Well, we made it through our first week in Bolivia.  It was stressful, but I hasten to admit that all the stress was self-imposed.  However, I have faith that things will get better - and I'll get better at finding my way around this BIG beautiful temple, better at fulfilling my various responsibilities, and better at speaking Spanish.  So in the meantime, here are a few more notes and pictures . . . . (remember you can double-click on the pictures and they will come up full-screen size.)

First, I wanted to give you a little better idea how BIG the temple grounds are.  Six acres is hard to visualize, but here's a picture taken from across the street that may help.  The white building on the left (with the pink roof) is the Temple President's home.  In the center is the BIG hospedaje where we live - in fact, it's the biggest thing in the picture.  And on the right about halfway down the picture, you can see the temple spire. 

Now here's a picture of the hospedaje itself, so you can see how big it really is.  Our apartment is on the top floor and faces the temple.

Here are a couple of pictures of our apartment.  It's very cool, clean and convenient.  There is NO heating or air conditioning built in - it all works on a "natural climate" system.  When it's hot, you open all the windows and turn on a fan.  When it's cold, we will close all the windows and (probably) move the little space heater they've given us from room to room as we need it.  <smile>  It doesn't get colder than 60 degrees (we hope), but that can be pretty chilly, as we learned in Ecuador.  We have lots of blankets and I brought sweaters, so hopefully we're prepared. 

This is our dining area and the front door on the right.  I am standing with my back to the kitchen.

 

Next, here's the living room.  I am standing with my back to our windows, facing the front door.  There's a couch to my right that matches the two chairs.  A big flat-screen T-V is out of sight to my left.  We haven't turned it on yet <smile> though I hear there's a possibility of getting the "March Madness" games and if so, I think our abstinence from T-V will cease.

A look at our bedroom - I am standing in the doorway with my back to the living room.


And the kitchen . . . small but efficient.  Note the "American" stove - flat electric burners, and an oven with a thermostat.  You can't get much better than that.

There are some things about this mission that are really different from Ecuador – and I think this is the reason we are struggling a little to get acclimatized.  First, there is the location. It is SO high here (almost 9,000 feet) that we are gasping for breath when we climb the stairs to the temple.  We’re thirsty all the time (and yes, we’re drinking water constantly to hydrate), plus we’re tired.  I haven’t had this little energy in a long time and I can only ascribe it to the altitude, which means we should get used to it eventually.   Second, in Ecuador we started right out working with the members, living in an apartment building, and because it was a smaller city and we were living near the city center, we could and did walk everywhere, thus getting our bearings and getting a feel for the place itself.  Here we are of necessity insulated from the city proper – plus the temple is in one of the nicer residential areas rather than near city center – and because we are so unsure of ourselves in so many aspects (learning our responsibilities, my weakness in Spanish, etc.), we aren’t pushing the ticket to get out and see what’s here and interact with the people so that we will begin to feel at home.  (Plus, anywhere we walk is going to be downhill, which means a tough uphill climb coming back, so we’re not making that effort yet.)  Third, in Ecuador we knew how to do what we were called to do – work with the members, help the branch and district leadership, help the missionaries teach occasionally.  Here, we are learning something totally new – like changing employment and learning a new job - and in a foreign country at that – and we all know how unsettling such things can be! 

So . . . as of yet, we really haven’t recovered our equilibrium physically or mentally, but it will come.  We know we are where the Lord wants us to be.  We know, and have a deep conviction of, the beauty and eternal significance of the temple ordinances.  The temple really IS the Lord’s house, so what better place to be?  I’ll just be a whole lot more relaxed and able to appreciate it after I have learned my way around AND learned all I need to know in order to function effectively and efficiently.

 

Lastly, to end on a positive note, here's a picture of us ready to go and serve in the House of the Lord.  I accidentally included both pictures and can't figure out how to remove one, so . . . sorry for the redundancy.

 

Until next week, vayan con Dios . . .