Our team, consisting of Irene Prins, Ray VanderKooi, Peter Kuipers, Lisa Breukelman, Carolyn Tiemstra and Francine Tiemstra, arrived saftely in Patujusal, Bolivia Saturday morning after 32 hours of travel. The flight from La Paz to Santa Cruz allowed us to view the Andes Mountains which are just magnificent and a reminder of the Rockies. The city of La Paz is high above sea level and therefore are breathing was much more difficult.
We were greeted at the Santa Cruz airport by Jake, Marg and Marcos, one of the men from a nearby community. We split up into their truck and a taxi and began our drive to Patujusal. The taxi holding Marg, Carolyn, Francine and Lisa had a good start. For the gringos, there was much to take in! We stopped at a roadside market for some juice. The driving in Bolivia is quite different from Canada as there are no rules whatsoever and honking is not a rude thing to do, but rather, a way of telling other drivers that you are coming up beside them or next in a traffic circle. There were many sugar cane trucks on the road as well.
The taxi got a flat tire soon after starting out on the gravel road. Thankfully, the driver had a spare and although it took some time to change the tire, we were soon on the road again. The road got a bit worse and once again we had a flat tire. This time there was no replacement tire and therefore we had to wait it out on the side of the road. There was a small store close by which was a blessing. We were not stranded in the middle of nowhere which was a good feeling. The people were in a meeting so as soon as they were done (which took a while) they opened the store so we could buy something to drink. It was here that the marriage proposal occurred between Lisa and one of the local men. This man figured that Lisa could be Bolivian and was very beautiful. He kissed all our arms. We had resigned to waiting for possibly 4 hours for the men and Irene to come by on their way from Santa Cruz. The taxi driver finally decided to work on fixing one of the tires with the men at the store and as usually and ironically happens, as soon as the tire was fixed, the truck drove up. To say the least, it was a relief!
We transferred our luggage from the taxi onto the already full truck and four of our team sat on top of the truck and the rest in the cab. The tires were sitting very low. Irene had three dozen eggs on her lap and it was difficult to keep them all intact and it was beginning to appear as though we would have scrambled eggs.The truck with Jake, Pete, Ray, Irene and Marcos had gone from the airport to Santa Cruz and then on to Yapacani to pick up supplies which included melons, potatoes, chickens and more. They found it quite funny to see us gringos on the side of the road waiting for them to pick us up. We drove a ways and once again we experienced a flat tire but were able to get it fixed right away.
The rest of the drive allowed us a better view of the jungle and we got to see a large iguana crossing the road and running into the soya plants. We passed the school which the children attend as well. The road we were on was very dusty as it has not rained for a long time and rather bumpy because in areas the river had redirected itself and left large rocks and ruts.
We stopped at the Yucra family’s place which is also where we will build the church. The Yucra family donated their land for the church and they are amazing people! They were very welcoming to us. The wife, Sedila, had a baby a week ago and he was bundled up in blankets.
Just a couple miles down the road is Jake and Marg’s land and home. They have a wonderful and cozy home surrounded by the beautiful jungle! We pitched our tents outside and had a delicious meal of peanut soup and buns. We were all tired from our travels and therefore, retired early to bed.
Sunday morning we went to church at 8 and at first it appeared that due to a community meeting we would just go home and hold a small service there. But soon enough, people started showing up on their motos (motorcycles) and by walking or hitching rides on trucks. We sang some hymns in English and the natives sang hymns in Quechua
, their native language and then in Spanish. We were greeted with a hand shake, touch on the arm and another hand shake, the traditional greeting. After more people arrived we moved our service into the thatched roof hut they built for us there. The children were very excited! Singing was accompanied by lots of clapping. Marcos read a passage in Spanish from Matthew 7:7-12 and Marg gave a talk on God’s wisdom. We brought greetings from WoodyNook and Pete made the analogy of how in Canada and in Bolivia we stare at the same sun and how we all serve the same God as well. We may be miles apart but we are united by the same God as we are by the same sun. It was truly a wonderful feeling to see the strong faith and love for God that the people here express! It is encouraging and inspiring.Sunday afternoon was a relaxing time spent talking and learning from one another about the natives, the land, customs and our own reasons for coming and thoughts about everything. Marg, Irene and Lisa took one of the men from the community who was quite sick to the hospital in La Pista and the men went to the river to fish.
The men came back with 10 fish which Marg prepared in the traditional way and fried them for supper. The little girls of the man who was taken to the hospital went fishing and caught two fish for us as a thank you for taking their father to the hospital. We had a wonderful supper of fried fish, rice and salad.We begin work on the church early tomorrow morning so we are all heading to bed now. Ray, Irene and Pete have tents pitched in the front yard and the rest of us sleep in the house. All the best with everyone! Until next time…God bless
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