An excellent day off

Oh, my dears, what a day I had yesterday (Tuesday, April 5th)! Since it was 90 days since I had entered Brazil I had to go to the border to officially leave Brazil and officially enter Bolivia with all the stamps. It meant that had to fly to Puerto Suarez with pastor as he flies there every Tuesday if nothing unexpected doesn't happen. It was raining a bit in the morning and thunder was roaring in the bight orange sky but we were able to go to the airfield shortly after 8 in the morning. Principal Panfila joined us because she had a ton of papers that needed to be taken to Education council of the region. Since Rincon school is not the only one under her supervision there are always a lot of papers. Rincon school has 9 branches - tiny schools somewhere deep in the jungle in this area. So Panfila has to take care of 10 schools!!!
Pastor usually has a VERY long shopping list and to do list. He has couple of hours in the outside world to do get everything Rincon household needs to "survive" for a week. That's why he has a lot of responsibilities.
I flew by the famous Rincon's avion (that's how they usually call the plane) for the first time. The little airplane turned out to be a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Panfila and Samuel pushed it our of garage so easily like it was a bicycle. We quickly threw in some bags and took off. Pastor operated the plane just as easy as he would a regular electronic appliance. I was in wonder how easy it all looked. Panfila was steering the plane at one point (there are two steering wheels in the front) and she created some fun moments in the sky by turning and shaking us a little bit. She's an excellent pilot, too.
We flew right under the clouds and under us - jungle, jungle, jungle... some water and again jungle, jungle, jungle... When you live in Rincon court it seems that you're not really in the jungle because we have all the critically important amenities. But when you see that you're indeed in the middle of nowhere that you start to think about life differently... it helps you appreciate how CRITICALLY important Rincon mission is for this area which is nothing but jungle, jungle, jungle but at the same time there are many people who need to hear the message of Christ, education, medical and other help. Again, huge thanks to God for Rincon mission!
When we approached the airport, I felt something unusual and surprising. It even scared me a little bit - my phone beeped! I couldn't believe - I got phone coverage already there in the air :) How happy I was! I could read a couple of nice messages from Latvia and quickly answer while I was still in the clouds.
We landed in Puerto Suarez airport, pastor found his car he had left there and we went to downtown Puerto Suarez where he rushed to do some business while Panfila made uncountable copies and binded the documents. Then we went to Education council. A dark little office with icons and portraits of Bolivian historical heroes on the wall. Employees there gave me surprised looks and one men showed off his English skills by saying "Yes, yes. OK, OK." several times. While Janson couple took care of some paperwork I had a chance to walk along the coast of the fantastic Pantanala lake. Who would have imagined that there can be such a beautiful place in Puerto Suarez with a well kept park and a nice platform by the lake where you can sit and enjoy the view. Only couples walked there. No wonder - the atmosphere is so romantic there :) On the other side of the lake you could see mighty mountains, there were fluffy clouds in the sky and you could see that it's raining somewhere far away but sun was shining brightly above my head. And two very special phone calls and several texts from Latvia made this moment even more perfect :) It was so hard to believe that I really can communicate with home.
When they had finished all the paperwork we went to Brazil, to Corumba where pastor goes every week to get mail and mail what needs to be mailed. And he does his shopping there. While he was running errands and getting things from his shopping list he let Panfila and I walk in a girlier area where we could go to different shops. At first I didn't know how to behave in a shop :D But then I got used to the beautiful brightness and was able to by something for myself. Girls, you will really love my new earrings! :)
Panfila and I had an hour but since we didn't look at the watch when this hour began we were a little late... 40 minutes late :) But Panfila bought candy for Samuel and he forgave us! Then we went to eat. Oh, that was a celebration too because I could indulge myself with things I don't usually get. I had chicken!!! I think it was one of the tastiest chickens of my life! And I had some other things I hadn't had in a long time. We ate at a nice place where you could buy t-shirts with Pantanala lake symbols. And I have a new t-shirt now :) Panfila gave it to me. I hadn't been so excited about a new t-shirt in a long time :) I really appreciate every new thing now!
We bought some vegetables and other important food items. I bought a bag of apples - I will make apple empanadas :) We usually make these pies with cheese but I want to try them with apples. I bet they will be good!
Since time was coming quickly to an end we had to drive back to Bolivian border to stamp me out of the country. We didn't have any problems with that. They began when I wanted to get the Bolivian stamp which is also a visa. Panfila and I entered a very Bolivian office :D There were 3 tables, behind those tables sat 3 sweaty men whose shirts were unbuttoned too low. And the shirts really needed some ironing. Calendars and portraits of Bolivian historical heroes were raped on the walls. On some places there was only tape on the wall. The man who served us was very short with long nails. He was very surprised about my passport , he asked where is Latvia. And then he asked me a question that shocked me. Where is your Yellow fever document? OOPS!!!! Of course I have one but I had totally forgotten that I have it and that I might need it on the border... Panfila begged him to give us the stamp and she explained that I had forgotten it at home but the clerk was very stubborn. So we left the office with sad faces. It was almost 4:00 PM... we had to be back at Puerto Suarez airport at 5:00 PM to make it back to Rincon before it gets dark. And it wouldn't be good to return to Rincon without a Bolivian visa because I could go to the border again in  a week but then we would have problems because I;m no longer in Brazil but not yet in Bolivia. They would ask where had I been all this time and Jansons said they would put me in prison... but I believe they overexaggerated the part about prison... We needed a solution. Thank God pastor's and his wife's head works well. We quickly returned to downtown Puerto Suarez to an office where Samuel's acquaintance works and he makes all kinds of documents. Thanks to a nice conversation this man wrote a new Yellow fever document. I got a new last name there - Liene Latvijas :) He made a little mistake copying data from my passport... but it's OK, he fixed the mistake. But it was interesting that I received Yellow fever shots in August, 2008. He said it's because you can't have those shots too often... OK.
So Panfila and I quickly found a taxi that took us back to the border. In the meantime pastor did some more shopping in Puerto Suarez market. We were lucky that the taxi driver was a friend of our short clerk. He said he would help us if there were any problems. We walked back into the office. The little man carefully examined the document with his colleague, they turned and scratched it. He asked where I got it and how much I paid for it. The best question was - How come I got Yellow fever shot in Bolivia in 2008 but my passport doesn't show that I was in Bolivia at the time? A good question, isn't it? Thank God Panfila was with me and she asked them back: Couldn't she have changed her passport since then? Then little clerks looked at each other and said: Well, yes, it could be so... But it didn't seem they really believed us. I think it helped that our taxi driver was standing behind us and maybe he gave them a sign without words that we are their own people. Finally he let me fill out the form and put the important stamp in my passport that allows me to stay in Bolivia for 90 days! YES!! At the end the little man smiled and asked me what's my real name and where I actually come from.
Then we rushed back to Puerto Suarez market where pastor was still shopping. Spent some time in the local "supermarket". It was so interesting to see all the cups, plates, spoons, toilet paper, cookies and other items we use daily there. Now I know where they all come from. Three plump women with long, long, thick, thick braids sat in the middle of the supermarket. They bagged beans. All prices in the supermarket were written by hand with a marker. A good store! Our car was packed really full. I was under toilet paper :) We briefly stopped by pastor's house in Puerto Suarez to go to bathroom and take packages from parents who are sending some city goodies for their loved ones. And then we rushed to the airport. On our way there I was thinking we will never put all this stuff in the tiny airplane. But one of pastor's God's given gifts is the gift of packing. There was space for everything. Every inch was used. They made a seat for me on rice bags. We took off and flew above the jungle again. Sun was coloring the clouds in unusual shades and phone coverage soon left my cell phone... we landed in Rincon where cows were slowly walking across the airfield. It had been raining heavily during the day - it was all muddy. And mud is VERY muddy here!!! My dinner and Velta awaited me in the kitchen. Ondina joined us, she had received a parcel from Helena from Novo Odessa church. And there was a letter for me too! A big thank you to Helena for all the nice words and things! I will definitely respond!
When I returned to the dorms... oh... it felt like I had been away for a really long time because girls greeted me like they hadn't see me for a month. The little ones looked at me with big eyes and said: We cried during the day because we thought that you had left us and returned to Latvia. Girls hugged me very tightly. They asked what is the city like. Those who were supposed to have English that day said that it was sad without Profe Liene... my heart almost melted after this night... I love my 60 chicas so much! I told them that I can legally stay here until the end of june... and they all asked - and what then? When will I come back? I didn't know what to say... just the answer I always give them - as God wills...
This Tuesday flew by so quickly. Thanks to God that I got the visa. I guess my dream and Panfila's promise will come true now to take me to the city of Santa Cruz! I need a visa to go there. And now I have one :) I'm really looking forward to our trip!
On our way home Panfila gave me a clue: for all this visa hassle I should change my ticket and stay here until the end of school year... I knew she was just kidding. But there is a piece of truth in every joke. And it seemed like there was a lot of truth in this one...
Thanks to God that the mission has an airplane and  such a wise, talented, humble and caring pastor who runs like the wind to provide everything for the mission.Pray that Rincon's airplane will last long and Samuel will have enough strength, endurance and energy to continue to take care of all purchases and other 8347 duties! I will definitely write more about him :)