Reverse Culture Shock Practice

Who knew Lima, Peru was so HUGE?! So big and progressive in fact, that they have all these strange rules prohibiting smoking inside buildings, requiring seat belts while riding in vehicles, and calling for owners to pick up after their pets in public places. Bizarre!

As you've probably seen from recent Facebook statuses or remember from last week's post about the urgency of retrieving my passport before leaving the country, I just went on a four day trip to a veterinary conference in Peru with two co-workers and four vet students. It was a week of firsts for many of them, and long-losts for me.

Three of our girls had never flown before, left Bolivia, nor seen the ocean, let alone been to a city with more people than their entire country. So, needless to say, there was a lot of adrenaline flowing while playing in the surf, learning how to use escalators, and watching the earth shrink beneath them as the plane took off. However, no experience brought on more squealing or bouncing than someone's first glimpse of Kentucky Fried Chicken! (I'll let you guess who that someone might have been)

I'm not exactly sure why I felt it necessary to include a picture of KFC, as if you didn't know what it looked like, or wouldn't believe me if I didn't show you. Really it was more to share my enthusiasm, just seeing the Colonel and the word Kentucky was like a little taste of home, and the excitement barely dwindled as we passed two or three more franchises around town. McDonald's fries and sundae have never tasted nearly so good, and Papa John himself must have flown down to personally prepare my little pizza in the airport, because it was the best pizza in the history of the world. Basically, what I'm trying to say is; I had no idea I was missing such foods so much, and I have no idea how I'll react in December while in the US for the first time after nearly a year and a half. But if this trip was any indicator -- Look Out! Or at least don't get between me and the Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen!!!

Check out more pictures on Facebook, and watch for ministry/veterinary details about the trip in my next two prayer letters...

Faith, Passports, and Knowing When to Quit

"Faith is not believing that God CAN. It is knowing that He WILL." This seemingly harmless statement is currently my friend's Facebook status. Under most circumstances one would not find it particularly controversial or provocative, but this week, it struck a bit of nerve. Let's start from the beginning...

On September 10th, I started the Two-Year-Visa-Fun (as it's officially titled) by waiting for an hour or two to find out that I did not have all of the papers they wanted. This began the process that would take about twelve days and exactly 17,000 trips to the immigration office until on the 22nd they were finally satisfied with my documents and accepted them, telling me to return in two weeks to pick up my Passport. (This sign hangs in the immigration office, in English it reads: "The best way to do things is with Love!" In a government office!)

I generously gave them an extra week and returned on the 12th of October with every confidence that my visa would be waiting for me. However, instead they matter-of-factly told me my papers had just arrived in La Paz (I live in Santa Cruz) and I should return in another two weeks. That's when the panic slowly started to arise, only to crescendo this afternoon as my body tried to decide whether to vomit or faint while waiting in the immigration office for the second time today. You see, the urgency that struck me over the head like a ton of bricks was my trip to Peru in LESS than two weeks, for which of course, I would NEED my passport!

This was no sight-seeing trip to Peru either. My veterinary license renewal period has come and gone, without any grace from the board toward my living-in-a-distant-land situation, and now if I don't get 26 more hours of continuing education before November 30th my license will be terminated. So, this launched phase two of the passport retrieval madness, in which I flew to La Paz to speed the process, returned empty-handed, read two more books while waiting, cried in various government offices, had my car broken into, cried a bit in my own office apparently concerning co-workers as far as Seattle with my uncharacteristic emotional-ness enough to send a "Giant HUG!" cyberly to my rescue, was handed the passport of another US citizen by the name of Lauren (which was so ridiculous that in spite of the tension I couldn't help but laugh), and finally ended up in hundreds of your prayers. I cannot imagine there has been, or will be, a passport as prayed for as this one. Thank you!

In this last step I learned which of you believe the sentiment of the quote at the beginning of this post and which of you have tried it and been let down. Many of you calmly told me to "Just have faith." Others recognized it would be an utter miracle for me to get on that plane as each day passed and they assured me my passport would arrive the next day, and hence rationally tried to come up with alternative solutions. And finally, the third group of you stated out loud what was less reassuring than the "Just have faith" slogan; that maybe God didn't want me to go to Peru.

And from these ideas I have been trying to learn the lesson God's teaching me through this, to ensure that I'll never have to learn it again! My extremely timely devotional yesterday ended with the line "Nuestro futuro desconocido está seguro en las manos de Dios que todo lo conoce." (Our unknown future is safe in God's hands who knows it all.) And this I wholeheartedly believe, but what to do with this thought, I have no idea. If God really is in control, if His plan is greater than our plan, when do we take matters into our own hands and when do we leave them in His? When should I have accepted that God did not want me to have my passport, make this trip, or be a veterinarian anymore?

Well, either it was already in God's plan, but he wanted to make me sweat until the last second, or we were really persuasive with our prayers, but as you've deduced from the photo, this afternoon they finally returned my passport, two-year-visa and all!

I'm still not sure when to throw in the towel and accept that God doesn't want me to do something, and when to faithfully believe He'll give me whatever I ask, but I do know that a lot of you, and a lot of curious onlookers at immigration, just saw an answer to prayer! ¡Peru, nos vemos el domingo!

¡Sí Se Puede!

At Talita Cumi Children's Home they've recently added a little incentive for good behavior called "¡Sí Se Puede!" (Yes You Can!) The contest seems to be working out well for the home, and it's definitely working out well for me as yesterday I got to take this little butterfly out for the day as her prize!

After church, we chose the only chilly day in months to go swimming. I offered her a movie, the zoo, and anything else I could think of, but she had the pool in her pretty little head, and I wasn't about to disappoint her on her special day.

It took me awhile to get her started on the water slides, probably because she couldn't stop shivering, but after I demonstrated the fun to be had, she was a pro.

Among the highlights for me were the stories she told me in the car in her tiny little voice, after she asked if she could turn up the music. That she hoped she could get an extra stuffed bear from the Noah's Ark activity in Sunday School so we could have matching ones. And in the car when she saw me put on my seatbelt and asked "What's that?"

Least favorite moments: when she asked why one of the turtles in the tortugeria was carrying another turtle around on his back... When the turkey vulture thing tried to attack us in the aviary. And at the end of our adventures when I had to drop her off at the home. Of course I can go back and see her any time I want, but it's just not the same as having that little angel all to myself.

Endoscopy and English

Last week, Dr. Glenn Gaines graced us with his presence, his endoscopy expertise, and his goofy sense of humor. Part of what we, as VetRed, do is bring down veterinarians to train the university staff, students, and sometimes local professionals in areas they request. This time the request was for someone to come and teach them how to use this fancy endoscope they'd invested in, but has since only been collecting dust. Glenn was just that man.

Having clowned around in private practice for many years in Texas, he then moved on to cause trouble in Mongolia with VetRed's sort of sister project V.E.T.Net for 3 years. In my humble opinion, both endoscope-laden settings were really just God preparing him for his week here. He was a great sport about everything, and his flexibility about the schedule, frustrating problems with the scope itself, and minor problems with my car (shocking I know) reflected the peace he has through Jesus. The students and faculty loved him and showed their appreciation by feeding him nearly to his bursting point.

He was really fun to have with us, a great help to igniting the university's endoscopy program, and a witness of the joy of Christ to everyone he came in contact with, starting on the airplane ride here. However, I cannot say I would recommend him as an English teacher. He comes with a thick Texas accent, with heavy traces of Southern "grammar". The drawl slowed him down enough that my intermediate veterinary English students could understand him pretty well, but when he used the word "ain't" in class I had to put my foot down.

Thanks for everything Glenn! (I'll try to retrain my students tonight, I hope the damage wasn't irrevocable.)

VetRed Visits the FexpoEvangélica

"We are a network of Christian veterinarians in Latin America. We work with veterinary students and professionals in the universities, in the cities, and in the campo (country). We have Bible studies weekly with the students, monthly with the professionals, and sometimes take groups out to the campo to work with and train the farmers about their animals." This is basically what I repeated to hundreds of passersby of our booth at the Expo last weekend, except in Spanish of course.

Felicidad, my co-worker, and I took a little trip up to Cochabamba to represent World Concern and VetRed at their bi-annual Christian exposition. There were tons of other really cool organizations from around Bolivia sharing their visions for expanding Christ's kingdom in Bolivia, and many with a broader plan for reaching other parts of the world also. During the days there were speakers and discussion sessions about sending missionaries from here. One new Ethiopian friend was so persuasive that he had over 50 Bolivian pastors and leaders commit to pray, send, or go to Africa. I missed that session, but later during a conversation I may have basically agreed to take a team of our vet students over to Somalia to serve in the future as well.

I also made a few really promising contacts through our booth, now we'll see where they lead. You know I'm always looking to start new projects and, of course, for any excuse to visit Cochabamba! It was a wonderful four days, with time to run and enjoy the mountains and lovely cool weather, and plenty of time to visit old friends, the language school, my old church, and Casa de Amor, or at least 11 of their munchkins that Savannah hauled to church and lunch. She's a brave/crazy chica, love her! Love Coch!

You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Somalia, and to the ends of the earth.