In eastern Bolivia, in the Sandoval reigon forest, lies San Fernando.
San Fernando is a small community of nearly 500 people whose livelihood is agriculture. There is much ranching, sugar cane and soy bean farming in the region. They are not an indigenous people, so they only speak Spanish. They are a simple people, with no electricity, running water, or phones, yet they have a government school, a simple store and are very clean and dignified people. The people in San Fernando are mostly from other towns and they come to work on ranches in this area. 
It is 75 miles to the city from which their food and other products are delivered. Yet, in the rainy season, the dirt roads turn into marshes, and are impassable. San Fernando's inhabitants depend on missionary pilots to help them with emergencies and food deliveries. Their diet consists of rice, chicken, fish, beef, yucca, bread and various seasonal fruits. I do not know why they do not grow and eat vegtables. I hope to start a vegetable garden.
There is no running water for the most part. However, there is a well in the center of town, that many walk to and draw their water from. In anticipation of my arrival, pipes have been run to my recently constructed house, and I believe I will have running water. Most people have pit toilets outside, a little distance from their homes. Many bathe and wash their clothes in the river.
The children attend school in the mornings, grades first through eighth. There is no high school education. There are no classes in the afternoons. Students have to go to other larger towns for high school if they want to continue their education and if their families permit them and can pay for it. 
As far as I know, the religious background of most people in San Fernando is Catholic. There is a simple Catholic church, that a Priest visits periodically. There is a mixture of spiritism with Catholicism. There is the small group of about three families that are believers/evangelicals. There is simple church, that South America Mission built, but they do not have a pastor. They have received visits from evangelical missionaries occasionally. I think the majority of the town does not align with either church at this point.
The women cook in mud ovens and stoves. Cooking is a hard and time-consuming process. Getting firewood takes time, as well as preparing food. Since there is no refrideration, all meals are cooked from scratch, and can not be stored afterwards.Mosquitos are an issue. Yet there is no malaria in the region, Praise God, nor dengue which was an epidemic last year in central Bolivia. Mosquitos are still pesky nuisances. Most people sleep under mosquito nets. In the rainy season the mosquitoes rule the air. The village attemps to ward them off by lighting smoky fires, and all live in smoke, which keeps the mosquito population down, or at least at bay.
Animals of San Fernando. DONKEYS ROAM THE STREET. Since no one has a truck or any kind of vehicle, donkeys are the next best thing to help with working the land and hauling heavy loads. Some people have horses. There are snakes and spiders, and other insects. There are panther, jaguar, puma, fox, little bear, ant eaters and porcupine. There are also many animals such as Eira Barbara and Jochi Pintado that you do not have in the States.
People. They seemed very interested and friendly when I first visited in May 2009. They are sweet and hospitable. The children are beautiful. They all seemed to have decent clothes. I believe they all get out of the village to a larger city at least once a year. They are well taken care of, they take care of their appearance, and the children seemed to have clean and straight teeth. Yet many adults were missing teeth. Adults are weathered looking, and have hands that have known hard labor. 
The people of San Fernando live in simple adobe brick houses, some houses have smoothed plaster on the outside of the walls, and are painted white. The houses have thatch, wood, or tin roofs. Each house seemed to have it's own lot, with some sort of fence aroud it, either barbed wire, or wood. They have outdoor cooking areas, that are covered by a simple thatch or tin roof. Some houses have a round mud oven in back. The land directly around the house and living area is bare, hard-packed dirt. They sweep their dirt. When it is very dry, they water their dirt to keep the dust down. Some homes contain both immediate and extended family members, or other people. There might be as many as 10 to 15 people in each home. The "roads" are open grassy areas, not worn down to the dirt. The soccer field is the center of town is bare due to it's frequent use. From one end of the immediate village of San Fernando, to the other end it is maybe an 8 minute walk. The village seemed to have only 5 main "roads". It could possibally be similar looking from above to a digital number eight. The air strip is a 5 minute walk east from my house. And the river is a 5 minute walk west behind my house.
You are invited to come and visit San Fernando! We would love to see you! Then you can experience San Fernando for your self. God knows and loves the people of San Fernando very much. Let's show them God's love.
