Filed under: Uncategorized
Filed under: Anne
We don’t blog as much these days because there aren’t as many new cultural experiences as there used to be when we first moved here, but the last few days have afforded some new fodder for blogging.
As of last Thursday, Avery had had a fever for almost a week. So we did the usual here, called her pediatrician that we love on her personal cell phone and she was at our house within a couple hours. All for $20! But as I suspected, she couldn’t find anything wrong with her. (more…)
- Taxi driver says something to me in Spanish, I tell him I don’t understand. Avery pats my leg and says condescendingly, “It’s okay, Mom. It’s okay that YOU don’t speak Spanish.”
- At a local restaurant, while watching the President’s inaugural limo drive down the parade route: “I think they have too many people in there and that’s why it’s going so slow.”
- Before going to get her blood drawn for a lab test, while holding her swimsuit, “If I have to have a needle in my arm, then I get to go swimming afterward.”
- After screaming and kicking throughout the blood draw, “Is there any blood left in me?”
- Later that night, while letting her arm hang limp and swearing she can’t move it, “Mom, have you ever had these kind of problems that I’m having?”
Filed under: Life in Bolivia, News of Bolivia, Tom, holidays | Tags: articles, Bolivia, Christianity Today, Christmas, legalism
Our little country has hit the big time, at least in terms of the anti-Christmas stance of their “Evangelical” Christians. Christianity Today had the following article today about how Bolivian Christians have pretty much rejected Christmas. This is funny to us, since, at our school, we light the Advent candles, teach Christmas carols and have a huge Christmas program for the parents, and (as Anne has so astutely pointed out) not one parent has complained! Anyway, here’s the article’s link; totally worth reading: “Always Summer, Never Christmas”.
When Christians don’t set aside a holy day for Christ’s birth, [South American Bishop, Frank] Lyons says, “I think the whole doctrine of the Incarnation is lost. We may refer to it every now and then, but the whole historical aspect of the faith that brings it into the present falls by the wayside.” – from the article
Filed under: Bolivian music stuff, Highlands School, Tom, holidays | Tags: Christmas, elementary school, high school, middle school, music, program, school
Today was … character-building. Most of the school converged on this church building for our Christmas program rehearsal. Many – not all, but many – things that could go wrong, well, did.
I forgot about a song I was supposed to help the 1st and 2nd graders with.
The archangel Catalina (surely you’ve read about her in Luke!) got mad at her teacher for some, um, creative decisions he decided to surprise her with.
There were major disagreements with the middle school teachers on how their kiddos should come up on the stage.
The middle schoolers made most of our hair turn several shades of gray by burying their faces in the sheet music and frowning through “Deck the Hall” and “Jingle Bell Rock”.
The middle schoolers suddenly became snapping-challenged in the middle of the big number.
My senior pennywhistle player had an existential crisis.
I left the practice thinking pretty much everyone on staff was mad at me.
I mumbled and frowned my way through the rest of the day, managing with much willpower and not a little grace from the Almighty not to take it out on my high school English class. It was only after discovering that no one indeed was mad at me and everyone was very happy with how the rehearsal went (were they at the same rehearsal?!?!?), that my spirits began to lift and I regained the will to go on.
All that is to say, after the dust clears, I love what I do. Freaky how that works.
We got caroled-to tonight. Our school’s staff – mostly the single folk – decided to go around and sing Christmas carols to the families we know. They ended their round of spreading cheer with our home. It was delightful – and kinda weird – to hear carolers outside our door.
When the doorbell rang, Anne peeked out and said, “Tom, there are a bunch of people caroling!” This was odd because no one carols here. Funny thing is, Anne couldn’t see out that well, so they were, like three songs in before we got up the nerve to open the door. It was a wonderful surprise to see our friends out there, belting out carol after carol after carol.
They decided that, because I like to sing, they should sing every last carol on this songsheet I had made. That’s about twenty Chiristmas carols. In a row. Non-stop.
The world’s longest medley. It was hilarious.
And sweet.
Even if the Panthers had lost (which they did not), this seasonal serenade from our dear friends would still have totally made our night.
Just had the best time listening to the Panthers beat Tampa Bay. It’s like we were there. Woo hoo!
Filed under: Uncategorized
The church we’ve been attending this school year does a children’s moment during almost every service. We really like that Avery gets to participate in the service, but we hold our breath every time she goes forward with the other kids. She always manages to sit right next to the person speaking, which puts her in close proximity to the microphone. Of course, the speaker at the children’s moment always asks the kids questions, and Avery’s hand is always up, even if she has no idea what the question or answer is. Thankfully, she hasn’t said anything too embarassing so far, but it is usually fairly amusing.
Take today’s exchange for example. . .
Speaker: “Who knows what holiday we are all about to celebrate?”
Avery: “The cookie exchange” (planned for later that day at our house)
Speaker: “Who can tell me what you would like for Christmas?”
Avery: “I want new clothes.”
Perhaps you can’t tell it, but we HAVE been talking about JESUS this Christmas, but it is difficult to tell from her answers! Next Sunday is the children’s program where she will play the role of a lamb. Hopefully her only line is BAAA!
