we made it... FINALLY

It's 8:30 pm and everyone is crashing. It was a LONG trip...34+ hours we think. The schedule had us arriving @ 8am... But reality poved it was 1pm!

It all started with a water foul delay in Denver. We were boarded and ready to fly, but the plane was going nowhere. The pilot eventually came on the intercom and shared the tragic news that 3 ducks had been squished on the runway by another plane. DIA had to shut things down and reroute planes to a different runway!

The delay was not a bit deal as we had over 6 hours in Miami before our next flight. Which was a blessing as 2 of our team members did not have their immunization cards, which were required to get our tickets in Miami (even thought in Bolivia, they never even checked them). We were able to get copies fax to us at the airport and all seemed well (althought the ticket agent said, Ï THINK they will accept a photocopy in Santa Cruz!).

But the fun had only just begun. We were scheduled to depart Miami at 11:10pm. We began boarding at 10:15 and by about 11:45 we actually had everyone in their correct seats... who knew it could take so long! Walking down the gate to the plane, I turned around and said to Dave, "no turning back now!" About an hour after take off, the pilot came on and said, "I have some bad news; it is nothing of great concern, but a warning light for the left engine was activated, and he would be turning the plane around to return to Miami". So I guess there was a "turning back". We landed in Miami for a second time shortly after 2 am. By 3 am were on a new plane heading for Bolivia once again.

After a short stop in La Paz to change passengars, we finally arrived in Santa Cruz. Then it took about another hour to get through the line to obtain our visas... which by the way, we learned that $100 bills from the US dated 2001 are not accepted here! Lucky we I had brought just enough spending cash to replace the 2 Bills we had that were not acceptable. Then came word that another bill had a hole in it... and would not be accepted either... so we turned to the few remaing students and scrounged up enough cash for that as well. I guess the American Dollar truly is loosing its value!

We are here now. 2 great meals are in our tummies and we are headed to bed. Tomorrow is a new day! We will be going to the market, finalizing our preparations for VBS, and hanging out in the evening with the local youth directors who are anxious to meet us... and we are excited to meet them as well. It is great having Chad along. And James & Jenny are wonderful hosts for our team. Speaking of the team, you parents should be proud of them. They handled all of this amazingly and with good attitudes and no complaining! I love this team!

Keep praying... God is up to great things with us here in Bolivia!