Back from the Jungle

Dear friends - I HAVEN´T FORGOTTEN YOU!
I just had a lot to do (university, choir, volleyball team...) , didn`t have a working internet connection in my room, got a little bit lost in the jungle with a bunch of other crazy guys, girls and pastors and yesterday I went to Brazil (by plane and boat) to "renew" my tourist visa and "met" with a bag that I had left in Bolivia last year at an Adventist school outside of Guayaramerin. Opening that bag was like Christmas =) I mean I kind of knew what I had in there - but nevertheless! Well, I'll stay here till Tuesday and will be back at the university Tuesday night. I hope the internet is working by then again.

I've been actually writing many blogs in mind... unfortunately I never got to type them =( Right now I don´t know where to start and sitting in an internet cafe without having the peace I would like to have in order to think and write, makes it even harder. The most impressing event of the past weeks though was the "caminata" (sounds harmless... but was more like a 4-day killer hike that turned into a 5-day one) with the youth department of the Bolivian Adventist Central Mission. I've learnt a lot on that hike!! I actually can't put everything into one single blog and so I think I'll write at least 2 or 3 about it next week. I have 3 GB of pics and videos - but more important: I found new friends on that hike because God changed my heart. I mean they have been there all the past 2.5 months - I just tried to avoid them at every cost... the crazy Brazilians... but this hike showed me how arrogant and ignorant I was. I mean I had my reasons, but I'm happy God showed me that I was actually avoiding the best friends you can have. Friends you can trust you life! They might be different and I'll never have their temperament and scream like a gorilla in the middle of the jungle scaring every living creature in there, but I have watched these Brazilian theology students living their faith and living true friendship under really extreme circumstances. Singing while marching with blisters at their feet and carrying 2 backpacks because their friends had to carry a girl that couldn't walk anymore, giving encouragement although they would have needed encouragement themselves, rescuing girls who were about to fall down the abbyss... They've gone beyond their limits to help others. I've seen them putting their own life and health at risk. They have my deepest respect!

To give you a first impression of our "caminata" with the nice name "Caminando en las Nubes" (walking in the clouds) in the National Park Carrasco, I uploaded you a video of one of the many obstacles we had to pass. This spot was actually our first challenge on Sabbath. I would have liked to show you my new friends singing (that means shouting and screaming) in the bus on the way back, but I only have some pics and videos available right now. For those of you who understand Spanish and are a little bit more interested in crazy hiking oportunities, I've found 3 interesting articles about this trail. One general and short one, one about some guys who got lost there (just recently, some French guys got lost there, too) and one longer and actually interesting one. The short one is pretty optimistic... but it has some pics. We weren't able to start at "El Limbo" though; we needed 2 days to get there... but the nature changes fast under the circumstances there and roads just disappear under a avalanche of mud and stones within seconds.

Alright. I fear I have to disappoint you concerning the video (didn't work due to slow connection). I replaced it with a pic from Sabbath. It shows a part of our group that actually counted almost 100 people... Crazy size for such a trail... Whatever. I'll be back with a blog next Wednesday at the latest. Promised! I wish all of you a great weekend.

maria