News from the Hughes…..
HI EVERYONE! There
has been a lot going on since my last blog update (almost 2 months ago). It’s been hard finding the time I would like
to let our friends and family know we’re OK!
BUT WE
ARE OK! When I first started this blog, its main purpose was to keep
in touch with our dear friends and family back in the states. We wanted to let everyone know we
HADN'T BEEN EATEN BY A PYTHON
WE HADN'T FALL OFF A CLIFF IN THE MOUNTAINS
OR BEEN TAKEN CAPTIVE BY ANY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
So, the tone of the blog is more of a personal letter to people that know our family well. As such, it's often included expressions of my wacky sense of humor, commentary on our challenges here, and even the occasional out-pouring of emotions. But as time has gone by, more and more people have started reading the blog, and while I hope the blog is enjoyable for everyone, please remember that it’s written from the perspective of a personal letter to those that knew our family well.
So, now on with the show……
HADN'T BEEN EATEN BY A PYTHON
WE HADN'T FALL OFF A CLIFF IN THE MOUNTAINS
OR BEEN TAKEN CAPTIVE BY ANY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
So, the tone of the blog is more of a personal letter to people that know our family well. As such, it's often included expressions of my wacky sense of humor, commentary on our challenges here, and even the occasional out-pouring of emotions. But as time has gone by, more and more people have started reading the blog, and while I hope the blog is enjoyable for everyone, please remember that it’s written from the perspective of a personal letter to those that knew our family well.
So, now on with the show……
As I said above, a lot has been going on the last
few weeks. I thought it would be easiest
to just list below the order of events that have occurred in our lives…..
Connor Coming to
Tarija...
Connor
coming to Tarija has been a really wonderful change for our family. He moved to
Tarija from Tipuani shortly after the Memorial, and it’s been nice having him so close. Whereas it use to take 18 hours of travel to
see him, now he’s only 35 minutes away in San Lorenzo. Connor lives with a Regular Pioneer couple
from England named Ben & Dawn.
I really love these kids. If I had decided to have 4 children instead of three, I would have loved having Ben as my oldest kid. And if he had then brought home Dawn as his wife, I would have been thrilled. Ben’s mom died a few years ago and I’m adopting him as my own. Ben and Dawn have made us feel like we’re family, including giving Connor a place to rent, and being there for me and the girls. They are a lot of fun but also really spiritually encouraging to be around.
They have this really cool Bolivian house in the country. There is a big courtyard in the middle and then you have all these rooms that come off the courtyard including 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a huge living/kitchen/meeting room where they have meetings, and then a back area where Ben and Connor are raising 5 chickens. They also use their place for pitch-ins. But what makes these kids so special is their willing spirit to be here and serve in Bolivia away from their friends and family. There was a family that came to San Lorenzo from Argentina to serve but then the mom got really sick and they had to go back to Argentina to get her medical care. They got a call yesterday from the family that she's not doing very good, and they think the mom is dying. The family is feeling a bit scared and just wanted a friendly voice to talk to. I never had the chance to meet them, but they've been in the group for awhile and so they called Ben. The next day, he and Dawn hoped on a bus to make a 8-hour trip to Argentina to just be there for this family, and do what they can to help them not feel so over-whelmed. YEAH, THEY'RE PRETTY GREAT!
Connor has been in Bolivia for about 18 months now, and most of that time has been spent in somewhat isolated areas where there hasn't been alot of support or Witnesses. His closest congregation has been 2 to 3 hours away. Now, he's in a group of 23 Publishers and his congregation is only 20 minutes away.
He really likes it here, and he gave his first public talk in Tarija 2 weeks ago. He honestly doesn't like it when I put stuff like this on the blog about him. But, I wanted our close friends and family to know he's doing really well here in Bolivia. So, here it goes..... I'll just deal with the repercussions later.
I really love these kids. If I had decided to have 4 children instead of three, I would have loved having Ben as my oldest kid. And if he had then brought home Dawn as his wife, I would have been thrilled. Ben’s mom died a few years ago and I’m adopting him as my own. Ben and Dawn have made us feel like we’re family, including giving Connor a place to rent, and being there for me and the girls. They are a lot of fun but also really spiritually encouraging to be around.
They have this really cool Bolivian house in the country. There is a big courtyard in the middle and then you have all these rooms that come off the courtyard including 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a huge living/kitchen/meeting room where they have meetings, and then a back area where Ben and Connor are raising 5 chickens. They also use their place for pitch-ins. But what makes these kids so special is their willing spirit to be here and serve in Bolivia away from their friends and family. There was a family that came to San Lorenzo from Argentina to serve but then the mom got really sick and they had to go back to Argentina to get her medical care. They got a call yesterday from the family that she's not doing very good, and they think the mom is dying. The family is feeling a bit scared and just wanted a friendly voice to talk to. I never had the chance to meet them, but they've been in the group for awhile and so they called Ben. The next day, he and Dawn hoped on a bus to make a 8-hour trip to Argentina to just be there for this family, and do what they can to help them not feel so over-whelmed. YEAH, THEY'RE PRETTY GREAT!
Connor has been in Bolivia for about 18 months now, and most of that time has been spent in somewhat isolated areas where there hasn't been alot of support or Witnesses. His closest congregation has been 2 to 3 hours away. Now, he's in a group of 23 Publishers and his congregation is only 20 minutes away.
He really likes it here, and he gave his first public talk in Tarija 2 weeks ago. He honestly doesn't like it when I put stuff like this on the blog about him. But, I wanted our close friends and family to know he's doing really well here in Bolivia. So, here it goes..... I'll just deal with the repercussions later.
Aubri and I Can Keep Working from Bolivia!
That was amazing news! For weeks we had been on pins
and needles waiting and praying and praying…… and praying - - asking Jehovah for direction regarding our
work situation, and if Bolivia was really the place for our family right
now. It honestly seemed at first that they
weren’t going to let us stay. But, then
in an amazing turn of events, we had this wonderful phone meeting with our boss
who said they are really comfortable with how things are going, and that we can
stay in Bolivia long-term. But, the weird thing is that the day we found out we
were so happy and relieved. Then, the
next day the reality of things hit us and we sort of felt a bit sad at not
having an excuse to go home. It was really weird…. But knowing now that our
life is now here felt very bittersweet! I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. The longer that I'm in Bolivia, the less strange it feels and the more I see where we could be happy here. But, it's hard not to still miss Indy, our friends back in the U.S. and our family. So, while it's exciting to see things take shape for us here, it's also a bit sad. I know it's time to move on now, but doing so is sometimes easier said than done!
Navi, Our New Puppy Died – Our cute little puppy that we
brought back with us from Tipuani died of Porvo. She was this really pretty blonde, blue-eyed rescue dog. But, it’s always a gamble when you try and adopt a puppy in Bolivia, they don't get the best care, and so they can get sick really
easy. We knew the risks, but it was really sad watching her get so sick and in
the end, she had to be put to sleep. So,
for the last few weeks we’ve all been in a state of mourning. YOU HAVE TO BE A REAL DOG LOVER TO UNDERSTAND!
We Got Two More Babies to Ease Our Pain -- We're Nuts, I Know!
So, in our wisdom we decided the best remedy for our sadness over Navi was to try and rescue two more Bolivian puppies. We have to start making Bolivia our home, and what better way to help than to have lovable pets? AT LEAST, THAT’S WHAT I KEEP TELLING MYSELF! But they are so stinkin’ cute.
The bigger one is called Beast and he’s about the size of a guinea pig at 6 weeks old. The younger one is called Puddles. The thing is they weren’t doing really well and so we weren’t even sure if they would make it. Puddles is really tiny (half the size of his brother), and while it seems each day he’s getting stronger, he’s a tiny little guy. I’ve never had two puppies at the same time before and the best way I can describe the experience is AAHHHHHHH! This video was taken about 2 weeks ago and they are doing really good. Their little swollen bellies (full of parasites -- YUCK) are now gone and they both run around with lots of energy, wrestling with anyone they can find, including their pal, Ramsey's the Cat.
So, in our wisdom we decided the best remedy for our sadness over Navi was to try and rescue two more Bolivian puppies. We have to start making Bolivia our home, and what better way to help than to have lovable pets? AT LEAST, THAT’S WHAT I KEEP TELLING MYSELF! But they are so stinkin’ cute.
The bigger one is called Beast and he’s about the size of a guinea pig at 6 weeks old. The younger one is called Puddles. The thing is they weren’t doing really well and so we weren’t even sure if they would make it. Puddles is really tiny (half the size of his brother), and while it seems each day he’s getting stronger, he’s a tiny little guy. I’ve never had two puppies at the same time before and the best way I can describe the experience is AAHHHHHHH! This video was taken about 2 weeks ago and they are doing really good. Their little swollen bellies (full of parasites -- YUCK) are now gone and they both run around with lots of energy, wrestling with anyone they can find, including their pal, Ramsey's the Cat.
Here is another pictures of the pups playing with the chickens. The kids have a regular little farm going on out here including 5 chickens, 2 cats, 2 puppies, and they were offered a baby goat last week.
We Got A Fun Roommate...
This
is Karen and he’s been staying with us the last few weeks. She’s from Arizona and had lived in the city
of El Alto for a few months. But the really high altitude was making her sick
(13,000 feet in El Alto compared to only 5,000 feet in Tarija). She’s been a
real welcome to our life and has a very kind and warm heart which she has
generously shared with me and the girls. Karen came and spent 4 days with me in San Lorenzo at Ben & Dawn's.
A Tea Party for the Ladies...I’ve mentioned before that you meet so many brothers and sisters that have come here from all over the world. For me, it’s been one of the really nice benefits of coming here. Two of those friends are Fritz & Kathy Grainer. Kathy & Fritz are from the state of Washington, and first they served with Aubri in Irupana, and then with Connor. Now, they are in Tarija. Kathy recently had a Mother/Daughter Tea Party, which was really nice. She invited a mixture of Bolivian and U.S. sisters and everyone brought treats – we had a wonderful time. Here is Kathy!
Priscilla and
Aubri made the cake pops. They’ve become experts to the point where one of the
really nice coffee shops here wants to start selling them in their shop.
-
Aubri & Priscilla Visit Indy!
We decided that the girls should come back to Indy for a few weeks to visit with friends and family. The cool thing is that my parents are hoping to now come to Bolivia in June, and the plan is they can travel with the girls. The other cool thing is the girls can bring back stuff from the states for everyone that we can’t get in Bolivia. So, the girls are enjoying their visit, hanging out with friends and eating all the wonderful and different foods you just can’t get in Bolivia. The girls even got to spend some time with our old little doggy – Jocko!
We decided that the girls should come back to Indy for a few weeks to visit with friends and family. The cool thing is that my parents are hoping to now come to Bolivia in June, and the plan is they can travel with the girls. The other cool thing is the girls can bring back stuff from the states for everyone that we can’t get in Bolivia. So, the girls are enjoying their visit, hanging out with friends and eating all the wonderful and different foods you just can’t get in Bolivia. The girls even got to spend some time with our old little doggy – Jocko!
Ever since coming to Bolivia I’ve been wondering where this journey would eventually
take me. It’s been a bit challenging
moving to a different country where the culture and language are so different –
trying to adapt to all that’s new, and for me, it’s been hard to try and make
Bolivia feel like it could be home. The
more that I pray though, the more it seems that I'm meant to be in Bolivia for awhile. Although, you missed last week when I was begging Jehovah to please, please, please, let me move to this beautiful island
I read about in the South Pacific, with a beautiful ocean, and where I could
live for not that much more than in Bolivia. BUT NO! Here I’ve come and it looks like here I’ll
stay (at least for a bit).
So, as part of trying to figure out my life here, an Elder and his wife (Almado & Maria currently serving here from Pennsylvania) helped me to get this house in Tomatitas (15 minutes from where Connor lives in San Lorenzo). The house is surrounded by fruit trees, has it’s own yard, and is really pretty on the inside. I couldn’t believe when I saw it.
Almado rents the house next door and put in a really good word for us – to the point where the Owner did a lot of work to it before we moved in and is renting it to me $100 less than their previous tenants. I’m really excited and honestly, as soon as I stepped into this house, I felt like Bolivia could really become home. So, we’ve decided to leave where we are and move closer to Connor, and join the San Lorenzo group. Our goal is to start moving into the house soon, but first I wanted to give the inside a nice new paint job. One of the nice surprises is they had bought a brand new stove for the house and re-upholstered all the furniture (it comes furnished). The only thing missing is a Washer and Microwave. It has two gas fireplaces, it’s own hot water heater (which is unusual), and best of all – A SUNKEN BATH TUB – YEAH! OK, enough talking about frivolous material things.
So, as part of trying to figure out my life here, an Elder and his wife (Almado & Maria currently serving here from Pennsylvania) helped me to get this house in Tomatitas (15 minutes from where Connor lives in San Lorenzo). The house is surrounded by fruit trees, has it’s own yard, and is really pretty on the inside. I couldn’t believe when I saw it.
Almado rents the house next door and put in a really good word for us – to the point where the Owner did a lot of work to it before we moved in and is renting it to me $100 less than their previous tenants. I’m really excited and honestly, as soon as I stepped into this house, I felt like Bolivia could really become home. So, we’ve decided to leave where we are and move closer to Connor, and join the San Lorenzo group. Our goal is to start moving into the house soon, but first I wanted to give the inside a nice new paint job. One of the nice surprises is they had bought a brand new stove for the house and re-upholstered all the furniture (it comes furnished). The only thing missing is a Washer and Microwave. It has two gas fireplaces, it’s own hot water heater (which is unusual), and best of all – A SUNKEN BATH TUB – YEAH! OK, enough talking about frivolous material things.
I Love San Lorenzo.....
One of the biggest incentives for me to move was that we’ll be able to join the group in San Lorenzo. From the very first time I visited, I loved it. It’s really beautiful, the preaching is wonderful (I started 3 Bible Studies in one day), but the group is what really makes San Lorenzo so special. They are so loving. They laugh with you when you stumble along with your Spanish, but are very encouraging, constantly telling you how good your Spanish is. There are about 23 Publishers in the group, but their meeting attendance averages around 60. It’s really something to see their Bible Studies give comments in their own words and just follow along.
One of the biggest incentives for me to move was that we’ll be able to join the group in San Lorenzo. From the very first time I visited, I loved it. It’s really beautiful, the preaching is wonderful (I started 3 Bible Studies in one day), but the group is what really makes San Lorenzo so special. They are so loving. They laugh with you when you stumble along with your Spanish, but are very encouraging, constantly telling you how good your Spanish is. There are about 23 Publishers in the group, but their meeting attendance averages around 60. It’s really something to see their Bible Studies give comments in their own words and just follow along.
From
the very first time I visited there was a part of me that could see myself
eventually living here. It reminds me of
Arizona, and while I’m a tropical kinda gal, it’s beautiful and the weather is
really nice. I love the congregation
we’re currently in (Central). They are also really sweet and have made us feel
so very welcome. But, there really isn’t a need with the preaching within their
limited territory. Whereas San Lorenzo
has a massive territory in the country and they really do need the help. As I
mentioned earlier, I started 3 Bible Studies in just one morning. So, what a wonderful situation to be in –
torn between staying at a congregation we love OR, going to support a group with amazing territory. IT’S DURING THOSE
TIMES WHEN I REALLY FEEL SO APPRECIATIVE OF BEING IN BOLIVIA. This is a short video of a place we preached to last Thursday.
Here are some pictures of me doing Cart Witnessing at the Plaza in San Lorenzo. The
people that we talked to were really nice and I spent the morning showing the
video on “Why Study the Bible?”
The Morale of the Story – Life gives you
lemons each and every week, but you can choose to either focus on the lemons or
the really good lemonade you can make from them. And you realize you get a lot more lemonade
than lemons – HOORAY!
UNTIL NEXT TIME……
