Hey!

Check this out. It's from our stompin' grounds with people we work with, people we are friends with. Enjoy and Feliz Pasqua.

Book Sale of the Century

It started in October when Carl and I walked into our MCC library and realized that it was almost impossible to find anything, it was that full.

Then, someone came in and wondered if they owed the library any books. After going through about 500 library cards, realized that he owed 23 books. Once we sent out the remaining 400 and some library cards, we only recovered 200 books. We needed to figure out a better way.

So we made a proposal to the administration committee to reorganize the library under programs and then a small section under general, like health, theology, culture, history, Spanish books etc. We don't have a librarian to keep track of everything, and there were so many books that no one was using. Plus, there was no more room in the library.

We had no idea how much work it would be.
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We first started culling through the sections like language, theology, and general reading. For every book we kept, we set aside 5 to move out. Slowly but methodically, programs came through, looked and set aside books that they could use for their program. And then we started the daunting task of carrying all of them out and stacking them in the casa de la cancha.

By mid-March, almost everyone that could had gone through the books had and it was time to get the book sale ready. Centro Menno also went through its library, all the extra textbooks, tapes etc. Almost 700 books came just from that library alone. Do you know how many books we culled out of the libraries? Any guesses?

4763.

Crazy eh?

So for three days last week, we opened the gates for people to come by the books. We sold them by the stack; 3cm of books = 1B = 14 cents. If you could imagine it being in the library, it was for sale. Colony Mennonites came. Bolivian Mennonites from the churches came. Missionaries, other NGOs, parents of MCCers, even the neighbours across the street came to buy. Our biggest buyers were the students from the university, especially those learning English. It was crazy.

It's not like we made a ton of money, that wasn't the point. We reorganized the library so now there is much more space and we are keeping what we're using. Someone asked if we had any more books in the library. Oh yes, a few thousand still. We still have a bit of work to do to get it looking the way we want, but it's a huge improvement. And another satisfaction is seeing those people walk out with resources that they really needed and will enjoy using. No more dusty shelves for those books.

All the rest left over from the sale (some are really great) will be boxed up and we will contact other mission organizations or NGOs to see if they want them. Unfortunately, some will end up being recycled at a profit of 1B per kilo. Well, for books with the titles "I'll get to Heaven before you!" and "Shit-man", I don't think that's too much of a loss.



Whew. Now on to the next project.

If you were a Fly on the Wall....

You'd hear,

I'm praying from my throat. -A

I'm going to cover you in toothpaste and eat you alive. -J

Keep your hands to yourself or I'll punch you! -K

I'm so tired I need a candy. -A

I need to take my shirt off to do my super cool Michael Jackson moves. -J

Don't cry like a girl! Then how does a boy cry? Well, spank him and he'll cry! -A

It's not a good idea to lick knives or else you'll cut your tongue out. -K

I'm such a good drawer, I can draw on myself. -A

It's pretty cool that you love me more than everything, but God loves me even more than that. -J

I'm going to broom the floor. -K

I'm pretty much the smartest kid I know. -J

And dear Jesus, help me to stay in my bed and not to muck around, and not to yell at Kezia, and not to pull her hair or poke her in the neck and not to fight with Joel and for me to have a great day at school with my teachers, Amen. -A

Don't be so picky with the flowers on the fork. At least it's a fork to use. At least you have food to eat! -J

I just love eating chicken necks! -K

My legs are so sore, they don't work. Can you please pick me up? Alsame? -A

I don't want to just talk about myself, so I need to tell you what other people are doing, especially if they are doing something wrong -K

I don't really like to eat grissle because it's super chewy and unflavourable. -J

Dia Del Padre

Today is Father's Day in Bolivia. It's also Carpenter's Day, Radio Announcer Day, and I think Construction Worker Day. That's a lot of celebrating!

Carl told me that he learned why today is Father's Day from Saul, our co-worker. It's Saint Joseph's Day for Catholics. Since Joseph was the father of Jesus, hence Father's Day. Since Joseph was a carpenter, hence Carpenter's Day. Not sure about the others though......

Asha had a little program at school for the dads. It was terribly cute! We were quite proud of her that she managed to get up on stage without bawling. Lots of the little ones were traumatized from the crowd, the loud music, and that crazy whistle that one of the teacher's had. They were dressed as little ducks and were suppose to dance around. At the end, it was Asha who said her lines; of course we were beaming! The teacher asked another boy to say the lines and he yelled out, "My teeth hurt, I can't!".

Later in the morning, we had a special devotional back at the office for the fathers. I made a little slideshow and we ate saltenas. Then I dashed off to get Carl's gift and then to pick up the kids from school.



We got home and the kids gave Carl the huge photo card (we got the picture done while Carl was away, talk about sneaky!) and the mug with their picture on it. Then Kezia and Asha sang their little songs for Carl. Joel had made a beautiful card from school, where he wrote his very own words (and with very few spelling mistakes too!):

Te amo mucho te quiero mucho te amo con todo mi corazon y para todo el mundo amo y para siempre voi a amarte no importa ce pasa toda dia te amo para simpre Papa te amo te pago con todo mi corazon. Te amo 100 veses mas Papa.

I couldn't have said it better. Happy Father's Day Carl! We love you very much.

Asha's Program

Something Special to say to Dad

Sports Day!

On Saturday, the kids had their annual sports day at school. Last year, I wasn't able to go, and this year, I was solo with the kids while Carl was out of town with Hans.

It was a bit different from the previous year. All the kids shared their cheer, sang the national anthem, got their prizes, and then went home. They had done all their events in gym class the week before. That morning, the teachers presented the trophies to the classes with the most points and the best cheer.

What a surprise to be home by 11:00 in the morning!