Bolivia in the NY Times

For those of you interested in Bolivian politics, there was a NY Times editorial published two weeks ago about the situation here. It's pretty accurate.

There is also a very good response to this editorial from Jim Shultz, who is a an American, living in Cochabamba, Bolivia and who is a political analyst. He can sometimes be very liberal in his remarks, but I found this particular response to be really good. This response was published last week in the NY Times.

Things are peaceful here in Trinidad. At the moment the repercussions are mostly just inconvenience. But I'm learning to live with it and am definitely keeping an ear to things.

The latest development, passed over the weekend was a decree by Evo Morales that roadblocks are now illegal. The department of Santa Cruz has publicly announced yesterday that they will refuse to obey this. This puts the situation back into Morales' hands as to whether or not he will use force to remove them. A similar situation arose in Oruro a few weeks ago that left one person dead and several injured.

Please keep Bolivia in your prayers as this is a very fluid situation that seems to get a bit worse every day.

My birthday in Trinidad

My birthdays in Bolivia the past two years have both been special. Last year I spent it with Lidia and we had a special time together and this year I spent it with my dear friends at La Palmera. This is the fourth time I have been in Bolivia for my birthday, but the first time I have spent it in Trinidad. The day started off with the staff singing happy birthday to me after devotionals. Throughout the morning various students came up to me and wished me happy birthday with a hug and kiss (customary here). Then as I was in the lab, one of the classes sang happy birthday to me and in English! I was impressed. In the evening, I decided to throw a barbecue (parrillada) with steak, sausage and grilled chicken for my friends from the project. About 25 people came and we had a great time. I paid for the meat and the birthday committee from the school paid for the sides of rice, salad and drinks.
My birthday spilled over into yesterday as well when the graduating class gave me a card with special messages from all of them. I think at some point my eyes watered up with emotions of being grateful, as I realized what a wonderful community I am part of. Thank you to those of you praying for a great birthday for me.

In other news, I went down to immigration yesterday to inquire about the process for a 2 year visa (the next one for me). The visa requires me to send all of my paperwork to La Paz for processing. However, after speaking with a guy at the immigration office, he was honest with me and said I'd be better going to La Paz and presenting in person because there are people who have sent their papers from Trinidad and haven't heard anything for months, mostly due to laziness on the part of the people at the Trinidad office and mail delays. So, it looks like I'll be heading there in a couple weeks to take care of all of this. However, because there will likely be a delay in processing, I may take advantage and take a trip to Lake Titicaca for a few days, which is just a short 3 hour drive away from La Paz. You can be in prayer for this visa process as I've learned dealing with the official stuff is never straightforward.

The Post-Revocatoria news

Yesterday was the "revocatoria" or recall vote on Bolivia's President, Evo Morales and all nine of the regional governors. Despite recent protests and rallies (including one here at the airport in Trinidad that prevented Evo from landing with Hugo Chavez), the day was peaceful. The results were that Evo retains his office with 63% of the voters in favor. Four of the nine departments voted heavily against Evo though (Beni (where Trinidad is), Santa Cruz, Chuquisaca and Tarija). Three governors were voted out, those of La Paz (who was not part of Evo's MAS party and had spoken out against him quite a bit), Cochabamba (Manfred Reyes Villa who was responsible for the death of 2 people on the streets of Cochabamba last January) and Oruro (where a recent police shooting took place). However, all of the key oppositions governors - Ruben Costas (Santa Cruz), Ernesto Suarez (Beni) and the governor of Tarija were approved with overwhelming support.

Evo gave a speech after the unofficial results congratulating Bolivians on completing a historic day without violence. It was respectful and he indicated at least in his speech to work for a "united Bolivia" specifically naming all nine departments. How serious he is, we'll see in coming weeks and months. Clearly now, Evo is riding a lot of momentum and my guess is that his next move will be to ratify the new Constitution. How things unfold depends entirely on how the opposition reacts, but for the time being we can expect status quo - strikes, protests and road blockades.

Keep Bolivia in your prayers, this is a very sensitive situation and is far from over. . .

The Lord's work at Camp

I just returned from a three day camp at the La Palmera Chaco (about 45 min from Trinidad) and it was a great camp. The kids learned about obedience as the theme. Last night was a wonderful time in communion with the Lord and the Holy Spirit was moving our group and there was a call for people to come forward and pray the sinners prayer. Then they called forward classmates and leaders to pray over the new Christians and later invited parents and family. It was so beautiful with people weeping in happiness, and then we capped it off singing a slow paced worship song "Nina de tus Ojos" (apple of your eyes) which talks about how God loved us when we were sinners. It was the perfect evening to finish off the camp program.

Next up: My 3rd parade for Bolivian Independence Day on Aug. 6 and then my 28th birthday on the 12th!!