News from the Hughes

WOW!  I can't believe it's been over a year since I did a blog update. I've received several requests to do another update... so I decided to just do a recap of ALL that's been going on in 2018. I thought it made the most sense to just recap things as they happened in time! I want to say life in 2018 was pretty routine and uneventful (there were moments), but it's Bolivia -- so of course alot happened! 

Here it goes.... Sorry for all the grammatical errors but it was a bit rushed.

San Lorenzo Builds a Kingdom Hall

One of the major events of 2018 whas the building of the very first Kingdom Hall in San Lorenzo. Many of you may remember that when our family came to Bolivia in 2014 we decided to support a small group in a small town called, San Lorenzo.  At that time (3 1/2 years ago), there were about 18 publishers in the group.  

Now, here it is 3 1/2 years later, the date is December 24, 2018, and we have about 56 publishers with an average meeting attendance off around 75.  What did this explosion of growth mean?????? We needed our own Kingdom Hall (at least that's what Bethel decided).  

So, in April we began building the very first Kingdom Hall in San Lorenzo.  It was a pretty amazing experience.  We're a small congregation and it meant everyone got a chance to help. But, just look at the result.....  I had to post this on YouTube because of the dize, but you can check it out on this link (it starts off slow but picks up with music and stuff):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvI1QFDz6nc&t=18s

Brothers and sisters came from all over the city -- even all over Bolivia to help our small congregation build it's first Kingdom Hall.  Needless to say, we're a bit proud of it.  We even have the big T = technology with 2 large, flat screen TVs to watch all the amazing videos at meetings.  

No more meeting in a small, cramped space with a roof constantly leaking, and a bathroom consntatnly not-working and smelling terrible. 

SAN LORENZO NOW HAS OUR MEETINGS IN STYLE!

A Visit from Family

The building of our Kingdom Hall was originally scheduled to begin in June so my parents had planned a 3-month visit from April to June.  But, the date of our build got moved up to April during the visit of my parents. So, it was a nutty 3 months but it was nice to have them come (this was their 2nd visit to Bolivia) and see us.   

But, they weren't the only ones to come.....  My niece Tabby also came for a visit while my parents were here. I hadn't seen Tabby in 4 years and it was amazing to have her here with us.  Aubri and Pris had a great time with their cuz.

I'm a Grandma!

For me, one of the most exciting things to happen this year was I became a new grandma. Connor and Carla had a little baby girl in August named Leah. I haven't even seen or held her yet but I leave for Spain on January 25th and I'm going to hug and kiss all over that little bundle of joy.  This is one of my favorite videos of Leah: 

And this is one of those moments where I say to myself, "Who raised that boy?"

I Became an On-line English Teacher

I'm not sure how many of you know but in November, 2017 Aburi and I both lost our jobs.  It happened just a few days after the Special Convention in Bolivia. How many of you remember this moment?  It was the last day of the Special Convention when the Bolivian brothers and sisters did this dance to say good-bye to all the delegates that came to visit.  I think I posted this video on Instagram.....

Anway, we had an amazing time only to get home and get knocked off center. Talk about a scary, reality check.  We had some delegates staying with us after the Convention and it was a nice boost for us. It took what felt like a horrible thing and made it not feel so bad.  Then, all our guests went home and we Pris, Aubri, and I sat around looking at each other and trying to figure out what do you do when you're living in another country, and suddenly find yourself without a job -- where's the money?  We need mo money!

You become an on-line English teacher and teach children in another country how to speak English.  So, Aubri and I completely changed careers in 2018 and became on-line English teaches. Not only that, but Pris joined the working gal ranks and also became an on-line English teacher.  YEP, WE'RE ALL DOING IT!

I like the work alot because you get to be creative, while having fun teaching children. It was a bit scary at first.  I mean afterall, I'm a 56 year old woman and it's not easy teaching an old dog new tricks or in my case, an old lady new tricks.  Well, maybe not old but not that young either.  But, I'm having fun with it!

Puddles & Ramsey Died

On a sad note we had 2 of our rescue animals die. I know, I know you're thinking if they died can you really say you rescued them?  One of the challenges for my family has been all the animals that you see sometimes living on the street -- especially the babies. 

We've brought so many baby animals home and while we've found homes for quite a few, we've also kept quite a few.  It's difficult because sometimes when you get these animals they aren't in the best health = many, many, many trips to the vet while you're trying to help them get healthy.  Sometimes you help them in time and sometimes you just don't. 

Puddles was one of those little pups that while he had a good 3 years with us, by the time we got him his health had been affected.  We found out his liver never grew properly, and so after a short but good 3 years with us, he died. 

Our cat named Ramsey's was pretty healthy but he was poisoned.  It happens here when people put out poison to kill rats and then if your cat kills the rat that ate the jacked-up food ..... well, it affects them too.  So, we were down to 2 animals and we had a big family meeting, determined to not take anymore.  So, we made it 4 months and then.......  

The Regional English Convention

You may not remember but every year since October, 2015 the Bethel Branch has lovingly hosted our Regional Convention in English.  For those of us that just can't seem to get passed learning basic Spanish, these conventions are a life-saver.  So, in November 2019 we headed off to the city of Santa Cruz to attend our 3-day convention hosted by Bethel in English!

Most of you already attend the convention by the time we go but it was still absolutely wonderful.  It's a time when we get to see friends, go out to eat, and visit with ones serving in other parts of Bolivia that we haven't seen for a long time. 

Then, these 2 little rescue kittens happened.....  Pris met a sister at the convention whose from England and she found these 2 little kittens. Yadda, yadda, yadda we had the fun experience of trying to get 2 poopy kittens who had parasites and were sick back home on a 14-hour bus ride.

YUCK! 

Once again it was back to the vet many, many, many times but I'm happy to say both of our new kittens are doing better, they're growing, and turned into healthy cats!

Tried Using Facebook and Instagram

Hated them both. I don't know why but I honestly don't like either one of these, which is another reason I'm back to doing the blog.

Said Goodbye to Another Friend

When you come to a place like Bolivia, you meet and make friends with amazing brothers and sisters from all over the world. It's one of the blessings you get in stepping over into Macedonia. It's an amazing things to make good and close friends from everywhere that you keep in touch with and maintain a close friendship with!

But, it's bitter sweet because you know eventually most of them will leave. It's either time for them to go home, or for some it just means going to another assignment.  So, we also said goodbye to our dear friend, Karen.  Some of you had the wonderful experience of knowing her and becoming her friend.  Others go to know Karen at Connor's wedding.  But, for those of you that don't....

Karen has been in Bolivia about as long as I have.  We're about the same age, and we both started going to San Lorenzo when it was just a small group. Over the last 3 years she's been there for so many brothers.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that she's going to be missed by not just the friends living in Tarija, but many others living in other parts of Bolivia.  So of course we had to send her off in true Bolivian style.... Can you find Aubri & Pris in this dance?

BYE KAREN AND WE WISH YOU ALL THE BEST!

It's Kingdom Hall Dedication Time

So, I decided this was a good place to stop. We had the dedication of our new Kingdom Hall on January 13th. Here are a few special moments of that day!

So, that about wraps up 2018.  I hope you had fun with the photos and videos.  Today, it's March 20, 2019, I just got back from visiting Connor and his family in Spain.  I had a blast getting to know my new granddaughter and I'm hoping to move to Spain in October..... WHAAAAAAT!  But, that's for another day!  

I hope all of you are well and you're in my thoughts.

News from the Hughes…

I hope this message finds all of you doing well (as any of us can be in this world).  Things have been going good here and the girls and I are gearing up for a 2-month visit to see friends and family (Connor & Carla) in Europe. I'm looking foward to spending some time with my son and his new wife.  I'm crazy about Carla but the truth is I've only been able to spend a short time with her (2 months).  So, I'm going to make the most of this visit.

I'm excited that some of you have expressed an interest in coming to visit us in Bolvia -- WE LOVE HAVING VISITORS! The girls and I are hoping to visit the US next year and see everyone. As of today my plan is stay in Bolivia at least 1 more year and then figure out after that what to do.  The girls and I can get our permanent Bolivian residency in March 2018, which allows us to leave the country for up to 2 years. So, we're planning on getting our Permanent Residency! After that -- who knows! I like it here – I really do – and the preaching is like nothing I’ve experienced before.  But, after 2 ½ years I still struggle with the language, and I’m not getting any younger either. We’ll see what the future holds!

So, what's been going on here the last 2 months?  Well, of course there was all the excitement of writing and sending in our letters to Russia – WHY DOES RUSSIA GOTTA BE SO MEAN?  Bolivia has a Russian Consulate in La Paz and so the Bethel Branch sent out instructions that our letters could be sent to the Consulate here – which the Bolivian brothers & sisters did in full force.  It was really cool to hear stores from all over the world of experiences everyone was having in sending in their letters.  It was also really encouraging to be in Bolivia and yet feel part of this campaign to try and assist our dear friends and to see the friends all over Bolivia mobilize so quickly in support of each other.

Highlights of the San Lorenzo Memorial….

Of course the biggest highlight was the Memorial.  This year was special for San Lorenzo because we held two Memorials – one in San Lorenzo and another in a part of our territory called, “Carachimayo.  San Lorenzo doesn’t have its own Kingdom Hall yet, we rent a space for our meetings.  But, it’s Bolivia -- and so in addition to the general cleaning and upkeep, when damage happens from the rain and other major problems, the brothers and sisters have to take care of that! But, we’re Jehovah’s people – we’ve got this! There was plenty of work for all in our little make-shift Kingdom hall and even I was able to lend a hand.   

THE END RESULT…We head 87 in attendance in San Lorenzo (32 Publishers and 55 visitors)

But, as I mentioned earlier we also had 16 of our publishers travel to  Carachimayo for the day to clean and get the space ready for the 46 visitors that came = a total attendance of 62. 

So, for a congregation of about 48 Publishers we had a total attendance at both memorials of 149. Come on guys, you know you want to come and be a part of this. 

And while we couldn’t share this special time with Connor & Carla or Ben & Dawn, they made sure we were included.  And yes, that is Ben and Dawn’s new baby girl. Luna.

Special Visitors...


So, it’s pretty normal for someone in our congregation to have visitors.  For us, the month of March brought us our good friend Jamie. Some of you know her, she’s a sister that was in the Grandview Congregation in Indianapolis, and during our time at Grandview we all got really close.  Jamie now lives in Georgia and we hadn’t seen her for 2 ½ years. BUT NOW, here she was in Bolivia! It was just really special!

I was just so impressed with this little gal, who is no bigger than a minute, and yet was hiking up and down mountains, learning Spanish, and just taking all the newness of Bolivia in stride – and believe me when I say there is a lot here to adjust to. But Jamie did it and enjoyed her time here. The truth is that Bolivia is not everyone’s cup of tea.  It’s the poorest country in South America and it’s just very different from what we’re use to in more developed countries.  But Jamie not only adjusted but really liked Bolivia.

Who knows, maybe someday we’ll wake up and find that this Little Lady is coming to Bolivia long-term.  Dare I hope?  Anyway, to end her visit Aubri and Pris flew with her back to Santa Cruz to catch her flight home. But, before leaving the girls got to spend a few days together in Santa Cruz.

Some other visitors we had were two gals from California (friends of Fritz & Kathy Grainer) for a few weeks.  No, you're not seeing doble -- they're twins! It was cool because they came while Jamie was here and we all got to hang out a bit before Jamie left. Coral and Hunter were here for about 6 weeks and it was sooooooo nice having them here.  These gals have been to other countries before to preach including Ireland and Nicaragua and now they were here!  They were so much fun and the kinda of gals that you want so badly to make plans to move here. But, we enjoyed the time they were here and the girls even got to have a sleep-over with Aubri & Pris. COME BACK SOON BABY DOLLS!

Monty & Loretta (also from Indianapolis) arrived in Tarija, Bolivia a few days before the Memorial.   They’ve been serving in the Noblesville Spanish Congregation for about 3 years now, but they're here and we're hoping they'll stay for at least 1 year (if not longer).  Some of you know the Dinis’ from Indianapolis, while others might remember seeing Monty giving talks at the Circuit Assembly. 

The Dinis’ had visited Bolivia about 3 years ago, and spent about 2 months helping a little town called Irupana in Los Yungas.  It was a cool thing for us because Connor happened to be living in Irupana during their visit.  So, while we knew the Dinis Family from afar, we got to become friends.  Now they’re here and what’s really nice for us is that they’ll be helping out our little congregation in San Lorenzo – HOORAY!

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST Andy & Natalie visited our family for a couple of weeks.  These kids are originally from Manchester, England but have been serving in a small town about 6 hours from Santa Cruz for the last 9 years.  We had a really nice time with them, despite all of us coming down with some nasty, nasty, mean flu bug. We're looking forward to seeing them again -- hopefully the end of October!

Who Remembers George?

I’m constantly amazed at how Jehovah’s organization is worldwide, and yet we’re always bumping into each other.   Many of you remember when we had George Alzin as a Circuit Overseer in Indianapolis. There is a couple from New Jersey that moved to Bolivia over a year ago and they were in  George’s old congregation back in New Jersey.  This couple is super cool (Jose and Karen Portugal) and he’s actually from Bolivia but has lived the last 30 years in the US. Anyway, after Jose retired they decided to move to Bolivia (we need brothers soooooo bad – I know, I sound like a broken record). 

Anyway, a couple of months ago the Portugal’s went back to the states for a wedding and got to visit with their old pal – George Alzin!  He even remembered our family and the kids (George was one of the teacher’s at Aubri and Connor’s Pioneer School), and sent a big HELLO to us in Bolivia!  

But, that wasn’t all…. Just a few weeks later we get this photo from a friend of ours whose from Bolivia, met Ann Heile at Connor’s wedding, and the two of them just happen to bump into each other at Warwick.  They both just happened to be visiting Warwick at the same time – what are the odds?

Ben & Dawn Have Their Baby

Another nice highlight for me was the arrival of Little Luna.  I’m waiting for Dawn to tell me to stop calling her that.  Her name is just Luna. But don’t you think Little Luna has a ring to it? Anyway, this little bundle of joy arrived on April 3^rd, blonde hair and blue-eyed like her mother.  Welcome to the world Little Princess! SHE’S SOOOOO BEAUTIFUL! But I know I’m a little biased!  We'll be visiting Ben, Dawn, & Luna this August -- I can't wait!

Special Highlights in Bolivia….

Something special that happened to us was that the girls and I received a Letter of Invitation from Bethel to attend this year’s Special Convention in Bolivia.  The Branch put together this really cool website where you can see photos of Bolivia and other information regarding this special event.  We’re super excited to have been invited (I haven’t been to anything like this since the International Convention in Indianapolis).  And we’re trying to figure out what traditional Bolivian dress we want to wear for this special Convention.  Anyway, you can check out news about the Special Convention here:

https://bo.jw2017.org/

Some other cool news is the Bolivian Bethel recently purchased a boat specifically for preaching trips up and down the river. Some of you may remember a segment in the broadcast where a group of brothers & sisters went on a 40-day boat trip up and down the river to preach.  The Bethel invited Regular Pioneers, 20 years old to apply if they would like to be a part of a river preaching trip.  Aubri is seriously wanting to apply!  But, for those of you that always wanted to be Tarzan of the Jungle – just come here and see what happens!

Fun Parties – San Lorenzo Style….

AIN'T NO PARTY LIKE A SAN LORENZO PARTY! We had a couple of parties the last few weeks.  One was primarily focused on the young one’s in our congregation -- but everyone was invited.  It was soooooo nice.  Karen organized everything at her house and there were all kinds of arts and crafts including a self-made Sandbox/Cardboard castle, Making Giant Bubbles, Face Painting, Make Your Own Candy Necklaces, Decorating Cupcakes, and games. 

Everyone (adults & kids) had a blast!

Then a couple of weeks later the gals got together from all over Tarija for a Clothes Swap Party.  I had never heard of anything like a Clothes Swap Party until I came to Bolivia – BUT, I’VE BEEN TO 4 AND I LOVE THEM!  It’ a chance for gals to get together, have treats, and exchange clothes, shoes, purses, jewelry – you name it! Sometimes it’s just gals but sometimes (like this party) the guys get to come too and do their own Guy Thing!

Then about one week after that was a congregation party to say good-bye to Hunter & Coral (the twins), to welcome Monty & Loretta, and to celebrate the first Public Talk of one of our Ministerial Servants.  Fritz & Kathy didn’t want to focus too much on this -- but it was also a Going Away for the Grainers.  Fritz and Kathy were recently asked by the C.O. to switch congregations to help out a new congregation that’s being formed in another area.  We’re all sad they’re leaving San Lorenzo, but we have plans to still see them a lot – they’re still close bye.

The girls did a Bolivian Dance (of course)!

And a good friend and sister in our congregation sang for everyone.

It was a fun day of good friends & food -- fun for all!

Pet Update – Yeah, this is all!

Preaching Moments from San Lorenzo…

So, my blog update wouldn't be complete without a video of preaching moments including GOOD COMPANIONS...... RIVER CROSSING …..  ANIMAL LOVING…. AND OF COURSE MOUNTAINS…

Until next time, LOVE, HUGS, AND KISSES FROM TRACY

WAIT, JUST ONE MORE THING...... So, I got this really cute video of what life might be like in the new world complete with cute giraffs. I thought you guys might like to watch it.  It's just fun!

News from the Hughes - Whew! Life is Back to Normal

After all of the activity the last few months, life is back to normal -- you know -- working, going out in the ministry, hanging out with friends – the usual stuff!  I still have my days where I miss Connor, Carla, Ben, and Dawn, but we’ve also had some new families move in. Getting to know them and making new friends has helped with missing the kids.  We’re still planning on visiting Europe this Summer to see everyone, but it’s just not the same as having the kids with us in Bolivia.

It’s funny how many people ask me about Ben and Dawn.  While most of you have never met them, you’ve gotten to know them a little bit from the Blog.  So, for those of you wanting to know – she’s doing really well!  I can’t believe how fast time has gone by and Little Luna will be here the end of March. Dawn is one of those truly beautiful, pregnant women and just glows.  Because the Memorial is on April 11th (just around the corner), the kids are really hoping their little darling isn't tardy and arrives on time!

I really wish the girls and I could be with her right now. But, she sends us videos and photos to help us be a part of the experience. The kids have been working hard to get Luna's room all ready and it's really cute!

The San Lorenzo congregation seems to be growing quickly and it’s hard to believe that just 1 ½ years ago we were this little group of 16 publishers.  Now, we’re going strong with about 50 Publishers and more families are coming each month. One of the new families we’ve gotten is a couple from Finland – Jon Eric & Joanna.  They’re both really nice and remind me of Steve & Kelly Ramsey -- Finnish Style!

We also had visitors from Italy for 2 weeks.  They 

came to visit a family in our congregation from Italy – the Petrazzoli’s.  It was nice getting to know them and they gave us an invitation to visit them next Summer. So, we’re trying to see if that’s possible. Ah, so many places I want to see -- so little money.

We had a lovely sister visit from Santa Cruz, Bolivia with her two children and had a nice time visiting and getting to know them. 

We also had visitors from England for the month of February – Stephen & Sophie.  They stayed in the little house next door (Ben & Dawn's old house). They were lovely!  I'm not just saying that because they brought us so many nice gifts including huge chocolate bars, good ole' English tea, perfumes and make-up.  We loved us some Stephen & Sophie.

We're planning on visiting with them a few days when we visit England this Summer and for now we keep trying to convince them to just move to Bolivia.  The kids are musical and so Stephen teaches guitar and Sophie has this amazing singing voice -- which you'll see later in the blog.

For me, something that has been really special is that Aubri started Regular Pioneering again in January.  After all of the nonsense of the last 3 1/2 years, it’s been really nice to see her living again in Bolivia and Regular Pioneering.  Most of you know about my battle with cancer and how awful and unexpected it was.  Aubri was serving in Los Yungas in Bolivia when Andy had to call her from the hospital and explain how I had been admitted as an emergency.  It was so awful for her! 

Fritz and Kathy Grainer -- who are now in our congregation in San Lorenzo -- but who were serving in Irupana with Aubri -- traveled with her the 5-hours to La Paz and got her on an airplane to fly home. 

Within a couple of days, I found myself still in the hospital but looking into Aubri’s face. She didn’t blink twice, just came home to be there for her family -- despite loving Bolivia so much.  Don’t get me wrong, all of the kids were Rock Stars during that awful time and what followed later.  They’ve all played a special role at different times in being there for the family and helping us to muddle through – sometimes just by their example of faithful service to Jehovah. But, being the oldest child, Aubri gave up so much to be there for everyone. She put her own goals and dreams on hold to be there for me and her younger brother and sister. 

I can honestly say it’s because of Aubri’s encouragement that we all ended up in Bolivia as a family.  AND NOW --To see her once again serving in Bolivia, once again Regular Pioneering , once again with Fritz & Kathy – it makes my heart really happy.   

AUBRI IS GOING TO HATE THAT I WROTE ALL OF THIS ABOUT HER BUT SHE’S HONESTLY AN AMAZING SISTER THAT I RESPECT SO MUCH.  I WANT TO BE LIKE AUBRI WHEN I GROW UP.

San Lorenzo Goes Camping….

One cool thing our congregation did was to organize and go on a over-night camping trip.  The girls and I didn’t go.  We’re honestly not big campers and I can barely hack camping in the US let alone – Bolivian Style. But, we heard everyone had fun and I thought you might enjoy this video of their weekend.

A Visit to El Valle & Looking for Dinosaur Bones…

So, I told you how Stephen & Sophie visited from England last month.  We had such a nice time getting to know them and making new friends.  While they were here we did a lot of things together including visiting the Valley (El Valle).  The grapes were ready for picking and everywhere people were harvesting their grapes for eating and making wine.

We spent most of our day with the Majors who took us around preaching, visiting with some of their return visits and just enjoying the beauty of El Valle.

Stephen even made a new friend.  











It was a really nice day!

As part of showing the kids El Valle, we also got to explore for Dinosaur bones with some of the other brothers & sisters. It was a really cool experience, but I’m not gonna lie -- I honestly felt like I was going to fall off the side of a cliff. But, thanks to Nate’s help, I made it. It was really cool!

I’ve been told that until recently, Tarija hasn't been the focus of much archelogial diggings.  But now, more and more Archeologists are wanting to come and look for bones.  They believe there are lots and lots still in the ground, buried deep.

But, just from our little hike you could see lots of bones lying everywhere on the ground.  What was cool is that they just let you pick them up and examine them.  You can’t take any but you can touch them as much as you want.

Pris really misses her partners in crime (Ben & Connor) because with those two she had 2 adventure-loving daredevils she could pal around with.  But this day, Nate filled in the role of older brother. Except, everytime I turned around it felt like him and Pris were climbing up some steep cliff or crevice.  I spent the whole afternoon begging the two of them to stop and come down. But, Pris had a lot of fun, even when she fell on her butt! INDIANA JONES MUCH?

Sunday was spent going to El Valle's meeting and then heading to a Pitch-in to say good-bye to Nate & Amanda.  As many of these gatherings as I’ve been to, it never gets any easier.  Amanda and Nate were in Bolivia for almost 3 years but are going back to the states for a bit.  I’m going to miss the kids so much but I really hope we get to see each other again.  I’m going to try and have a plan to make sure we do – either we’ll all meet up in Europe or at their new place in the states.

But their congregation wanted to do something special for them -- so friends came from all over Tairja to say Good-Bye!

The CO’s Visit....

We recently had the visit of our new Circuit Overseer and his wife.  It was an extra special week of activity for everyone.  We got to have them over for lunch with other brothers and sisters.  There were about 16 of us and what made it really nice for me was that Aubri did all of the cooking!!!

The CO had another couple with them – a Special Pioneer couple who were really nice and were getting ready to head off to their new assignement.  We really enjoyed spending time with them.

No, You Can’t Come Home With Us…

A couple of weeks ago we were out preaching along the main road of Tarija when we turn around to find this little donkey had broken free and is just following us. No matter what we did, we couldn’t make it leave. 

It started walking along in the middle of the road and Pris got scared it would get hit.  So, little Animal Lover that she is….

Connor & Carla Udate...
The kids are doing well.  Connor is now an official citizen of Barcelona, Spain and is teaching English there. The kids are still in the Catalan congregation and are enjoying the new addition to their family.

But they've had some serious stuff going on the last few months. Not to long after the wedding Carla's grandmother got really ill. Sadly, she never got better, and passed away a couple of weeks ago.  Carla's grandma was this really special little lady who served Jehovah in Spain when it was illegeal to be a Jehovah's Witness.  

I didn't get to spend alot of time with her but she had these amazing stores of what it was like serving Jehovah under the rule of Franco. I was really impressed by her zeal and love for Jehovah, and look forward to spending more time with her in the New World.

It's times like this when I wished we lived closer to the kids and I could have just hugged everyone and personally been there for Carla and her family. In August, I plan on giving her lots and lots of hugs and kisses.

Preaching at 10,000 feet….

One thing we recently got invited to do was a preaching trip in the mountains. I know, I know, most of our territory is in the mountains so how is this any different?  The last few weeks our brothers have been exploring other and more remote areas of our territory (some as much as 4 hours away) and so we got invited to go preach in one of those new areas.  It was pretty amazing!

Since a picture is worth a thousand words – and yaw'al know how much I love to talk, I thought it would just be nicer to share these videos.  They can show you how nice it was better than my words.

Saying Good-Bye to Stephen & Sophie....

So, after a nice month with the kids from England, it was time to say good-bye.  I REALLY HATE GOOD-BYE'S.  I know life is about change and espcially here -- people come and go and sometimes come back.  But, you get so close to the friends here and you want them stay close-bye but they can't always do that.  So, we had the congregation over for one last fiesta with Stephen & Sophie and got this wonderful treat -- the kids sang and played the guitar for us.

OK, so that’s all we’ve been up to the last couple of months.  I really do try and stay in touch with everyone, responding to emails and messages on Whats App.  But, I know I do a better job with some than others. Just know if you message me I do try and respond.

I miss everyone and here is one last preaching video – hope you enjoy! 

No, Wait! I want to share just one more video...

Love always.... Tracy