Mission Report by Mary Bartsch
Good afternoon.
As you can see, I am very late this month. I simply forgot. I am doing well and am in good health. The weather is still hot and humid, but we have had some regular rains lately. I am waiting for the less humid weather but that usually comes with a lot of wind and dust. I am not looking forward to the dust and wind.
This year the school had a small celebration for the schools’ 21year anniversary. Last year we had a big celebration for 20 years. The rest of the day was for playing sports. Some parents came to school for the anniversary and to watch their kids play. The High school kids played volleyball and the elementary school kids played soccer. There was lunch for sale. The kids enjoyed the day. I just watched the games. I did not coach or play any games. I am not into sports.
Pictures on the above: the anniversary and the sports day.
March 2 and 9 we had Sunday school training in Ibnias. Ines and I went just to see what it is all about. The training was good. The woman was from Santa Cruz. She taught us how to prepare a lesson if we had no Sunday school curriculum. She also introduced us to several different kinds of curriculum. They were all in Spanish, but they were good. One of them was put out by CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship). Some of the teachers have started using this and a few of us are still doing low German. But with time the Sunday school will become completely Spanish. Just like in Canada it is completely English.
March 8-18 a group from Blumenort near Steinbach was visiting. I believe they were from the EMMC. I didn’t know any of them. I met the group several times. For many of them this was their first time in Bolivia. They found it to be very hot. They also joined us on our monthly MEM meeting. March 17, I joined this group for supper in Santa Cruz along with Abe and Margaret, Benjamin and Bertha and Nancy. We had supper on a third-floor balcony overlooking a Plaza. It was beautiful.
Above: the third-floor restaurant overlooking the Plaza where we had supper.
Arley and Eva Peters and their children from Ontario were also here at this time. He was the founder and the first director of the Villa Nueva School. I had met Arley briefly twice before, but I had never met Eva. They spent time with many old friends.
March 16 was our regular MEM meeting. Our meeting was very early, so I decided to go to San Jose already on Friday. There are 3 new teachers from Paraguay, and they are all single Ladies. So, I decided to invite them out for supper. We had a good time and I stayed at a hotel for night.
Fathers’ day fall on March 19 here in Bolivia. In church together with Sunday school we celebrated it on March 17. The children sang a few songs and recited a bible verse. The Fathers each received a keychain followed by a fellowship lunch. At school we celebrated Fathers’ Day Tuesday the 19th. Several classes presented songs as well as some games. The fathers also received Saltengas (a pastry with potatoes and meat inside) and Coke.
Above: grade 5 honoring down syndrome day. All the elementary classes were required to make a poster and take a picture as a class.
March 21 was down syndrome day around the world. We have a down syndrome student in grade 7. All teachers and students were encouraged to wear mismatched socks on that Day. I did not because I don’t wear socks on hot days, but many did. The down syndrome student does well in school. The other students are used to her and willing help her. I think it is good for everyone if special need students can also attend school.
The picture above: grade 4 presenting something to the fathers.
To the left: the fathers watching the presentation with the students standing behind them. About 80 fathers came.
Above: the group from Blumenort standing in front of the catholic Cathedral in Santa Cruz.
We have now had 2 months of school and it is going well for the most part. Grades 8 and 9 are difficult this year as well as certain students. But maybe that is normal and par for the course when working in school.
In March the church decided to build a fence between my yard and theirs. This is very nice as it will keep the soccer and volley ball’s off my yard more. I could not have afforded the fence by myself, but I am grateful for it. I will be paying the church for half of the fence.
Above: having lunch on the salt flats
Over Easter I had a 5-day weekend, so I decided to fly to Salar de Uyuni (the world’s largest salt flats) here in Bolivia. I flew to La Paz (it is the highest airport in the world) from there I took an overnight bus to Uyuni. In Uyuni I joined a group, and we were driven around in a land rover to the various sights. It was cool and comfortable in the town of Uyuni, but it was cold and frosty farther up the mountains. When salt flats have 2-3 inches of rainwater on it during the rainy season it reflects the sky beautifully and you can’t see where the water ends, and sky begins. During the dry season the salt is completely dry and during the winter months it snows here. It was a beautiful sight and I enjoyed it a lot, but I must say it did not feel like Easter at all.
Above: a Building made of salt bricks, cheaper than clay.
Thanks for your prayers and support.
God Bless and take care.
Mary Bartsch
February Mission Report by Mary Bartsch
Good afternoon.
As you can see, I am late again with my report. I simply forgot about it. I am well and in good health for which I am thankful. Getting ready for school was less stressful than all the other years. I have learned to plan and work ahead. This also makes life much easier. School was to start February 5 but then last minute the district decided that all the teachers needed an Inservice. School started February 6. We are off to a good start. We have 256 students currently. I thought we would start with around 300 students. I am very happy that we don’t have so many students. A teacher simply can’t give each student proper help and attention with 25-30 students in the classroom. So far teaching is going well for me.
Above: teacher Inservice in Pailon for the district teachers.
Above: students on the first day of school.
February 17-20 the D Friesen’s family were in our area. On the 17 they did a concert at Amanecer near the Belize colony. I helped with the supper for everyone involved and with the snack afterward. Around 70 people came to listen and only one family from the colony. We heard later that some people had listened from the road behind the trees. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday they did evening services in our church. I helped with the children activates each evening. I hosted them at my house for Sunday supper and that went well.
Above: the teachers on the first day of school.
Above: D Friesen’s having supper with us before the concert.
Sunday school started February 11. I am again teaching the older kids, 7-11 years old. We plan to have one special Sunday per month. I think that should go well and the kids will really like it. Sunday school is going ok for me, but I sense that the kids are bored, so I will have to make some changes in how I teach.
Above: setting up for the concert.
Above: not many people came to hear the concert.
February 9 and 10 we meetings in San Jose at the Casa. The guest house is not working well right now. On Friday we were divided into groups to brainstorm about how the property could be used differently. On Saturday we had our usual meeting, and we all shared our ideas for the Casa. There were many interesting ideas but not all of them were feasible. By the end of March, a decision needs to be made.
The rains here in Bolivia specifically in our area have been few and far between. But last weekend we got around 5 inches of rain in 24 hours. That was a lot in a short time. The streets and yards were flooded. I have not heard of anyone having water inside, but it must have been close. For me life is back to a routine which is good. I just have to be careful about being flexible and make time for the things and events that come along that are not scheduled. Otherwise, I would miss out. Not much has happened this month and so this is all for now.
Right: main street in Villa Nueva.
Left: the church yard from my front door.
Thank you for your prayers and support.
God bless and take care.
From Mary Bartsch