The big news right now is that Dana's dad arrived over a week ago, and our kids have been having a great time with their "Papa Mac." Tom has jumped right in and has been teaching English in the school, as well as to some of the instructors at the Spanish school we attended last year. He's a real trooper!
I also had an opportunity to visit the "Mana a Mano" airplane hanger, where WorldVenture donated goods and money for fuel to help in providing emergency relief to the tribal people in the North of Bolivia who have been completely flooded out this year. It was interesting to see what 1 person is doing with very limited resources.
We are half-way through a series of workshops we are doing on Integral Mission, linking church, family, society, and work. Last week was my first chance to take the lead and teach specific to the area of work. I have enjoyed learning of a Theology of Work, and the importance of work in the Christian life. This was a real challenge and success for me, teaching a new topic area, and teaching in Spanish too.
As a part of this process, we are also visiting each of the churches of these pastors, and encouraging them in their place of work. Last weekend, I had a chance to see a new and different church as part of this process.
This is one of the knife sharpeners with a portable grinding wheel. They push this around and use a very specific whistle to let people know they are in the area. Then the attach the large wheel to the grinder with a belt and use their foot to make it spin while they sharpen knives.
Finally, here is a picture of a billboard reminding people they have to provide an official "factura" (government tax receipt) to make sure taxes are paid on every purchase. To the side, is a reminder that if you are caught not doing so, your business will be shut down for 6 days. The 2nd time, 12 days; 3rd 24 days, and the 4th time for 48 days. There is still a lot of "unofficial" businesses here, and we have had some very interesting conversations with businesspeople on both sides of this issue regarding the challenges and frustrations.
No comments:
Post a Comment