Convenient Corn

Round 1 of corn is being harvested. The cows are happy about getting all the scraps and I'm told that Monica will produce more milk when corn is added to her diet. We had corn chowder for lunch and I *LOVED* it!

The second round harvesting will happen right before Christmas so that fresh corn can go into the Christmas salad - also known as my favorite food on earth.

Apparently you can eat corn cane just like you can eat sugar cane and it is only slightly less sweet. The little boys keep stealing big stalks from the coys to get their sugar fix. Okay, I admit it, I've tried it too :)

Our First Graduate!

Alfredo is our first to graduate high school and we are so proud of him! The ceremony was today at his school in Sipe Sipe.

With Tia Claudia and I before the ceremony.

Receiving his diploma from the principal.

Several of the other boys came in support and to see first hand what they will soon be doing themselves!

Back at the BLC, trying on the suit jacket to his very first tailored suit compliments of Tio Arturo.

My Headless Monsters

You just never really know what you are going to find around here!

Plenty to eat

Two boys harvesting alfalfa for the cows.

Kassandra Update

Kassandra, our baby cow, has turned out to be a dog. Or maybe a horse. She is as friendly and comfortable with the boys as our dog is and is currently sporting a USA bandana around her neck (no, it wasn't from me). In the mornings we take her off her rope and let her run around. She is very curious about everything and is starting to taste the grass although she doesn't actually eat it. And she is a runner! She knows she has a big yard and she runs every which way just because she can. Sometimes a brave boy will chase her, and she kicks and bucks like a wild horse.

How To Clean A Well

Apparently some of the little boys got caught throwing rocks into the well tank. So it needed to be cleaned out. After shutting off the pump that brings the water up to the tank, we ran the water until it wouldn't pump any more out of the tank. Leaving only about a foot of water, we lowered a ladder and then a couple of the older boys down into the tank. They passed up bucket after bucket of water and then squeegeed it clean.

They used little cups and brooms until every last drop was gone and the tank was clean. After hauling the boys and ladder back up, the water was turned back on! It was good to know we had such clean water.

Potatoes!

(One round of future french fries)

(Finished dome. Ready for fire and then potatoes.)

Potatoes are in full harvest! Humberto actually harvested the vast majority (and there was a ton) earlier this week. Everything left over is for the boys to "glean" or play with. I am presented with mountains of dirty potatoes by small groups of boys begging me to make french fries for them. The older boys have a little freedom in the kitchen in the evenings, so they dig them up to cook later on, but always stop by my door with a gift of potatoes for me. I've been eating potatoes non-stop. But they are still really good! And I've been peeling and chopping potatoes until I literally have blisters. I even bought some ketchup for them only to find out they prefer mayonaise.

This weekend the boys have been showing me how to make potatoes "in the ground." Apparently in some parts of Bolivia this is the traditional way to cook many things, from potatoes to chicken to rice to bananas. I forget what they call it though. Basically, they find a spot where the ground is very hard and the dirt packed very tight. Then they use a pick axe to dig a whole, preferably keeping the earth in large, hard chuncks. They use those dirt chunks to build a dome over the whole and then build a fire inside. They burn it down until the whole is filled with red coals. The potatoes go directly into the coals and then the dome is knocked down over the entire thing. The chunks are stompped on until they break down and everything is buried. About 20 minutes later you dig up the hot baked potatoes! It works best if you count your potatoes as you put them in, so that you don't loose any, and if you don't do this at dusk. In the dark it is difficult to distinguish between a potato and the coals and it isn't fun to grab the wrong one!

Dancing

Dancing is an important part of worship here. My first summer here, another host and I were talking to one of the dancers from the church. When he heard that we both went to churches that don’t dance, he was shocked. “After all the Jesus did for you? You don’t dance for him?!?!” I totally see his view point, and I love that the church here dances for the Lord. But seriously, I’m not a dancer.

Tonight I sat with my new tribe. That was a lot of fun. But Claudia talked me into going down to the front, where they dance. And while I was down there, I figured it out. I don’t like to dance because I am a perfectionist. And I don’t know the steps. And I don’t like not doing it just right. I’m frustrated. I don’t enjoy it. And it hit me. I was there to praise God with a joyful heart. My desire for an impossible perfection was turning my heart away from the joy of praising God. Whatever your definition may be, that sounds like sin to me. So I asked God for help. I started watching my fellow tribe members instead of the dance team on stage. I moved a little more. I don’t think that I have conquered this sin. I think it is going to be a long hard fight for me. I think I will find similar examples in other areas of my life too. But I have discovered it. And if I keep asking God for help, I am confident that I will one day be set free. It is a hard thing to know that there is bondage in your life, but God’s promise of victory is sweet.

Christmas Is Coming

I just couldn’t wait any longer. Decorating for Christmas doesn’t really happen in Bolivia until the week of the big day. But I just can’t take it. So today I started sketching out the plans and buying the materials to decorate the cafeteria. The boys are curious and some of them fed my fire with ideas, while others rolled their eyes at my girly excitement for decorating. The plan is all drawn out, and I’ve got a lot of hands to help me! I’ll be ready soon :)

Out of School, Back to Work

The boys are now out of school. But the work has just begun. The pequeños and medianos are still in class time here at the BLC, but the grandes are working full time. They are in every part of the home cleaning and working. They enjoy their work too. It is good for them to work hard and be able to see the fruits of their labor. I can tell they are proud.