BOLIVIA! HERE I COME!

Well, I almost can't believe it! I'm actually going to Bolivia! This has been a dream of mine for a very long time. This dream has 2 parts:

In the 1960's, my father had 4 siblings that had moved down to Bolivia near the Santa Cruz area and lived in the Mennonite colonies. Now there are many large colonies there with hundreds of relatives that I have never met. It has always been a dream of my parents to go to Bolivia to visit dad's siblings there but that dream was never fulfilled. So now, I feel I am now going in there place, I am fulfilling this dream for them. Dad has a sister that is 92 and a brother that is 76 that are still living - he hasn't seen his brother in 46 years! I am going to do what I do best - take pictures - and I will bring Bolivia home to my parents. :-) I have met one of my cousins from Bolivia a couple of years ago. They are a missionary family near Santa Cruz and so I will be staying with them for 8 days. She will know many of my cousins there and so they will know where to take me to visit my relatives. You can read up on their ministry at www.emmc.ca/journals/dave_lisa_janzen The above photo (right) is taken at a colony near Santa Cruz of the Sugar Cane press in that colony (photo taken by Lisa Janzen). The family photo on the above left is taken in Bolivia. The Bolivian monkey photo is also taken by Lisa Janzen. She has a love of photography just like I do - I think we'll get along quite well for a week. :-)

The 2nd part of this dream is this: I have a dear friend who has been living at Tarija, Bolivia for a few years with her family. They also are missionaries and run a coffeehouse ministry - you can check it out at www.elcandelero.com We have known each other for many years. I will be spending 2 weeks with them. I will be exposed to many different things I'm sure, including bugs. :-)

I know it will be a wonderful experience and I can't wait to come back and share my photos with friends and family back home. I will have many stories to share as well as photos. I will be exposed to many different things on this trip, I'm sure, including different types of bugs like this green one here. Yuck! These photos in this section are from Larry & Colleen's website as well as the map of Bolivia. The bug photos Larry sent to me through email just to let me know what I'll be up against - although he didn't know it when he sent it. :-)

I know God will be with me and He has a wonderful purpose for me going on this trip. His hand has been in the planning and in this heart's desire of mine. I love my kids and my hubby who are sending me with their blessing. I love this wonderful man in my life very, very much - I will miss him greatly. It is so amazing to me how he loves me so much to help me to fulfill this dream of mine. God will bless him for that, I'm sure. I want to be a blessing to those that I will be visiting and I want to be a blessing to those when I return home to share all my pictures.