May 31, 2017 - Rainy Saturday

This was a blog I posted back in the fall.  It is one of the last old blogs that I am reposting.  Hope you enjoy.

After an entire week of running a fever, I woke up this Saturday morning feeling ok.  Sometime during the night my fever broke.  So I felt I needed to get out of the house.  Only problem is that I also woke up to a steady rain.

I have had plans for a few weeks to get up early one Saturday morning and take pictures for some upcoming blogs.  I am doing ones for the Chiriguano statue, the Madre India statue, the Cañoto Statue, the Avion Pirata, and the cemetery.  That would mean that I would need to walk the First Ring again.  I could stay home and grade papers and make lesson plans, and then later write some of my new novel, but the green was calling me.  So I took a shower and got out of the house by 9:00.

It was raining outside, not heavy, just a light steady rain.  I stopped at the ATM next door, because I had just a few dollars in cash, then crossed the Plaza Blacut.  I took the picture you see below of the reflections in the rain puddles.  It was not hot, but steamy.  The humidity was 100% at least!  So an old guy like me was quickly covered in sweat.

I stopped for a few minutes at the Starbucks for a café mocha blanco.  I also ordered a cuñapé, the delicious little cheese rolls we have here. Looking out on Avenida Velarde, I could see more rain.  For a few minutes it was heavy.  In places it was flooding the street.  I watched a car hydroplane, but that never slows them down.  I saw a lady get drenched as a car went by.  Drivers here are aggressive.  A little gnat was bothering me.  He really wanted to make his home in my eye, so I decided it was time to brave the rain.

I walked through my barrio to get to Avenida las Americas, so I was close to the Madre India.  Away from traffic, the little barrio was so peaceful.  Flowers blooming in profusion.  The light dripping of the rain.  The scents of jasmine and someone’s breakfast.  I could live in this barrio forever. 

Soon I was at the Madre India.  With the gray skies, I am not sure how my pictures will look.  I might need to return one hot afternoon when the sun is just right. 

The rain was too heavy and I had too far to go, so I took a taxi to the cemetery.  I don’t know what you think of cemeteries, but to me they are not creepy.  They are an expression of the culture in a vivid way.  It speaks of death, yes, but also the love between families.  The Santa Cruz Cemetery is one of the most beautiful little parks in this city.  And it is quiet!  It is on the busy First Ring, but it is quiet.  The rush of the city vanishes behind its walls and you have a few moments to contemplate your mortality.

Still with more rain, I took another taxi to the Avion Pirata.  There is an interesting story why an airplane is in the middle of the city.  You’ll just have to wait for my upcoming blog.  I took a trufi to the Cañoto statue.  A trufi is like a taxi, but they take multiple passengers and go on a specified route.  This one just goes around the First Ring.  Besides, the Cañoto statue is half the First Ring away. 

I have already written blogs on the Madre India, Cañoto, and Avion Pirata.  I just needed some pictures.  I haven’t written a blog on the cemetery yet, but will after I finish this one. 

I cut through town to walk by the Plaza and look for a museum I had heard about.  I saw the windows, but a lady let me in to see it is just a very pretty building in rubble.  So I walked on home, stopping by Teconté for some lunch, and here I am now, finishing this blog.

Hope your Saturday was beautiful.  I know October in Texas can be incredibly gorgeous.

May 30, 2017 - Specie Versus Kind

Specie Versus Kind

A Christian teacher tells his class that the white rhino is extinct except for a few individual rhinos being guarded day and night.  I am sad, because the rhino is my favorite animal.  My former students will remember that we had our Potter’s Rhino shirts for track and field and kickball.  Yet, the loss of rhinos is not the complete truth.

The vanishing rhino is part of a narrative being spread around the world that in part has to do with Noah’s Ark.  There are too many species to have fit on the Ark.  The world is made of millions of species that man is destroying.  Both of these ideas are based on faulty science and against the Christianity of the Bible.

It is true that many African species were more abundant in 1900 than today, but the numbers stopped shrinking for most in the 70s.  Since then the numbers have grown.  In fact, white rhinos make up 66% of the 30,000 rhinos in the world today.  The Javan and Sumatran rhinos are in the danger zone with less than 100 of both species, but the other three species are growing.  The story about the white rhino decline is only partially true.  In South Africa, the numbers are growing, over 20,000, while in Kenya they are down to just a handful.

I am all for animal preservation, but science today is becoming a religion.  You are expected to believe it without question.  If scientists say rhinos are on the verge of extinction, you are expected to believe them unswervingly, even if the facts show their numbers are rising.

I was told I would never see a bald eagle in the wild when I was younger.  Today, the bald eagle has been taken off the endangered list.  And I saw one this past December in Bristol, Texas.  On the hill between Bristol and Alsdorf, just past the bridge is a small pond.  I was startled to see what looked like a bald eagle.  I backed up my jeep and there it was, sitting on a dead tree, looking into the pond.  I jumped out of my jeep and fumbled for my phone.  About that same moment, he dived in the pond and came out with a fish and flew away.  Just across the river, is a wetland sanctuary that has a breeding pair of bald eagles.  I am guessing this guy was one of them.

The scare that the world is experiencing about animals dying off goes along with the idea of mass speciation.  In my lifetime, scientist have redefined what a species is.  At one time, a species meant it could interbreed with others of its specie.  Today it is no longer accepted that species cannot interbreed, since many do in captivity, and sometimes in the wild.  Scientist have labeled the white rhino as two species.  They ignore the fact that the southern white rhino is increasing, and scare you that the northern white rhino is about to become extinct.  The same could be said of cougars (pumas, mountain lions, panthers, etc.)  It some areas they are almost gone, like Florida, but in other areas they are a pest.  Elephants are declining in West Africa, but on the rise in South Africa.  It is easier for scientist to tell you that the “forest” elephant is vanishing than to tell you it is basically the same specie as the African elephant, that regularly has members of its population culled in South Africa.  If you are scared the elephant is going to vanish, you will more likely allow drastic measure to preserve them.

Scientist will often scoff at Noah’s Ark, saying it would be impossible to fit all those species on the ark.  Yet the Bible never uses the word specie.  This is a word invented by scientists in recent centuries.  The Bible uses the word kind, a term that implies these animals can produce young.  Horses can breed with donkeys and produce mules.  Donkeys and some breeds of ponies have been bred with zebras too.  Likely, there were two members of the horse kind on the ark.  What did it look like?  Who knows.  Today’s modern horse is the result of domestication and selective breeding for millennia.
 

Domestic dogs can breed with wolves, coyotes, dingoes, jackals, and foxes.  Chickens can breed with guinea fowl and peafowl (think peacock).  Lions and tigers have produced ligers in zoos and circuses, as well as lions and leopards, and lions and jaguars.  Asian and African elephants have bred too (Motty born in the Chester Zoo in England in 1978).  Pumapards, a cross between a puma and leopard, were the rage in German zoos of the 1800s.  Almost every specie of goat and sheep, wild and domestic, have interbred, creating a wide variety of breeds.  The same has happened with cattle, bison, yaks, and water buffalo.  The list could go on and on.

Still there are literally tens of thousands of kinds, right?  How did they all fit on the Ark?  A fact rarely mentioned by flood detractors is that most species are aquatic or invertebrate.  Aquatic species were not on the Ark.  Invertebrates, like insects and spiders, would have survived in debris floating on the ocean, buried under mud, in the larval stage in the water, or among the food Noah was commanded to bring with him.  Amphibians are aquatic as young and many species of reptiles and mammals are aquatic, so would not necessarily be on the Ark.  There were no blue whales or dolphins on the Ark. 

That leaves us with about half of all reptiles, most mammals, and all birds.  I imagine that full grown elephants were on the Ark, but who is to say they weren’t babies.  If dinosaurs did not go extinct in the Flood, which I believe they didn't (oops that just made me crazy), those dinosaurs might have been babies.  The average mammal is about the size of a sheep (though more than half of the species of mammals are mice and bats).  The average bird is the size of a sparrow and the average reptile about that of a lizard.  If we consider the idea of kind, that can interbreed, the Ark could have been easily filled with sheep, sparrows, and lizards, as well as the occasional giraffe, rhino, ostrich, and Galapagos tortoise.  The Ark easily had room for about 20,000 animals.

Most of us are reasonable people.  We think we would never be lied to.  We think the science community, politicians, and the media are honest.  We don’t think they could possibly have an agenda.  What if the agenda is they don’t believe in God and will skewer any evidence to prove He does not exist?

I believe in God.  There is too much evidence for me.  Ove the next few months, I am going to examine some of that evidence and share it with you.   Here, I wanted to show you the Ark was possible and not to panic over some of your favorite animals vanishing.

Here is a link to my current novels.

 

May 29, 2017 - Santa Cruz Winter

Santa Cruz Winter

School is out and it is Memorial Day in Texas.  You are looking forward to cookouts, the swimming pools, and a visit to the beach.  Now that winter has ended in Texas, I guess it is a good time to talk about Bolivian winter, or at least the winter in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.  I originally wrote this on a Saturday morning in mid-September.  The night was cool, but the weather forecast was saying 95.  Today though is quite the opposite.

Santa Cruz is in the tropical lowlands of South America.  About half of Bolivia is in the Andes Mountains and remains cooler, or colder, all year round.  Santa Cruz is warm year-round, and often hot.  If you look at statistics on the weather here, it shows that the hottest day on record was 100 in November.  When I tell Bolivians that the typical summer in Dallas is usually around 100 (38 Celsius) they are shocked, because it rarely gets above 34 or 35 Celsius, in the mid-90s.  Occasionally it does reach 100, or pretty close to it.  In Dallas, you feel the heat when you go outside, but in Santa Cruz, if you stick to the shady side of the street or sit under a tree, it doesn’t feel so bad.

The winter here is at the same time as Texas summer.  Santa Cruz, Bolivia is below the Equator, so it enjoys opposite seasons.  Most days of the winter months are like those beautiful Dallas sunny days in January.  You want to be outside!  Some trees lose their leaves, but many more are in bloom.  It is a beautiful time of year.  Then you are hit with a surazo, a cold wind from the south, blowing up from Antarctica and picking up speed in the vast plains of Argentina.  There is nothing to stop it!  Temperatures will drop to the low 50s at night and maybe not quite 65 during the day.  The wind bites into you.  No, it is not freezing, but it feels like it.  The houses here are not built for months of cold, so even with every window and door shut tight, it feels cold.

In my apartment, the wind blows so hard that at times you can’t open the door, and closing windows can be difficult.  My apartment is situated with one window facing south.  When a surazo is blowing in, I notice it right away.  The living room curtains are blowing.  Quickly you feel the drop of temperature.  A surazo usually lasts for three days.  The third day is mild and usually sunny.  There is little if any breeze.  It is a great day to get outside!

My bedroom window faces north.  The day after the surazo the wind changes direction; it blows from the north.  I love it when it changes direction.  I wrap myself in my blankets at night and enjoy the wind blowing in my window.  This is not a gentle breeze, but wind that can blow you down.  It is a day to do laundry, because it is windy and dry.  In minutes your shirts are dry.  In an hour your towels, and a bit longer for jeans.  When I originally wrote this, I could feel the beginning of an afternoon heat.  By noon my windows were shut and the air conditioning was on for the first time in three days.

Today, the day I am posting this blog, May 29, 2017, it is cold.  I checked the outside temperature to discover that it is only 55 degrees outside. It is not quite the day to go strolling in the park; more likely a day to stay wrapped in a blanket and write.  Winter has ended in Texas, but it is winter in Santa Cruz!

Here is a link to my novels.

 

 

June 3, 2017 - Proof of the Resurrection

Proof of the Resurrection

It is scientifically impossible for someone to be raised from the dead.  You might be on the table in the emergency room for a few minutes, seem dead, and the doctor brings you back.  But you aren’t really dead.  The claim that Jesus, in the tomb for three days, coming back to life is preposterous! 

First of all, it is preposterous to state that it could not have happened.  For something to become a fact of science it must be well accepted in the scientific community.  A simple research on the internet and you will discover a lot of argument between a scientific theory and a scientific law.  Scientists seem to agree that you can never be 100% certain of anything.  Therefore, it is always just a theory.  If scientists agree that you can never be certain of anything, why would anyone say they Resurrection could not have happened?

There is evidence of the Resurrection, which should cause scientists to affirm that it happened.  Those who refuse to look at the evidence, have an agenda.  Do you have an agenda?  Or are you open to the evidence that Jesus rose from the dead?  That is what I want to share with you on today’s blog.

There are five facts that an attorney might use in proving his case for the Resurrection.

#1 – The Execution

Historical evidence points to the execution of Jesus by crucifixion.  The Romans were experts at this.  The men carrying out this execution were not inexperienced teens fresh out of high school, learning the tricks of being a soldier, they were skilled career soldiers.  Of the tens of thousands of executions by crucifixion conducted by the Romans, not one person survived.  It was an excruciating death.  Most were dead within a few hours or a day, though some hung on for two or three days.  The Roman soldiers in charge that day thrust a spear into Jesus’ side, most likely destroying the lungs and heart.  It was impossible for a man to survive this.

Each of the four gospels has a chapter or more dedicated to the crucifixion of Jesus.  Most don’t want to rely just on the Bible as evidence, so they will brush it aside.  But non-biblical sources abound from the years shortly after the execution, including Josephus, Tacitus, and Lucian of Samosata.  If someone says, Jesus was never crucified, he is saying he does not believe in historical evidence.  It is one of the most proven facts of First Century Rome.

#2 – The Empty Tomb

All four Gospels report that Jesus was buried in a tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, and even some writings never considered to be canon of the church make the same claim.  This was never disputed in the First Century, even by detractors of the Christians.  Three days later the tomb was empty.  The Romans were meticulous record keepers.  In the days that followed, as the disciples were proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection, they could have disputed it, but they never did.  If he was indeed dead, they Romans and Jewish leaders would have produced a body, but they never did. 

It is true that the Jewish leaders claimed that someone stole the body of Jesus.  This is evidence for the empty tomb.  Why would they make this claim if the tomb had a body in it?  The average person of Jerusalem could have made the walk to the tomb, seen it opened, and realized there was no body there.  Something happened to the body.

Claudius Caesar issued a decree specifically for the province of Judea declaring that those who stole bodies from tombs were to be punished by death.  He did not say those who robbed tombs of valuables, but bodies.  Claudius Caesar knew the tomb was empty.

#3 – Eyewitnesses

The Bible lists many who encountered Christ shortly after his resurrection, a group of women, the disciples, James the brother of Jesus, and at least 500 others at one time.  Imagine more than 500 seeing the resurrected Christ!  In a world that demanded verifiable proof, much like our own, not one refutation of these witnesses has ever been documented and every witness agreed with each other.  That alone would stand up in any court in the land.

One of the most surprising testimonies of the resurrection were the women mentioned in the gospels.  In our modern age, women are considered reliable witnesses, but not in the First Century.  Women were not called to testify in court cases, because their testimony was not believable (this is not my opinion, but the opinion of the period).  Why would the gospels have used witnesses considered unreliable?  It proves the story was not fabricated.  If the story were just made up, they would have used only men, especially the most educated members of society.

Maybe Jesus somehow survived the crucifixion, some will say.  But why would there not be one report of a weak, wounded man, desperately needing medical attention?  There were over 500 reports of a glorified Jesus. 

#4 – Early Records

The entire New Testament was written in about 50 years.  There were people living that could be questioned about Jesus.  These same people could have refuted any of the claims of the gospels and Paul’s letters, but not one person came forward.  Paul was writing in less than 20 years after the resurrection.  It states in Galatians he met with Peter.  Luke was a meticulous Greek scientist/doctor (he will be a topic for a future blog).  It was obvious the Jewish leaders had an agenda for not believing in Jesus.  They ordered the Christians not to teach Jesus, but they never said what happened didn’t happen.

#5 – The Emergence of the Church

The most amazing evidence of the Resurrection is the growth of the early church.  It exploded on the world in the century after Christ’s resurrection.  The gospels show the disciples hiding, terrified that they were next to die.  But after the Resurrection, these same men were willing to die.  These men said they saw the resurrected Christ.  They were dying for their testimony.  

Rome, according to some estimates, had a third of the world population at this time.  Within less than a century over 10% of Romans were Christian.  By the time of Constantine, that number was up to half the population.  That is when it became the official religion of the Roman Empire.  In less than 300 years, Christianity defeated the largest empire in the history of the world, not by the sword, but by the teachings of the resurrected Christ.

It was the changed lives of the apostles and later the early Christian fathers that changed the lives of so many.  Stephen was so changed that he was willing to die at the hands of the Sanhedrin.  The brother of Jesus, James, would not recant his beliefs and was stoned to death.  James, the son of Zebedee, was beheaded.  Thomas was speared to death.  James, the son of Alphaeus, was beaten with a club.  Bartholomew was skinned alive in India.  Timothy was stoned to death in Ephesus.  Peter, Andrew, Philip, and Paul were all crucified.  Who would die for a fake story?  They are proof of the Resurrection. 

If you don’t accept the facts of Christ’s resurrection, what is your agenda?  Or are you afraid that it just might be true?

Adapted from an article from pleaseconvinceme.com and the book, God’s Not Dead, Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty, by Rice Brooks

May 28, 2017 - Coffee, Art, and Haircut

Coffee, Art, and Haircut

Enjoying a cappuccino, listening to the rain, and writing.  That’s how my morning started at the Café Patrimonio near the Plaza.  A cool breeze was blowing when I left my apartment, inviting me to walk.  When I arrived at the café, it started a light rain.

It has barely been a month since I was introduced to this place, but I have already been back a dozen times.  Spending $4 for a coffee and a cuñapé (a South American cheese roll), sitting on a lovely patio, surrounded by rooms filled with art, and listening to classical music, is one of the best medicines for the heart.  I always leave feeling uplifted.

I had a haircut appointment at 11:00, but that gave me time to see a new art exhibit at Manzana Uno.  There was a new artist named Leoni exhibited there.  I fell in love with his art immediately looking at a picture called “After the Rain.”  It looked like one of the Chiquitano churches of eastern Santa Cruz.  It was mostly blue and did look like what you’d expect after a rain storm.  The price on it was $650!  I wish I had the money for it, but there are more important things than having more things in my house.  The other paintings on display were in reds and browns, what I’d imagine seeing looking at the Chiquitano towns.  I’ve got to go there soon!

Elie was waiting for me when I went in for my haircut.  She and I have the most interesting conversations.  She fusses about my beard, but always says she makes me look handsome when I leave.  She was talking to me about visiting Montero and Warnes to the north of Santa Cruz.  It sounds about as easy going to these two towns as going to Cotoca or Samaipata, so you can expect a visit there soon.  Maybe even this week.

I wasn’t quite ready to go home and clean my house.  I needed something else to avoid that monstrosity for one more day.  So I went back to the Plaza for lunch at La Pascana.  Upon entering, I was debating whether to sit inside or on the patio.  Sebastian, my waiter, said if I sat on the patio, I’d be his first customer of the day.  Being assigned to the patio on a rainy day meant no customers.  It wasn’t raining, so I sat on the patio.  Before I left, he had three more tables filled with customers.  Sometimes it only takes one to get something started.

One of the things that amazes me regularly is the quality I can get here in Santa Cruz.  I had picaña, which is grilled chopped steak.  On the side were fries, veggies, and a soda.  A steak like this in Ennis would probably cost $20 (I’m thinking of two places in particular), without the sides or drink.  This only cost me $10. 

I leave a big tip for these guys who wait on me, Sebastian, Fabiola, and Jorge.  Though I don’t think $5 is a big tip, they seem to think so.  They treat me like a celebrity.  They discovered I am a writer, so I guess to them I am Hemmingway.  Today I brought one of my books, because Fabiola wanted to see it.

“Why isn’t it in Spanish?” they asked.

Well, my Spanish isn’t that good.  But it is nice to be appreciated.  I make a point of returning here at least once a week, sometimes twice.  

How blessed I am to have days like this!  Thank you, Father!

May 27, 2017 - The Tenth Commandment

The Tenth Commandment

Are you content with what you have?  Or do you think about getting a little more money each month?  Maybe if I could just win the lottery?  If I could buy a new car or have that new TV.  If that person would just fall in love with me.  If I lived in a house like that or my boss would treat me differently.  Do you have those thoughts?  Probably, because most of us do.

The Tenth Commandment says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.  You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”  This commandment is being satisfied with what you have. 

First, let’s discuss who is your neighbor.  Yes, it is the people who live next door and on your street, but it is so much more than that.  Remember the story of the Good Samaritan.  A man was robbed, beaten, and left bloody on the side of the road.  Two very respectable men walked by and did not want to be involved, but a Samaritan, a hated enemy of the Jews, walked by and took care of the man.  For those of you who do not understand what a Samaritan would be in today’s world, think Muslim, illegal immigrant, Democrat (or Republican, depending on how you vote), or that dirty individual you want your kids to have nothing to do with.  So we can say our neighbors include even those people we don’t like.

Jesus was trying to get us to see that everybody is our neighbor.  Even the rich millionaires of New York and Beverly Hills are our neighbors.  The guys in the nice homes of Highland Park are our neighbors.  The people who travel to Monaco, Dubai, and Paris for the weekend are our neighbors.  

It is not wrong to want something, but it crosses the line if it belongs to another.  If we desire what someone else has it shows the selfishness in our hearts.  Here is how Paul described what life would be like in the last days.  I wonder, are you in there?

“There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power.”  2 Timothy 3:1-5.

These are a people who are covetous.  They are more concerned with what they deserve and how they are treated, rather than what they can give or how they can treat others.  It speaks of a world of selfies and people who are easily offended, people whose needs are more important than the needs of others.

Let me give an example.  How many of my fellow Americans and Canadians who call themselves Christians are concerned about the church that was burned in Nigeria or Egypt this last weekend, or the Christian school girls taken captive in Nigeria?  Do any of us weep over the fact that close a million Christians in the Middle East have either died or been forced from their homes in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, and other parts of the Middle East?

We are more concerned about how many likes our selfie gets or the person that hurt our daughter’s feelings, that we don’t realize these things don’t matter in the long run, or for that matter, they don’t matter at all.  Why should you care that you got 5 likes or 500?  You know what real friends are, don’t you?  If your daughter got her feelings hurt, why not teach her about forgiveness?  Instead of us being so concerned with things that probably won’t really make us happy for more than a few moments, why not pray for those in real need, like our brothers in Christ in the Middle East?

Contentment.  It all boils down to that.  God has truly blessed you, if like me, you were born in America or Canada or Western Europe.  You can show your thanks to God by spreading His love to others in need.  You don’t need more things.  Be content with what you have.

May 26, 2017 - The Myth of Climate Change

The Myth of Climate Change

The polar ice caps are melting.  The seas are rising so rapidly that soon our coastal cities will be under water.  Drought is ravaging the world.  People are starving around us.  If we don’t do something now, the world will be unlivable in just a few decades.

I read these articles on the Internet and I am terrified!  Well, no I am not.  Because I don’t believe it. 

But, Mark, it is scientifically proven to be true.  How can you not believe?

Let me share just a few facts about why I don’t believe that it is true.

First, some predictions meant to scare us into action have not materialized.  Jim Hansen of NASA predicted in 1988 that the West Side Highway in New York City would be underwater in 20 to 40 years.  At the rate the sea has risen since his prediction, we still have another 1000 years to go.  In 2007, Al Gore said the Polar Ice Cap would be gone by 2015.  It’s still there and has grown by 76%.  Hurricanes were predicted to increase, yet we are now at 50 year lows.  The Max Planck Institute said to expect snow and frost to disappear in the next decade (September 2008), yet what followed were several of the snowiest winters on record and no country has seen a decrease in snowfall.  The UN predicted in 2005 that by the year 2014 world temperatures would rise by 1 to 2 degrees centigrade.  Yet we have had 16 straight years of no temperature change.  In 2011, the news media across the US was saying we have more monster tornados from now on, yet F3 tornados are declining.  Those are just a few.

Greenland is my pet-peeve.  As a kid, you probably asked why is Greenland called Greenland and Iceland called Iceland?  Aren’t they opposite of that?  Well, not really.  Iceland is covered in glaciers.  You cannot trek from east to west or from north to south.  Huge glaciers get in the way.  The only way to get around Iceland, past the ice, is to go on the highway that circles the island. 

Greenland is 80% covered in a glacier, but the early explorers did not know that.  Exploration and colonization of Greenland began from Iceland, Norway, and Denmark in the 900s.  Historical records and recent ice core samples show that Greenland was warmer then than it is today.  Ice core samples show a warm period from about 850 to 1200, which matches historical data.  The Vikings found a “green” land.  Certainly, not all of Greenland, but in the southwest corner was a land green enough to farm.  About a century later, it began to be too cold for farming, so Greenlanders lived off sheep and cattle.  But a century after that they couldn’t even raise animals.  Most left by the 1200s.

Those who argue against global warming caused by man point to obvious warm periods in history.  Around the time of Christ, the world was warmer than it is today, but was followed by a cold period that pushed nomadic Germans and Celts to look for warmer lands.  The Germanic invasions led to the destruction of Rome.

Around 1300, the world entered into what many call the Little Ice Age. Did you ever wonder why the people of the Middle Ages and Renaissance wore so many clothes?  Well, it is because it was colder!  This period is called the Little Ice Age.  Most think it lasted from about 1300 to about 1850 and seemed to affect the North Atlantic more than the rest of the world, except the world was not keeping records, so we really don’t know.  This is why you will see paintings of frozen rivers that don’t freeze now, or read stories by Dickens of London covered in snow (London doesn’t get a lot of snow now).  Lisbon got as many as 8 snowstorms a year.  The colonies in Greenland vanished.  The Pilgrims died from severe winters.  It was colder.  Since 1850 we have gradually become warmer.

I could go one with evidence refuted by science and history, but some would call me a denier.  Well, I am denying it.  There is no proof that the world is getting warmer and even less proof that man is the cause. 

Why then is this the agenda in governments around the world?  It is political, of course.  Just a few days ago, I wrote this about overpopulation scares:

“Why are we being told that overpopulation is going to destroy the planet?  I believe it is political.  If people believe that the world is about to collapse around them, they will be willing to let government take over.  I am almost 60 and my entire life has seen a push toward a one-world government, that will limit our freedoms for the benefit of all mankind.  The United Nations, the European Union, and NAFTA are just such examples.  They allow you to be wealthy, but scare you into believing your wealth is about to disappear.  Will you have water in a decade?  Will you be able to eat as well when you are 80 as you can now?  Will the billions of starving invade the US and take all that we have?  That is what they want you to think about, so you give them power.

“As a Christian, I will never support a one-world government.  Who will be in charge?  Who will decide what freedoms are acceptable?  Will I be able to worship freely in this new one-world nation, or will my religion be accused of oppression?  Who decides things like abortion, family size, or euthanasia for the elderly?  How do we know this is not opening the door for the Anti-Christ?”

The reasons are the same.  If you believe that man is destroying the environment, you will let the government take more and more control of your life.  That isn’t to say that reducing carbon-monoxide into the air, cleaning up trash, preserving green spaces, or reducing pollution are not good things.  But giving up your freedom to a government because of false scientific reports is not the answer.

I, as a Christian, want a cleaner earth.  I want the environment cared for.  I want animal species to increase, rather than decrease.  I want a beautiful world, but not at the price being demanded.

My Grandmother liked to quote this verse any time someone says something about Global Warming, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”  That was God’s promise to Noah as he left the ark.

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May 25, 2017 - Texas in Bolivia

Texas in Bolivia

For you in Texas, it is hard to imagine life without tacos, jalapeños, and Texas hamburgers.   You cannot imagine my delight when a friend told me about a hamburger place on the Second Ring that advertises Texas hamburgers and kolaches. 

Kolaches?  If you are from my part of Texas you know exactly what those pastries topped by fruit or some other delicacy.  My friend, Anna, told me the owner was from Texas.  I had to go.  Monday of this week, she posted a picture of his delicious burgers.  So, I decided, today was the day!

Even though my house needed cleaning, and I avoided cleaning it all weekend, I went anyway.  It started as a cool windy morning, so I decided to walk.  It was a 45-minute walk, but I stopped a few times to take pictures and sat in the plaza across the street from the Cemetery, so it took me almost twice that long.  By the time, I was at the plaza, the sun was out and it was getting warm.  So glad I opted for short sleeves!

Hungry?

The Big Tex Kolache Bakery is on the Second Ring and Avenida Alemania, a busy intersection.  From the outside, it looked much like any other burger place in Sant Cruz.  Once inside I saw more than a dozen varieties of kolaches and burger menu.  I ordered a bacon cheese burger, without onions, but smothered in jalapeños.  I was a little early for lunch, but that didn’t matter.  I don’t mind a 20-minute wait for a delicious burger.

While I was waiting, the owner, Adrian, came in.  One of his workers told him I was from Texas.

“Where are you from?” he asked in perfect Texan.

“Ennis,” I answered.  “Since I am from kolache country, I had to come and try.”

It turns out he was born in Houston, but lived many years in Ennis.  We talked about many places we knew in common.  He is married to a Bolivian lady and they have a young son.  They wanted to raise him in the simpler life of Bolivia.  So that is why he is here.

Except that morning, he had a car wreck and was frustrated at paying off the girl he hit.  It seems she was starting and stopping over and over.  She pulled out in an intersection and slammed on her brakes.  That is when he crashed into her.  She came out of the car screaming about her neck and threatening to call the police.  In Bolivia, if you are American and get into a wreck, they will impound your car until you pay dozens of fines giving numerous officials a financially prosperous month.  She suggested they go to a body shop nearby.  Though her car was covered with scratches and dents, the body shop still said it should cost him $100.  Now do you understand why I don’t want a car in Santa Cruz?

Still, he was glad to welcome a fellow Texan into his restaurant.  I had a very filling hamburger, but walked out with several kolaches for later.  Not only will I be back, but I am already making plans for a repeat visit with several different friends.

Texas in Bolivia is always welcome!

May 24, 2017 - Not So Fun

Bill Paying Day Was Not So Fun

Yesterday, I wrote about my attempt to pay bills, only to discover that it was May Day, an international holiday.  Today, I decided to try again.

All night I was waking up singing “Anciano de Dias,” a song we sang at church Sunday.  So when I got up, I found it on YouTube and played it over and over while getting ready.  I was to discover that I needed it, because it was a frustrating morning.

Link to Anciano de Dias

I was at Tigo, the phone company, at 8:20 ready for it to open at 8:30, as were a dozen others.  Somehow, I managed to be at the front of the line, probably because the others were nicer than me.

I explained to the tech that I couldn’t access Facebook and Instagram on my phone, which I usually can.  She typed in some things on the computer and then explained that I needed to pay my bill.  I had paid on April 7^th (less than a month ago), which she saw on the computer, but if I wanted to use it this month, I needed to pay.  So, I went to the cashier, but she said my bill wouldn’t be ready until the 4^th, in two more days.  It seems on my plan, I must pay before the last day of the month.  Frustrated!

I crossed the street to the Banco Ganadero, which still wasn’t opened.  Again, I was waiting with a dozen people, but when the door opened all the cashiers were free, so I didn’t have to wait.  My plan was to try something different this month.  After problems changing money at the Banco Fassil last month, I decided to try to change it at the same place I pay rent.  It turned out to be easier.  The frustration level dropped a bit.

My electric and gas bill won’t arrive for a week, so I will pay them then.  There are several places I can pay my internet, but I prefer the one two blocks from the Plaza.

At 9:30, it was already getting hot and I was developing a headache, probably because of the frustration, but I convinced myself I needed a coffee at the Café Patrimonio.  Yes, the coffee helped.  I talked to the cleaning lady about the house the Café is in, a beautiful colonial home built around two patios.  She encouraged me to go to the second floor, which is usually cordoned off.  I had a spectacular view of the Cathedral.  Imagine living in a place like this!  If not here on earth, then in heaven.

Cotas is just two blocks away.  Usually it is a five-minute stop, but today was different.  A man had a problem with the cashier.  I could see her frustration growing.  I was fourth in line, but while I waited, I saw the line grow to ten people.  One man tried to cut to the front of the line, but that didn’t go over well with the others, nor me to be honest.  Twenty minutes later, I was waited on and was done for the day!

I found a taxi almost as soon as I walked out the door.  To my relief, Christian music was playing.  One of the highlights of most any day is talking to my taxi driver.  He is a Christian for 20 years and a graduate of a seminary.  It took us less than two blocks to discover we were brothers in Christ.  All the idiotic frustration I had allowed on myself this morning washed away, as I was reminded that it will be worth it all when we see Jesus.

I might not be a missionary right now.  I’m leading a good life, retired and writing.  Yet, I am always a missionary.  I don’t know what any day will hold for me, so I must be prepared.  (Even as I write this, the tea I was boiling to make iced tea, boiled over).  The frustrations are momentary distractions to take us away from Jesus and our mission.

Don’t forget that.  Whatever is going on with you will pass.  If you are a believer, like me, you will see Jesus.  Rest, knowing he will keep his promises.

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