My friends had dined at BWI a couple of times in the past few months and made me jealous posting divine photos on facebook so I had been hanging out to try this place. Definitely met all expectations, the service was impeccable, and the dining experience was a delightful 5-course with a couple of extras in between....

Yummy little extras...

Chilled vichyssoise, oscietra + salmon caviars, beignets of hawkesbury oysters // White + green asparagus, slow poached organic egg yolk, fresh black winter truffle from manjimup

xx

The poster pictured here is one of Godi's optom tools. Not everyone in the rural villages are able to read and write so they used hand symbols instead! I think there's a 'hand dance' floating around on someone's video somewhere :)

This is the lovely Martina. We stayed in her little house last time we were there, and boy has it improved since then! Gone is the dirt floor and leaky roof and everything looks so nice and neat. The kittens have also grown up but there's still lots of chickens running around. Martina has also found a hobby and hopefully also a small income source in making these woven blankets you see pictured here.

This is Noellia, you may have seen a glimpse of her in Joel's video. She was only a little one year old last time we were here and couldn't walk but in the years passed she had grown to be a gorgeous bubbly little girl. Until February this year when she began to have bleeding noses accompanied by a lump on her nose which continued to grow. Biopsies were conducted and the cells were confirmed cancerous, she was taken to La Paz for a month to undergo treatment but she couldn't bear the chemo and missed her family back home, who were also missing her. She has only be given a few more months to live, and our prayers go out to her and her family. We thank God that her family's faith is not shaken and they continue to trust in the power and providence of God despite this pain and sadness.

We presented them with a big group photo of their church which was taken in 2006 and they loved it! One of the missionaries we met in Bolivia talked about how there may be language barriers, especially in short term trips like these, but there is always a language of love that speaks louder than words, and it was moments like these - seeing their delighted faces and their warm embraces - you knew that being there made a difference.

***

Part II begins in The Yuquis - a jungle tribe outside the city of Cochabamba which involved travel of three separate taxis, and an hour long boat ride in hulled out tree trunks pictured here. At this stage in the trip, it was just myself and Tina remaining and after a couple of rough days (I kinda had some domino-effect sickness), we were ready for our last trip with the Elijo La Vida girls. We were told to pack for warm and humid weather with a jacket just in case....boy were we lucky for the jacket just in case!

Warming up by the fire...

The Yuqui people were very different to the other people in various communities we had met. They qualified for government aid and often had people visiting them and providing donations of clothes and food. Personally, I was a little surprised by the difference in attitudes, and began to understand why you can't 'just give', even from most honest of motives, as expectations are created that are not sustainable for communities such as these, who begin to rely on others to survive.

We had a little house to cook meals in - deep fried donuts and hot milky oats for the kids, and deep fried fish and rice for the adults!

The morning after we heated up another big vat of milk (from milk powder) and gave them some bread with dulce de leche for breakfast. We also handed out big packets of powdered milk and oats per family to take home.

Very interested to see how this community progresses - they have a church and a school and a big bunch of kids running around and a lot of love from the many people who visit. I do hope that education will play a big role in teaching them how to look after and work for themselves, and how to help work together to build the community up as a whole. Okay, that's it for me from this trip...if you are interested in finding out any more about this trip or mission work in general don't hesitate to drop me a line, I'd be happy to chat or put you in touch with the right people!

I have a bunch of weddings and shoots to share with you after this...so stay tuned, or get the sneak peek on my facebook page if you're impatient :) xx

The ride to Huacareta was a little bit terrible for me...squished four in the back of a 4WD/ute wasn't a problem at first until the roads were so bumpy I kept getting dislodged from my carefully carved out space and as the night grew blacker and I couldn't see anything as we drove on high beam through mountain/canyon terrain I thought it was best that I kept my eyes quite closed (has anyone seen TopGear Bolivia??). Anyway, apart from that everything was great - the weather was warm, the people were absolutely beautiful, and we had enough time in the region to bond with some of the kids while we kept their hands occupied with lots of activities.

Here are the doctors!! After that looooong 8 hour journey from Sucre to Huacareta, we thought we would be sleeping on dirt floor but to our surprise arrived at this lovely place owned by this couple who worked in the area. We were greeted with hot drinks, hot showers, and beds not to mention a fruit forest out the back, two gorgeous dogs, and a hilarious parrot who was extremely amusing to wake up to.

Here are our doctors, working wherever they could set up, and doing whatever they could do....

Godi was very high in demand!

This little kid in Monteagudo made me sad. He was barely 2 and his brother had knifed him in the eye for some reason or other but they had waited too long to get it checked out and now it was beyond much hope...

The clinic in San Miguel...

Plenty of time to enjoy each other's company and the company of the locals over massive meals, cooked over a fire...

Loved that burnt orange wall and the fact that a horse could walk by at any moment!

Hello kiddies! They were carrying cups because we told them we'd be teaching them how to brush their teeth today and giving them some toothbrushes!

Nurse makes a fantastic comeback :)

Paddlepop sticks + PVA + the gift of instax polaroids = priceless!

The little boy on the right is Jamil. I helped him make his paddlepop stick house and he was the only one who properly grinned for his polaroid.....he was kinda my favourite :P

Dental hygiene time!!

Lilli had a particularly good set of teeth actually!! Most of them were half black or simply missing by a really young age...

We travelled with a team of girls called Elijo La Vida ("choose life") who educated and diagnosed women about their health and issues related to abortion, provided counselling services, and gave assistance and support to those choosing to keep their baby. Vero (pictured here) was also particularly gifted in children's ministry and held the attention of these little ones intently!

Hello Jamil!

A time for prayer...

And a time for preaching!

Church at La Montana

"Ven, de todo bien la fuente,

Ven, eterno Salvador
¡Oh! ayúdame a cantarte

Dignos cantos de loor
Tú, Señor, por mí moriste
Quiero yo por ti vivir

Eres tú mi esperanza
Eres tú mi porvenir"

Empanadas!!! I spotted this little cart with its glowing oven out of the corner of my eye and yelled at Joel to backtrack....

Turns out we weren't the only ones enjoying these goodies - yummy pastries encasing hot chicken and vegetables with an incredibly tasty gravy that ran down your arm without fail.

Colourful markets

A typical street, there was always somebody selling something somewhere...

Making life convenient...

I do believe this was an internet or gaming place...

Patriotism

Carb loaded soupy goodness...

Oh, hello llama!

A little town we stopped at en route to Huacareta for some grilled chicken and rice...

Fish! Scary looking fish but we bought a 6kg chunk and ate it all anyway...

The fish lady's little girl that distracted me from the fish...

Lolly bar

This wasn't off the street but I didn't know where else to attach this photo. We returned home from our salt lake expedition and came home to grumbly tummies and a black out. But in no time we had the head lamps on, flipping patties for our hamburger dinner...well Alex and Tina did anyway. Just another day in the life.... :)

xx