Monday 12 February 2018 Cotoca, Bolivia

We have barely talked about the project we worked on with Alfredo last year, but little by little it turns out that there is a lot of work to be done: he doesn't have to drive by car to all the schools to pick up the letters from the scholarship holders and deliver them to the godparents. This is now done via copy and WhatsApp, and the money transfer works and he doesn't have to collect and hand over the money anymore. R. will now develop electronic receipts. These are all small steps to make work easier and Alfredo can concentrate on his main tasks.
He has already found three new children who need support. We would like to get to know them, because they are then sponsored by members of our family. And we can tell them about their new godparents right away.

We are lucky kids! Not only are we lovingly cared for by our hosts Karen and Alfredo, but their families have also taken us to their hearts, inviting us, caring for us and caring for our well-being.

On Monday we were at the finca of Karen's father, 1 1/2 hours from Santa Cruz. He bought them from 3 Mennonite families who moved further into the interior of the country because the city came closer and they, the Mennonites, preferred hard work in seclusion. Today, a large community of 2500 members lives in the province and makes the best cheese.
Anyway, the father bought 150 hectares from these families, 50 of which were forest. Including the house built by hand. He still has that, in the countryside is still grazing the cattle, but poco a poco sells a housing company plots. Hard to imagine the city coming. The road from Cotoca is full of deep waterholes, on the way back a tractor guided us (I put tomorrow the movie in the net).
On the finca lives a family with 5 children, the man is a cowboy.