Sucre - Repairs

Well I have now been in Sucre for over a week since my accident and I am ready to leave. I´m starting to grow roots here but I must move on.

It has definitely been an interesting week. Sucre is a nice city to hang around.

The main focus has been getting my bike back on the road. As I mentioned earlier I found (or was given) an excellent mechanic and friend to help me out - Niki Stumvol. He helped me find the right people, drove me around town and straightened out the bent bits (including the front wheel) and gave the bike a bit of a service, which it needed. So now I am in possession of a nice shiny, almost new bike - just with a few more character building scars on it.

I´m feeling alright. Still sore. The ribs aren´t giving me near as much hassel and I think I can walk and ride quite fine. The arm is actually feeling worse but only in bed at night. Seems more a muscular thing I think. So probably it needs more rest but I think it is time to leave..

The lieutenant at the local Military outpost was a great help. I learnt later that he was the one who made sure all my gear that was scattered over the road was picked up. He organised a lift to the hospital for me and also got my bike to the Military School where he stored it. All because he is a nice guy and, well, yes, he rides a bike too. He rides a nice Suzuki GS850 from 1982. He also gave me a lift around town - not everyday you get a ride on a bike with a Lieutenant from Bolivia.. Great guy.

One of the biggest blessings was meeting Len and Laura Tan from Australia. They have been posted in Sucre for a year by SIM (from memory, Serving in Mission..). They are helping to run a Cafe/Centre which is aimed at helping the University students here. The aim is help with both their physical and their spiritual needs in many different ways. It has been running for quite a while and has been blessed with a lot of success. Len showed me around and I was quite impressed with the setup. It definitely has a lot of potential. Sorry, this doesn´t give you heaps of detail. I will try find an internet link later..

It was fantastic meeting up with Len and Laura and their family. They had Bible Study at their house which I went along to (after a great meal) and really enjoyed - first Biblestudy since Aus. I met a few other couples who are also working here. I borrowed a couple books from them which I feverishly read (due to lack of time) , enjoying the thought provoking book, Prodigal World by P. Jensen. It was a philosophical book (a selection of essays) about how the world, after rejecting God, has adopted a Utilitarian philosophy (whatever makes the most people happy..) which has failed miserably. It would have been interesting to read this while I was still a university student though I probably wouldn´t have appreciated it.

Thanks Len and Laura for the excellent hospitality and christian fellowship you shared with me. I wish you God´s blessings on your work here in Sucre and in the future. Hopefully we meet again sometime..

So now I am back on the bike and back onto the same road as before. Hope to reach LaPaz by Saturday...