SIFAT Updates

Our current intern in Ixiamas, Bolivia, is 2008 Practicum graduate Becky Forrest. During Practicum, Becky shared her experience on our blog. Now that she is in an intetn in Bolivia, she will post updates as our interns in 2008 did. Becky served on short-term mission trips in 2007 and 2008 in Ixiamas.

What an exciting 2 weeks! My birthday was March 21, and the kids gave me a party. Chocolate cake, my favorite, but the Bolivian way to have cake on your birthday is that your first bite has to be face first into the cake. Needless to say, I had cake all over my face. Two of the older kids held my head to make sure I got a good bite. They laughed very hard at me. They all made me cards, and Rachel gave me an apple and grapes that were a real treat to have fresh fruit. It was definitely a birthday I will not forget.

On Friday when I went to check my email, I had two mp3 files, one with Pastor Mike´s sermon and the other with the choir’s anthem from Belin UMC. What a wonderful gift it was! I had really been missing church in English. I couldn´t get home fast enough to listen to them. For those who don´t know, Belin has the greatest choir and God blessed me by being a part of them for many years. They are also my largest group of prayer warriors and donors. Several people were involved in creating a file small enough for me to download quickly since I have to pay for my internet use by the minute. I want to send a special thanks to Mark, Chip and John for taking the time to do that for me. You have no idea what it means to me.

Saturday was our great field trip for the kid’s hard work in the Chaco harvesting the rice. We went to visit a Mennonite family from Tennessee that has a farm out past Two Trees. We had to walk part of the way there because of the heavy rains we’ve had, and we were afraid we might get our four wheel drive truck stuck. Their house is deep in the jungle and what a great farm they have. It was like stepping back in time at least 100 years. They have no electricity, but they do have a small solar panel for lights at night. We had church there with them, and it was nice to sing familiar hymns even though they were in Spanish. The pastor gave his message in Spanish and English since there were only 2 of us that did not speak Spanish. The other lady was visiting a Russian family here and is from Canada. After a very nice lunch the kids went with Mervin up to a deep swimming hole in the river that comes down from the mountains. They had wanted to hike up to a big waterfall but the river was too high. I stayed and visited with the family in their very nice home. It was hard to believe we were as far away from everything as we were. They had a very nice stream that ran beside the house, and they pumped water up to a holding tank that ran to the house. They are building a place to house tourists to come and learn about organic farming. As we were leaving they ask me if I had eaten wild pig yet. When they found out I had not, they insisted on giving me some. She said she usually cooked it with onions and garlic. So Sunday, I tried my hand at cooking wild pig and it turned out very good or so everyone said.

In Christ,

Hermana Rebecca (Becky)

Short-term Mission Team Leaders:

We have updated the team leader info page with new versions of some of the forms. To view this page, click here or go to www.sifat.org/tlinfo.html. The forms are at the bottom of the page. If you have questions, please contact us.

For general information about SIFAT’s short-term mission teams, visit our team page. Room is still available for 2009 mission teams. If you are interested in leading a team from your church or being added to an existing team, contact Peggy Walker, walkerp@sifat.org.

Our current intern in Ixiamas, Bolivia, is 2008 Practicum graduate Becky Forrest. During Practicum, Becky shared her experience on our blog. Now that she is in an intetn in Bolivia, she will post updates as our interns in 2008 did. Becky served on short-term mission trips in 2007 and 2008 in Ixiamas.

We are continuing the rice harvest, and I am beginning to get the feel of it, even though the kids and everyone else works rings around me. The neat thing about being out there is the sounds. There are so many different kinds of birds with some very strange sounding songs, singing constantly. One day, we were working near the tree line and things kept falling out of this really big tree. The kids said there was a monkey up there, but we never saw it. Saturday, a couple of pairs of parrots were sitting high up in a palm tree making all sorts of sounds. You can hear all the insects and their songs. The field is beautiful with really tall trees all around it, and when the wind blows in the field through the tops of rice, making a sort of rattling sound. Everyone is spread out cutting the rice tassels many times in silence just working away in their own thoughts as they cut the rice trying to get more done than the person working just a few meters away. Sometimes someone will start singing, and the song floats across the field. Occasionally, a cooling shower of rain will come along or it could be a downpour, most of the time when we leave our clothes are soaking wet from sweat. That is when I am glad to have these nice cold water showers.

Several people have asked if I am really eating rice three times a day. No, but close. Some days we have noodles. My favorite, being a southern girl, is having black-eyed peas and rice twice a week. We have an excellent cook that seasons everything really well. Several times a week, we have rice and a salad made with cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers and red onions. On Saturday, we have potato salad made with potatoes, carrots and chicken mixed up with homemade mayo. We have a little meat of some sort daily. It is usually ground beef, chicken, canned meat sort of like spam and canned fish with a tomato sauce. We have soup several times a week; one of my favorites has a grain called quinoa which is very high in protein. My least favorite breakfast is rice with beets and onions. I like beets okay, just not for breakfast. We have fried plantains with almost every meal. The rice and noodles are always browned before cooking. The reason for this I don´t know yet, except that is how it is done in Bolivia.

Thanks for all the prayers and financial support, so I can be here in Bolivia to live this fascinating journey God is taking me on.

Grace, love and peace

Hermana Rebecca (Becky)

Our current intern in Ixiamas, Bolivia, is 2008 Practicum graduate Becky Forrest. During Practicum, Becky shared her experience on our blog. Now that she is in an intetn in Bolivia, she will post updates as our interns in 2008 did. Becky served on short-term mission trips in 2007 and 2008 in Ixiamas.

I have been here almost a week now and am beginning to get settled in. All the unpacking is done, and my room is just about fixed the way I want it. Some hot water would be nice occasionally, but you can’t have everything!

The trip from La Paz went well, but I must tell about the mini bus ride from Rurre. Rachel and I had to wait several hours for the bus to get full before they would leave, but then the driver was not around. Finally another driver said he would take us. His bus was an ancient Suburban–Rachel and I figured it was from the early 70’s. If it had been in the states it would have been long turned into scrap. There was a man traveling with a broken leg, so he had the back seat and paid for 3 seats so he could stretch his leg out. That left where the normal third set would be. Well they had removed it and replaced it with a bench seat on each side. There were three of us on one side and four on the other. Most Bolivians are very short people and don’t require a lot of head room, but I had to really pay attention to the road so I didn’t bang my head on each bump. Those of you who have been here know there are quite a few pot holes in the roads here which are all dirt. With only two stops to make minor repairs, one being getting water out of a ditch to put in the radiator that was beginning to overheat a little, we made it to the Internado for supper. I made a grand entrance by toppling over backwards from the weight of my backpack as I got off the motor taxi I had ridden on from town. Needless to say all the kids had a good laugh.

Monday morning, we all went to work harvesting the rice. This was really an experience for me. All the rice is harvested by hand with a pocket knife. About six acres have been planted, and the harvest has just begun. I managed to fill a little over a half a sack. Needless to say, I had the least amount. Then you have to carry your sack back to the truck, which is a good hike. The kids work really hard and several were singing to pass the time. We saw several pairs of McCaw’s fly over while out there working. The countryside is so beautiful here, and being the rainy season, everything is very green and lush. The views out of my window are gorgeous, and I thank God everyday for creating such a beautiful world for his creatures to live in. Most nights are cloudy, so I haven’t really been able to spend much time stargazing, but I anxiously await a good clear night because the stars look like you could reach out and touch them.

Thanks for all of your prayers for everyone here at the Internado.

Grace, peace and love,

Hermana Becky

Our current intern in Ixiamas, Bolivia, is 2008 Practicum graduate Becky Forrest. During Practicum, Becky shared her experience on our blog. Now that she is in an intetn in Bolivia, she will post updates as our interns in 2008 did. Becky served on short-term mission trips in 2007 and 2008 in Ixiamas.

It doesn’t seem possible that I have been in Bolivia for two weeks. Time has been flying by, and although Spanish is improving, it still has a long way to go. Pastor Ivan Roman has been a very patient teacher. Along with Spanish lessons, he and his family have taken me in and given me some very delicious local meals with a few Puerto Rican dishes thrown in. One was a stew containing tripe. This was a first for me, but I did take a try at it. It was sort of like eating frog legs for me I just couldn’t get past the mental thing, but the stew itself was very tasty.

I joined the family for a trip up to Alto for Bible school with the children there. Unfortunately, I left my camera at the hotel and missed out on some beautiful pictures of some very dear children. The Christian brothers and sisters of Bolivia have been so warm and welcoming. I have enjoyed two services with Pastor Ivan in his home church. Today I actually was able to join in with most of the songs. One evening before Rachel and Mateo left for Ixiamas, Mateo’s church had a special prayer service at his parents’ home. This was a very spirit filled evening that I will always remember.

I cannot thank everyone enough for their prayers and support. It means so much to know that I have so many praying for me from all over the world. I have had many emails from my SIFAT Practicum family assuring me that I am in their prayers as I begin this new journey of my life. Many of them have much persecution in their countries and they also need the prayers of all who read this.

On Thursday, I will be traveling to Ixiamas. I will be so glad to get to the Internado and see the kids. They will help me improve my Spanish very quickly. My posts will be much more interesting when I am living at the Internado.

Hasta luego

Hermana Rebecca (Becky)