CARNAVAL (a picture explosion)

 Carnaval is not just a one day or one week thing. It lasts for a month with different little holidays and celebrations and even burnt offerings during that time. There are two days off work for Carnaval that errupt into a mass water fight. The missionaries stayed inside those two days except when they went to their pension to eat or to a ward sponsered activity. I think in MANY cases they were happy to be inside. They had had enough of water balloons, and spuma during the preceeding weeks. We traveled to a youth conference to speak and then drove the streets a little to see what was up. This is what we found. . . the photos are not the best as they were taken in a moving car!

During the preceding weeks every street corner has a booth set up. One must be
prepared!

Spuma - spray foam - is sold
everywhere. This photo is from
a grocery store:)

and . . . then it begins. Young men roam the streets - 

everyone gets excited and involved . . .

Open bed trucks filled with 'youth', and extra water drive up and down the streets

Why use a squirt gun when you can use a refillable bucket?

Just a few of those wandering the streets . . . prepared for fun

The city fountains provide free water

Everyone gets involved

No one is safe

An expert water balloon tosser.

 The younger kids do not roam the streets, but they can be found in every neighborhood sitting right at their front door waiting for a car to drive by. Or, in some cases, Mom or Dad drive them in safety of family car with the squirt gun perched on the open window and a huge smile across their face. 

There are several CARNAVAL parades, held on different Saturdays The largest is held in ORURO, a city several hours from here. Cochabamba held a parade last Saturday. It started in the morning around 9 or 10 and went well past dark. The restaurant owner we spoke to said it would go till midnight. We heard bands and saw fireworks from our home till late that night. Bolivians do love a party! The paper said our parade had 20,000 people 'dancers' IN the parade. I have no idea how many watched it but it was huge, long and crowded. We watched for about 2 hours. We went too early to see the native dancers and the native costumes. We saw the military groups. Next year we will find the native dancers.

and yes the squirt guns and spuma cans continued

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most people are good sports about the constant barrage...

I love the native costumes

A cholita walking the route selling food.

This was from a MEXICAN 'float' and they threw out tortilla chips! yes I was happy!

20,000 people IN the parade. I believe that was a correct estimate. I love Bolivia and her culture and people.

pre CARNIVAL

 We were in Tupiza this weekend for the reorganization of a branch. I planned on going out with the sisters for a while to teach while President was busy with interviews.  I decided to go out early to wait for the sister missionaries in the front of the little hotel where we were staying (the only hotel in town). As I walked out the front door I saw the streets lined with families, and the children carrying various massive squirt guns or cans of foam spray. I asked what was going on and learned it was a PRE CARNIVAL parade. I have a lot to learn about carnival. It seems to be a holiday with Tio (the god the miners worship, also know as the god of the underworld, or the devil etc), Pacamama (an Incan goddess, mother earth) and Christianity combined.  I have seen dried llama fetuses and displays of little icons to compile and burn for the local traditions but I really do not know how it all fits together yet. 

Luckily the missionary sisters were late. This is what I saw as I waited. This holiday involves squirt guns, cans of foam spray, parades, parties, water balloons and fun. The actual holiday is a week from today, next Monday and Tuesday. It looks like the fun of the holiday spills over and takes up a week. During Monday and Tuesday our missionaries will remain inside as we have been instructed by our area seventy. Evidently, besides the fun, there is a lot of drinking, and the water balloons are often frozen! Gringos and missionaries would be targets.

This little guy was so anxious for the parade to come, he had to practice squirting anything he could find.

Every 'band' played the same tune . . . over and over and over and over.

Such little gentlemen

The mamas followed closely behind or with their little ones, ready to help if needed

I know this little angel from Tupiza. She stopped when she saw me, and posed . . . YES! This is a smile!

In a Bolivian parade you can just sit down and rest. This older group needed a rest so the parade stopped for a few minutes. I am not sure about the 'face makeup'.

That meant the younger ones got a rest too. 

 The cholita venders sell ice cream during the break and then the parade starts again!

Sorry the audio does not work . . . you will have to imagine! (and I will try to figure it out)

The first part of the parade ended (the parade happened in segments lasting about 2 hours total). The sisters arrived to get me and off we went to teach families about Christ.

The next night we were in Sucre and getting ready for bed when I heard a marching band playing starting at 10:30 at night. I believe they were marching in the plaza close to our hotel. Fireworks were interspersed with the music. I think this week of CARNAVAL could be FUN.

Cambios - transfers - changes

Cambios! Missionaries count their time in cambios, Our lives are structures and revolve around them. Cambios are an incredible time of excitement and sorrow. Every six weeks we say goodbye to our missionaries. We go to the temple, have a special noche de hogar,  and then they are off. The same day that they are leaving we are greeting the newbies. Our new missionaries come in tired but with wide exited eyes. They usually have traveled for a long time arriving from the Provo, Mexico City, Lima or Bogata MTCs. In the midst of the comings and goings President needs to call new trainers, match new companions, move missionaries into and out of leadership positions as he feels inspired to. We have seen miracles in the process, and he has felt guided by the Lord. Although he stands alone it is wonderful to know he does not make the changes alone.

Christmas 2015, Photo Road trip through the Cochabamba Mission

Christmas in Bolivia 2014

Our first Christmas in Bolivia. We decided to spend it with the missionaries - traveling through out the mission and also mixing in a little family time with our daughter who came to visit for 10 days. 

In Bolivia, as well as in many South American countries, gifts are
not the priority for Christmas. In fact most of our Latino
missionaries did not receive gifts or cards for Christmas.
We kept track and made sure each missionary received
something! (we wrapped over 100 small packages)

Sonya keeps me sane. Here she is helping me bake cookies which we packaged and handed out to all our missionaries. We baked over 1000 cookies.

All 180 missionaries serving in Cochabamba gathered for a
Sunday night Christmas fireside. 

They loved being together.

On Monday we got to spend family time. We traveled to
Villa Tunari enjoying the green trees, rain and
waterfalls

Sara got to play with a monkey - he grabbed her hat, her earrings,
and climbed down to reach in her pants pocket and remove a coin.

Best of all was quiet time with our daughter who recently returned from her mission in Guatemala. It was a blessing for all of us!

On the 24th of December we flew to Sucre for another Christmas fireside, then quickly drove up to Potosi for a fireside Christmas eve

Potosi missionaries and President Hansen

Our awesome Potosi Missionaries

Christmas Eve, at midnight, fireworks woke me from a sound sleep, and Christmas morning
we woke to the sound of bells ringing from the Church. The city was quiet as we left early for
our next stop.

Driving in Bolivia is always fun, these llamas greated us right
outside Potosi

1

President hit the brakes as this herd of goats bolted across the road right in front of us

They safey crossed as the cholita/goat herder ran down the hill after them.

Our smallest and farthest area, Tupiza. The missionaries were waiting and even
decorated the church for our meeting.

On the 26th we were off again. We decided to try to save a few hours so we took the back road, the dirt road, to Uyuni. It worked and only took us 4 and a half hours. The drive was beautiful with the high altiplano Andes mountains, (you can see the ribbon of road along the tops of the mountains). 

Of course, we were entertained by the animals, 

We were excited to see quite a few vicuna. They are related to llamas but are much smaller. They have extremely soft fur and are not domesticated. They are very skittish little guys. 

This is a photo taken from the window looking down at a farm. I love the way adobe homes blend in with their surroundings. Corrals and fences are made with rock. In the small corral on the left a woman is caring for her animals.

I was very suprised when Sara asked if there were ostriches in Bolivia. I just laughed. But when she said she just saw a bush with two stumps we started looking for her strange animal. We found them! It was a Rhea, (an ostrich like bird). It is a near threatened species and lives in Bolivia, and other South American countries!

We arrived at Uyuni, where President had been asked to give a  Friday night Fireside to the small branch there. We took advantage of our location and spent a famiy day enjoying the worlds largest salt flats at Salar de Uyuni.

Isla de Pescado (fish island) right in the middle of the salt flats.

We had a GREAT time at the salt flats, 

Visiting a little Amarya town on the ourskirts

finding wild flamingos and viewing a volcano on the edge of the salt flats.

There a few llamas that wanted to say hi.

Sunday was Branch Conference. This is the entire Relief Society (including two Stake leaders from Tupiza and Sara and I) 

The children love to have their photos taken. The especially love to see themselves on the camera afterwards.

The end of our Christmas travels. We headed back to Cochabamba, Sara left for school and we started our first FULL year in Bolivia. 2015!