a rest and a treat!), picked up a McDonald's shake and waited.

This is the point at which weather became a problem. Yes, Iowans, weather delaying flights is not just a winter phenomenon!! Our flight was delayed multiple times before it left Chicago due to re-routing around storm fronts, then we were re-routed three more times in the air!! A 2.5 hour flight turned into more than three and our 3.5 hours to rest and eat in Miami was mostly gone. We landed with about an hour between flights, and then the flight to Bolivia was delayed!! And we moved gates. And it was delayed again. And we finally left Miami at 4:30, about two hours late. The good news is that they were able to make up a bunch of time in the air, so we arrived only 1.25 hours late in La Paz, at 10:15pm.

By this time, we were all exhausted, plus we immediately began feeling the altitude before we even left the plane. Fortunately, Customs was a breeze, a taxi driver spotted our big load and came right over to help us get all our bags collected and out to his cab -- and it was big enough for all of us and our stuff!! After a somewhat wild ride (those traffic laws are more like "guidelines" than actual rules), we arrived at our hostel. The door was locked, but they were waiting for us and came right out to help move everything in, knowing who we were, making us feel both expected and welcome. It was so nice to be treated like friends!

So, right now I am sitting in our little room using the free wi-fi, having been awakened by a call letting us know that the free breakfast was ending in 45 minutes so we could eat (yes, the front desk actually called to make sure we knew there was free breakfast!), with a full stomach, a pocket of coca leaves to chew for altitude sickness, and a comfy bed. The only assignment today is to change some money, since we got to the airport so late last night that the office there was closed.

We will try to get some pictures posted later, although we are taking it VERY easy today so we don't get sick.

Love to you all, and thanks again for your thoughts and prayers as we begin our journey in Bolivia.

Abrazos!!
Susan

Well friends, here it is around 11:30 pm on Tuesday night. We have a "wakeup" call for 2:45 am. I don't think they call it that at that early in the morning. In my younger days, I would have told them to give me a "go to bed" call then! Also, I don't think I would have believed you if you had told me I was going to be taking my wife and "almost 15, Dad" daughter to Bolivia for a year!

We have spent the last several hours trying to get everything into the suitcases, including spending several hours last night! We did finally decide that the $70 per bag for a second suitcase for each of us was well worth the money. Tools and light fixtures took up a lot of space, as did our years supply of meds for both Susan and me. We will try to post something along the way tomorrow, but no promises!

We love each and every one of you, and we thank you for your prayers and wishes. We hope that everyone follows us through the blog. We promise to try to blog regularly, and take LOTS of pictures!

La paz de Dios a todos!

Jeff

Luggage

Our luggage waiting to be loaded (a few items here are not going to Bolivia)

Prophetic? I say yes!

As we got on the road yesterday morning, we were running late. I know what you are thinking, ”sounds like Jeff and Susan!” So, we get to the rental car desk, and I ask the gentleman behind the desk what kind of car we were getting. His response made me smile. He said “It’s a Genesis.” How fitting, that as we depart home, we are reminded that we are starting a new course in our lives. Also, the Hyundai Genesis is a very nice car. This also reminds us that as we start off in the direction that Jesus wants us to go, great things happen. The rewards that we are promised in the Bible don’t always have to be spiritual. After all, fishing on the other side of the boat caught the disciples a net full of fish.

I want to thank everyone again for everything that each of you have done for us. From financial support to prayers, each of your contributions have been essential in the success that we have enjoyed so far. We have been truly blessed to have such a caring bunch of friends and supporters. We are finally on our way, and we can hardly wait to get there, and get started on serving among God’s people at the UAC-CP.

Jeff

We received a package today from Leon and Lorraine Pfotenhauer, members of St Thomas Episcopal Church in Sioux City. In this package was 100 pray chaplets and 2 packets of stretchable wrist-let bracelets, plus one set of each for each of the three of us. Leon, and his wife Lorraine, made these for Delaney to give to the locals as she makes friends. This box represents a LOT of work, even if it is a labor of love. Thank you SO much Leon and Lorraine. Your gift will be used well, and hopefully soon, youth all over the Nor Yungas will be praying with them!

We are getting more and more accomplished on our "to do" list before we leave, and that time is sprinting up on us! We are having trouble getting to sleep the closer we get to the date with so much to still be done!

Time for bed now, but wanted to share the joy we felt when we opened that box! Thanks again Leon and Lorraine for that thoughtful gift!

Today's news

As our departure quickly approaches, we find ourselves more and more overwhelmed -- by the love and generosity of everyone with whom we have shared this dream of ours, and by our own feelings as the dream gets closer to becoming reality. Tomorrow St. Andrew's will commission us for our year in Bolivia. We feel very humbled by the caring and prayerful support of our faith community, and though we will miss them while we are gone, we know that they will continue to pray for us and think of us while we are away.

We are making progress on finishing renovations on the house before we leave, and hope to get the kitchen floor put in by the end of the week. This will be my (Susan's) last week at work, an occasion I find bittersweet because I am very much looking forward to our stay at the UAC-CP, but I will miss the co-workers I have come to know as friends. I am so thankful for my friend Bonnie for giving me the opportunity to work with such a great bunch of people, even though she knew there was a good possibility I would leave only a year later. What a year it has been...

We have our temporary visas now, all our shots except one Delaney will get at a last checkup with her doctor this week, all our luggage. Delaney is all registered for her classes and everything seems to be ready there. Many thanks to Sue Ann Raymond for donating her laptop so that Delaney can have her own computer to do her schoolwork.

Jeff and I both have a couple more rounds of volunteering to do before we go. He will pick up and deliver the bread donation one more time this week, plus help with distribution at Faux Farms' CSA program at least once. I will do Share Iowa distribution next Saturday. I want to give a shout-out to Carrie DeVries, who will be taking over that program when I leave. Thanks so much for doing that!

Delaney is busy mowing lawns today for spending cash to take with her next weekend, when she will go with her boyfriend and his family to Valleyfair. She views that mini-trip with great anticipation, and hopes that Quade doesn't make her ride too many rollercoasters, since she REALLY hates them! I am sure they will have lots of fun together, and I hope it doesn't rain the whole weekend.

Less than one month to go until we head WAY South!!! Purchasing the tickets was a big relief. We did get our Temporary Visas in the works and should have those any day now. We are still short of our Extended Visas, so we can use some help. Those Visas cost $500 each Wife just informed me that the price is $500, not the $400 I previously stated). Again and again, we have placed this whole trip into God's hands. Again and again, the obstacles simply disappeared. We continue to see encouraging signs that our trip is still on track, yet, per human nature, we start doubting again. I pray that this is one of the last moments of doubt (at least until we get back from Bolivia!). So, once again, I am asking for assistance. We can not do this year of service on our own. If you have any questions about our trip, please ask. If you have any doubts about this trip, again, please ask for clarification. We appreciate everything that has come in, but we need a little more. I know this sounds like a telethon, but it is true. I know how those telethon workers feel. Your emotions go through the wringer. You feel the highs of reaching goals, then you realize that you have the next goal to accomplish. Sometimes that goal is higher than the one you just passed, some become lower, so you can start to see your final destination just over the hump. This describes where we are right now. We have our tickets, we have our departure date, we have our luggage (minus a carry-on), but we still need the Visas that will allow us to stay past 30 days. I appreciate everyone of you that are following this page and blog. If you know of anyone that might be interested in supporting this trip, please give them our contact information. If you need that info, please send a message. keep us in your prayers, whichever God you like, and know that you all are in ours too!

God's Peace

Jeff