Retreat

Sunrise this morning at our retreat site in Angostura about 20 minutes outside the city. Our Franciscan group got together for the weekend to build community, discuss the future (particularly our ministries), and to just get out of the city. For 15 Bs a night (about $2), I was expecting a shack with lots of critters for company, but the facility was actually very comfortable. I started off the trip on a good note, riding in the bed of the pickup truck to the site because there are nine of us and I am the youngest and shortest. The large lake pictured above is home to many fish and therefore there are many fish restaurants in the area. We went out to eat for two meals, both times I ate tomato and onion salads and some fries. Another weekend in the life of a vegetarian. We brought food and snacks for our in house meals, so I didn't starve.

The retreat was unstructured and very relaxing. We met only a couple times to talk about life after language school and what options are available. It helped to discuss the ministries with more certainty and in a closer time frame. I think that the sooner I start working the better I will feel about my role in Bolivia. The most fulfilling part of the retreat was mass Saturday evening. There was a convenient rock formation outside the building just begging for a service. Yes, that is a piece of sidewalk that was used as the altar. I think I've almost fallen into it's vacant spot downtown a number of times. Instead of the set readings for the weekend, we all presented our favorite verses from the Bible with an explanation of why they mean so much to us. It was nice to see where everybody is on the journey and the different passages that gave them comfort.
The sun is very strong up here but we're heading into winter and once the sun sets it can get a little chilly. The lack of rain provided us with great fire wood. It took a couple attempts and some heckling from me for Rick and Lee to get the fire going but they did a great job of keeping us warm. My favorite part of the night was Rick's method of gathering firewood: grab the biggest log you can find and throw large, heavy rocks (pictured above) on them until they break into smaller pieces.

It was a fun time and spiritually rejuvenating. With the large number of students at the school the lines of community get blurred and I found myself spending more time with some students my own age. It was important to get with my community and strengthen those relationships.

Every day around lunch time we had some visitors in the form of livestock passing through. Ohay no likey cows :-)