ON THE WAY TO MENNONITE COLONY #2 IN BOLIVIA

This was definitely another very interesting trip. We took a taxi this time and my cousin's husband came along with us as well. It was a 2 hour taxi ride to get there - we stayed for 3 hours and then another 2 hours back. It was hot in the car and dusty but neat scenery though. This was an international highway we drove on but it was full of holes and rutts so we would drive on whichever side that was the least bumpiest. We often passed semi trucks travelling on the wrong side or going from side to side. I felt very little in this taxi but then the odd time we'd pass a motorcycle or a horse and buggy as well. There was all forms of transportation.
We passed through a small town to get to the colony. This was a restaurant. I wonder if they called it "Wendy's"? :-) There were buggies parked around here often. I don't think I'd feel comfortable eating here. :-)
This was a common sight here. No vehicles but buggies pulled by horses. Often the homes were small and not fancy at all. We'd pass the odd larger one but you could not see them well from the road.

I love this photo. Here you got an example of all forms of transportation. We're in the taxi passing a motorcycle and in the distance you see a horse and buggy comin down the road. Very unique! I really enjoyed this ride although I had no idea what was in store for me on our trip back from this visit. You'll hear about it later.
 

BUGS IN BOLIVIA

These things were huge!! and ugly! When they flew, it was like a bird was flying by you. They had little crab like claws on the end of their long arms and the shell was very hard. No, I never touched it! A young boy was having a lot of fun bugging them and the frogs. :-) It reminded me of my son.


This guy's all buggy-eyed! It was hilarious! But these frogs sure were grosz too. As the sun was setting, you could just hear all the frogs coming in from the swamps. They would be right by the houses and doors. One night, a frog was right in front of my door - I did not go in! They gave me the creeps. :-)




These little fellers were often inside the house on the walls or doors. They were harmless and liked to eat mosquitos. Dorothy called them her little erasers. I did not like them much and of course it creeped me out seeing them on the wall. Thank goodness they never came in my bed! I had to take a picture of it though.

That was extent of my seeing wild animals. Nope - no wild bulls or pigs or lions.......just these and cows and more cows, and yes of course, horses and donkeys. No wild ones though. Oh, once when we were in the taxi on the way back to San Jose, we saw a large lizard running across the road in front of us but I didn't get a picture of it. So, that was it - that's all I saw for wild, ferocious animals. :-) 

THE CHURCH AND SQUARE IN SANTA CRUZ AT NIGHT

This was the inside of the Catholic Church in Santa Cruz at night. One Sunday, I had driven in with Dave & Lisa and we walked by while their was a service going on. It was beautiful!
This was the plaza at night. It was a beautiful calm evening, but hot and humid. Many people were out just enjoying the walking and sitting on the benches. The music coming from the church could be heard here.
This was one of the church steeples. It loomed up into the darkness. I couldn't resist taking a photo. I haven't taken too many night photos before so I was quite impressed with how well these turned out. :-) 

FEW MORE PICS WITH COUSINS FROM 1st COLONY VISIT

Here we are on the peak with my cousins from the 1st colony that I had visited. It was so amazing from up here - I really enjoyed it. It was so good to be with these people and to meet them.
I loved being with my uncle. He couldn't accompany us here which was too bad cause I'm sure he would've loved it.



Each colony had their own distinctive dress code. Then when you were in town, you knew exactly which colony they came from. Very unique. There's a street in Santa Cruz, Bolivia called Mennonite Street and there you would see many different types of dress. Here is San Jose there was only this one colony so you didn't get too confused to which colony people were from unless there were visitors from elsewhere. My cousin on the left was the one that came with me on the train to visit here. This was her sister's family that we stayed with and her dad was my uncle. She's dressed quite differently than the others. Their little boy was soooo cute. :-)


This was in San Jose. Each city or town had a church in it - usually Roman Catholic. Bolivia is very strong in Catholicism. The churches were beautiful and usually marked the centre of town.






These 2 young girls let me take their picture. They were walking home from school and I stopped them and asked, "Foto?" The giggled and posed for me. They were beautiful and loved to see the picture on the camera. All the young people attending school in Bolivia wore uniforms with dark pants/skirts and white shirts. It looked very good. 

MORE PICS OF 1st COLONY VISIT

Here a customer was coming to my cousins store that was adjacent to their house to purchase some goods. Young people drove these buggies all the time.
The tree on the left is an orange tree but the oranges were green.
This was the main store in this village on the colony. Each colony can have a number of villages on it. People from other villages on this colony would come to shop here. It was so cool seeing all these horse and buggies parked here in the store parking lot rather than cars and trucks. I felt like I was back in time. :-) Very unique!
At one point, I walked around the corner of the house, and the 3 young girls had just finished butchering 2 chickens for lunch. I wish I would've walked around the house sooner but I was waiting as long as I possibly could to go to the bathroom. I was not looking forward to going pee in the outhouse. :-) But, when you gotta go, you gotta go. That was not a good experience being in that outhouse. Never look down the hole. YUCK! The bugs were sooooooo grosz!
But, the chicken tasted good that we had for lunch so that was a plus. :-) Can't say I've ever had freshly butchered chicken before.
Here is where we stood on the peak of the world. Amazingly breathtaking! I don't know how else to explain it. But as I said in the story earlier, standing up here on peak of the world did not compare to how I felt sitting with my uncle holding his hand and telling him of God's love for him and explaining God's free gift of salvation to all mankind. Nothing on earth can compare to being used by God to accomplish His mission through us. Nothing at all! Man cannot buy that no matter how hard we try. 

PICS OF 1st COLONY VISIT

Story of these pics is on post "VISIT TO 1st MENNONITE COLONY IN BOLIVIA" - it didn't work to put these pics in with the story.

 

God's Workman

A while back, I had done up a photo for a Pastor who was retiring from our church. This was his favorite verse and so I put it onto a picture for him and framed it. I love doing stuff like that. I love putting God's Word on photos. These were a few samples that I had done up and then one was chosen from them. This Bible verse on these photos is written in the King James Version. I love how it says it in the New Living Translation:

"Work hard so God can approve you. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth." 1 Timothy 2:15

This verse speaks volumns to me. Someday God will examine all of us, on Judgement Day. He'll examine what kind of workers we've all been for Him while we've been living down here on this earth. Because of this, our lives should be built on His Word, the Bible, and we should be building His Word into our lives. God's Word alone tells us how we are to live for Him and how we are to serve Him. If we ignore the Bible, we'll be ashamed at judgement. We should be consistently and diligently studying God's Word - it's vital. If we don't read His Word, we'll be so easily fooled by other false teachings out there in the world and we'll neglect God and we'll miss finding our true purpose here on earth - our true purpose for living.

There's so much to learn - I have so much to learn and the more I read the Bible, the more thirsty I get for learning more and more. At times, it seems like I just can't get enough. It brings me so much joy and contentment. I find when I don't have that time in the Word each day, something is missing - I'm not complete that day. God's Word is full of TRUTH - the real truth! And to understand the truth, we need to study the truth. Understanding God, our lives and the truth all go along with studying the Bible.

I fail each day. I'm not a perfect person and I never will be until I reach Heaven and am given a new perfect body. I have so much to learn still and I will never know it all. I love to study and find new treasures each day. But the only place for me to do that is in His Word. My utmost desire is to one day stand before Jesus and have Him say to me, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant." WOW! So, Lord, in order for me to hear that, I need to be a good worker, I need to work hard at what you want me to do, and I need to correctly explain the truth to those around me. If I do these things, I won't need to be ashamed. But I have failed at times, and have stuck my foot in my mouth saying things I shouldn't be saying and doing things I shouldn't be doing and thinking things I shouldn't be thinking. I am human. But, my goal is to strive to become more and more like Jesus each and every day. I cannot do that on my own - I need God's strength, wisdom, discernment, love, mercy, guidance, knowledge and forgiveness to do that. That is why I need to continue reading God's Word, praying and staying in close fellowship with Him. That is the only way I will get anywhere on this earth.

Lord, help me to be the person you've made me to be. Help me to do the things you want me to do, say the things you want me to say. Show me, guide me and walk along with me. I love you, my desire is to live for you. Help me to discern each day the good you want me to do and not to beat myself up about my failures and shortcomings. Mold me to be more like you. Amen.
 

VISIT TO 1st MENNONITE COLONY IN BOLIVIA

This experience was incredible!! I was going to find my dad's brother whom he hadn't seen in over 46 years. His daughter was coming with me - she had moved off the colony some time ago and hadn't seen her father in a very long time. Her coming with me was an open door for her to go back onto the colony to see her father and her sister. This trip was much more than just about me finding my dad's family. God knew why I had to go and He knew what was in store for us and He knew what would be the outcome.

We had to take a train for 6 hours - a very wobbly, slow, hot, full train. The sites that I got to see and pictures that I took were incredible. An experience I will never forget. My cousin knew only the low German and a little Spanish so I had all these hours to relearn how to communicate in German. :-) It was amazing to me how God brought my German back to me after not using it for many years - since I was a child. I'd heard it now and then but hadn't spoken it fluently for years. We had good conversations though in spite of my broken German. :-)

We had to travel from Pailon to San Jose, Bolivia from mid afternoon to evening. Once we got to San Jose, we had to find a taxi to take us to colony but none were going there. We were informed that a bus was taking some Mennonites to the colony so we got on that bus. It was full of Mennonites in their traditional dress with their hats on. I felt a little out of place just in my skirt and shirt - it was good to have my cousin with me. But they were kind and told us that my uncle was living with his one daughter so they knew where we needed to be let off. Thus began our ride into the country for a 45 minute drive to a different world, into the unknown - another adventure out of my control :-) but I knew God was in complete control of this situation.

We arrived at 10:30 at night, above us was a full moon in a clear sky full of stars and lightning was flashing in the distance. We stood at the edge of the driveway after the bus drove away - there wasn't a sound in the air and the wind was completely calm. It was absolutely beautiful!! There was no power on the colony and so everything around us stood out in the moonlight. It was breathtaking!! I called out "Hello, hello!" hoping that they weren't all sleeping yet. We saw a flashlight moving around through the windows and then coming towards us down the driveway. They were happy to see us. :-) When we were inside, my uncle came inside, stood there in the darkness and asked me who I was. I told him I was his brother Peter's youngest daughter from SK, Canada - I was here to visit him. He couldn't believe it!! We were offered some food, visited for a while by candlelight and then were asked if we wanted to wash up before bed. I've never had a shower like that one before! I stood under a pail with tons of nail holes in it while the water dribbled down on me. They didn't have running water either. I felt like I was back in time. :-) They had no power, no phones, no furnaces, rode horse and buggies for transportation, and their tractors still had steel wheels on them. They were choosing to live 30 years back in time. Very interesting.

The next morning, the household was up by dawn doing the chores - feeding the chickens, pigs, horses and cows. It was busy. The roosters were crowing and the sun was shining in through the windows. We had breakfast and then my uncle showed me around their place. I admired the quietness, the beauty and simplicity of things, and the relaxed atmosphere of the village. No one was in a hurry and they weren't ruled by busyness. I appreciated that. We sat on the front veranda visiting and not worrying about things that needed to be done. The visiting was wonderful - we talked about life in SK and about family that my uncle hadn't seen in nearly 50 years. I had brought some pictures along with me to show him as well as some pictures of his siblings to leave with him. He gave me some calendars and knitted potholders to bring back to SK to give to his family here. It was such a wonderful time. One time, I walked around the side of the house and the 3 young girls had just finished butchering 2 chickens for lunch. :-) I have never had fresh butchered chickens for lunch before! I even got to go on a buggy ride! Now I could write a book - "Planes, trains, buses, taxis....and buggy rides." :-) Instead of passing vehicles on the road, we were passing buggies pulled by horses. It was fun.....for a time. I don't know if I could live like that for too long. But it was super good to be visiting and meeting them and having a taste of their life there.

The highlight of this trip was having a talk with my uncle and sharing with him how much God loved him. I shared with him the gift of God's salvation - it's given to us as a gift, it's not something we need to work for. God sent His Son down to this earth to die for our sins and we could accept that freely. We cried together and laughed together. He missed his wife, who passed away a year ago and his son, who passed away this past winter - he missed them dearly. I shared with my uncle how he could be sure of seeing them someday again in Heaven if they were there. He hoped they were there and he hoped that he would go there someday too but he felt he needed to work for that. As tears were running down my face and his, I held out my hand and asked him to accept Jesus, who died for his sins and rose again so that we could have eternal life - I asked him to accept God's free gift of salvation and to just simply believe. He took my hand and I pray that he fully understood. Thank you God for that wonderful opportunity! I felt my mission was accomplished right then and there - that was what I was sent to do - to plant a seed for God. :-)


After we left the colony in a taxi, we did a bit of sightseeing. My cousins took me up to these cliffs and you could see forever. It was absolutely breathtaking! All you could see were trees and sky and San Jose way in the distance surrounded by trees. As far as the eye could see, you saw sky and trees. What an incredible view. Being a photographer, I loved being up there and I just breathed in the beauty of God's creation from up there. It was so high - it was like I was on an airplane. As I sat there looking at the beauty around me, being on this peak of the earth, it just didn't even come close to how I felt God being so near to me as when I was sitting with my uncle, holding his hand and asking him to accept God's free gift of salvation. There was no comparison as to the elation and wonderment I felt. God loves us so much! So very much but He gives us a choice to choose Him. And when we choose Him, what a life we will have. Will it always be easy on this earth when we choose His ways?? No it won't and we will mess up, but He will be quick to forgive us. We will also have such an incredible reward awaiting us in Heaven. Our eternal reward will be nothing compared to what we receive here on this earth. And that's why I felt so much more in my heart sitting with my uncle George than I felt standing on top of the world. God is absolutely amazing. Nothing on this earth even comes close to how I feel with God at my side. :-) Thank you Jesus!

(pics of this visit is on the other post called "Pics of 1st Colony Visit")

One Way

One Way, Jesus, you're the only one that I could live for.
One Way, Jesus, you're the only one that I could live for.
You are the way, the truth and the life
We live by faith and not by sight, for you
We're living all for you.
You are the way, the truth and the life
We live by faith and not by sight, for you
We're living all for you.
One Way, Jesus, you're the only one that I could live for.
One Way, Jesus, you're the only one that I could live for.

This is the song that's on my heart right now. There is only one way to Heaven, and that's through Jesus Christ, God's one and only Son. I was reading in the book of John in the Bible and here's what I found:

"Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will be with me where I am. And you know where I am going and how to get there." v. 5 "No, we don't know, Lord," Thomas said. "We haven't any idea where you are going so how can we know the way?" Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had known who I am, then you would have known who my Father is....Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father...I am in the Father and the Father is in me. The words I say are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me....anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done...If you love me, obey my commandments."

What a powerful passage of scripture. Jesus says it so plainly here. He was talking to His disciples just before He was crucified. Even His closest friends doubted Him at times and didn't understand what Jesus was trying to say, but they eventually got it. That reminded me of myself. Sometimes it takes me a long time to get it and I doubt too much at first. At times I have thought, "Could there be another way to heaven?" But then I just have to read a verse like this in God's Word and then I know what the truth is. The Bible is filled with truth and the more I search it and read it, the more truth I find. Jesus didn't tell me in there that there are many ways to God, He said there is ONE WAY and that is through Him. That is such a blessing because then I know I don't have to wander aimlessly around this world trying to prove something that's wrong.

Another passage of scripture that I came across this past week that really spoke to me and reminded me of what is important is Psalm 39:4-8a. Here's what it says in the New Living Translation:

"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth with be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away. My life is no longer than the width of my hand. An entire lifetime is just a moment to you; human existence is but a breath." We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth for someone else to spend. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. Rescue me from my rebellion."

What an incredible reminder for me as to where I stand and where I am going. A song comes to mind "This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beacon me from heaven's open door, and I can't feel at home in this world anymore." That's a song I remember from when I was growing up - my mom sang it all the time. It's so true - this world is not my home. I was made for Heaven, we all were. So why do I get in the trap of living as if this world is all there is to life? I gotta stop doing that.

Where is my hope? My hope is in God, in His Son Jesus who died for my sins so that I could have eternal life. Amen. Thank you God!

BOLIVIA SCRIPTURE PRINTS

This picture I took from my hotel window in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It was absolutely gorgeous! It reminded me of the time when Moses went on top of the mountain to speak with God and a cloud covered the mountain. He was up there for 40 days and nights and when he came back down, people were worshipping a golden calf. What an incredible letdown for Moses. Here the Jews had just been led out of Egypt where they were slaves and now they were worshipping an idol!! How quickly they had forgotten about God. Then I thought of myself and and my life and how quickly at times that I've forgotten about where God has brought me from and what He has done in my life. I thought about how quickly I have at times ran to the things of this world to find meaning and security and comfort instead of running to the One True God who created me in the first place. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for His interceding in my life. There have been too many times in my life where I have had idols in my own life that have come before God. This verse and picture was a good reminder for me.

At this time in Bolivia, it was Carnival time - a 3 day celebration of their country. Many things happened during these 3 days and much of it was not good. On TV I was watching all the celebrations taking place in the main cities and it was all too evil. So much drunkenness. In one drunken orgy, a father had shot himself in the head in front of his family. People were on the streets leaving their sacrifices of urine, blood, and animals to Mother Earth. Devil dancers and witch dancers were in parades chanting to the Devil and to evil spirits and casting curses on the crowds around them. And they called this all a celebration. It made me want to cry for them all and to pray for their souls. God help them. Of course this was the worst that I saw - not everything was that terribly bad. You couldn't walk on the streets without young and old throwing water balloons at you. But, I felt very protected - I prayed all the time while I was out that I would not get hit and I never did. God was so good! :-) I always had my camera with me and I didn't want it wrecked. God continually answered my prayers of protection. He is so faithful!!


This statue was in Cochabamba as well and stood on top of a mountain that was surrounded by the city. It was HUGE! As I stood there and looked up at it with the heavens surrounding it, I was reminded me of the devotion I had earlier. It was about how God is so faithful and keeps His promises to us and we can lean on His everlasting arms. There's an old hymn about leaning on the everlasting arms of Jesus and how we have nothing to dread or fear. That was often on my mind while I was alone in Bolivia. "I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, Leaning on the everlasting arms." That is the rest of that verse to that song. What a promise to hold on to. It is so blessed to know that we don't have to wander through this life alone. We will always have Jesus - but we have to choose Him. God doesn't force Himself on us - we can choose. But the decision to choose Him is the best one we could ever make - the alternative one is not one we would want to explore.


When I was in Tarija with the Loewens, we had driven to a vineyard. It was a lovely drive and there was a small town that we had to drive through. Watching the children in the streets and other people working, was so good. It was all so interesting. Being in this vineyard it reminded me of the harvest - God's harvest. People here were getting ready to harvest these vineyards and they need much help. So does God - the harvest is great but the workers are few. God doesn't want anyone in this world to perish - He desires everyone to choose Him but He needs willing servants who will share His love to a hurting world. So many are lost and are desperately trying to find other ways to God and to heaven and want to badly to be dependent on themselves - to do it all themselves and to do it their way, not God's way. God doesn't want any of us to be alone. His way is best but He doesn't force it on us. He wants us to choose Him, to choose eternal life, to choose His Son who died on the cross to save us of our sins. This vineyard was ripe for harvest and there will be a time when this world that we live in will be ready for harvest as well - will we be ready?


I love this verse! Another one that I had in my mind much of the time. Of course stupid things would run through my mind: would I ever make it back home, would I see my husband and my family again, would I want to stay here forever, would I make it out of the country...... It's sickening the stupid thoughts that can run rampant in one's mind if you let them. So, at times like that, I would choose to hold on to the truths that I found in the Bible. This was one of the best truths at that time. I knew deep in my heart that God did not bring me to Bolivia to die, his plans were not to harm me here. He brought me here to bring people hope and encouragement and to have me pray for them. He brought me here to be a blessing to those around me and to take pictures and bring them back home to be a blessing to my parents and others. When I prayed, I knew God was listening and He wanted the best for me. What a wonderful truth that I could hold onto!


Oh, how I loved being up in the clouds. I felt like I was in in a part of Heaven. It always looked so heavenly up there!! :-) It was another world. I could just imagine the angels jumping around on the clouds making the thunder roll or the clouds bounce around. :-) I am always thankful for the beautiful pictures that God puts into my mind at times and this was one of those times. It looked like a city up here - a pure white city without any spot or blemish. This is what our hearts look like when we've confessed our sins and asked for forgiveness - Jesus then cleanses us white as snow. What a day that will be when He will come in the clouds and every eye will see Him and every knee will bow before Him and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. (Philippians 2:11) What a day that will be!! There won't be any faking it then - that'll be for real.

BOLIVIA SCRIPTURE PICS

There were so many pics that I had taken that brought scripture verses to mind from in the Bible. I love to bring God's Word to life through my (His) pictures to share with others. Here's a few that really spoke to me.
So many times during my travels on the plane and other modes of transportation, all I could do was TRUST FULLY in God because everything was out of my control. We may like to think that we can control our day, but if God has something in mind that we don't, watch out - then stuff happens. So, this verse meant so much to me. I knew that He did not bring me to Bolivia to harm me in any way, but to show me things that would help me to grow in Him and TRUST in Him more fully. He knew the plans He had for me there, I did not and so it would have been foolish for me not to put my TRUST completely and fully in Him.

I knew that at anytime, anywhere, I could pray to God to help me through and that I could have confidence that He would hear me. That gave me so much comfort and reasurance each day. I could approach His throne of mercy and find grace whenever I needed it. He was looking after me. :-)


All of the flowers were so beautiful there and so much in bloom. It was absolutely gorgeous!! The beauty was too much to behold at times and hard to take in. How do you capture something on camera and tell the whole story? At times it's nearly impossible. So, the least I could do at times was to take a photo and give you just a glimpse of what I was seeing and feeling in my heart.


When we were at the falls, the beauty was incredible! Again, how could I capture what I was seeing? God created such a beautiful world for us to take care of and enjoy. To be in a place like this, so serene, peaceful and surrounded by beauty was a wonderful place to be. Water is a symbol of refreshment, cleansing and life. Rivers were flowing and washing everything in it's path. That is such a picture of what Jesus has to offer us through God's free gift of salvation. He cleanses us of our sins when we accept Him and His death and resurrection. We know that He is alive in Heaven today preparing our eternal home with Him. We can have confidence and know that we WILL go to Heaven when we die if we believe in Him. John 3:16 "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotton Son, that whoever believes in Him, will not perish but have everlasting life." WOW! It sounds so simple. Let's accept the simplicity of His message and stop making it so complicated. Let's jump into those "springs of living water"! 

SOUVENIR SHOPPING IN BOLIVIA

When I was in Santa Cruz with Dorothy Fehr, we went souvenir shopping (I think it's spelled wrong but I don't have a dictionary handy). :-) We had such a blast! I've already wrote a story about that so I won't go on too long here. I jsut had a hard time uploading pictures to go with that story so I'll finish up here because the small genius mind in me figured out another way to upload pictures! I'm so proud of myself! hee-hee
Anyway, we went to this one store that is owned by a friend of Dorothy's and got just a wackload of stuff from here - she gave us a good deal. Helps to know people, doesn't it?? :-) This picture below shows a man who makes these blankets with the little handheld weaver! Incredible beauty! What a gift God has blessed Him with! I brought home one of those blankets that he had made. It's cool to have this picture.

These were other little shops that we bought some stuff in. The leather in Bolivia is beautiful and so soft. We got some necklaces here and other stuff. It was a cool place - lots of palm trees and picnic tables surrounding the bases so you could sit and eat. It was full of these wee little shops with beautiful handmade items. I enjoyed getting stuff here.


After shopping, Dorothy shipped me off alone in a taxi for a 2 hour ride. I had no idea where it would take me. I just knew I was going across a river to stay a week with Dave & Lisa Janzen and that I was going to visit some of the Mennonite Colonies at some point. What I didn't know was the sites I would see and the bridge we would have to drive across. Amazing!! This was a one way bridge so one side of the traffic always had to wait until the other side finished crossing but if a train came, both sides of the traffic had to wait for the train to cross. It was so interesting!! But crossing it too many times, you would grow tired of it very quickly. :-)

 

LIGHTNING IN BOLIVIA

Lightning in Bolivia was unbelievable!! I've never seen storms quite like I saw them here. Plus, I've never been able to capture lightning the way I was able to here - it was so much fun!! :-) Whenever the thunder rolled, you would hear car alarms going off all over the place. Even if the storm wasn't close, it just rumbled all around you and shook. I was fascinated! I stood on this porch and snapped pics for about 45 min and I got some great shots. I'm far from being a pro at it yet, but now that I've done it, I'll know what things to try another time at home when we have lightning storms. Guaranteed, I'll be out on my front porch snappin shots of lightning! :-)




Lightning reminds me of Jesus coming back to earth to reign forever. There's a verse in Matthew 24 that reads "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." (verse 27) That is how Jesus will return, in a blink of an eye and we will know He is coming. It is so important to have the confidence that He is living in our hearts, that we accept that He died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave to live forever. If we do not accept that truth, we will not have eternal life. We can have the confident assurance that we will go to heaven to be with Jesus when we die if we only believe in Him and accept God's free gift of salvation. Accept Him today if you haven't already.