David Quijarro

I have many pictures from my time in Bolivia, but unfortunately, they are on Callie's camera and I don't have that right now. My 8 days there went much faster than I thought they would. I should have expected this, of course, being I lived there for almost 2 years. Every day was jam packed with lunches, dinners, and visiting friends and people that I consider family. It was wonderfully refreshing to speak Spanish and visit the land I had come to love. I was expecting to visit Lake Titicaca, and show Callie Copacabana, but we unfortunately ran out of time.

A good portion of our time was spent with students that I taught at Highlands International School. There were 4 graduating students this year, the first graduating class in the school's history. Diego is most likely going to Arkansas. Dan is going to Taylor University. Alex is going to a college up in Vancouver, Canada. And Jose Antonio is going to a University in La Paz. That's a pretty successful first graduating class! Next year there will be closer to 20 graduating seniors!

Among all the joy there was at Highlands, I felt a heavy heart. Not only because I missed out on an entire year of these students lives that I've invested so much in, or because of the Mountaineering Club that I was able to start, but because of a dear friend, a very dear friend of mine.......David Quijarro.

David....is a man that I look up to. He is a man that impacted my life. I'm actually starting to cry as I write this. I don't know quite how to say this. He taught me much of the Spanish I know. He showed me the city. He took me to the hospital that FINALLY found out that I had Hepatitis. When the Hepatitis lingered for 4 months, he begged me to stay at the school. He said he would give me more time off, and that he would pay for it all HIMSELF. He cried when he found out that I had to leave to get better. I promised him that I would see him again. I guess I kept my promise this time....

David, pronounced Dah-veed (he's Bolivian), is a man of God. He cares more about Highlands International School than anyone else I've known. He has built classrooms, funded the construction, and overseen everything. Over this last summer, he had 4 new rooms built, one of them being a science lab with the big ole' lab tables! He came up with the vision of a 1.5 milion dollar facility. He found alternative options for the location of the school. He worked a lot of hours at the school. David loves God, and worked hard for this school which he believed would build up the future leaders of Bolivia. He worked hard, he worked hard, he worked SO hard at what he did.

I consider David another victim of a poor health care system. Without going into detail, he is now in a coma. He lies in a broken down hospital, the same hospital that I remember lying in myself. He breaths out of a hole in his neck, with tubes feeding him both food, water, and oxygen. A fever last week caused by bed sores almost killed him. Still he fights. He is under therapy as we speak. Familiar voices, familiar music, familiar anything is being placed by his ears in hope to wake him from his coma. As Callie and I talked to him over a couple of days, he would open his eyes and look at us, although I don't know if anything registered. I talked about the school, and it seemed as if he struggled, as his body would stiffen. Still....nothing. I almost couldn't bear the site of him laying there, if he could understand what we were saying. His pulse would go up when I talked of students, and eventually I found myself hoping that he couldn't understand what I was saying. If he could, how terrible would it be to just hear and not move or say or do anything?????? I hope his brain is saving him from that pain. What a trapped feeling that must be if he can understand....

Tonight, 4 days later, he still lays there on the same bed. A body, but not really. I've known a few people to die in Bolivia over the last couple years, but this is the hardest because it is not over, it is still in limbo, just kind of a life hanging around. I'm glad he worked as hard as he did, that he accomplished what he did. One day he was fine, and the next he was put in a bed. We should all work that hard, because we really don't know when our time is up. I hope his isn't, but if it is, HE DID WELL. He is one of my examples on this earth. And now I start to cry again...

Thank you, David. For showing me a little piece of how to live. For showing me a little piece of love. I can only do one thing, in a place so far way, and imagining where you are. I pray. Right now I pray for a miracle. I pray God will wake you up, that your incredible work is not quite done. I love you, as a family member.

David Quijarro.

The Plan- SATURDAY 5/26

To anyone I know in Bolivia who reads my blog:

1. Post a comment with your telephone number. I am sorry to say that my memory has failed me and I know longer have them stored upstairs. Nor do I have a telephone that has them stored...

2. If you would like, which I think you should, meet me at the Sultan's in La Paz (on the ole' Prado) at 2 PM, May 26th. I would tell you when my flight gets in, but you know me, I like to be a little mysterious and just show up places... I'll be at Sultan's at 2, will you?

I will see you all very shortly. I am very excited for the seniors who are graduating, and Dan Saldi who is going to Taylor University in the fall!

Peaceful dreams above Hanging Lake

Alright, if you still summon the energy to click on my blog link from people who write regularly on their blogs, you might enjoy (or not) this one. I make no efforts of promising that I will be any better at posting, because I post when I feel the need.


What's your first thought? Perhaps you're thinking "that's a pretty picture", or "where was that?", or maybe "i like those waterfalls and the color of that lake". OK, now look closely. Over the waterfall on the right, hanging in the trees, is an orange object.

And....this is my view from above. A nice, long, peaceful hike ended with me hanging in my hammock above a waterfall looking into the Glenwood Canyon. May the adventures and beauty continue....

BOLIVIA 2007

My liver is healthy. My gall bladder looks good. As does my pancreas. There are no parasites. There don't SEEM to be any worms causing any damage. Basically, no health issues.....FINALLY. There's the update. Thanks for praying!

I guess the only other major news is: May 26- June 3- I'll be in El Alto/La Paz for the first Highlands International School graduation ceremony. To all my students: expect good times. maybe some water balloon launching from unknown secret places? maybe DURING graduation??? maybe a quick trip to the mountains? think about it....

I expect to hear from ALL of you students ASAP with stuff you want to do that week.

My company gave me a phone that is more like a tiny computer. Not sure how I'm feeling about life now....

Just so I get a post Up

Few quick important facts on my life, and a fact that will interest students at Highlands. I will post more later, when I have the time.

1. I am now the Supervisor for my construction company. I drive, I do inspections, I do quality audits, you name it. I just don't do anything physical anymore.

2. Danielle Dayton is getting married May 4th! Anyone want to come in from Bolivia for the wedding?

3. Went to the doctor today. It seemed like they took all of my blood to run tests. Some tests will take up to 2 weeks, so I won't be able to tell you what's wrong with this fine body of mine until March 6th.

4. Mark Voss and I sit next to each other in the office at work. How strange is this world? do we actually get any work done? good question.

5. I weigh 175 lbs. according to the doc's scale. Pure muscle I tell you.

6. Brent and his girlfriend are getting married. They're going to use Quinoa as their ring-bearer........

7. My brother dislikes 24 because he just now realizes it's unrealistic. Really DAVE, it took you 6 seasons to figure that out???? maybe it's just good tv and you should relax and not analyze so much....

8. But he may be right, Gregory House is the BADDEST A@@ on television.....

I'm out, more to come later.

a picture says it all....

a day after the super bowl, the water still hasn't receded.

Never Fear

For some reason, many of you thought I was NOT going to post ANYTHING about the Bears being in the super bowl. For those many, I have only one thing to say: You of little faith, do you not remember me? When it comes to sports, I am the same yesterday, today, and forever (i hope i'm not blaspheming by saying that). I AM Chicago. I AM Illinois. I may live in Denver, Seattle, and La Paz, but I will only ever root for the teams from one city, one state. I will hate all others. It's how I was born, it's what I do. Below are 2 Examples:

1) I LOVE the Chicago Cubs. With loving the Chicago Cubs comes facts that I do not control, such as:

I HATE the White Sox, I HATE the Red Sox, I HATE the Yankees, and I HATE the Cardinals. And then, I hate the Tigers, Twins, Blue Jays, Orioles, Devil Rays, Indians, Royals, A's, Angels, Rangers, Mariners, Mets, Phillies, Braves, Marlins, Nationals, Astros, Reds, Brewers, Pirates, Padres, Giants, Diamondbacks, and Rockies.
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2) I LOVE the Chicago Bears. With loving the Chicago Bears, again, comes facts that I do not control, such as:

I HATE the Green Bay Packers, I HATE the Minnesota Vikings, I HATE the Detroit Lions, I HATE the Rams, I HATE the Colts, I HATE the Patriots, and I hate the 49'ers. And then, I hate a little less all of the other teams. And of course, if there were a team for what Scott calls "Chicago's Parking Lot", I would hate them too.
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With all of that said, my mom always told me that the word "hate" is too strong a word, and that I am never to use it. SO, for my mom, please change every word "hate" to "dislike".

The Bears will most likely win this Super Bowl. They are the under-dogs, I know, by every expert in the world. Although I am not sure why. They have the better run defense, they have the better pass defense, they have the better turnover percentage, and they have the better special teams. The Colts have the better offense. So who will win?

The Bears: 46
The Colts : 10

*same score as the '85 Super Bowl versus the New England Patriots

the slowing of adventures- seemingly

I'm home, without work, once again today. For those of you who haven't heard, Denver got pounded with two blizzards in the same week! I was here for the first one, and my town got about 32 inches of snow! The second one came when I was spending a week back home in Chicago, and it brought about another 18 inches to my town! Add it up, and you've got about 50 inches of snow in less than a week. Take 50 inches of snow, add it to construction outside, and what you get is NO WORK!

So, with my free time I've been doing a fair amount of reading and reflecting. Yesterday as I sat in my room, looking at my walls with the Bolivian/Puerto Rican Flags, hand-crafted hammocks, posters of the Cordillera Real, Bolivian wall hangings, etc., it made me extremely happy. I've been to so many places, and more importantly, I have come to know so many people. I may not see them again, but they have changed me immensely. I got reminiscent thinking about all of the stories that I've heard, and all the experiences I've had. Hiking in the Sajama desert; sitting at the peak of a 20,000 foot mountain with 3 of my closest friends; taking 6 modes of transportation to get to a tiny airport in Peru; hiking Patagonia; walking the streets of poverty in El Alto with a saddened and heavy heart; biking the island of Puerto Rico; coaching basketball in Spain; visiting Dave in the dreary land of Lithuania; listening to the church members of El Alto tell their story over a dinner they most likely couldn't afford; teaching the most beautiful and tender hearted students in La Paz; trying not to become depressed in El Alto on the nights where the world seemed so lost to me; recovering from an illness that had me crippled physically and emotionally; laughing with friends and family and students; crying with the brokenhearted as I felt helpless; getting extremely lost on the Uma Pulka trail for a day and a half; and the list goes on.

Gratitude is all I have in my heart for having all of these experiences. Gratitude mostly for life. And now I have to try so hard to not become complacent in this home land, the United States. It's so difficult because this place is so comfortable. But now I'm making new stories, and new friends in the Denver area. I have to strive to learn more of the language I call Mexican. I have to strive to understand their culture. I have to approach it all with the heart that God has called us to approach people with, namely love. It seems almost impossible at times.
Quinoa and I have made up.

I feel like my life is getting less interesting sometimes, but I am probably wrong. On any given day, I end up operating 5 different types of machinery with effeciency (trucks, bobcats, work 4 wheelers, trenchers, cars), I end up talking mostly in Spanish, and I hear more stories of hardship from foreign citizens who can't get anything to go right in their life. Then I go hiking in the mountains with a husky, climbing the boulders in Boulder, shooting arrows at Brent in the forests of Frisco because he wanted the adrenalin rush, flying back home and spending vacation with my gentle hearted mom, and family, etc.

I realize my life becomes more fulfilled every day I live with God's purpose, and every day I get closer to his Kingdom. I can not wait most days. And luckily it is probably approaching must faster than I can imagine, for life is short and we are but a passing wind as Solomon so simply puts it in Ecclesiastes.

For those of you who still read my blog, remember the stories that we've been given. Tell them, share them, and above all remember them.