And they rested.....

Yesiree.....there is reason for rest on that seventh day! Our two weeks of travel and trekking with Barb, Cammeo, Scott and Kristy has us rested and mellow. Did some of you think you would ever catch us in rocking chairs?

We are on Isla del Sol, where we hiked and stayed one night in a charming little spot.

Scott trying to ditch me in some of the ruins on Isla del Sol. The island, according to Incan legend, is where the first Incas arrived from the sun and rose from the lake. It is therefore an island full of spiritual significance to this day.

Copacabana, Bolivia....the focus of our Border Mission in Bolivia. We have four church communities in the area in which we are training "Promotores de Buena Salud", community healthcare workers whose focus is on education and prevention. We discovered some new places to hike and explore this time. The hill you see on the left is where we will be perched in the next photo.

Scott, Bev, Scott and Kristy from the top of the Copacabana Cerro post-sunset.

Part of the Cordillera Real as seen from Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca out of Copacabana. We had conversely just seen great views of the lake while trekking up Illampu, which is on the far left.

And we looked back to Lake Titicaca from here!
This was our base camp while trekking up Illampu , about 4000 feet above Sorata, which is hidden far below the clouds. We then climbed another 2000-2500 to reach our destination, Laguna Glacier on Illampu. Quite a fancy new dining tent....Scott is trying to figure out how we can get one for Alaska and just drive the car in to camp!

Scott and Kristy at Laguna Glacier as we basked in the sun and listened to the crevasses expand and avalanches cut loose in the distance. When we saw the number of MUCH younger trekkers that were unable to reach the glacier, we appreciated the pace of our guides and our health.

Ricardo, our very experienced guide, who lives on a small farm part way up Illampu. He is a gentle spirit with a great sense of humor. He has trekked and climbed throughout Bolivia and South America....including the highest peaks. He is the father of three and has many dreams for their education and future. He is desperately trying to make those dreams come true by working 6 days a week in a new tin mine....hard, dangerous work.

Andy's college roommate, Ben, has been fun to reconnect with in La Paz. He works as a guide, so he not only helped us put together the trek, but came along as our cook. What a patient guy with us seniors,

"Los Silverados"!

Thanks, Ben!

Some of our hiking buddies along the way. The small hillside communities consist of subsistance farmers and hopeful miners. Each home has their sheep, chickens, alpacas, pigs, crops, and kids!

Even though you can't see our faces, just know we were very proud and happy to have made it to the Laguna Glacier. Gorgeous views, good weather, yummy lunch, and safe return back to base camp! We recommend trekking in the Cordillera Real of Bolivia and hope to do more before we return to the states.

Exploring Bolivia

Scott and the girls! Bev, Scott, Barb and Cammeo in Sucre exploring a new part of Bolivia. Highly recommended by all!











We took a 14 km. day hike in the mountains outside of Sucre. These pictographs are 20,000 years old. It was not hard to imagine the pre-Incan culture which lived and traveled through these mountains. We saw the caves where they rested, streams where they drank as they ran to the next village carrying messages written on paper-thin bark.















The interesting jagged rock formations and huge valleys still inhabited by villagers and their sheep.










Our Iowa girl trying out her balance and skill! Cammeo had not done much hiking before, but did awesome.

















Barb and Bev on a section of the Inca trail....there are thousands and thousands of miles of Inca trail to be hiked on in both Peru and Bolivia.


Hint for anyone coming to hike any sections of the trail: stair step training before you come!












Yes, Scott is leaving his mark of balancing rocks throughout Peru and Bolivia. I had illusions of grandeur .....a giant on top of Cerro Rico of Potosi?









Close....this is the real Cerro Rico looming over Potosi. Eight million indigenous lost their lives mining this mountain for the Spanish. Average life span is still just 10-15 years after they begin their mining career here because of silicosis which destroys their lungs.










Barb at St. Teresa Convent with cloistered nuns. Their fund raiser: you ring a little bell, put money on this revolving tray and door, and place your order for candied fruit.














And it magically appears! We decided it was very sweet and sticky, but a unique experience. We did manage to get the nun providing our fruit to speak....Barb got a response to her question regarding how many nuns lived there.

"Hay muchas."

And he´s off! Don´t know if he will get very far, but someone had fun making it.

March Team

Meet our March Mission Team.....minus Kade, who unfortunately was sick at the time we took this photo at Chani outside of Copacabana. Jill and Dave Wagers brought their three kids Kade, Savannah and Delaney who did absolutely great. Jill is my current dentist, and we love to remind everyone that her husband Dave runs Idaho Candy Company! We were so glad that Dave´s brother Gary blue jacket in second row, was able to replace his passport and stay with us after being robbed in Puno. What would we have done without our always-smiling banker who kept our finances organized? We were also so grateful for the experience and input of John Kriz, our retired (?) dentist and Barbara King, physical therapist. Their contributions to the education of our Promotores de Buena Salud and their communities were appreciated.

Dental needs are huge here. We spent two days on Taquile Island assisting our friend Dra. Paola, who volunteers frequently in outlying communities.

We all had the opportunitiy to receive training in different areas and functioned very well as a team. Jill and John were both patient and good teachers!

You can tell lighting was not great....we had to use flashlights and headlamps. We maximized daylight hours, no late night clinics!

Dave and Jill proved that married couples can indeed work well as a team!

Not aerobics.....Barb doing one of her energizing and very helpful physical therapy instructional sessions with the Promotores de Buena Salud. Most of the people here live physically demanding lives, working hard in their fields and hauling huge loads on their backs.

Education and prevention is especially critical when working with the children. It is not uncommon to need 3 to 6 extraccions by the age of 6. We saw many mouths completely full of decayed teeth, some rotted to the gums.

Gary and Scott working on a 14 year old, applying some flouride in hopes of saving some of her remaining teeth. We left flouride with a promotore to apply monthly to certain children in need, but it is never a substitute for education and prevention.

We visited the small school in this community and were teaching toothbrushing with the use of blue tint. Healthcare and preventative care have not been part of their culture. There is interest....now we need followthrough,

In La Paz we spent a morning at the Methodist Instituto Americano, their huge Pre-K through 12th grade school of 3400 students. The Wagers family led an activity to set up penpals between Anser School in Boise and the Instituto Americano.
Good time was had by all!

Our friend Moises is the director of their bi-lingual program, and we appreciated his organizing our visit to the school. Needless to say, there was a lot of interest in these three blondies....the only in the entire school.

The three dentists...Paola, John, and Jill.

And our hope for continued education and prevention lies with these Promotores de Buena Salud!

Training Promotores de Buena Salud

Muchos saludos de Puno! The sunny skies are returning marking the end of our rainy season. Nights are chilly, but the days are getting up to 65-70 degrees.....in the sun.









We had a lively household this week during the first training of "Promotores de Buena Salud" from both Peru and Bolivia. We were fortunate to have Moises with us, a young bilingual teacher from the Methodist Church's Instituto Americano in La Paz. He was a tremendous help with translation, education, and music.







Ta-dah! A little hike around Sillustani, an old pre-Inca and Inca site known for its funeraries. The huge rock in front of Moises has knobs they would wedge into another huge rock with matching indentations to construct the walls of the burial funeraries.

Part of our training facilities at the Juliaca Methodist Church. Yesirree....behind the white curtain is a toilet which we tried not to use....pretty scarey!

The promotores in training were excited to discover where their lungs and hearts were, and even more excited to listen to them work. We were all alive and well! The initial shyness and modesty did not last long.

They acted out scenarios of different illnesses demonstrating basic questions and exams to decide what to do. Send them to the local Puesto de Salud? Poor Felipe in the chair has a case of the flu....in Spanish, gripe. No.....that is "greeeepay", although he did complain a little about it as well.

They also are learning how to take pulses and temperatures. It is all new! We are preparing them to volunteer with mission teams and their local Puestos de Salud.

The focus of the course is on education and prevention, allowing them to take more responsibility for the health of themselves and others in their communities.

Isidro and Victor planning their presentation! It was fun to see how creative they were. Most of our instruction is based on the basic healthcare presented in the "Healthwise Handbook."

We also learned how many of us we could cram into the restaurant down the street!

Our promotores in training from both Bolivia and Peru. What a crew! The fellowship shared during the exchange and training was heartwarming.

What a month!

We have had a very busy February, traveling to meetings with church leadership of both Peru and Bolivia in Copacabana and Lima; the general assembly in Lima; and two 1/2 weeks traveling and working with the first team from Boise FUMC, Cathedral of the Rockies. It was wonderful to reconnect with old friends, as well as make new ones.


















A lot of our work is about relationships and experiences shared. This last team, including Karen Hintz from Boise, got into the spirit of things very easily!


One of our projects in Cusco was in response to the horrible flooding they have had, contaminating their water sources. This is Wilbur, who works for our friends Eliana and Willy in Cusco at their hostal, Kay Pacha Lodge. His community is a 5-6 hour walk high into the hills and their water source which was totally destroyed will not be repaired until June or July. Many are ill, yet only have the contaminated water to drink; so we trained him as a trainer to share a basic chlorine water purification system, as well as the proper administration of worming meds. The team prepared the purification containers and all necessary supplies seen here with a very appreciative young man. He has promised Scott and me a hike to his village before we leave.





This Quechua woman outside of Cusco (and her assistant!) is showing us her cuy (guinea pig) production project started by our Oregon/Idaho conference to generate sustainable funds for community members and the local churches. It has been a very successful model here. Yes, we have eaten cuy quite a few times here.....I try not to remember pets, and think of it as a special meal generously given!













Working with Victoria, a local nurse from La Paz, during one of our health education sessions. We often have translations needed from Spanish to Aymara, so working with locals is a must. We also involve local medical professionals as much as possible. Our focus is on education and prevention; and the areas we have focused on are dental care, eyecare, disease prevention, and nutrition. Many people have never brushed their teeth, so they need a little hands on assistance!





Cammeo and Charlie help a woman who is learning to brush her teeth. We tinted teeth with blue mouthwash to helped them see the areas they needed to brush. Cammeo did a wonderful job presenting, as did Charlie who earned quite a reputation as a great spitter in his demos.














At this altitude certain eye problems (like pterygiums, dry eyes) are frequently seen due to the intensity of sun, the wind, and dust. Prevention is key...hats, sunglasses, learning to keep their eyes lubricated through blinking and closing their eyes.

In Copacabana, Bolivia we are able to refer to a Cuban eye mission for free treatment. We have enoyed getting to know their doctors, one of whom is a Methodist!



We explored the Sacred Valley, including a little hike in the Incan site of Ollantaytambo. All teams start with a few days in Cusco to acclimate to the altitude and to learn more about the Incan culture and rich history of the people they will meet and work with.










Our first team from Boise First United Methodist Church, Cathedral of the Rockies. (minus Steve and Vicki who were in Lima) What an amazing job they did at adjusting to a number of unforeseen events: flooding which closed Machu Picchu, flights that were cancelled, schedules and activities that had to change. We all decided we had grown and learned a lot together.

Our thanks to each and every one of you!