I don't have anything exciting to report (except that we survived a mandatory physical at the Bolivian Public Health Clinic and the people there were uniformly helpful, courteous, and very nice), so I'm just going to show you a few random pictures and call it good for today.
First, here's a picture of a Book of Mormon in the Quechua language. One of the departing couples had an extra copy and gave it to Farron. As far as I can see, it bears little resemblance to Spanish and I don't think I could ever learn it. Spanish is the official language in Bolivia but something like 34 native languages are recognized and Quechua is #1.
Second, here's a picture of what I call our "safety purses". Instead of carrying a wallet (which normally goes in a man's back pocket and is therefore more susceptible to being stolen), several of the missionaries use these and so do we. You hook the cord around a belt loop, so the purse cannot be "snatched", and most people also tuck the purse inside the waistband of their pants so the shirt hides it until you pull it out to get some money to pay for something. We carry our ID in them too (at this point, still our California Driver Licenses). Hopefully soon we will have a proper Bolivian ID card. The striped one is mine; the brown and blue one is Farron's.
Third, this is a picture of my favorite tree down here. I have not yet found anyone who knows what they are called, but I love them because they are covered in brilliant orange flowers (and my favorite colors are all the shades of orange from peach to deep rust.) The second picture is a close-up, so I hope you can see how beautiful the flowers are. These trees are everywhere and I wish I could bring one home with me!
Fourth, this is my crockpot. Did you ever see such a strange-looking one? And isn't it HUGE? According to the information on the side, it was made by Abbott Industries in Jamaica, New York. It looks really ancient to me - in style and every other way - yet it can't have been here longer than 13 years because that's how the long the temple has been here! I have wondered if Abbott Industries had a bunch of these in storage because they were outdated and somehow they all got sent down here and retrofitted for Bolivian 220-volt electricity. Suppose that's possible?
It comes with a strainer-sort of insert, supposedly for use as a deep fryer and/or a steamer, but I don't intend to deep-fry anything. I don't know if, when you make the picture bigger, you can read the stuff on the side but it tells how long to cook various things like stew, chili, etc. The only problem is that the information isn't accurate, probably because of the altitude. I am the only one of all the missionary wives who uses it. Some of the others don't have one (and don't want one); others have one in the cupboard but never use them because it takes so long to cook anything. Chili, for instance, is supposed to take 5-6 hours on High but really takes 8-9. Nevertheless, I like being able to plug it in at breakfast time and know that dinner will be ready at 5:00 that evening. I use it a LOT, but I have to admit it's the least efficient crockpot I've ever used. I understand Brother Rojas, the hospedaje manager, has a lot of them in storage that either don't work or nobody wants, or both.
We are still having 80+ degree weather during the days and mid-40s at night. The sky is a beautiful blue every day and the flowers and flowering trees are gorgeous. For today I will close with a couple of pictures of the flowers here on the temple grounds. Aren't the hibiscus enormous?
We have poinsettia trees at each end of the lower parking lot. Maybe I should call them bushes, but they are at least 6 feet high. Right now they don't have a lot of blooms but what they have are lovely. I am hoping they'll be covered in blossoms around Christmastime, though I have no idea whether or not that's the way it works down here.
That's it for today. Adios until next week, y vayan con Dios . . .
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