News from the Hughes - Whew! Life is Back to Normal
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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….
Saying Good-Bye to Stephen & Sophie....
Love always.... Tracy
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!
We also had visitors from Italy for 2 weeks. They 
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!
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.
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.
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?
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!!!
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.
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.
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...
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