Bolivia!

greetings friends,
Here is are some emails from Matt and I!
thank you for your prayers. we really appreciate them.
Bolivia is a very beautiful country with the Andes mountains and temperate climate. The city we are in, Cochabamba, is basically an eternal spring weather in my book. It is currently Fall here as we are below the equator, but the weather and flowers are springish. most days start cool - around 60, and increase to about the upper 80s. The altitude is over 8000 ft, so the sun is very bright when out. The city basically sits in a valley surrounded by green, grass covered mountains, with a few rugged peaks containing snow filled crags. Behind the hospital is a strong display of the green mountain and spring flowers on our grounds.
Many of the indiginous rural peoples grow flowers to take into town and sell. It isn´t unusual to see a field full of Iris´s or other multicolored flowers. The women typically are the ones who tend to the field. Men also work sometime, but usually only for the harder manual labor such as plowing or moving the cattle. yes, many have diary cattle for milk and plowing, but only a couple. Some cannot afford that luxury. Homes in these rural areas are on mountainsides (not steep), built out of concrete, brick and wood. Some older buildings are built of mud/clay bricks - i will try to show some pictures once i return. Do to working outside contantly under the bright sun, the `people age quickly, and apparently get skin cancers frequently, although i have yet to see any. The indiginious peoples are short, with typical wear that i will post once at home. Most seem very calm, with friendly demeanors. Of course, within the busy city itself, there are those who are less warm, but for the most part everyone keeps to themselves. The city is much like Mexico, but somewhat cleaner and better observance of some (not all) traffic laws. Each city has a center, which consists of what we would call a city square, with many benches and green grass and trees to provide shade. People congregate around these areas, including many street vendors with local foods, as well as typical items needed within the home, plus bootleg CDs and DVDs - again, much like a mexican market.

The foods here are varied. We have eaten both chicken and beef dishes, usually with rice or potatoes. Saturday we had some Saltenas, which are like a beef soup enclosed within a sweet bread, that was very tasty. Interestingly, their ¨picante¨foods are actually quite mild. I guess they don´t have the jalapenos we often see in >Tex-Mex. There are also many local fruits grown in this climate - some of which no one can explain due there originality. Just like many other countries, they like to fry bananas. Apparently we are going to eat some yucca and llama tonight?! They also have a burger king and pizzeria downtown if we need american foods. However, the city of cochabamba is actually about 45 min away. We ride in small vans, that resemble the old VW van for all of you hippy type, in which we pack about 15 into what should probably be about a 8 person vehicle, and, if you are over 5´5¨, there is no leg room. It is very cheap - costing about 20-25 cents to ride about 20 kilometers. This transportation style is giving us a loook at what it is like to live in a big city. Most people do not own cars. Most of the food costs about a 1/4-1/3 of the cost of USA.

The hospital - well, Kristen mentioned a bit of it below. They really do not have much patient volume, which is quite surprising. I can explain more of that later. Essentially, the hospital is out of the city a bit, and not as well known as needed. Many of the patients are from the Adventist University right around the corner, and so far seem to know the Lord. There is an on fire charismatic chaplain who preaches interactively with the waiting patients each am, and seems to do a great job. The doctors here who are Christians seem to leave sharing the gospel to him. I have been able to see some cases here, including typhoid, some lab pathology showing malaria, TB, cryptosprodiosis, trichomonas, and some typical problems such as abscesses, osteomyelitis, COPD, ruptured appedix, cholecystitis, and multiple ortho injuries, including 2 clavicle fractures from apparently the most dangerous activity in Bolivia - futbol (Soccer)! Don´t worry mom and dad, i haven´t played... yet. Unfortunately, i have no crazy medical stories to tell due to low number of patients. Will continue to keep you updated as able. >Thank you again for your prayers.


We are doing well. This has been a bit of a different experience than we thought it would be. God is good and we´re trying to just trust Him. We don´t have much access or time to do internet so I´m sorry for the short message.
I am a bit trapped at the hospital and our house because it isn´t safe to go out alone. So I go wherever Matt goes which is a blessing to have him here. God is giving me a rest from running and more rest in general which is a blessing.
I shared my testimony in Spanish to the patients waiting in the waiting room the other day and I gave a presentation on the Chagas disease. We´ve gotten to share our faith with the patients and with some of the Bolivians in the street. We have also seen some cool surgeries. The other day we went to an orphanage to share Christ with the kids and play with them.
The other girls that are volunteering here (they are 4th year med students) are really sweet. Our house hosts (Iris and Thomas) live at the guest house with us, cook some of our meals, and are very kind. Their little girl is also adorable.
We are trying to make connections with the different churches and missionaries here because our pastor in Harlingen is coming to Bolivia in August to do a pastors conference. They supported us quite a bit which was a huge blessing.
Bolivia is beautiful with all the all the Mts. but is a very poor country. The hospital is a bit lacking in patients and we are observers which is pretty frustrating (esp for Matt). Also, few of the Drs. speak English so I´m translating as best as I can.
I am enjoying the beauty and rest, speaking Spanish, and spending lots of time with Matt.
Please pray that God would show us our purpose here, open doors to share our faith, joy in the midst of frustration, and that our relationship would continue to grow.
We got to see the Christ on the hill (which is larger than the one in Rio de Janiero!)and also watch a Bolivian soccer game which was very cool.
Hope all is well with you all! I love you all lots. Email me prayer requests!

Matt and Kristen