Much Better

Thank you for all your prayers. Last week I was able to teach all 5 days without missing a thing. I feel much better and am regaining energy by the day. The jaundice has almost completely faded, and I feel almost normal. This weekend I plan on making it back into the Mountains to start planning for the next few trips with the students.

On Saturday I moved back up to El Alto (my life is easily moved from one place to another with only one bag). I'm living with a guy named Wes who works for Word Made Flesh.

Hasta Luego

here it is....

here is a pic of my yellow eyes, now that the jaundice is fading. They were REALLY yellow last week, but I never got a picture of it.

Right now I'm on the recovery. I feel much better and finally have an appetite, so I have a lot of work to do in order to get the 30 pounds that I lost back.

I went back to school yesterday, and have been able to make it through both days without too much pain. Last week I tried to go to school and never made it longer than a couple of hours. Plus I don't think that the students were enjoying my looks very much. LJ, an eight grader, was talking to me and in the middle of her sentence said, "You know, it's kind of freakin me out to talk to you with your yellow skin and yellow eyes, so I'm gonna go", and she walked away. Other comments included, "Dude, Mr. Watson, you don't look so good." and "I can't tell the difference between your hair, skin, and eyes". The comments from the younger students were even funnier because they tend not to hold anything in.

Anyways, after 10 straight days of laying in a bed and resting, I'm back up and feeling much better. Everyone is telling me that I need to continue to rest, or I could get chronic Hepatitis, so I'm still taking it easy.

Sorry I wasn't able to post more last week, but I couldn't sit up to use the computer for more than a few minutes without getting tired. Thank you all for your prayers, I could have never recovered so fast without them.

Yellow Eyes, Yellow Skin means what.....

well the word that comes to mind is Jaundice. You know, the pictures you always see in health books and science books, maybe occasionally in a National Geographic or a world news picture of sick people dying.

I am those pictures. I came down with something pretty ugly on Tuesday afternoon (I couldn't stand up straight, and my stomach was in excruciating pain), and ended up missing the rest of the week of School. After seeing 2 doctors and having 4 blood tests, 2 ultrasounds, 3 urine tests, a variety of people poking at my stomach, and seeing the white of my eyes turn yellow, it was decided that I needed an operation. Not the kind of operation where they cut you open, but the kind of operation where they stick a scope down your stomach, and then down your intestines until they find the main tube that feeds bile into your stomach from the pancreas, gall bladder, and liver. They then make a small incision to release a Gall Stone, and once again allow the flow of bile into the intestines, thus fixing the problem.

I personally didn't like this option, so on Friday I went to a 3 doctor for more tests. Actually our financial director at the school MADE me go. I was put in the hospital (if that's what you want to call it), and after a day was told that I had a very serious and advanced case of Hepatitus A. There was, and still is, very serious suspicion as to if this is the problem. Hep A does occasionally cause some abdominal pain, but with this case this is all I've had. They haven't completely ruled out Apendicitis, although I highly doubt this being the nature of how long I've had the pain. Tomorrow morning I will return for more tests.

Anyways, I am currently out of commission for a while, so maybe I can post more often. I still can't stand for more than a few minutes, my stomach is still in a lot of pain (although not as severe), and my eyes and skin are the yellowest they've been (which kind of freaks me out), but I think I'm on the road to recovery.

Stay in prayer over these next few days....

180 Hours Later, a little bit smarter.

I made it to Patagonia, and it was amazing. The whole area. I hiked for 4 days in the "Torres del Paine", which has glaciers that would stop me for hours at a time. Glacier Grey will forever stick in my mind as the most impressive site that my eyes have ever seen in the outdoors. The lakes were the same color blue that I saw at the beatiful beaches of the Carribean. A blue that doesn't make any sense at all in the middle of the mountains. So was it worth it? 180 hours of bus time, just to catch a glimpse of God's beauty and be in a place where the sun doesn't set until 11 oclock pm and rise at 4:30am. Yes, and here are just three moments that stick out.

We met a guy in the city of Osorno, Christian, that went out of his way to help us. He spent his whole day, showing us the city, and then went into the municipal courts to talk to some friends about getting us a free campsite. He didn't even know us, but he served us in unimaginable ways. It was hard at times to just let someone serve you the way he did. Sometimes I just wished he would let us go on our own, but then I realized that that was most likely my pride of not wanting to be helped and served so much. Without people who are willing to be served, what is the point of people who are willing to serve?

At Greys glacier in the Torres del Paine, Randy and I had just hiked 11kms and we came across a Brazilian couple that we got to talking to while overlooking the most amazing glacier. After learning a little bit about each other, Randy asked them a question that opened up a hour long conversation where we just sat and listened: What do you think of Americans? I learned more about that guy, Roberto, in the next hour than I have ever learned about anyone in such a short time. I have yet to meet a Brazilian that I don't like, and I have yet to meet a Brazilian that doesn't hate America. This was so exception. The guy was awesome, and he just talked and talked, while his wife sat there a little embarassed at the things he was saying so openly. By the end of the conversation (which we had to stop because we had to hike the 11km back), it had come to the point that he has lost all faith in Humanity. He told Randy and I that he only trusted 4 people at this point in his life: himself, his wife, and Randy and I. The funny thing is that all he knew about us was that we lived in La Paz and cared about Latin America, and that we both play basketball. Other than that, we just sat and listened to him, which is what so many people need. Just to be listened to, to hear there thoughts and not necessarily hear anything back.

In Arica, only 8 hours from being back in La Paz, Randy and I got asked by a bunch of High School students to play in their Rugby game on the beach. I don't know what it was about being on the beach playing a game that I didn't know very much about that was so refreshing to my soul. Maybe it was nice to call yourself Estadounidense (from the States), and not have people look down on you and even invite you to do something with them. The fact is, most people don't like Americans down here. They hate Bush, and that is usually the first thing I hear about. Most Christians here won't even believe that a Christian COULD vote for Bush. It makes no sense to them. And as soon as you tell them where you're from, it ends any type of a conversation, especailly in Bolivia. There are exceptions of course. This was one of those exceptions, and it was really good for me and my soul. Also, it turns out Randy and I are pretty good at Rugby.

So yeah, I spent 180 hours on buses. But I learned more about the cultures down here in South America. I learned more about how people think in this world. And it made me question many things about the role of the culture in which we are raised. I plan on writing more about the Brazilian couple and what they said in a future blog, but right now I'm still processing.

What is the role of the most powerful nation in the world? Obvious answers to this question don't necessarily mean obvious responses.

----In case you haven't heard, Evo Moralis just won the presidency here in Bolivia. Nobody knows what that means for Bolivia right now, or in the long run. He is the leader of the Socialistic Movement in Bolivia, so only time can tell what is in store for Bolivia. He has a very strong anti-American sentiment, and is working more closely with Chavez of Venezuela and Castro of Cuba.

----Congratulations to my bro Dave on his engagement to Nickie. I wish I could be there with you to celebrate. I am already looking forward to the wedding. Send me pictures of the ring and whatever else when you get the chance.

----A very Happy Birthday to Monica Ghali.

When I get my pictures downloaded, I will post them on the site.

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