Try to catch you up

Sorry about the lack of blogs. I've had some technical difficulty, and so I've moved here to Blogger. We'll see how this works.

A lot has happened since I last posted. I will summarize the last 2 months with the following list, and if you want some more details I urge you to check out Jon, Ross, David, Hannah and Ali's blogs which should cover most of these stories in more detail:

1. Keith and Ryan (from Denver Area YFC and West High School) came for a week visit. We did a lot, including 4-wheeling, Bible studies, helped a young man that had been stabbed several times in the face, basketball, a BBQ at our house with nearly 100 people and ...

2. Machupichu. It will not disappoint you. It is amazing, and I got to go twice in 3 days because...

3. Pierre, Jaime, Tim and Katy came to visit. We met up in Cuszo (which is actually officially spelled Qozqo!!), did the "most important archiological discovery" thing, and then bused it back to La Paz. I really enjoyed having the Clem's and Sarnow's here. We did a lot of my normal things, but we also scouted a new backpacking route: Yunga Cruz. It is an unbelievable trail. I'm sure they've never played as much basketball as we did in their 2 week visit, and I said goodbye and headed to...

4. Cochabamba for Project Serve. Twenty-two gringos for 2 weeks here to serve. The group included several from Harvard, my 9th grade Spanish teacher, Steve with a mullet (you have to respect a guy with a mullet!), and all around a great team. We painted 2 churches (including a great mural of Noah's Ark... it was professional), performed some dramas and started the foundation for a third church. Good times, but it was still good to come back to...

5. La Paz. It was so good to be home after 3 months of absolute madeness. I had a little more breathing room, so I decided to take up a new occupation: shoe shinning. I tell more about that later. But first, I just got back from...

6. Yunga Cruz. David, Ross and I took 9 shoe shiners on one of the greatest Bolivian trails. The first day and a half are above tree line and the ancient Inka trail blows my civil engineering mind. The second half of the trip drops into jungle. As in a machette would have been useful jungle. David celebrated his 20th birthday on the trip, and we had some great campfire talks, naps and Mom's chile. I got home just in time to...

7. Get beat. My basketball team has been in an uphill battle and I'm about to loose my sanity. We are currently 1 and 5. It is very frustrating because unlike working with teenagers, the guys are very set in their ways and I can't believe how they treat each other. I play for enjoyment and a little physical activity, and I'm starting to think it isn't worth it. So today I took a Sabbath and went to the U.S. embassy to renew my...

8. Passport. I applied for a new passport, which means the next 10 years I will have a passport with really long hair. The great irony is that I'm probably going to return to short hair. It really bothers me how much shampoo I consume.

OK, that will have to do for now. I will be sure to write more about shoe shinning soon and very soon.