IVIRGARZAMA

 Yes, try repeating the name of this town fast three times. I had to write it down to remember it. We spent four days in the Chapare area of Bolivia. It is high tropical forest. The temperature was between 95-97, but the humidity was  very high.  It was a five hour ride up the mountains on a two lane highway through the high tropical forest. It is very beautiful. We stopped for lunch at a trout farm. They actually went out to the tank and caught our lunch. We had whole trout on the grill.
 

A view of the trout farm - the water comes form a mountain spring

My lunch: grilled trout

We arrived at the town of Ivirgarzama and checked in a hotel. This was Friday night. Church started at eight pm, but this was a regular service. Our friend, Luis, preached Friday night. Our turn to speak was the next day, Saturday morning. We were to do the couples seminar during the morning. Oh, by the way, they forgot to tell us that we would be on live feed for the local Christian TV channel (UHF signal, probably nobody watching). They also recorded it. It was soooo hot and humid! John was also being eaten alive by the mosquitoes, but we survived. After lunch back at the hotel, we return for the afternoon seminar on child discipline using love and biblical principles, which is the Parent Project. I am a certified instructor, but I also got special permission from the Parent Project to do an introduction to the project here in Bolivia.

Couples workshop -  notice the cameraman

Praying together as a couple

Then, in the evening, we were invited to another town, Entre Rios, for a graduation party. One of the girls in the church there graduated with a BA degree in nursing. That was quite a cultural experience. We did not know anybody, of course, but we were distinguished guests, just because we are foreigners. After dinner, we were asked to say a few words for the graduate.

The Quechua band. Notice the women's outfits. They dress like this everyday.

The graduate and parents

John and I sharing at the party. The pastor is next to us. He lost his leg and part os his right hand on a train accident
 

Greeting the graduate. It is customary to shower with confetti
 

The cake

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and went back to Entre Rios for church. This pastor is missing a leg, and if anybody reading this blog knows of a charity who could help him get an artificial leg here in Bolivia, please get in touch with me. There was a church split in his church. People came in with a different doctrine, so he opted to leave. Some people came with him, of course, and they are currently meeting under a tin roof in front of his house. They are all Quechua Indians; therefore, when we spoke in Spanish, the pastor translated to Quechua. As I stood in front of that group I prayed: "Lord, how can I relate to these people. We are so different in so many ways! Please, speak to their hearts because they don't even understand me." I think that the Lord touched at least one heart: the pastor's wife, because she was in tears afterwards. At the end of the service, we were both called back to the front, and everybody gave us a hug and shook our hands. It was a very moving experience. This people do not have much to give, so they gave us an offering of oranges and pineapples. Talk about a humbling experience!

The pastor plays a drum, a boy plays the guitar and they sing in Quechua

Every single person gave us a good-bye hug

Their gifts to us: a sack of oranges and pineapples

We had lunch with the pastor and his family and then drove for an hour to another town to spend the night. Today we had breakfast and drove back to Cochabamba. We will stay here tomorrow to wash some clothes, and then we will fly to Riberalta, on the Brazilian border. (I know you are following us on the map Abel, see if you can find all these little towns).

We had breakfast this morning at the local market

Our second hotel does the laundry

Coca growing is legal here. In fact, the president of the country is also the president of the National Association of Coca Growers

The local coca leave market

Praises:

• We made it to Chapare and back
• My cough is a lot better
• We have met many people who have showed us Christian love

Prayer requests:

• Pray for safety for our trip to Riberalta
• Pray that the Holy Spirit will heal families
• Pray for good health

Thank you for your prayers!

Until next time...from South America...