News from the Hughes
Message from Tracy…. 
Priscilla Graduates from High
School…
One of the highlights for us the last few
weeks was Priscilla’s graduation from high school. Pris graduated a year early at age 17, and it
was nice because her school in Indianapolis let her stay in their program, so
she was able to get a High School diploma from her school. The last 3 years for Pris have been packed
full of change and challenges (YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TALKIN’ ABOUT) and yet
she somehow managed to rise above it all, and graduate with straight A’s and High
Honors.
While we did have a Graduation Party for Pris, that didn’t happen until a few weeks after she graduated. So, closer to her graduation a small group of our friends took her out for dinner at a nice restaurant in Tarija. For some reason we were given the Royal Treatment – even put in our own private Ballroom for dinner.
I’m not gonna lie, I was a bit worried trying
to do something like this here in Bolivia – having a party for 100 people is no joke, especially here! There are no Costco’s, Targets, or Wal-marts where
you can buy large amounts of food and party decorations. Plus, I don’t know nothing about stringing up
lights in trees. The last time I had to
do something like this, I had a partner in crime to help. But now here I was, a single mom, embarking
on this massive party in another country. I was feeling a bit stressed – but I
didn’t need to worry...
The friends here
jumped in to help. Friends took me around to buy food in their car, then we had lots of help decorating
and setting-up. I even had a lot of help with the food. The
highlight was when my friend Karen made this really cool Wookie cake. It all turned out pretty nice if I do say
so….
Again,
thanks everyone of all the cool photos and signs for Connor & Carla. So, the
last few weeks have been full of highs and lows. Just 2 weeks after Pris’ party, Connor left
for Spain. It’s bitter-sweet because
he’s going to start this wonderful new chapter of his life, and yet we knew we
would miss him. But, we also knew we
would be seeing him in just a few short months for the wedding.
We even had a few friends fly to Tarija from La Paz for the festivities! And the brothers in our congregation organized a Bachelor Party-Type thing where they went in the mountains for a cook-out and hike.
Then, the following weekend the congregation had a Going Away party.
He was
given a book at the party of helpful but funny advice for both him and Carla
including favorite recipes and photos of friends. But, he wasn’t allowed to open it until they
were back together at the airport.
Speaking of that…..
So, the day finally came for us to take him to the airport. I was feeling all kind of emotion that morning, and as we arrived, a bunch of our friends surprised us by meeting us at the airport to see him off. It took what was a sad moment but with good friends by our side, it put a nice spin on things.
It's August – our Regular Pioneers have to hit it hard to make their time for the year – not to mention those of us Auxilliary Pioneering. But, what to do when the roads to the territory are all blocked. Jehovah’s people are nothing if not resilent. You drive along the riverbed…. It only takes a sturdy SUV and alot of initiative on the part of Fritz & Kathy (our driver and co-pilot)!
In Tarija we get some exotic birds but not very many -- then tend to live in the more tropical parts o Bolivia. But on this particular day..... As we're trudging along the river to reach the territory..... WHAT DO WE SEE? A flock of parrots heading back to the Beni. There were probably 40 of them in a tree and it was a pretty cool sight....
Here are some photos of our preaching the last few weeks on Youtube. Hope you enjoy...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4AoGpjUWUc&feature=youtu.be
First off...I hope all of our dear friends and family are doing well…. We've heard there have been some really bad storms going on in parts of the US including Indy. I hope everyone is OK!
As most of you already know, I just got a new smart phone and finally have Whats App. So, I’ve been having all sorts of fun sending messages to friends back home – some of you have been getting more messages than you wanted, and you know how I can go on and on and on. But, it’s been great to hear everyone’s voices again. I’m really excited because some of you are making plans to either move here or visit us in Bolivia next year – YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE????
As most of you already know, I just got a new smart phone and finally have Whats App. So, I’ve been having all sorts of fun sending messages to friends back home – some of you have been getting more messages than you wanted, and you know how I can go on and on and on. But, it’s been great to hear everyone’s voices again. I’m really excited because some of you are making plans to either move here or visit us in Bolivia next year – YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE????
You know
our motto – everyone is welcome….
Lately, I’ve been thinking alot about our friends back home. Part of it is that we've had some family events that in the past would have been shared with you (Pris' Graduation, Connor's Going Away Party, Him Getting Married, etc.). It’s made me really miss my
friends back in the U.S.. I miss the friends at Glendale…
the friends at Grandview… the friends at Geist.
Not to mention all the other friends we have that don’t live in
Indianapolis – the Powers Family in FL, the Coopers in CO, the Crowders in OH,
Jamie in GA – just to name a few! I would have been living in Bolivia for 2 years
this October, and I think it’s time for a visit…. Having
said that, I’m really hoping to visit mid-January for a few weeks. I hate Indy winters but it works out really good for my Bolivian residency to come then.
SO, HERE’S WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP
TOO THE LAST 2 MONTHS…..
Back home, we would have celebrated with all
of you, but we weren’t home – WE WERE
IN BOLIVIA! So,
what to do? Well, knowing that we were
so far away from our friends and family, the brothers and sisters here went out
of their way to be there for us in making Pris’ accomplishment special.
Thanks everyone for
all your video messages for Pris! They
were wonderful and she definitely felt the love.
While we did have a Graduation Party for Pris, that didn’t happen until a few weeks after she graduated. So, closer to her graduation a small group of our friends took her out for dinner at a nice restaurant in Tarija. For some reason we were given the Royal Treatment – even put in our own private Ballroom for dinner.
THEN, A FEW WEEKS LATER IT WAS
PARTY TIME….
The friends here
jumped in to help. Friends took me around to buy food in their car, then we had lots of help decorating
and setting-up. I even had a lot of help with the food. The
highlight was when my friend Karen made this really cool Wookie cake. It all turned out pretty nice if I do say
so…. 
Just click here to watch a video of her party on Youtube…
In true Priscilla fashion it was a hodge-podge
of stuff including a Wookie cake from Star Wars, a bon Fire to keep everyone
warm (it is our winter here right now), hot soups, a candy display, and lots
and lots of dancing. Friends came from all over Tarija, representing Bolivia, New Zealand, Australia, England, and Italy. Aubri & Connor
put together this really cool Bolivian dance for her. Unfortunately, none of the videos we took
came out. Overall, it was a wonderful
time and memory~
Connor Left for Spain…
Again,
thanks everyone of all the cool photos and signs for Connor & Carla. So, the
last few weeks have been full of highs and lows. Just 2 weeks after Pris’ party, Connor left
for Spain. It’s bitter-sweet because
he’s going to start this wonderful new chapter of his life, and yet we knew we
would miss him. But, we also knew we
would be seeing him in just a few short months for the wedding.
YEP, HE’S BACK IN BARCELONA WITH HIS SWEETIE & OCTOBER 8TH
IS THE BIG DAY!!!
So, we had a 2-week break in-between Pris
Graduation thing and Connor’s Going Away Party!
Again, the friends here went out of their way to make it really special
for him.
We even had a few friends fly to Tarija from La Paz for the festivities! And the brothers in our congregation organized a Bachelor Party-Type thing where they went in the mountains for a cook-out and hike.
Then, the following weekend the congregation had a Going Away party.
There were fun games……
Dancing…
And one game
where we blindfolded people and made them think they had to walk over bottles
but there really weren’t any.
Then, more dancing….
So, the day finally came for us to take him to the airport. I was feeling all kind of emotion that morning, and as we arrived, a bunch of our friends surprised us by meeting us at the airport to see him off. It took what was a sad moment but with good friends by our side, it put a nice spin on things.
The next days was really sweet…. We were sent this recording from our Single Pioneer
sisters letting us know they were feeling our pain over Connor leaving.
Anyway, I put together a little movie of Connor’s party – hope
you enjoy! Check out the video on Youtube here..... You may have to copy and paste the link below into your browser...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdSK1sc88GA&feature=youtu.be
Arts & Crafts for the
Guys
There is this really cool sister here from Arizona that is always having people over, helping with the many, many parties we seem to have, and she’s just always doing little special things for our congregation. One week she made little skirts for all the girls, or she’ll make really cool activity books for the kids using stuff from JW.org. Anyway, she recently had this lunch for the single brothers, and I thought it was cool that she made them all do arts & crafts. HOW COULD THEY SAY NO TO THAT FACE?
There is this really cool sister here from Arizona that is always having people over, helping with the many, many parties we seem to have, and she’s just always doing little special things for our congregation. One week she made little skirts for all the girls, or she’ll make really cool activity books for the kids using stuff from JW.org. Anyway, she recently had this lunch for the single brothers, and I thought it was cool that she made them all do arts & crafts. HOW COULD THEY SAY NO TO THAT FACE?
Memories in Preaching….
So, our territory is definitely beautiful and
rugged. We’re coming out of our dry
season = 6 months of no rain and so everything is pretty much brown right
now. But, any day now it will start to
rain = 6 months of rainy seaons and the mountains will get really pretty. Sooooo, this is a pretty normal day for us in
the territory…..
Check out this video on Youtube (yep, I also learned how to upload videos for our friends using Youtube...... Again, you may have copy and paste this link....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGJdsUQuCoU&feature=youtu.be
Our preaching has been a bit exciting these last couple of weeks. One of the legal things the Bolivian people can do is protest by blocking traffic. Where we live in Tarija, there aren’t a lot of Blockades but they do happen from time to time. One day my dad and I went into town and when we came home, they had blocked the road to my house. IT HAPPENS! So, recently the people in the country held a series of blockades to protest unfair treatment. They’re typically peaceful -- but ain’t nobody got time for that!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGJdsUQuCoU&feature=youtu.be
Our preaching has been a bit exciting these last couple of weeks. One of the legal things the Bolivian people can do is protest by blocking traffic. Where we live in Tarija, there aren’t a lot of Blockades but they do happen from time to time. One day my dad and I went into town and when we came home, they had blocked the road to my house. IT HAPPENS! So, recently the people in the country held a series of blockades to protest unfair treatment. They’re typically peaceful -- but ain’t nobody got time for that!
It's August – our Regular Pioneers have to hit it hard to make their time for the year – not to mention those of us Auxilliary Pioneering. But, what to do when the roads to the territory are all blocked. Jehovah’s people are nothing if not resilent. You drive along the riverbed…. It only takes a sturdy SUV and alot of initiative on the part of Fritz & Kathy (our driver and co-pilot)!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4AoGpjUWUc&feature=youtu.be
So, that
everything for now. I sort of rushed this Blog so I'm thinkin there are probably some typos and other grammar issues. I just wanted to get this posted for everyone. Miss you and that'
