Update on Adventure

The title might be a little misleading. I actually haven't had an adventure lately. I've been sitting in bus, or buses, for over 50 hours now. In our first 48 hours away from La Paz, we were on a bus for 45 of them.

I'm in Osorno. This is the first time I've ever heard of this city.

I have a ticket to Punta Arenas, the southern most city in the world. We have to take a bus into Argentina first, and then back into Chile to get there. We will then be hiking into Patagonia and the beautiful mountains and mountain lakes that are surrounding the area. I'm not sure how long we will stay, but it might be 4 or 5 days of just camping and enjoying the hikes and scenery.

Once we get there, it will not cost a thing. We have fishing poles, water filters, tents, and hammocks to live off the land for quite a while. Apparently the mountains just run straight into the Pacific Ocean all over the area. I am more than excited to see this amazing site. I probably won't be able to post again for a while, so I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone, especially the family, whom I will be away from for my second Christmas (which is way too much).

Mom-Merry Christmas. I love and miss you. Christie- You're in my prayers all the time. I love you. Dave- Michigan for christmas huh? too bad it's not back to Bolivia, but i understand. Dad- Give Mark a hug for me and have a Merry Christmas with everyone.

Christmas Plans

I am off to Chile for Christmas Break. The US Embassy gave me a temporary passport, and now the plan is to get as far south in Chile that we can (randy, caity, and I). I'm going to take cash, and when I get half way through it, I will turn around and come back. Randy and Caity have the morbid goal of finding a penguin and kicking it, while my goal is just to get to Patagonia.

I'm guessing this adventure will last about 2 weeks, which will leave me with one more week of freedom. I'm hoping to hike over half of the mountain range (the Cordillera Real) with this one extra week. We'll see.

Anyways, Merry Christmas to all. You are all in my prayers over this holliday season.

Updates on Life

So an update is necessary on a few things: I do not have my passport, and I will not have it for a while longer. I went to pick it up today at the Embassy, and they tell me "OH, we need an original of your Birth Certificate because, it turns out, we lost your registration with us and we now need an official document". I asked them why they didn't call me and tell me two weeks ago, only for them to say that they are busy. So now the goal is to get another original copy from a family member, and have them send it, and then wait the 12 days to process another passport. Does this mean that I probably can't travel over the Christmas Holiday, and that I will be in Bolivia during the chaotic elections? precisely. The elections are coming up real quickly. It is going to be super interesting, and have a big effect on the country. There are good chances that things could go very badly here. to read an interesting article that Scott sent me, go to http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/112005H.shtml I'm currently planning some of the next trips with the students. One is going to be in January, another in February, and then I'm planning a 9 day hiking/climbing trip in March (during our spring break). So far most of it is just on paper, and I'm planning on getting out into the mountains for about 10 days over Christmas break to get to know the mountains a little bit better so we don't get lost on the long hike in March.... If any of my readers have ANY ideas on some financial funding for the upcoming trips, please let me know as soon as possible......I need to look into different options, as my salary is not enough to fund these trips....

Caught and Kicked Out

After a weekend of getting caught trying to sneak across the border into Peru, I've decided a passport is necessary for South American travel. I have a new telephone number, because I had to get a new telephone, because I got robbed of my other one. Some guy named Carlos got it. I called my telephone only to have him answer and hear him laugh at me..... new number: 77-77-0786

and....

Happy Birthday to my awesome Bro Dave. hope you spend it well. love you much,
Jon

Trapped in Bolivia

During my VISA process this year, things have gone....well, very badly. All of the new teachers have already gotten their Visa's. As for me, not only have I not gotten my VISA, but the Bolivian Immigration office has lost my passport.....

what to do
what to do

guess I'm not traveling.

H2 Glacier Fear

Friday, 15 students and 5 teachers got out of school at about 2:30 to leave for Huayna Potosi. We picked up all of the gear at the shop, and arrived at the Refugio in the early evening. Many of the students just relaxed when we got there, while some of us others took a short hike. The weather was very foggy, so we weren't able to see anything along the way, which is pretty typical in this part of the valley. We returned from the hike as it got dark, and had a short time for devotionals. The devotionals were a bit more organized this time, as I put together a small little book with the help of some friends, Scott, Caity, Kristen, Donna, and Jim. After dinner, I talked on the topic of Fear/Fearing God with the students, and it was interesting to have them answering questions and hearing their thoughts along the way. It was a good time to have all 20 of us together and share our thoughts. After this, the students had free time for the rest of the night until they wanted to go to bed. Most of us stayed up playing Mafia, which was hilarious with the personalities of some of these students.

Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast, and then started putting on our gear to go into the glaciers. After getting everything together, we started the hike up to the glaciers. As soon as we started, it began to snow and continued to snow the entire way up to the glaciers. It was really fun for most of us to hike in the snow, even though it was getting a lot of our things wet.

When we arrived at the glaciers, everyone put on their crampons. I could tell that the main guide, Hugo, was pretty nervous about having this many students on glaciers. Especially since it was the first time for everyone there except me. After everyone had their crampons ready, Hugo taught everyone some different techniques for just walking on the glaciers. Some of the students did an excellent job of catching on to the technique, while others could not understand how to really slam their foot into the ice for security. We spent probably an hour or more just walking up the ice/snow without the ice picks, to really get the hang of the crampons. Even though some of the students were still only "walking" with their crampons instead of digging them in, we finally picked up the ice picks and Hugo and another guide, Julio, began showing how to walk WITH the ice pick.

Watching this was also very interesting. These things are awkward the first time you do them, and I could see how much difficulty it was causing for some of the students. For others, it came more naturally. At this point, some of the students were really enjoying themselves, while others just wanted to go back down to the Refugio because they were cold or they didn't like being on the glaciers (or in one instance someone thought it was boring). After doing this for a while, one of the guides climbed up to a high point were he secured a position to do some repelling down a large ice wall. Every student practiced some repelling down the wall, and that took up the rest of the time. Most everyone watched during this time, which made a lot of people cold. After that, we took off the crampons, and hiked back down to the Refugio, where we ate, and headed back to La Paz.
The trip turned out to be very safe. There were no injuries or anything. A couple students got sick feeling in the altitude, but they managed to eventually pull through. Overall, it was much of what I expected. Some students loved it and had a blast, and others really didn't like it all. The next Mountaineering Club trip will probably be camping and fishing again, so that we get a good rotation of trips. Thank you all for your prayers, and any of you that helped make this trip run more smoothly, either financially, or prayerfully.

The Brothers Karamazov

I just finished a really good novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, called The Brothers Karamazov. It has more insights than any of his other books that I've read, and by far was one of the more "deep" novels I have ever read.

"Lamentations comfort only by lacerating the heart still more. Such grief does not desire consolation. It feeds on the sense of its hopelessness. Lamentations spring only from the constant craving to re-open the wound"


As for the next MC trip, everyone has signed up. I sadly enough had to turn away students because there was not enough space.... Attatched is the flyer that I gave to everyone, and it actually worked in getting many of the girl students to sign up!

ok nevermind, i don't know how to attatch files....

El Segundo--- H2

Good News.

I met with Dr. Hugo this afternoon, and the next Mountaineering Club trip is successfully set up for Novermber 18th-19th at the mountain named Huayna Potosi. Not only that, but he is giving us an awesome deal on the trip. For each student, it will only cost 200 Bs., or $25. This includes:

Equipment: Boots, Crampons, ice picks, rain gear, gators, harnesses, gloves, caribeeners (sp?), etc.
Food: Friday lunch and dinner, Saturday breakfast and lunch
Guides: 5 guides, and a doctor
Transportation: 2 Off-roading Jeeps. And a mini-bus.
Lodging: At the Refugio, which is a little cabin at the base of Huana Potosi that contains bunk beds and a kitchen.

There will be space for 15 students, and 5 of us adults from the school. We talked about the weekend a little, and decided that we will leave on Friday at around 1pm from the school and get to the mountain about 3 oclock, where we will be practicing repelling and some other fun rope-techniques off of the giant damn wall that sits at the base of the mountain. Friday night will be a time for praise/prayer/fellowship in the Refugio. Saturday we will go into the glaciers and practice climbing on Ice walls and teach everyone how to walk with the crampons. There will be one guide for every 4 students, so it will be a very safe day. We will then return to the city Saturday night, as a group of French are going to climb the mountain on Sunday.

Well I need to get going, and work on getting the flyers/bulletins/permission slips out to the families by tomorrow. Thank you so much for your prayers, and continue praying these upcoming weeks for this next trip.

Politically: If you can't stand the heat, get out of La Paz

I don't give La Paz much time before we see some re-occurances of last year. Right now things are relatively peaceful and out of the news, but not for long. Here's the current, Bolivian, political climate: Cool, but heating up rapidly....soon to be REALLY HOT.

There are some different scenarios that could take place during the elections in December. The worst and most detrimental would be that there are no elections (which seems to still be an outside possibility). The current interim president would quit because he doesn't want to do it any longer, and Bolivia would be president-less. In that case, people would be upset, flying off the handle actually, throwing dynamite and rocks, setting up blockades, and spanking taxi trivers. The police would try to ease the tension with the use of rubber bullets and tear gas.

IF the elections take place, it looks like it's between one of three guys. The first, and most popular right now (at about 30% of the population), is Evo Morales. Evo is backed by funding from other socialists that we all know, Fidel Castro (Cuba) and Chavez (Venezuela). My entire church in El Alto is voting for Evo Morales because he is "for the poor people". The second guy is Tuto, who is a smart democratic politician, who holds about 28% of the populaton. The last guy is named Samuel, and he is supposed to be really "suave". My spanish professor told me that he could walk into a Burger King, and talk the workers into giving him 3 hamburgers for the price of 1.

SO WHO WILL WIN?
Nobody knows. Not even the taxi drivers, and that is SAYING something. The reason is that in order to become president, the candidate needs a majority vote, and it looks highly doubtful that that will happen. If no one gets a majority, the the decision goes to the parliament.

Even though nobody knows WHO is going to win, everyone knows WHAT is going to happen if certain people win. Want to hear? Good. If Evo (the socialist) wins, the country will be temporarily peaceful. The long term effects on his presidency could be things such as the legalization of Cocaine, and the nationalization of the national resources. If Tuto or Samuel wins, the country of Bolivia shuts down in December and January (maybe longer), due to violent demostrations by the campesinos and whoever else wanted Evo in office.

I've decided to root for Evo. I know that socialism doesn't have the greatest track record, but neither does democracy in Bolivia. We have had more presidents, and more military coups, than years of freedom. It's time for a change.

IN OTHER NEWS
I'm meeting with a guy name Hugo this Thursday who is interested in the Mountaineering Club that I've started. He is a doctor, and owner of a huge climbing organization here in La Paz. He wants to discuss prices for students, and trips that we are wanting to take later on this year. It looks like this company can be really good for the club (price-wise), and the students can be really good for the company.

Stay in Prayer for the countries political crisis, and the meeting I have this Thursday with Hugo.

My Bird and it's Arce

Thought maybe that you would like this bird that I made, out of reed, over the weekend. If you were wondering why I didn't get around to posting on the Blog, it was because I was over-involved in making this bird with a ladder up its arce.

TT1 Weekend

The weekend went perfectly. The weather was great on the hike out, and we didn't even get any rain until we were about ready to leave. We were able to spend a lot of time together, and a lot of time alone looking at the beauty of God. We ended up with 13 students and 4 adults. Of course the company that I rented the van from decided to send us a 17 passenger van with NO luggage rack, even though they had promised me a 20 person van with luggage rack. I called them immediately from the school, and they said, "I'm sorry, but there is nothing we can do, we sent the other van somewhere else." Luckily, we were able to fit all 17 people in with all the hiking bags AND the tents/sleeping bags/food. We were beyond scrunched the entire way there, but I had a tough bunch of students who didn't care too much. Here is the group that went, and picture in front of the magnificent Tiquimani.

Friday afternoon is when we left from the school, and we arrived at our drop off point a little after 5pm. From there we hiked for about 3 or 4 hours in beautiful weather to Tiquimani. Even when the sun went down, there was a full moon so we didn't have to turn on flashlights or headlamps. Many of the students were hurting pretty badly the last couple of hours, as we were ascending quite a bit in altitude, but I never heard any complaints, and everyone eventually made it to the base of this gigantic mountain where there sits a beautiful mountainlake. We set up camp Friday night, had dinner, and went to bed shortly after. On Saturday, we took some time for devotions, and then had the day free to fish or hike. While the fishing was very unsuccessful and the weather turned very cloudy (to the point that we couldn't see the mountain that was only 200 meters from our campsite), the hikes were still a source of energy for me and the students that did them.

Saturday night we had a group discussion on the things we had seen and the things that God had taught us through His creation. It was really good to hear some of the students open up and see what they had been thinking throughout the day, away from everything. I think everyone could relate to what was being said. Most people went to bed shortly after this because it started to rain a little. Sunday morning we packed up, stared at the mountain, and headed out.

TT1

It stands for "Tiquimani Trip 1". Tomorrow at about 1pm I head to Tiquimani with about 15 students. Let´s just say that I'm glad the planning is over, because that's all I've done this entire week. Anyways, pray for the trip, as we are going into the heart of the Zongo Valley. Pray for safety, and that the students will have a good time.

Ok I will post when it's all over to let you all know how it went.

LLAMAS

A picture especially sent to my sister. Unfortunately Christie, none of these Llamas spit at me as I walked up out of the Choro trail a few weeks back.... Also, I have added some pictures to my entries below as I've recently figured out how to do so. It was actually quite easy :)

Student Diagram

As I was in class, an 8th grade student of mine, Matheo, asked me if he could diagram on the board a visualization of life. I naturally wanted to see the picture that had formed in his brain, so told him to go ahead. Little did he know that later I would take a picture of it to share with you all.

Obviously this diagram BEGS certain questions. But I thought it was at the very least a pretty interesting outlook. He reads this blog, so if you have any questions, just ask him in the comment section. I'm sure he can explain it better than I can.

The Huayna Split

I find myself torn the more time I'm here. On the one hand, there is school and all my students. On the other hand, there is everything else. Where do I put my time/energy, and what is more important to me? Or is that a stupid question, and it is completely possible to split myself, enjoying the joys and pains of both worlds. How spread can a person become and still be usefull to the people around him/her? Where is the balance between using God's wisdom and using God's strength? I believe these are questions that can only be answered by a quiet heart and open ears in the presence of Our Lord. so I will wait..... I had lunches/dinners with quite a few families this weekend, all of whom wanted to know where I've been over the last month. The truth was easy. I've been working at the school during the day, and preparing lessons at night. The conversations, however, made me miss many things that I used to be more involved in.......most generally, life in El Alto. After a year, I am still amazed at how willing these families are to put an extra meal on the table for a person who has so many resources already, especially when they themselves have the daily struggle of providing for a family of 8, maybe more. It is a very true, and sobering, glimpse into the heart of Jesus. I digress. Here is a song, composed by a guy named Bruce Cockburn, after he toured South America in 1983. I heard it for the first time while I was having dinner up at my old house in El Alto this weekend. I personally am a proponent of a form of democracy, so I can't say that I agree with this song at its core. And if I'm honest, I mostly put this in here because I like the last 5 lines (especially the last 2). Brent, these last couple of lines are specifically for you. Call It A Democracy padded with power here they come international loan sharks backed by the guns of market hungry military profiteers whose word is a swamp and whose brow is smeared with the blood of the poor who rob life of its quality who render rage a necessity by turning countries into labour camps modern slavers in drag as champions of freedom sinister cynical instrument who makes the gun into a sacrament -- the only response to the deification of tyranny by so-called "developed" nations' idolatry of ideology north south east west kill the best and buy the rest it's just spend a buck to make a buck you don't really give a flying fuck about the people in misery IMF dirty MF takes away everything it can get always making certain that there's one thing left keep them on the hook with insupportable debt see the paid-off local bottom feeders passing themselves off as leaders kiss the ladies shake hands with the fellows open for business like a cheap bordello and they call it democracy and they call it democracy and they call it democracy and they call it democracy see the loaded eyes of the children too trying to make the best of it the way kids do one day you're going to rise from your habitual feast to find yourself staring down the throat of the beast they call the revolution

Las Vistas Bellezas

I would have liked to make a post on Monday while my thoughts were more fresh on the weekend, but I didn't. Friday morning we took off for a hike down an old Incan trail, being we had our first day off of the year that was called "spring break", a constant joke amongst the teachers. The hike started in the snow capped mountains of the Cordillera Real, a little bit to the southeast of Huayna Potosi. The morning sun glistened off the snow to create an atmosphere that instantaneously energized me, along with the fresh morning air that only mountains can offer. Part of me just wanted to sit and enjoy the beauty around me, watching the sparkling water run down the hillsides from the melting snow, the llamas make the slow but yet graceful journey up the mountains, and the valley below fill with a cold fog that would eventually journey upward. But I knew the distance I had ahead of me, and the time limit that the weekend imposed, so I regretfully but joyfully started down the trail. Down the trail means DOWN the trail. Basically the whole hike is downwards, as it starts at about 4,600 meters and descends to about 1500 meters. Most people take 3 days to hike the trail, and that is what is recommended, but to me it was more advantageous to do it in two days, so that I could get back to La Paz on Sunday and study for the upcoming week of school. The trail, or el camino, amazed me very quickly. Within 6 hours, we had descended into a complete surrounding of green called the Yungas, or pre-jungle. Slick rocks from surrounding waterfulls cut accross the trail to create patterns that my feet magically found. Slipping here and there I managed to keep my balance and descend past villages where people's families have lived for centuries. They were always friendly as they saw us, and never ceased to give us false information on how much farther to the next pueblito. At about 6:30 on Friday night when we were all sore from the rough downhill, we set up camp by the river, ate, and talked for a few hours. Night passed rather quickly, and by 8 am we were all off again, this time a bit slower as our muscles and successfully and painfully tightened over the night. Others were a bit slower going down the slick path, and I found myself walking with a Bolivian and his two horses that were carrying supplies back from La Paz. He told me we only had about a half hour until the next pueblo, and I walked with him for another hour until we crossed it......where I said good-bye and waited for the others. From there I realized how much longer we had. One of the girls had blisters the size of knuckles on her feet, and could not physically make it very long without stopping to ease the pain. The rest of the day was spent walking up and down this cut path in the mountainside, silently enjoying the beauty around us in the forms of birds, bugs, and the color green that marks the sign of life in the wild. We hiked in the darkness on Saturday night, slept a few hours, and finished off the journey early Sunday morning. For me it was relaxing to walk in God's presence and hear Him speak through his creation. It always is. The trail was longer than I had expected, and what got me was the length that the Incans walked at one period of time. Their knowledge of the terrain must have been incredible, and their perseverance remarkable. The rivers they crossed without bridges, the downhill/uphill that their joints endured, or just the pure length of the trail. I could feel them on the trail, and see the roughness that they had to hike through. Though I could always understand how they did it. God had given them energy from the surroudings, in the forms of smooth white rocks cut by years of water, the shades that fell across the mountains as the sun set, or the birds that flew overhead with neon green wings and blue tails. It cleared my own mind of the thousands of things that pass through it in a given school week. I really only thought of one thing when in the beauty of God, and that was of God himself. There weren't any pressing issues or other focuses. How can there when you're seeing God in everything around you, and that's exactly how he designed us. He is in the stresses of everyday life, the pains and the joys of the heart, and the people we are serving. I close with a quote I read on Ethan's Blog, by Dostoyevsky: "Sometimes he longed to get away, to vanish from here altogether. He would have been positively glad to be in some gloomy, deserted place, only that he might be alone with his thoughts and no one might know where he was. Or at least to be at home in the verandah...to throw himself on the sofa and bury his head in the pillow, and to lie like that for a day and a night and another day. At moments he dreamed of mountains, and especially one familiar spot which he always liked to think of, a spot to which he had been fond of going and from which he used to look down on the village, on the waterfall gleaming like a white thread below, on the white clouds and the old ruined castle. Oh, how he longed to be there now, and to think of one thing!"

Sorata

It's impossible to travel in Bolivia without something interesting happening. This last weekend I went to Sorata for the Bolivian Downhill bike race that starts in the Chu Chu pass and descends 4,000 meters on a sing-track to Sorata, in about an hour. The drive to Sorata from La Paz isn't a bad trip. It only takes about 4 hours, and only about 2 hours of that are down the switchbacks into the much lower altitude where you find Sorata. The only thing is that the switchbacks have to be driveable. And by driveable, I mean that have to exist.

About a half an hour into the switchbacks, we come to a point in the road where it had completely caved out along the mountainside. A truck had caved in with the road, and looked like it was built into the mountainside. Unfortunately for us, it was about midnight, and raining. Some guys got out and started searching for other options. Eventually, Andy decided to take our truck offroading down the steep mountainside onto the switchback below. It worked, thank God.

The time in Sorata was pretty relaxing and uneventful (for those of us not riding in the race). Heather got stuck in a trees branches, literally, as we hiked up a ravine. And I found out that the 3 younger Word Made Flesh missionaries (heather, wes, and kara) really like to argue about logical issues-such as when to use Humus ingrediants. I personally think it goes back to the time that Wes told Heather that the "rational mind is clearly superior". no comment.

On the bus ride back from Sorata Sunday, I got sick. I evetually ended up getting off the bus on the outskirts of El Alto to find a bathroom. I found one, and then decided I needed to get back to my place as soon as possible, so I found a taxi driver willing to take me the half hour for only 40 Bs., about $5. As sick as I was feeling, I talked to him the whole way, and it turned out to be rather pleasant. We talked about the politics of the country, what he thought would happen in December, and then about Religion. Although my spanish is still very broken, I told him about the church i attend in El Alto, and what Christianity is really about......because many of the "christian" ideas here are very mixed with witchcraft and pachamama beliefs. It was a good conversation, and he ended up offering me his number to call him for rides, or to go up to the church some Sunday.

I spent the rest of Sunday night throwing up in the bathroom. By the time it was daylight and time to go to school, I had nothing left in me to come out so I was able to make it through a long day of teaching. It was probably the best sickness I've had in Bolivia because it came and went in less than 12 hours, and it wasn't really that painful. Maybe my digestive system is ready for this place this year....

.....or maybe I was just lucky this time.

My Address

I'm heading out to Sorata tomorrow for the Bolivian downhill bike race. It starts up in the foothills of the Mountain Illampu, and descends a few thousand meters to Sorata. I went last year and it was a blast, mostly because someone had an extra bike and I was able to do it on the practice day.

The school just got a new address. And by "just" I mean they got it a few weeks ago, and I've been too lazy to copy it down until now. Anyways, here it is, in case you get the urge to send down a letter or package :)

Jon Watson
Highlands International School
P.O. Box 3-12468
La Paz, Bolivia
South America

Trip down Memory Past

Let's see. This weekend was finally free as last weekend we lost both of our softball games (the first one by 3 and the second one by 2) and got eliminated from the tournament in a respectable third place finish. What I decided to do with my first free weekend was to go into the mountains and spend some time hiking around. Little did I know it would bring back such vivid flashbacks.

On Saturday morning at about 6am I took a bus headed for Coroico, and at a point where the mountains looked interesting, I asked the bus-driver to let me off. I told him I had plenty of food, and a tent, which appeased his inquisitive face almost instantaneously. He said what they always say, "que te vaya bien", and I was off. I had my compass, and what I knew was that I wanted to head North. My map, unfortunately, was up at the Baker's house, but I figured I would eventually hit a place that I knew (which turned out to be a correct assumption), or in the worst case scenario I could always just head West and eventually hit the Altiplano. You see, that's why I had my compass...

It started off as a hike down some valleys. Then I went over some passes that must have been 5,000 meters, or more. Then up another valley, and over another pass. Not too bad, right? Well, coming over this last pass, I came across a trail that looked familiar.....a little tooo familiar. My instinct told me to go back, and go back fast. But my mind reasoned with me and reminded me that the passes I just came over would be real difficult in the opposite direction. AND it said to me, what are the chances that this IS the trail, and that I will have to do it AGAIN.

Flashback: August, 2004
I had only been in Bolivia for 2 weeks. My body had not yet acclimatized, but Drew, Scott, and I agreed to go on a hike with Andy Baker. We had decided upon this at 2 am on a Saturday morning, and left two hours later without any sleep. I borrowed tennis shoes and clothes from Scott and Andy as there was no time to descend to the southern zone and get my own stuff. Our goal was to do this hike that would theoretically take about 8 hours. The bus dropped us off in the Zongo valley around 7am, and we started the hike feeling very adventurous, even with the relentless weather as it poured snow and rain upon us. At about 11 am, we ate our lunch in a cave, feeling very good about the distance we had made. Mind you, this was all the food we had with us, because the hike would only "take" another 4 hours. 15 minutes later we came across the most impressive mountain I had ever seen, Tiquimani (the guardian of the Zongo Valley). The weather cleared for about 20 minutes, and we just sat there and stared at it, before the clouds rolled back in and the weather worsened once more. The visibility quickly reduced to feet in front of us. At this point, Andy says to us, "well we either continue or go back, your choice". Scott, Drew, and I decide that there is "no such thing as going back", so we continue on our course. The only thing is we didn't continue on our course. We went way off course..... a good two hours off course.....in bad weather. At this time I developed the worst headache of my life, probably because of the altitude we were in. By the time we got back onto the course, we only had about 2 hours of sunlight left, and we had to find a pass that Andy had never been to. If we didn't find the pass, we would be there all night. We didn't have tents, and we didn't have more food, because this was only going to be an 8-10 hour hike. Well it got dark fast. We found out we only had one headlamp (again, because we were just going to be hiking in the day) and that the batteries were low (poor planning). We couldn't find the pass, and it was now about 7pm and completely dark. The only thing we could do was to keep moving to keep warm, so we hiked in the direction we thought was correct, using the one headlamp for all of us. We were hiking on the edge, and had no idead where we were. To the left was almost always a fatal drop(probably at the least 1,000 ft), and to the right was just a steep incline. By 2am we heard a river, and the clouds cleared for a second to reveal some peaks, that Andy recognized. We immediately climbed down to the river, which proved to be very difficult with only one headlamp. The river was fairly big, and it took us another hour or so to cross it safely. On the other side of the river is where we came across the most dangerous thing we did. It was an 80, maybe 90 degree in some places, ascent up a bank with nothing to hold onto but grass. My heart as never beat faster than when I was about 30 or 40 feet up and only holding onto grass that was tearing out like crazy. Probably about 50 feet up, it became level, and we were able to stand. Andy immediately recognized that we were on the Choro trail, and only "hours" from La Cumbre, where we could find transportation.

Relief. That's the best way to describe it. It was now 4am, and we had been hiking for 21 hours straight, only one meal. Well to make a longer story short, we got on this trail, and hiked up it (people only hike down this trail, but we wouldn't have gotten to a place with transportation going down for another day or so). Andy went ahead of us, and told us, "when you get to the switchbacks, you're done". About 3 hours later, Drew, Scott, and I hit the switchbacks. THE SWITCHBACKS WENT UP A HUGE MOUNTAIN, ANDY HAD LIED. You see, we were tired. We hadn't slept in 2 nights now, we hadn't eaten since the previous days lunch, we weren't acclimatized, we had been hiking for 24 hours, and we were extremely wet and cold from the weather and the river. Drew could only take about 10 steps at a time before he needed a break to vomit as we ascended the switchbacks, so Scott and I had to leave him because it hurt us too much to stop so frequently. Scott had to frequently wait for me to catch up as he was much stronger than I during this all. About 3 hours later, Scott and I finally summited "la Cumbre" where there was a Taxi. 27 hours straight.

Back to this Weekend
Sure enough, this was the trail. Obviously not all of the dread returned, knowing that I had food, sleep, energy, ya know everything you need for a hike. SO, I started to ascend up this trail once again. It seemed easy, as long as I kept my mind off of the last time. As soon as I would think about the last time, my legs grew heavy, my steps shortened and slowed, and I felt sick. It's funny the tricks the mind can play, because as soon as I would start to forget the past the extreme tiredness would go away. I was still tired, but just not in the same way. I made it up the switchbacks (which I think are 1,200 meters verticle) in about an hour this time. I got some pictures of Llamas and mountains along the way. Very enjoyable.

It made me think. Dwelling on the past obviously didn't help me, as I would start to experience some of the same pains of heavy legs, hungry stomach, and cold feet and hands. But remembering the past helped, because I knew where I was going, and what was coming up. Really, it's the same in life. Without remembering the past, we can't really continue to grow. Our past is what we need to draw on to keep making progress in the future. We must remember the crucifiction and resurrection of Jesus daily to remind us where we came from, the state of complete sin that we were once in and the sin that can so easily bond us again. We must remember, we must not forget. But we must not dwell. How can we grow if we are dwelling on what we once were? We are alive in Him, forgiven of our sins, and it is that freedom from sin that allows us to make progress in this life. We are no longer in bondage to it, as He tells us (dwelling on the past). Always remember, but never dwell.

This is why I am starting a Mountaineering Club for the students. We will learn together the truths that are so evident in the nature around us (Mountains and Valleys) and in our own nature. Next weekend I plan on taking 2 students and another teacher to plan the exact location of our first trip and spend time in prayer for the upcoming months and the direction we want to head. Until next time....

Peace and Love,
Jon

The Wende's

I thought it was gonna be one of those weeks with little to do at nights, but it has turned out to be a very busy, and fruitful, week. Tonight I had dinner with the Wende's, minus Ron because he is in the states. It was something I wanted to do since I first arrived, but I kept putting it off because I was "too busy" until today. It was great conversation at dinner, and let me just say, I will miss them VERY much. They are moving to the states next Monday, and La Paz will no longer be the same for anyone who knew them. They are the family I first lived with when I came last year, and have cared for me since the moment I arrived. It was Ron who took me to the doctors in the middle of the night when I was in more pain than I can ever remember. It was Ron who started the idea of the Mountaineering Club, which will take off this year. Some of my favorite conversations in La Paz happened at the table of the Wende's, whether it was on Bolivian politics, school agendas, micro-economics in Bolivia, or just learning about each other's pasts and how faithful God has been through everything. When the Lord told them to help start the school, they poured everything they had into it, and it was more than visible that they were following God's calling in their lives. And now.... God has called them to another place, in the states, where I'm sure they will follow Him as they have before with the same efforts.

So to Ron, Maria Ester, Ian, Michael, and Dasha, I can only Say Thank You for being faithful to the Lord. God's love has shown thru you, and I am a better person because of you.

weekend

Everyone from the School traveled to Copacabana this weekend, looking for a relaxing weekend on the "beaches" of Lago Titicaca. Because I've been to Copacabana more than enough, and because hanging out with 5 Elementary female teachers didn't sound relaxing, I decided to hang back and play in the opening round of the La Paz Softball Playoffs. My team: The Japanese Condors. We'll see what happens. Hopefully my bat remains hot as I'm hitting .900 in August. I've decided on the first trip for the Mountaineering Club. We'll be leaving in 2 weekends for the Zongo Valley where we'll be camping and climbing NEAR Tiquimani, not up it. I'll probably just allow about 5 students to come on this one, because of supplies and whatnot, but it should be a good time. It is by far the most beautiful location that I have found in the Cordillera Real. If I ever figure out how to post pictures on this Blogspot, I will definately do it. Other than that, it's been a pretty tranquilo weekend. I saw a bad movie last night with Heather and Kara (the new WMF intern in El Alto). We got some coffee afterwards and I watched Heather make a diagram on paper that linked about 100 actors/actresses in Holleywood relating to who they've dated or married. She thinks it answers a lot of questions as to why people do movies together (to get back at ex-lovers and whatnot). I was too tired to really pay attention as she did it, but it got a lot more interesting when we did it with our own lives afterwards. The Scott/Voss/Kate/Jordan/Brent/Amanda relationships are always funny to re-live. That's it.

in the news...

I read in the Bolivian papers today about a comment from Christian Broadcaster Pat Robertson making a comment about wanting the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.....or at least that was my "professional" translation from Spanish to English. The writer had never heard of Pat Robertson, but the comment made the Bolivian papers because of the close involvement with Chavez to many of the Bolivian socialist leaders, such as Evo Moralis.

I don't know much on what was said, but from what I read, it seems about as ignorant a comment as I've heard in a long time. The controversey once again boils down to a socialist government, that the US (or Pat Robertson) views as a possible staging point for the "invasion" of communism (alongside Fidel Castro of Cuba) into the Americas. In my opinion, the assassination of one leader will bring about another in time because.... Socialism will always be a draw in places where people are oppressed and the poor are seen in masses. Maybe Socialism isn't the problem (if you think it is one at all) that we should be reacting to in the first place.

Again, I did not read much on what was said, but I think the comment in itself probably shows the root of a big problem between US thought and many of the countries of this world. Can people in these countries help but call the US imperialists?


In related news, I'm thinking of setting up a socialist type of system at my school in Mallasilla. I'm gaining support rather quickly among the students. My principle, on the other hand....

I now have a cell phone, and my number is 705-51-798. i don't know the Bollivian code if you're calling from the states, but feel free to find out if the mood strikes you! Also, the school is getting a new mailing address sometime soon, so I'll post that as soon as I find out what it is. Just remember, 705-51-798

First Day Back

Well, my time in the States has already come to an end, and it turned out to be a wonderful two months. It was harder than I had expected, as I had to say hello and goodbye to family and many good friends in practically the same breath....never knowing quite what to say about Bolivia and scared to talk about it too much.

And now I find myself back in this land that continually amazes me. Coming down into the city this morning was surreal, as it fully dawned on me that this is my next year....in this place....with these people. I went immediately from the airplane to the school this morning, where I met new teachers and new students, while re-uniting with the old ones. I was pretty tired going into the day, but energy came in the form of seeing little Sarah run at me and a big hug, or the conversations that took place all day long. I had an assignment in my 8th classes where we had to share what we learned this summer and how we were going to apply it in our lives (which they knew was coming in some shape or form). I was instantaneously reminded by Jose Manuel how ridiculous junior highers can be when he shared that he learned that too many video games causes severe pain in the eyes and that in the future he will use eye drops. Directly after Berman reminded me how awesomely sincere junior highers can be as he shared about an experience over the summer where the Lord spoke to him and he felt the spirit of God fill him to the point where he couldn't help but to cry and laugh at the same time. As he talked to the class about what God had told him, tears flooded his eyes while he recalled the feeling of having a personal God in his life. Amazing...the depth of children.

All in all, it's good to back. Scary that I'll be here for a year, but very good. Thanks to all who made my summer so enjoyable.

4guys at 14 no longer

I couldn't post on the other blogspot when our name was 4 guys at 14,000. So i made a new blog website, or whatever it's called, and will be posting weekly, por lo menos.

I'm back in the states. Will leave August 14th.