Hey Friends,


Well, it finally happened. The internet joint in Moro Moro closed it´s doors. It seems the advent of cell phones has dropped the traffic to the internet-based phone service, and there´s not enough traffic to keep the doors open for just the computer users. It´s now a 90 minute drive by moto (much more by truck or bus) to find internet. All this as I´m trying to finish up thesis work - I´ve got a Jan 11 deadline. I have submitted my final revision, we´ll see what they say...


But there´s good news! We´ve figured out how to call our cell ophone with Skype, so if you´d like to call us, it´s super simple, and only $.17 per minute. Donñt try calling from your phone at home without some sort of calling card - my brother and I had a nice conversation at over $2 per minute!

So, if you want to call and deliver a Christmas (or post-Chrismas, really, anytime) greeting, we´d love to hear from you!

If calling from skype (http://www.skype.com/) - make sure you ahve some $ on your account.
Click "call phones"
Use the drop-down box to find Bolivia (+591)
Enter our phone number - 73692060
Click "call"
Enjoy how much the world has shrunk with technology.

After a month of being on assignment, we actually accomplished some real work. We´ve certainly done lots of relationship building, learning, and talking, but boy does it feel good to have mixed and poured some cement and seen a physical object as our completed work. A big thanks to Brian and Krista, the previous workers for getting the ball rolling on this project. With the help of the owner and an albanil (is it the same word in English?? Bricklayer maybe) we poured a toma (water intake structure) and built a brick structure to hold sand as a filter. The location is at the Don Ephrain´s orchard, so his family and workers can enjoy water that doesn´t contain pesticide run-off, and doesn´t have dead rats floating and frogs swimming in the tank. They currently drink out of an irrigation pond - not good. Here´s pictures of constructing the toma.



As always, thank you all for your prayers, words of encouragement, and support. We´re definitely feeling the distance from family, friends, and all things familiar as we get into the Christmas spirit here. Until now, there has been a bigger focus on the high school graduation than Christmas. The graduation fiesta was last night, so now we can really get into the Spirit. I´m searching for Christmas videos here - tough to find.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Andy