News from the Hughes

Mi’lady,

Your Chariot Awaits….

Soooooo, ever since moving to Tomatitas and joining the group in San Lorenzo, this truck has been my main source of transportation I’m sportin' these days.  This truck gets us to Ministry School and to a lot of our territory. The truck belongs to a brother and we try and cram as many as we can into the back, while still being safe.

When I first arrived, everyone was so careful with me, insisting that I always ride in the cab of the truck.  But you let a gal lose some weight and get a bit more physically fit and the next thing you know, I’m riding in the back of the truck along with everyone else. Still, it’s hard to complain when you see a 75 year old little sister climbing into the back with some difficulty, but just so thankful she has a ride to the meeting.  Bolivia has definitely helped me to appreciate the little things! So, after all of us pile out of the truck, we start the 2 to 3-hour ministry where we walk and walk and walk and walk! Another day of rugged preaching in Bolivia. And yes, you better make sure there is toilet paper in your bag -- just in case! Why didn't Debbie Crowder buy us those portable potties she told us about?

Today we travel about 30 minutes away to preach.  One of the people we got to talk to was this little gal. She looks like this little stern woman but she was the nicest person.  She doesn’t read (like a lot of people in this territory), but she listened as we read her scriptures and even watched the video on, "Why Study the Bible?"  We spent about 30 minutes talking to her.  You gotta love this face so full of character and memories.  She’s a true country Bolivian woman.

       




Things Have Definitely Gotten Chilly!

Things have gotten chilly here in Bolivia – to the point where you need a coat and we’ve even lit a fire a few times. It’s weird to me that in the U.S. it’s now summer = hot and a lot of green growing things. Here in Bolivia it’s winter = cold weather and a lot of brown trees and grass.  Except unlike Indiana in winter, there is no snow and no freezing temperatures.

Tarija is surrounded by mountains and so at night the temperature drops to around 40 degrees  (sometimes lower), but that’s nothing compared to a winter in Indiana.  But then during the day it usually gets to around 65-70 degrees.  There is still lots of sunshine and green here, and even some flowering trees. But there is also alot of brown grass and trees. In the past, I’ve compared the weather and terrain here to Arizona, but a lot of people have told me it’s more like California (minus the ocean, good food, and a lot of modern conveniences). I still laugh when I think about shopping at Target or Wal-mart.  Now, it’s become the habit for me to visit the butter & milk lady, then visit the bread lady, then visit the lady that actually has good cheese (Bolivian cheese tastes like rubber), than the lady that sells toilet paper – you get that idea!

But I digress – back to the weather. For someone like me that’s always lived in humid climates, it just feels so stinkin’ dry here (which is why I was comparing it to Arizona).  Will my skin ever feel moist again?  Every night I go to bed bathed in lotion, and then wake up feeling like a wrinkled prune, or Pruny (is that a real word?).  Yeah, this pictures sums up how I feel in the morning (you know there is a definite resemblance). Oh well, I won’t go down without a fight, and if that means using a gallon of lotion everyday (which is expensive here) – then so be it!

 We Got Moved Into Our New Home...

So, we’re now all moved into our new house.  I like it a lot because moving has allowed us to join the San Lorenzo group. Everyone has welcomed us warmly and the territory is really beautiful, but also really large.  I have a friend right now that travels 45-minutes one-way to get to a Bible Study.  So, while we’re now about 20 minutes from Tarija, we’re still close enough to go into town and get things we need (like good cheese – a girl’s gotta have her priorities).  It’s a big house but our options for renting a decent place are more limited, so you have to take what’s available.  We’ve gone from having a paved courtyard to having an actual yard again with grass, fruit trees, and lots of flowers. 

But best of all, the house comes with an actually working "Open Air Guest Bathroom." Just kidding, I would never make my friends use this bathroom. 

The Amazing Pioneer Sisters in San Lorenzo...

 I’ve told you about some of the brothers and sisters we’ve been able to meet and make friends with in Bolivia.  But in the San Lorenzo group there is this amazing group of 6 Regular Pioneer sisters.  They all live together and range in ages from 25 to 45 years. But, what is really cool about these gals is that they all live together in this 2-room place.  They all share one bedroom (about 14x12 feet), and squeeze beds in the space for everyone.  Then, they have a living room/kitchen/dining room space (about 20x14) feet.  Two of the sisters are from Argentina (Angie is on the left and Alexandra on the right).  

Aleandra’s mom just died a few weeks ago of illness, after having served in Bolvia for 5 years, and as for Angie, just 1 month after being married her husband died in a tragic accident at work.  What is amazing about all six of these gals is their spirit. The place they live in isn’t the best, and yet despite their losses and challenges in life, everytime I see all six of these Pioneers they all have smiles on their faces and act like they have the best life possible serving Jehovah.  I know some of it has to do with what you’re used to – how you were raised, what you are use to having, etc.  But it helps me to appreciate just how little a person can have materially, and yet how much joy you still have when you are a friend of Jehovah. I try and have the gals over as much as I can because their company is really encouraging. But, I try and give as much to them as they give to me. 

I was recently telling a friend of ours how in Bolivia I feel like I’m always around alot of spiritual heavy weights (Regular Pioneers for 10+ years, Gilead Graduates, Special Pioneers).  I feel a bit out of my league.  But the friends treat us like they need us as much as we’ve needed them.  They make us feel like we encourage them, and that spending time with our family fortifies them in their choices to be in Bolivia. It makes me feel like maybe I’m contributing a bit afterall!

The Challenges of Learning a New Language...

One of the biggest challenges for me in Bolivia has been trying to learn Spanish.  The brothers & sisters have made us feel welcome, but it’s hard to make really close friends when you can’t really communicate except on a very basic level.  So at first, a lot of the friends I made spoke English. Except when you spend most of your time with English-speakers, you limit your ability to learn Spanish.  I’m finding that the more I’m in the ministry and the more I try to communicate with the Bolivian friends, the faster I learn their language.

So, while I still only get so much from meetings (thank you, thank you for JW.org and it's Broadcasts and videos in English),  I get alot by way of an out pouring of love and support from my Bolivian brothers and sisters. You have people telling you all the time how good your Spanish is coming along. Little do they know it takes me about 3 hours to prepare for a meeting, and 20 minutes to prepare just one comment. For me, I find it crucial to first feed myself spiritually in English, and then after that I can focus a bit on what’s being said in Spanish. 

It’s not just learning Spanish the language that’s been hard for me, it’s learning to think differently.  There are words in English that convey thoughts and emotion that just don’t exist in Spanish.  So, you don’t always have a literal translation of English to Spanish. For example, the Watchtower article entitled, “How Real is Your Relationship with Jehovah?” ends up being tanslated in Spanish as, “Do You See Jehovah as a friend of Truth?” It’s subtle differences like instead of saying Cheese Cake, you would say Cake of Cheese.

I try to take to heart the encouragement we get in the magazines – just focus on the small accomplishments. Do you remember when you were first learning how to look up scriptures as a child or Bible Study? At first it was all you could do to find the right book, and by the time you found the scripture they were already reading it.  Then comes that feeling of triumph when you realize you were able to find the scripture and can now follow along with everyone else.  It was such a small thing and yet made you feel really good.  Yep, it’s those small accomplishments these days that I cling to. The joy of realizing that in today’s meeting I was able to find half of my scriptures in time to follow along.

But, moving to the San Lorenzo has really helped me a lot.  It’s small (around 23 Publishers), and so it’s been easier to get to know people and make friends. It’s also been easier to have conversations with people. The Bolivian friends are really nice in trying to help you.  They’ll tell you the right way to pronounce or say something and then commend you on trying to learn their language.  A lot of them will tell you they could never learn English and so they admire you trying to learn Spanish.  But, it’s felt a bit lonely at times, and I’ve missed having Elders that speak English.  It was just a few weeks ago I was praying to have an English-speaking Elder and what happens? The congregation for the group (Tomatitas) has two English-speaking Elders, and a English-speaking Ministerial Servant. 

Preaching In Different Conditions

In a lot of ways the preaching in Bolivia is familiar (the same purpose of helping ones to become Jehovah’s friend), but in many ways it’s very different.  Going from climbing into my heated or air-conditioned comfortable car, driving along paved roads, knowing that a bathroom (if needed) was just a few minutes away --  to climbing in the back of an open truck and driving along dirt roads – I feel a bit like Indiana Jones sometimes (minus the cool hat and whip).  I guess Connor is probably more like Indiana Jones and I’m more like his fumbling side-kick.

There are still times when I can’t help but laugh to myself.  Who would have thought that at 52 years old I would be climbing up into the back of a truck with other sisters, wrapped in blankets to stay warm, and then traveling 30-minutes for meeting? It cracks me up sometimes!  But the ministry here is really something and whatever the future holds for our family, I’m glad that I at least got to experience it. One you’re preaching with brothers and sisters from Spain, the next with friends from Argentina, and the next day with friends from England.  Being in Bolivia has definitely helped me to have appreciation that no matter where you were born in the world, when you’re one of Jehovah’s people you really are part of a world-wide family based on love.

 

An Update On The Puppies.....

As all of you know we got two puppies – little cute but stubborn Bolivian puppies that keep wanting to use the inside of our house and their personal little potty. I’M NOT HAVING THAT!

Our puppies are driving me crazy – Bolivian dogs don’t understand what it means to be potty-trained, and so we keep working with the little knot-heads.  But, they are now healthy and growing and I can’t wait for my girls to get here and take over being their Mommy.

Karen & Connor Bring Home a Baby Goat

So, two weeks ago Karen and Connor come home from field service and have a baby goat with them. It was given to them by a Return Visit and according to Connor, it would have been rude not to accept it (WHATEVER!).  I think Karen and Connor thought the little guy could just wander around our yard munching on grass and stuff. But it was 1-month old baby that actually screamed bloody murder whenever you left it alone and needed to be fed three times a day from a bottle.  So, after one night of dealing with the little guy, Connor called a friend that has a farm and he came to take it home – HOORAY!

Fun News from Costa Rica......

I recently got an e-mail from the Dortch Family in Costa Rica that was really nice and I wanted to share with my friends and family.  They are part of the English group there and recently their group joined 3 other groups to form a congregation. The friends were so excited about the first meeting, there was 85 in attendance and was a really amazing experience for them.  Some of you might recognize Juan and Millie (front row) who gave the special program a couple of years ago in Indy.

Like me they continue to work hard in learning Spanish and the Dortch Family (now back in the U.S.) are planning on trying to make it back to Costa Rica in September. 

Well, that’s all the new for now.  Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone when I visit the U.S. in December. P.S. My girls get home this Sunday -- I've missed them so much!

Love, the Hughes Family