Yesterday Bolivia celebrated their Independence Day here. August 6. That got me to thinking about July 4^th, Independence Day in the US, and what has happened between "Independence Days" with our family. Here's just a little of what has happened...

 July 4 – Ended our SIM Mission conference here in Bolivia where all us SIM Bolivia missionaries camped out at the school for a week of Spiritual Renewal.

 July 8 – Our family started out on our "US Tour" arriving in Charlotte, NC on July 9^th for a couple of days of down time.

 July 10 – July 15 -  Tami and I attended the "International Institute of Christian School Educators" in Columbia, SC. Schools from around the US and the world came together to learn from workshop speakers and from each other. This is where we attended the "Truth Project" Training with our school director. Our highlight from the week was attending the workshops about "Spiritual Formation in Christian Schools". The presenter shared his research on what students feel has helped in their walk with God while attending Christian high schools. It was very enlightening and challenging. While we were at the conference Austin and Caris enjoyed some time with Charlie's parents and sister's kids in Virginia - Thanks Mom and Dad, Kris and Brian, Ashley and Kyle! 

 July 15-18 – We spent time with Charlie's family, reuniting in Myrtle Beach for a couple of days.

 July 19 – We flew to Iowa to spend time with Tami's mom and dad and sister and her family. We were able to take Tami's dad to a park nearby where we at lunch, Caris showed them how she can roller skate, and Austin spent time showing how he puts legos together. We ate meals with Tami's folks at their care facility a couple of times and just had a great time together. We spent some great time with Tami's sister and brother-in-law who took us in for the week! Thanks Vicki and Steve again! There are pictures of our times with family on our website: http://www.thethorsens.com/albums/83. Please check those out when you have time.

 Sunday, July 25 – We attended our home church in Marshalltown, IA and gave an update on what God's been doing in our lives and in the school. Thanks for your encouraging support and prayers Center Street! That morning was a highlight of our trip! That night we were able to give an update in another one of our supporting churches, Walnut Ridge Baptist Church where Tami grew up. Thank you Walnut for your prayers and support! It's always great to renew our friendships with you!

 July 26 – We began our trek back to Bolivia. All our flights were on time, until we got to Bolivia...we arrived in Santa Cruz and got through customs at 8:30 am. We immediately went to check in for our next flight to Cochabamba. When we arrived at the ticket counter, they informed us that our 12:30 flight was delayed to 7:00 PM! We decided to go to a hotel for the day. That allowed Tami to take a nap and the kids to swim a bit (though it was quite cold for Santa Cruz, which is usually a lot like Florida.) We went back to the airport around 6:00 to find that our flight was delayed until 8:30. Another 15 minutes later and the flight was delayed until 9:00! We didn't leave Santa Cruz until 10:15, getting to our house at 11:30 that night! Whew!