The last few days have been full as we traveled to
Cochabamba, Bolivia to conduct a meeting with Assistant Area Auditors from all
parts of Bolivia. We arrived a day early to enjoy a little sightseeing and, of
course, the fresh air, cooler weather and beautiful countryside. There’s not a
lot to see in Cochabamba but there are big tours to the mountains and national
parks that are the draw here.
In the pictures above, notice the man with his son. I
took the picture to show how small the people are here. His son is maybe three
years old. As we walked we came to this darling little girl who was only one
year old. Her mother (and other members of the family I suppose) were nearby
and smiled as we wanted to take a picture. The mother turned on the little
radio to music and the little doll did her little dance which cost us a few
coins. If you look closely at the city picture, you can see the temple in the
distance, a view from our hotel room.
We had a few wonderful experiences in Cochabamba while
walking and sightseeing. One place we stopped at was an antique shop. Of
course, Diane was intrigued and the shopkeeper was outside washing the sidewalk. In
talking with her, we found her husband had just passed away 7 months earlier
with cancer. The shop was run by her husband and now she didn’t know what to do
and her knees gave her so much pain. Joe talked with her at length about
eternal families and the temple. Every resident in Cochabamba knows about the
beautiful temple, but she thought it was only for the leaders of the church and
not for all. Joe explained it was for all worthy members of the church, rich or
poor, old or young, single or married. She was quite surprised. We left a pass-along
card and she gave her permission to have the missionaries. She is pictured second down on the right. Diane even had a dream about helping her organize her shop, making it more appealing to show off the wonderful treasures she had "piled" up.
Then later in the day, we met a young man who was a
sidewalk vender (top left) selling linens and old city photographs. As he showed his
wares, Joe talked to him about why we were there and that his son David had
served as a missionary in Cochabamba 15 years earlier. He was so nice and
welcomed our conversation. Although we didn’t talk about the beliefs of the
church, we left with a friendship and he was aware that we were missionaries
for the Church. Maybe there was a little seed planted for our taking time to
visit.
The vendor squeezing orange juice was so cute we wanted to take her picture. We have learned to always ask and she agreed if we would buy a cup of juice for 7 Bs (about 1 dollar). Joe gave her a 10 Bs paper bill which she quickly whisked into her pocket to begin making the juice . . . no change given. We just looked at each other with surprise but no words. The juice was very fresh and although she didn't like having her picture taken, we got her to smile.
Saturday we met with six of
the AAA’s. They are such wonderful men! We work with the best and enjoy their
spirit and friendship. The wife of Ariel Escobar (middle picture) came to prepare a refreshment
and lunch for our group. It was like eating dinner there was so much food;
pasta, rice, mashed potatoes and gravy, all the varieties of vegetables
including herbed new potatoes, chicken and beef. There were three kinds of
juice, one of which was so delicious. It was peaches with the pits still in,
boiled for 8 hours continually adding water which creates a syrup. Add a little
cinnamon and cloves and serve cold. For the refreshment break, Gladys had prepared
salteñas, similar to chicken pot pie or empanada that you hold in your hand.
She will be sharing recipes with me. They are totally Bolivian!
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