February 4, 2017
Saturday Morning
This is a repost of a blog I wrote in August, at the end of winter. It is typical of what a day would be like.
I woke up around 6:45. It was windy. We had a cold front this week. Those cold fronts are called surazos in
Bolivia. This one was a mild one. This week the mornings were cold, in the
upper 50s, and by the afternoons it was in the 80s. This surazo cleared the skies of all the
smoke that had been covering the city.
The smoke is caused by farmers burning their fields; many here still use
the slash and burn method. After a
surazo there is usually a lot of wind from the opposite direction. It was hard to get out of bed this
morning. I love being wrapped in a
blanket, the breeze coming in the window, and reading my bible.
But I had things I needed to do, so no matter how much my bed cried out to me, I had to get up. First, I stopped by Starbucks for breakfast. I can get a cheaper breakfast, but it is nice to splurge occasionally. Besides, it only cost about $5 here, so it is not so expensive. For those who like Starbucks, it is basically the same as in the States, coffees, teas, and pastries. The restaurant is clean and upbeat. It is one of the nicest places in my neighborhood.
I then walked to Dr. Zabala’s office to take
care of some immigration papers, but he was not at his office, nor were any of
the neighboring offices, nor the immigration building open. It was eerily quiet there, so I came to
realize that the immigration building makes that street busy. It was so empty, that I was able to cross the
street to the rotunda and take a good picture of the statue.
It was early so I stopped by the Fidalga,
grocery store, and walked a little further to Teconté, my favorite bakery. Teconté grew even further in my esteem this
morning. They have awesome baked goods
like sonso, baked yucca with cheese; cuñapé, baked cheese rolls; a baked rice
bread wrapped in banana leaves; and slowly I am discovering more, like the
bread with cheese baked inside. But
today, I noticed the owner taking time away from her customers to give an old
man, who I have seen begging along Avenida Iralá, a
cup of coffee and a breakfast roll. She
was not giving him the food in disposable cups or plates, but in the dishes she
serves to customers.
Proverbs 19:17 says, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward them for what they have done.”
Say a prayer that the owners of this establishment will come to know the Lord, or if they already do, that He will bless them.
Walking home I noticed two ladies I have
seen several times in the last few weeks.
They are from one of the highland tribes, but I can’t tell those tribes apart. Every time I had seen these ladies, they were
on the corner of Las Americas and Iralá, begging as the cars go by. Occasionally, a driver gives them a 1 or .50
Bs, so I don’t think they make more than $10 a day, if that. I have really wanted their picture, because
they look so distinctive, something you don’t see in the States, so I offered
one of the ladies 10 Bs. to take her picture.
That is less than $2. It took a
few minutes for her to understand because she did not speak Spanish. She called the other lady over and they soon
understood I wanted their picture. As I
was leaving the second lady asked for 10 Bs. too. It was worth it to get their picture. If they had asked for more, I probably would
have given it. I don’t feel I gave
enough, so I will look for them again in the next few days.
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