News from the Hughes

Faster Your Seat Belts…. It’s Going To Be A Bumpy Ride!

We’re still trying to get into a steady routine of Spanish Classes, Meetings, Personal Study in English and Spanish, Field Service, and supporting both the South Congregation and Padcaya Group (1 hour away).  Not to mention we still have to work 3 days per week. Being so busy is really challenging, but it's also helping us to make friends fast and immerse us in our new life here.

The process of applying for our one-year residency has been really involved and time-consuming, but had been going really smooth (UP TILL NOW)!  The day that we go to Immigration to apply for our one-year residency, we are told that just the day before, a new law was passed whereby you can no longer apply for residency in Bolivia.  The only exceptions are if you have Bolivian family, work for a company in Bolivia, or have come for specialized health care – WHAT THE WHAT?

The law has just been passed, so the lady at Immigration, who we are told is usually really nice, has now turned into this stressed out, grumpy, and frustrated woman.  Not only does this change affect us, it affects a lot of the Need Greaters.  It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been here -- 1, 2, 3 years, unless you have already gotten your permanent residency (which most of us haven’t), we are told that you can no longer get a Residency Visa.  We are asked to come back next week (which we do) – only to be told they still can’t help us – come back again next week.  Our Specific Purpose Visa, which is good for 30 days while you request residency, has now expired.  They can’t give us an extension today, but maybe next week.  Talk about being frustrated.  But what can you do in Satan’s whacky world?  We just keep doing what we came here to do. 

Up until now, I’ve been scared about going with the girls to preach in the mountains because it’s a 12-hour preaching day walking across a lot of rugged terrain. But, after the experience at Immigration and knowing that any day we might be kicked out of Bolivia, I decide I’m going.  So, today we spend the day preaching in the mountains of Padcaya. It takes us 1 hour to get there, and then sometimes another 20 to 40 minutes to reach nearby towns. Tarija is dry and so the mountains remind you of the Rockies or even some parts of Mexico.  There are cactus and thorn bushes everywhere. 

As we travel down the dusty road to find houses, it’s nothing to see cows and sheep just walking along -- even in town. At one point I go around the corner to get to a house and come face to face with 3 large pigs who are taking a nice leisurely stroll through town. At another house we knock on the door, and two chickens pop out on the veranda – that one did scare me!  The girls even saw a monkey. But in just one day of preaching, I get 6 return visits where I read a scripture (because of my limited Spanish I only read 1 scripture but most of the friends will read 2-4), and place literature – AND THAT WAS JUST ME!   

As the day goes on, I see a bull in the distance and of course, being a city girl, I’m excited, I get out of the car to get a picture, waiting for him to get closer and just as I’m ready to get that up close and personal shot, I hear Aubri’s voice and others telling me to get back into the car. He’s gotten close really fast, and I suddenly notice he’s huge, has these really big horns, and at any minute he could charge at me, and so I quickly jump back into the car.  So, instead of getting a cool picture I only got this one from the safety of the car.

But what makes the day so nice is the response of those in the territory.  The whole day is just filled with meeting and talking to really nice people who are respectful of our message – even the teenagers.  For me personally, I’ve never experienced anything like this before, and I come home tired, but realizing “I DID IT, AND IT WAS REALLY FUN!”

In such a short time, we’ve made some really good friends here (both Bolivian and non-Bolivian), and while it’s still hard sometimes not being around our dear friends in Good Ole’ Indy and other parts of the U.S., we think about all of you and hope you think about us.  

Oh yeah, and the next time we go back to the Immigration office, they give us a 90-day extension on our visa, and because Aubri and I have jobs in the States, they are now going to let us get a one-year visa.  But, we’re still not sure how the change will affect other Need Greaters.  For those of you that were coming to Bolivia next year, the government is supposed to be releasing additional information on December 4th that should give you more options for getting a Residency in Bolivia.  I'll keep you posted. Until Next Time – Love The Hughes Family

News from the Hughes

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY OF BEING IN BOLIVIA….. 

The weather here has been nice.  We live in a city surrounded by mountains and we’re going into our Summer = Rainy Season. So, while the day can get a bit hot, it’s usually a dry heat and at night the mountains tend to cool things down.  Tarija is a bit dry and when we first got here everything looked brown.  But now that it's raining, the mountains are turning green and pretty. After being in Bolivia for 10 days we have to head off to Cochabamba for the First English Speaking District (now Regional) Convention.  We decide to fly there because it will only take 1-hour vs. a 16-hour bus ride through the mountains.  Connor lives about 22 hours away from us and so he meets us in Cochabamba. 

As soon as we get to our hotel, I make a big mistake – THE BAD!  I flush some toilet paper in the hotel’s toilet.  I swear, it couldn’t have been more than 4 or 5 squares, but the hotel staff come up, shake their heads at me, and it becomes this huge problem to try and fix. For the rest of my stay in Cochabamba I’m constantly met with signs (even at the Regional Convention) to not flush your toilet paper, but throw it away, and I’m so proud of myself because I’m obedient and do it.  It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and the friends were very diligent at cleaning out the trash bins to keep everything nice and tidy.  Bolivians don't flush toilet paper, they throw it away -- no exceptions!

THE CONVENTION IS AMAZING – THE GOOD! We arrive on Wednesday and the next day the kids head off to the convention site to volunteer to get everything clean and set-up for the program. It turns out really nice.

There are about 25,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Bolivia, and of those about 638 are Foreign Need Greaters. So, you can see there is a lot of work to be done. The Need Greaters are from 30 different countries including the US, Spain, England, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Korea, and the list goes on….  Friends come from all over Bolivia to attend.  Having an English-speaking convention is something special the Branch has done to help encourage those who have come to Bolivia to serve. So, everyone is excited to be here.

The talks are all given by Gilead graduates, Bethelites, Circuit Overseers and I think to myself, “I don’t belong with this crowd -- I’ve only been in Bolivia for 2 weeks -- I’m not one of them.”  But everyone makes you feel so welcome and treats you like they are so happy you’ve come to Bolivia.  The Convention has more the feel of a Family Reunion, and everyone giving talks and having parts are just relaxed and not afraid to have fun and laugh on stage. The talks (while the same as other Regional Conventions) have been personalized to address the challenges of living in Bolivia, to encourage us regarding the choices we’ve made, and as each brother comes on stage you can’t help but wonder, “What country is he from and what accent will he have?” 

This is Carol.  She’s a sister from England that has been serving in Bolivia for 35 years and is currently at Bethel. Carol sat in back of us for one of the days, told me she knew Connor, and just started talking to me and giving me words of encouragment.  People do that all the time here -- the other Need Greaters go out of their way to share their own experiences, challenges, and give you encouragment regarding your decision to come to Bolivia.

Can you believe who we ran into at the convention – it’s Jacob McLaughlin from our old congregation in Indianapolis.  What a cool thing to see him.

In just the 2 weeks that we’ve been here the girls have made so many new friends with sisters from all over  Bolivia who have invited them to come and visit them in their assignment.  

So that the Need Greaters could get the most out of the program, local Bolivian brothers and sisters have been behind the scenes doing all the work that attendees would otherwise do.  They didn’t attend the convention because they don’t speak English, but just worked really hard to give us the nicest convention possible. As we prepare to leave a group of Bolivian brothers and sisters give us this loving farewell.  They announced at the convention that they are going to try and have another English-speaking convention next year -- YEAH!

Connor came back to Tarija with us to stay for 2 weeks. But 2 days after we get home he gets a call from his Circuit Overseer.  He is being appointed as a Ministerial Servant and they need him ASAP to move with a single Elder to a more remote town in the Rain Forest.  I feel a bit bad for him because he’s a little panicked.  Now only has he been told he’s going to be a M.S. but they want him to move to an even more rural area where only he and this Elder will be the appointed brothers. The Circuit Overseer doesn’t pressure him to say yes, he only tells him that after much prayer, they feel like he’s a good fit for this assignment (NO PRESSURE)!  So, now he’ll be living even farther away from us!  But he also has to cut his visit with us short and head back home to get ready for his new assignment.

On one of our field service days we come across what is supposed to be a good restaurant known for their really good pork.  They are just getting the place set-up for dinner later. Now this is something you don’t see every day in Indianapolis – THE UGLY!

I also have my first battle with a Bolivian parasite -- AND I LOST.  It was also pretty ugly.  But the girls run to the local Farmacia (pharmacy) get me some meds and in 3-days time, I'm on the mend. I've been told that no matter how careful you are, everyone eventually gets sick here.  I've been really careful what I eat and drink, but you meet so many different people and the standard greeting is to hug and kiss each other on the cheek.  It's a custom I love about Bolivia because it just a few seconds, you have this really intimate contact that sort of just sparks instant friendship.  But, you can also sometimes get sick too.  Oh well, it was worth it!

It’s really amazing to be here and have a share in the preaching work.  Every congregation in Tarija is assigned rural territory in the mountains to work, and many of them are trying to get groups organized in these remote areas (usually 30 minutes to 1-hour away). Jaina has been going out in service alot with the Ketchawan congregation and is learning Ketchawa (in addition to Spanish). So, we’ve been visiting congregations, going out in service with their groups, and trying to figure out what is the best fit for us here. It's hard because no matter where you go, there is a need and you want to be part of everything and help every group here, but you just can't.

We re leaning towards joining the South congregation, and if we do, our life will consit every Friday of traveling 1-hour to reach the territory, having a 10-hour preaching trip in the mountains, going to meeting in the city to still suport the South congregation on Saturday, then turning around and going back to the moutains (still 1-hour away) to support the Group's Sunday Meeting.  Oh yeah, and we started our Spanish classes this week -- busy, busy, busy -- but who of Jehovah's people aren't?  So, today is November 12th and Connor leaves this morning to head off to his new assignment.  We're a bit sad but know we'll see him soon. Well, that's all the news and here are a few more pictures I hope you enjoy.  UNTIL NEXT TIME.  Love the Hughes Family.