Here is a Summary from my Ministry Exposure Trip/Vacation we took last week:
We left on the overnight bus to Santa Cruz on Friday night. We left around 10:00 and it was a pretty uneventful trip. We traveled in a Buscama, which means that the seats recline and you have a nice foot rest. So it was a very comfortable trip, even for someone that is 6'2. We were all able to sleep pretty well and we arrived in Santa Cruz about 7:30 am. We then were on a search to find a bus that would take us to San Ramon( where we would be visiting the Missionaries). We were able to find a bus that left at 9:00am, so we bought our tickets and then waited until it was time to leave. We got on the bus around 9am and then had a 3 hour bus ride to San Ramon.
In San Ramon we met up with The Nelsons, a couple that has been in Bolivia for 26 years. They spent two of those years in Cochabamba, about 15 years in Santa Cruz and they have been in San Ramon for about 8 years. In San Ramon, The Nelsons minister to the Quechua people in the local churches there. They are focusing on Discipleship and helping grow leaders in the church. Don provides Seminary Classes for the men in the churches and Doreen focuses on Woman's Ministry. We were able to attend a church service at one of the churches that they minister at. It was a small gathering, but full of people who loved God and wanted to learn. Don gave the sermon in Spanish( which I was able to understand!) and he spoke about the life of Moses. I enjoyed my experience at this church, everyone was very welcoming and it was great to see what God is doing there.
The rest of our time in San Ramon, was spent visiting different sites and hanging out with the Nelsons. We took several long drives to see the beautiful landscape. It is quite different than Cochabamba out there. We were basically in the Jungle. There were palm trees mixed with regular deciduous trees, there were a lot of cows and lots of different rivers. One day we took a drive to a river that flows into the Amazon. There we were able to hear a lot of different types of birds and see fish in the river. It was fun to be there, because my kids just stopped learning about the Rain-forest in my classroom.
We left on the overnight bus to Santa Cruz on Friday night. We left around 10:00 and it was a pretty uneventful trip. We traveled in a Buscama, which means that the seats recline and you have a nice foot rest. So it was a very comfortable trip, even for someone that is 6'2. We were all able to sleep pretty well and we arrived in Santa Cruz about 7:30 am. We then were on a search to find a bus that would take us to San Ramon( where we would be visiting the Missionaries). We were able to find a bus that left at 9:00am, so we bought our tickets and then waited until it was time to leave. We got on the bus around 9am and then had a 3 hour bus ride to San Ramon.
In San Ramon we met up with The Nelsons, a couple that has been in Bolivia for 26 years. They spent two of those years in Cochabamba, about 15 years in Santa Cruz and they have been in San Ramon for about 8 years. In San Ramon, The Nelsons minister to the Quechua people in the local churches there. They are focusing on Discipleship and helping grow leaders in the church. Don provides Seminary Classes for the men in the churches and Doreen focuses on Woman's Ministry. We were able to attend a church service at one of the churches that they minister at. It was a small gathering, but full of people who loved God and wanted to learn. Don gave the sermon in Spanish( which I was able to understand!) and he spoke about the life of Moses. I enjoyed my experience at this church, everyone was very welcoming and it was great to see what God is doing there.
The rest of our time in San Ramon, was spent visiting different sites and hanging out with the Nelsons. We took several long drives to see the beautiful landscape. It is quite different than Cochabamba out there. We were basically in the Jungle. There were palm trees mixed with regular deciduous trees, there were a lot of cows and lots of different rivers. One day we took a drive to a river that flows into the Amazon. There we were able to hear a lot of different types of birds and see fish in the river. It was fun to be there, because my kids just stopped learning about the Rain-forest in my classroom.
One morning we were able to visit a Christian School in the next town over. This school is open for both Primary and Secondary Students. We were able to meet with the director of the school to learn more about the school and what is going on. Throughout our conversation we learned that they are in a pretty big financial crisis. We heard about the needs they had and then were able to walk around the school and meet some of the kids. Even though there such a big financial problem all of the kids and the teachers were full of life and had a smile on their face. Please be praying for this school, that they would be able to get the financial help they need and that God would continue to work there.
On Our last day in San Ramon we traveled about an hour to a town called San Javier. San Javier used to be a location for a Jesuit Mission back in the 1700's. The Temple and part of the Mission are still there, so it was fun to be able to see the old structures and to learn more about the Jesuits. After walking around the Mission, we went to lunch at a place that is owned by a friend of the Nelsons, where we had delicious Fettuccine Alfredo and were able to swim in his swimming pool for the afternoon. It was definitely a fun way to end the trip!
On Wednesday morning we took a taxi back to Santa Cruz, where we stayed in a Hotel for the next two days. It was nice to be able to relax in an air conditioned room and swim in a nice pool! We were also able to meet up with some SIM missionaries in Santa Cruz, that we had meet about a month ago. We had a fun time going to dinner and ice cream with them and catching up with them.
On Friday Morning, we boarded a bus for a 10 hour ride back to Cochabamba. We arrived safely at 7pm and enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend!
We started classes again yesterday morning, which went well. The kids were a little crazy, but all in all it went well!
Hope you are all doing well!
Here is a link to the pictures from my trip: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2510123&id=9133492
Adios! - Rachel
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