"snow day" in Cochabamba

Now it is three hours later and now I'm sitting in the sanctuary of La Trinidad, part of the Anglican Episcopal Church of Bolivia. Over the past three hours Jashton and I flew 30 minutes over the majestic snow capped Andes mountains, we were picked up at the airport by Tammy, we avoided major roads and headed into a more rural “suburban” community where our friends Rusty and Tammy live. After unpacking, breakfast and a quick nap, I came to town with Tammy. She is currently functioning as the pastor here at La Trinidad after the resignation of the priest over the summer. So while she gets some work done before lunch, I can get a bit more of the lay of the land, and enjoy this simple sacred place surrounded by the sounds of Bolivia. Jashton stayed up at the house with Thomas and Maddy who are home from school today.

I'm going to have to get my head around sharing this experience in a blog. In Israel everything was new, I only knew what I was told, and we were constantly seeing and experiencing the big and the dramatic. Here I know much more of the back story, I want you to get the right understanding, but it is so far from the frame of reference of North America I don't know what will be possible. My attention is drawn a bit more to the detail, but I want it to be something you want to keep reading...

So, there was much more in the initial paragraph than meets the eye. Tammy was supposed to pick us up at the airport after dropping the kids at school, but today is a “paro” day – no school and she could be there when we arrived. “Paro” techincally is a strike, but really what's going on this week are “bloqueos” which are blockades. People are protesting due to price increases, and wage stagnation. (vast simplification) The protestors block the main roads, so the school is closed. These days are the Bolivian equivalent to snow days in schools in the northeast. Often there are rumors they are coming (a forecast), but you have to wait until the morning of to see if things are closed, and then you never know how severe they will be until they get going. Where we are traveling (on the north side of the city) things are proceeding like normal, but I understand that in the center things are pretty blocked up. I won't go downtown today.... but I wasn't planning to anyway. Nothing new, happened regularly when we lived here, but it may impact plans during our stay. There is absolutely no danger, just inconvenience.

I'll have to get photos of the “suburban” town where we are staying – it would require too many thousands of words to get your mind's eye wrapped around the reality. It is wonderful, but definitely foreign.

As for the church. This church is 17 years old, and in the last decade they have been able to purchase property, build a temporary worship sanctuary, and are currently building offices and classrooms. I love the creative use of simple materials which create a “set apart” space. This is not the church I was part of, it is a Bolivian congregation. I was part of the International Church for people desiring to worship in English. I'll get there on Sunday.

Rusty & Tammy's House

It is a real blessing to be back in Bolivia!