Above you see Nora filling out the three different forms required for entry into Bolivia. I also had a visa application which I needed to turn in at the airport, which thankfully went without a hitch -- well, once the visa processing people arrived. It didn't matter that I had to wait for my visa, though, since our next flight's itinerary had been changed to four hours later. As one of that airline's employees said with a shrug: Yeah, some days it leaves at 7 pm, other days at 11 pm.
Isn't the countryside beautiful? This is the Altiplano area, 4200 m (13,800 feet) above sea level. The day after arriving we were driven to the training site along with others who had flown in from the Amazon region of Bolivia. All in all there were 12 health workers from Samaritan's Purse who had come to learn how they could integrate spiritual teachings with their physical teachings.
We shared a time of worship every morning. You can't see him in this picture, but Ireneo is playing the plastic bottle! Yup, just put a few small rocks and dirt in a plastic bottle and you get another percussion instrument.
Here is Felix showing us what his group discovered about the worldview of the community they work in, from the roots (beliefs) to the trunk (values) to the branches (behavior) to the fruit (consequences).
Here you see Ireneo, Magaly, and Beatriz acting in a dramatization called "River Crossing Story," which illustrates the difference between relief and development.
End of the training, each participant with a certificate!
Time for a few last pictures just outside of our training site -- here I am with a herd of llamas.
And here is some llama on my plate! After a week of goat and sheep they offered us llama on the last day, which is surprisingly yummy!Thankfully, the Samaritan's Purse secretary called to confirm our non-stop return to Buenos Aires that was scheduled to leave at 8:45 am. It turns out it left at 7 am and had a layover! :-)
