February In Review

February is usually a time of recooperation here in Bolivia.  After 4 solid weeks of camp in January, you are exhausted.  So, a vacation is the only real solution. 

Dad and Mom had heard my rave reviews of Lake Titicaca, so they wanted to go.  We went with several other missionaries and stayed 4 days.  It was beautiful.

While we were there in Copacabana, they were celebrating La Fiesta de La Virgen del Candelaria (The Virgin of Candelaria Festival).  So, in typical Bolivian fashion, there was much dancing and festivities.  The women were dressed in very lavish costumes and would fill the streets, and of course there were live bands filling the air with fast, foot-tapping music until early in the morning.

Festival Dancers

We also climbed El Calvario to see out across the lake and we took a tour of La Isla del Sol, where the Incan’s believed was a sacred place.  Most importantly, we got some much needed rest and relaxation.

Copacabana, Bolivia

After our trip we returned to Cochabamba and began preparation on the school for the 2011 school year.  Dad helped me repair some desks and move bulletin boards.  Mom helped me organize and clean.  It was great help and I would not have been able to finish otherwise.

Mom and I were both able to celebrate our birthdays this month, TOGETHER, something that doesn’t happen often anymore.  I really enjoyed the surprise cake they brought me one morning for breakfast in Copacabana.  Mom enjoyed a nice dinner out with a flaming dessert in Cochabamba.

Birthday Cake for Breakfast!!

Then, we got a call that my grandmother (Dad’s mom) had had a stroke and they were talking hospice.  So, we all flew back to Georgia to see her and say our good-byes.  However, God had other plans!  As I write this, 3 weeks after the stroke, Grandmama still alive and in a nursing home!   She is still paralyzed on her right side, but she is eating well and able to communicate!  God answered prayers.