Someone mentioned to us (Susan, Delaney, and me), that we have been posting “having fun, wish you were here” blogs and not explaining the needs and conditions here. The needs of these people are great still. The help is still necessary. Susan, Delaney, and I are more of a “make the most of it” kind of people, we apologize for glossing over some of the more unpleasant details. On the maintenance front, jobs are too numerous to mention. Each job that comes up has to wait for supplies. For example, the most recent task I was given required a bag of plaster, or “estucco.” A bag of plaster costs 28 Bolivianos, or about $4. I ended up waiting for 3 weeks for a bag of plaster. Normally, I would have just gone and purchased this, but we are not being paid to be here. We still have our “normal bills” at home, so we end up short at the end of each month, stretching our food budget until rice and beans look like gourmet food. I end up buying most of the tools that I use for the different projects. I will leave these tools when I am done here, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t more tools that are needed. Supplies are needed, skilled labor is needed, and tools are needed. In short, we are needed.

Earlier today, a friend of mine asked how she could come and do what we are doing. She wondered how hard it was to get down here, so I told her. The process of being accepted as a volunteer is not hard; the visa process is not hard. What is hard is leaving behind technology. Leaving behind reliable power/internet/phone service, easy access to convenience food… in short, our way of life. I have been off the Internet quite a bit recently due to computer issues, so I have been “cut off”. Little things, like finding peanut butter, become a success. Taking CD players apart, and making 1 working one from 3 broken ones, become a success. Finding a decently made tool, for a reasonable price, becomes a success. Having a friend ask how he/she can help becomes a success. Finding a teacher for the UAC is a HUGE success, and an even bigger success is finding the $50 a month to pay the room/board for that teacher(hint, hint). Next semester, every English teacher will have to fund half of their salary themselves($25), because the funding just isn't there right now. Now $25 a month doesn't sound like much, but consider the fact that that teacher is already here volunteering, not back home with a steady paycheck. The UAC can’t afford to pay $200 a month for four teachers, that’s the unfortunate downside to having four volunteers willing to teach. But thank God there will be four – there is certainly a need for them. For the first time, the UAC will be able to offer an English 3 class for students not in the Tourism program. J

I apologize for making things sound better off than they are here. For those that know me personally, you probably expected this. From here on out, I will try to temper my updates and mix the needs and the enjoyment of doing good works. No matter how hard things might get here, I wouldn’t change a thing. Seeing Delaney blossom in her library is worth all of the dental problems. Seeing Susan’s students respond to her teaching is worth all of the walking. Seeing plants appear slowly in my “gutter planter“ project makes up for the sweat and blood my many projects have cost me.

Next blog, I will try to list some tools that I could use here, and their prices. That way, if you feel moved by the spirit, you can donate to specific tools. For example, a manually operated hand drill (looks like an old fashioned hand crank egg beater) runs about $8. Many times my jobs don’t include power, so this would be helpful.

On a lighter note, we have spotted more unique wildlife this last week. Susan spotted a Capuchin Monkey at the local market, along with a Toucan bird in the wild, and I have spotted a large Spider Monkey in the wild as well as an Avocado tree!

I wish you all God’s Peace in this holiday season. It doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving yet, and there won’t be a tv on with football at the guest house while we gather to eat our meal on the 30th. Be thankful for what you have, be generous to strangers and friends alike. Cause someone to smile, without expecting anything in return. Smile at people you pass on the sidewalk, and always give thanks.

Bendicion!

Jeff