One week down in La Paz…
Since we arrived in La Paz last Monday, we’ve been busy! Our first night here we went to Applebee’s for dinner. Mmm, those were some delicious burgers and just what the doctor ordered for our American stomachs.
We have a few boat projects (and other stuff) that we decided to jump on while we’re dockside (way easier than at anchor).
-Solar…our old panels just aren’t keeping up. We’ve been limiting our power use as much as possible (refrigeration only and solar lights at night) and still having to run the generator every day. So, we’ve been doing a bit of shopping, networking and finding stainless steel guys who could help set up a new solar system (Caleb just pointed out that I’m not talking about a new galaxy).
-repaired (well, almost finished) our dinghy…it went flat just a couple of days before we left La Cruz. It blew a hole along the forward seam. We’re hoping this repair will hold. That’s our only way in from anchor (which is another reason we’re actually in a marina right now).
-filed our taxes…boy, that was different and much more challenging after all our years on active duty!
-made several LONG walks around La Paz to find grocery stores, electronic stores, solar panels, and people
-cleaned our fish tank…we can actually see our two cute little fresh water fish again
-kids are catching up with and spending time with their other boat friends who came here from La Cruz also
-I went to a “What my boat did during summer vacation” seminar, which could also be known as “It’s almost hurricane season, what do I do with my boat?!” This has been a constant topic around here lately and the more we discuss it, the less confident we have become that we can sail south before the first hurricane of the season. That’s not exactly something we want to get stuck in on our way to El Salvador (where we intended to spend hurricane season). The first one last year was May 9. If we leave La Paz (planning around May 7ish) and go as fast as possible south, it would still probably take a month (did I mention that sailboats aren’t known for their speed?). That timeline isn’t looking good, so we’re exploring other possibilities for the summer/early fall.
-and we cut Caleb’s hair for the first time in almost two years!
What’s going on ministry-wise…
We arrived a few days early (what?! And on a sailboat even!) so our new missionary friends were still spending time with their family visiting from Canada. We thought we’d make ourselves at home in La Paz and get started on those boat jobs.
The missionaries we worked with last year in Loreto told us about a Christian couple here in La Paz that runs a bed and breakfast called CasaBuena. They told us to go see them if we ever made it here. So they were on our list. We were also given the name of an English speaking church and a horse therapy program for disabled kids from another cruiser. Our first morning here we were asking some other boaters about solar panels and were told we must go meet Milton. He apparently had a “solar farm” on the roof of his B&B. And maybe you can guess this, but the B&B was CasaBuena! Let me tell you, this is the most impressive solar setup I have ever seen! He even has it wired into the city grid and pumps power to them all day! So as we’re spending an afternoon getting to know them, we mention the church we were told about and the horse therapy program. Well, the church is right there on their property, and Milton’s wife, Susu, runs the horse program!! They also know all the missionary families that we’re here to see! Hope has been joining Susu with her horse ministry to disabled children and definitely in her happy place. Horses are Hope’s love language 
We also spent a few afternoons with the Thiessen family last week getting to know them. The kids hit it off too. We spent Saturday evening at their y
outh ministry which had 25-30 kids (I didn’t count, but it was a lot). The kids had a blast playing gaga ball and even Micah and Seth jumped right in with these teenagers. I loved how everyone was accepted and cheered on no matter their skin color or the language they spoke. Mine may have been a little lost though when it came time for their lesson (ok, I was too). We’ll keep working on our Spanish skills. Everyone enjoyed April birthday cake at the end!
Sunday morning we drug our tired selves out of bed (everything is late here in Mexico and we’re still on a sailor’s schedule) and made it to church just a few minutes late. It was another packed house! We stayed after for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon with Milton and Susu while our kids enjoyed their pool.
Tomorrow Dennis and Hope are traveling a couple of hours by car to renew her passport and then she’ll head out to the horse ranch for the evening. We’re going to lunch with 2 missionary families tomorrow and then going over to the Thiessens in the evening. As they run a sports ministry here, we may be joining them at their basketball practice Thursday evening and their tournament Friday evening. Thursday morning Dennis will be going to a men’s breakfast with the local church. During the day on Friday we’ll be joining the Thiessens and several other missionary families for lunch at their missionary prayer day. Saturday…well, we haven’t planned that far yet but I’m sure it’ll be busy!
Thank you for your prayers for us and we ask that you also pray for the many missionary families here in La Paz!