A Very WWE Thanksgiving

Holiday season has officially arrived! Unfortunately, though, it probably has more drawbacks than benefits for SM’s, at least for those in Bolivia. School and work continued as usual. Being away from family was pretty tough, but it wasn’t too bad thanks to my second family right here in Bolivia. Once the kids were in bed, all the “parents” got together to have a Bolivian-themed Thanksgiving. We had veggie loaf, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, rice, salad, rolls, apple cider, and apple crisp for dessert. The ingredients may have been Bolivian ones, but it was a flavorful Thanksgiving meal that I will never forget.

We’ve actually been quite the party animals recently. In addition to our Thanksgiving mini-feast, some of the SM’s had a game night a couple weeks ago. I made empanadas for the whole group and we played some fun games including watermelon bowling, squeegee shuffle-board, pass the banana (with your feet), and shaving-cream-soybean toss (one participant’s face is lathered with shaving cream and then his or her teammates take turns trying to throw soybeans in such a way that they stick.) As always, it was a great time and made our group feel even more like a family.

I’ve been told that the holidays are often the hardest time of an SM’s service. Our Thanksgiving may not have been a traditional one, but I still felt the love--essential for staying positive while being away from my real family during the holidays. In the spirit of the season, I want to take the time to give a huge thanks to all those who are reading this and supporting me from back home. All of you had a hand in helping me get here through your donations, prayer, and encouragement. I am so blessed to have the support that I do, and I couldn’t have done this without you.

Continuing on the holiday theme, the famous Familia Feliz Christmas Program is coming up this weekend! (Technically it will have already happened by the time you’ve read this. I usually write my blogs on the Thursday or Friday before it is posted.) Okay, so it’s not actually famous, but we’ve been putting in a lot of practice to prepare a meaningful musical production for the kiddos. It appears that I cut my hair too soon as I have been asked to play the role of Jesus. I’m also singing in a men’s quartet as well as the “Hallelujah Chorus” in the choir. As if the weekend wasn’t already busy enough, my house has kitchen duties and special music for church. It’s going to be a stressful weekend (It is for this very reason that I write my blogs early). Thankfully, it’s the second to last weekend of the school year, and soon enough campus will have emptied out excepting the volunteers and few orphans.

It will be bittersweet to see all the kids leave for vacation. They’re the reason we’re here, and as much trouble as they give us, they make life pretty interesting and fulfilling. That being said, it will also be nice to have a break from parenting 24-7--a task that’s grown increasingly difficult as the school year draws to a close. As I’ve learned from my numerous injuries mentioned in previous posts, life here can pretty rough on one’s health. My boys are always going to the nurse for different injuries (Sometimes made up ones to try to get out of my early-morning P.E. workouts), and are often given medications that I am responsible for. Some medications have even required me to wake up in the middle of the night in order to administer them. This actually works out as a convenience because I already have to wake up once night to make sure the boys are in their own bed (More of a problem than you might think).

I’ve even had some health issues of my own these past few days. FULL DETAILS AHEAD: SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH OR ARE EASILY DISTURBED. It started with a mysterious lump on my left knee that grew into a pus-filled lesion. At first the school nurse thought it was a parasite known as a “boro” (Very similar meaning and pronunciation to the English word “burrow”). Certain flies here lay eggs in small, open wounds which then hatch into a little worm that grows under the skin. Once they are fully grown, they must be extracted or they can cause infections. The nurse squeezed and squeezed but no worm came out and the mystery continued. The next day, I started to get some swelling in the lymph nodes on my thigh and near my groin--a common symptom of infection. I went to the doctor next day and was given antibiotics to treat it along with a warning--if the antibiotics don’t do the trick, I may have leishmaniasis. Thankfully though, if diagnosed early enough, this tropical disease is treatable and not serious.

Injuries and medications aren’t the only complication with the kids. Discipline has also become more difficult as the kids start to catch “summer fever”. One night a week, I monitor the study hall for the students who are doing poorly in class. It’s always difficult to keep the kids quiet and motivated to do their homework, especially when they’re the less academically-gifted ones. One evening, a wrestling match broke out over a stolen pencil and I had to add “referee” to my job description. At least normal wrestling matches limit size advantages--this one pitted a 17 year-old against a 5th grader half his size. After I had finally gotten them to calm down, I talked to each one individually to try to convince them to apologize. Surprisingly, the 5th grader apologized and asked for forgiveness right away, but the older boy refused outright (he suffers from some anger management issues and possibly some slight mental disabilities). After study hall was over, I ended up sitting with him in complete silence for half an hour before he decided talk it over with me and consider an apology.

Parenting will probably only get harder during this last week, but as soon as it’s over, I will be able to relax a little. During summer break, I get three and a half weeks of vacation in which I’m going to meet up with Corbin and do some traveling. Sadly, it’s the rainy season here, meaning travel can be difficult at times and we may not be able to do everything we’ve planned so far. Nevertheless, it’s exciting knowing that I will get to see some of the famous tourist attractions in South America and work on some practical Spanish.

I have about a week of vacation before Corbin arrives and my first destination is essentially just down the street. Rurrenabaque is known for its Pampas Jungle tours in which groups are taken to “eco-lodges” in Madidi National Park in order to view one of the most diverse jungles in the world. On my three day trip I am all but guaranteed to see monkeys, caimans, piranhas, anacondas, capybaras, pink dolphins, several types of tropical birds, and maybe even an anteater. After this I’m planning to head to Cusco, Peru to hike the Ausungate Rainbow Mountains and Humantay Lake.

Once Corbin has arrived in Cusco, we hope to see Machu Picchu and then head to Lake Titicaca to explore some of the islands and nearby towns. Ultimately we will find ourselves in La Paz, Bolivia where a myriad of activities await us. We plan to do a three day tour of the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia as well as hike “Pico Austria” just outside of town. We most definitely are not going on a 1-day mountain biking tour of “Death Road”, but we may go check out “Cholita’s Wrestling”--a Bolivian-style, women’s WWE knock-off. Maybe I can get my boys from study hall a gig there.

I don’t just spectate and referee wrestling, either. In fact, I’ve been a wrestler my whole life--in a spiritual sense. Sin and temptation surround us constantly and sometimes I feel as though I’m in an endless struggle with my vices. This Thanksgiving I’m especially thankful for a loving God who waits patiently for us to apologize for our sins and come running back to His forgiveness. With Him, there is no wrestling match too lop-sided to win.

TL;DR

Thanksgiving was a little different this year, but no less meaningful. I have so much to be thankful for including my time here, and the people who made it possible--YOU! With the school year wrapping up, things are starting to get busy; on top of my involvement in our Christmas program, my house has kitchen and special music this weekend (the one that just passed). Bolivia has been pretty unforgiving as far as my health and that of my kids. Probably doesn’t help that we’ve got some WWE wannabe’s. Break is just around the corner and I will finally be able to see a little more of my surroundings. Filipenses 4:13 - Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece.