Nice Views in Bolivia

On Friday I just came back from a short trip to La Paz with 2 of our short term volunteers. We wanted to visit Tiahuanaco, one of the best sites in Bolvia for ruins and archaeology. We then spent a few days in Copacabana, a colonial city right on Lake Titicacca, which is part of the border between Bolviia and Peru. We spent a day on the Isla del Sol, which is a beautiful island in the middle of the lake. As well as the important part it plays in Andean spiritual history it also some of the best natural beauty that I have experienced here. Hiking around the island was a challenge but also very beautiful. I found at 49 it is hard to keep up with a 19 and 20 year old when one is a tri-athelete and the other a distance runner. Looking forward to seeing everyone in a few weeks when I get up for vacation. please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Off To La Paz

Tonight I am off to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, with 2 of our volunteers, Holly and Ryan. We take the overnight bus to La Paz (7 hours) then go directly to Tiahuacu to see some ancient Amayra ruins then return to La Paz for the night. On Tuesday we will go to the colonial city of Copacabana and then onto the Isla del Sol in Lake Titicacca for a day. We will return to Cochabamba by overnight bus arriving home on Friday morning. I am looking forward to seeing another part of Bolivia and getting away for a few days as well.

The Jesuit Missions

Last weekend a group of 14, some short term volunteers and some language school students went to the Jesuit Missions outside of Santa Cruz. Those who are familiar with the movie "The Mission" are familair with the story of the work of the Jesuits in the 17th and 18th centuries. Although the film is set in Paraguay there is a similar history with the work of the Jesuits here in Bolvia. I was very interested in the history of the missions as well as the Baroque Music which was part of the training of the Jesuits for the Chiquito people. After arriving in Santa Cruz we traveled 5 hours to the first mission of San Xavier and then traveled onto the second mission of Conception. There are both fine examples of the work of the Jesuits and both were restored in the mid 1980's by the artisan Hans Roth. He not only restored the churches but trained many of the local people as artisans who still work in wood up to today. The local Vicaria still has a school that trains about 150 local men a year in the crafts/ We had a very good visit and some of the Jesuit students who were with us continued on to visit 3 other missions over the next few days. It was a good experience and a chance to grow in my understanding of the Jesuit reductions and their place in the Mission history of Bolivia. This coming week I will be taking a few of ourt short term volunteers up to La Paz to explore that area of the country for a few days. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. i am looking forward to coming back to New York and New Jersey the last 2 weeks of August and catching up with as many people as possible.

Continuing On With The Mission

Greetings to all on this 4th of July weekend. The celebration here is not the same as in the States but I will be going away for the weekend. A group of students from the Language School, some of the short term volunteers and myself will be visiting the Jesuit Missions this weekend. Those who have seen the film "The Mission" will have a sense of the visit. The film is set in Paraguay but similar missions were set at the same time in Bolivia and other countries. Several of the missions in Bolivia, near Santa Cruz, were restored in the 1980's and have become a place of pilgrimmage for many who want to have a sense of the history of the missions here in Bolivia. we leave Saturday morning and return on Monday night.
The mission continues to go well here. With the arrival of several short term volunteers here there has been a change of focus in my ministry and time here. Much more time in taken up in working with the volunteers and providing hospitality for our many guests. My culinary skills are growing by leaps and bounds. It is good to be able to show others what we do here and allows me to appreciate all that is going on here.
I had a meeting last night with the leaders of the barrio association of La Costanera, one of the barrios where I serve. We are trying to see what the needs of the various barrios are and how the chapel can serve them. I was very impressed by the 2 priorities that they have: the formation of a Mother's Club to work with the women of the area and also the need to provide health care for their children. The area we are working in now has about 1,000 people and will grown to about 2,000 over the next few years as the barrios continue to grow with the internal migration in the area. It looks as though we need to build a center of some sort for the barrios which is the one thing I did not want to do in my time here. However, we try to meet the needs that we encounter every day.
Please continue to keep us in prayer as we try to serve the poor and introduce others into mission.