How did you spend your Sunday afternoon?

 So...the question was asked...granted by me...

"How did you spend your Sunday afternoon?"

I thought I'd respond.  To my own question.

We went to the river to play soccer.

Well...the guys played soccer.  I took pictures and read a book.

It was a beautiful sunny day...

Playing soccer...

The guys can whine about the heat with the best of them,

but throw a soccerball into the mix

and they can go for hours.

We had lots of visitors with us Sunday, so it was fun to hang out.

There are two gringos in that crowd in case you were wondering.

Once in the river the guys decided to try backflips...

...in two feet of water.

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

And there you go...

Of course that didn't stop them from trying again.

Second try was a little more successful...

Then, for some reason, they decided to try it on land.

Ah, Roberto...you really do believe don't you?

Atta boy...way to commit...

Does anyone actually see a positive outcome coming from this?

And there you go...

A slight aside for a moment...

How do you spell stupid?

I mean, seriously...come on...

Oh...wait...

Never mind.

Jose Carlos and his little brother...

Roberto...

All too soon it was time to head for home.

It was a great afternoon!  We had a bunch of new guys (friends and/or relatives) who'd had never come to church or hung out with us before.  So it was a lot of fun to get to know them a bit better. 

And of course there aren't many better places to spend a hot, Sunday afternoon...

Let the hating begin.  =)

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An update from Corina...

Corina's lastest update...

Hi everyone...

Thanks so much for all your encouraging words... your prayers for us in these days... Its been wonderful to get so many letters!!! =) We appreciate it immensely... THANKS!!!

I wanted to update you on a couple things...

You’ve been praying for Keiden... Friday night (the night of the attack) he slept all through the night – and woke up at his regular time... Saturday everything was obviously very clear in his memory... we were looking at one of his books – and there was a grandma and a grandpa... He started pointing at the grandpa... then hitting his own head, saying “Boom, boom.” He’d go around and look at all the places where there were empty spots... (especially where he watches the first 19 minutes of “Black Beauty” (basically all animals up to that point) and Baby Einstein)and wave his hand... “All gone” Heidi came over... and he immediately took her all around “telling” and showing her “Boom, boom” what had happened... Chantelle came over a bit later and it was the same thing... that was the only thing on his mind on Saturday...

Keiden loves animals... and he loves music... The robbers couldn’t steal his CD player but when they tried, wires got pulled out of everywhere, it took a bad tumble and was no longer working... He was very worried that his music didn’t play... so before he went to bed on Saturday night he was getting a bit worked up about it... I told him that in the morning he could ask his daddy to fix it – just like he fixed his Tonka truck tires... The first thing that Keiden did when he saw Marco this morning – was take him to the bedroom – and point to the CD player... He was very happy to have his music working again...

Today he’s still a bit clingy... and not really wanting to be too close to other people... but he is not re-enacting what happened anymore... So... your prayers are being answered... Thank you...

I also asked you to pray for my in-laws... We have had many opportunities to attribute our safety to the Lord’s hand upon us... and thank Him openly... This morning I saw my mother-in-law sitting in the backyard – and she was reading a Bible tract that I had left over from Christmas on the Streets... It is called “The road to God” – and it is full of verses – going from Creation, the fall of man, and all through the salvation story... It is a very complete little booklet... Tonight Marco and I had to go out for a couple minutes... and when we got back – both of my in-laws were sitting there with the tract... My father-in-law had read the whole thing, really liked it... and wondered if they could have it to take home!!!!!!!!! Marco’s dad is a reader and a thinker... he reads and analyzes everything... If he is taking it home, its because he wants to read it again...and study it through... so... again... THANK YOU for praying... and please keep doing so! They are very, very “religious” – without knowing Christ personally... so for them to show interest in our faith is an amazing “good” that has come out of “bad”...

There is no news from the police... which is really no surprise... Marco had hoped the patio furniture would have hit one of the guys or their car – to leave some type of a mark – which could be used to identify them if the police stopped them... but that didn’t work – so really the only thing we know is the kind and color of car they left in... and our description of the one guy that we were closest to! Where is CSI when we need them!!!

We feel like this is a direct attack from the enemy – we have started our boy’s project – our property is in an area where there is a lot of young people involved in drugs and gangs... We had started our workshop project almost four years ago – but had to give it up the property because the neighbors didn’t want us there... ...now we are starting again – this time from scratch... and the enemy doesn’t like the idea... This is only the beginning... which is why we cherish and need your prayers... for us as we develop the workshops... and especially for Marco as he heads it up... We need wisdom... guidance... and protection... We need your prayers...

Marco has asked for your prayer... Its actually probably been the hardest on him... During the robbery he was actually very calm – trying to get his family to calm down – because he didn’t want to see any of us get hurt... BUT... during it all, he had ample possibility to study every detail of the face of one of the guys whose hat fell off – who seemed to be the leader of the group. Now that it is all over, that face is etched in his memory... he has been left with a resentment inside... against these guys – for what they did to his dad... and son... I think any dad or son, if they are honest, would have a hard time NOT being upset if someone mistreated your loved ones... and you couldn’t do anything about it... In Marco’s case... it is a bit more complicated... because he has lived on the “other side” of this experience, he knows that the guy hitting an old man over the head with the revolver butt, making a small child scream - broke rules that “real” delinquents have... In all of their “badness” they have a certain ethics where there is a high respect for older people, a mother and small children... a breach of this ethics wouldn’t be tolerated in the circles that Marco used to be in... The enemy knows this... and one way we believe he wants to destroy the Lord’s work is by pushing these buttons... and hoping that the guy will cross Marco’s path again... and hoping that Marco will react badly... So please continue praying specifically for Marco – that he would truly be able to leave justice in God’s hands...

My mom sent me a good quote by Matthew Henry...

I thank Thee because I was never robbed before
second, because they took my purse, they didn't take my life
third, because they took my all, it wasn't much
fourthly, because I was robbed and not I who robbed.

The first line doesn’t really apply to my case... but the rest certainly does!!! Someone else wrote... “I'm thankful God's hand is big enough for all of you to fit into and be protected, yet His finger is small enough to fit into the barrel of a gun to keep it from firing!” AMEN!!!

Thank you all... SO MUCH! We look forward to seeing how God continues to work, answer prayer, and use this for HIS glory...

Corina... for Marco and Keiden too...

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Corina and Marco....

This is a copy of my friend Corina's latest update letter...

Well... should we start off with the bad?

Tonight at about 8 o’clock I was upstairs watching baby Einstein with Keiden... it was almost time for bed... Marco had a terribly long day – he left the house this morning just after 6... and still wasn’t home...

I vaguely heard loud voices outside... I didn’t really pay attention... Marco’s parents are here visiting from Peru – his dad is hard of hearing – so I thought Marco had gotten home and they were talking... When I paid closer attention – I realized the voices were angry... Looking out the window I saw a strange man... and was on my way downstairs with Keiden to see what was going on – when I met 3 delinquents with guns pointed at Marco and my inlaws – pushing and shoving them upstairs... Marco told me, “We’re being robbed... just do what they say...”

They had us on the ground (I laid down on the bed with Keiden) and wanted to know where our money and jewels were... “Blondie – give me your cell phone!” I told them it was in the other room (they didn’t take it – its held together with duct tape... they just left it!!!) One guy had the gun waving around at us... threatening to kill us if we moved... or looked at him... Poor Keiden was so scared... and would look at the man yelling, shoving Marco and his dad around (they both have lumps on their heads from being hit with the gun) and he just screamed and screamed... I tried to comfort him and hold him tight... he’d quieted for a bit then he’d get all worried and scream again.. He just couldn’t understand what was happening...

Marco’s dad has high blood pressure – the reason he couldn’t come to our wedding... so while he was on the ground, he needed some water but they wouldn’t let us get him some... While I was there trying to comfort Keiden, I just prayed that no one would get hurt... who cares in that situation about stuff... its lives that count!

They eventually left... threatening us if we came after them... while they were loading our things into their car, Marco told us to hide... and he started throwing the balcony patio furniture at them – hoping that someone might notice and stop them (sorry about the furniture Uncle Norman... they actually held up quite well)... anyhow... that made them get away quick... who knows if they would have come back in for another load otherwise...

What all did they take? Well... they held Marco up when he was parking his truck... kicked him on the ground... and searched him... they took his wedding ring, wallet, some $, documents, keys, bank card... and $900 of El Jordan’s money that he had just gotten out of the bank... Marco’s mom had gone to the gate to help close it... and she got held by her hair and gun point by another guy...

When they had us all lying down... they took the TV, DVD, my vacuum (!!!), our computer... They tried to take Keiden’s music – but his shelf is screwed into the wall (thanks Dad!) and they couldn’t get the cords untangled... The worst is that we had $2000 US (not counting the $900 he had just gotten out of the bank) and 2000 bs. for the boy’s project – tomorrow Marco was supposed to finish paying the dumptruck company for the 50 loads of fill, pay the tractor that leveled it all out... and buy iron that they need for the walls – because our builder says that there is a rumour that iron is going to go up in price and possibly get scarce... All that money was taken...

They even took Keiden’s diaper bag. What is worse than him losing his shoes, bottles and his favorite stuffed dog (!) is that he is so scared... After the robbers left, in his 1 ½ year old language he’d tell me his worried story... and bang his head with his hand... showing me what the “bad men” had done... Heidi stayed with him while Marco and I went to the police station – and he didn’t want out to venture anywhere alone... and any noise made him scared... So you can pray for him... that God will give his little being peace...

Is there good news?

Yes... I thought they had stolen the laptop I take back and forth to El Jordan... We had our first lunch/meeting with our volunteers at El Jordan today so I had my computer over there today... I brought it home... and thought I had left it on the dining room table (that is usually my office at home)... but I had actually left it under a sweater I took for Keiden today just in case it got cold, in my uncle’s room... That is where they had us lying down... without the light turned on so we wouldn’t look at their faces... So... I am SO thankful I didn’t lose all of my info, reports etc that I’ve been working on... and my e-mail addresses – although not up to date because I didn’t use this computer for my letters... I still have the majority... If you know of anyone who has changed their address in the last 8 or 10 months who was on my update list I’d appreciate you sending it to me so I can get it up to date again...

We were worried about them having taken Marco’s truck keys because it has the house keys on it as well... but when I went outside to look for them “just in case” – they had been dropped in some little weeds at the edge of the driveway... Thank you God!

Some other VERY good news? Marco’s dad has military background... 78 years old – his instincts kicked in... and he actually gave a really good kick to the very surprised robber... who lost his balance and dropped his gun... Another guy jumped in – and shot twice at my father-in-law’s head... The gun just went “click, click”... (that’s when he got hit over the head with the revolver) ...but when the robbers were getting away they started shooting again – but this time bullets flew... hmm... It kind of reminds me of a similar story – when someone wanted to steal my truck – shot at me twice – but the gun just went “click, click”... when he was making his get-away, he shot into the air – and his gun worked! What else can we say – but THANK YOU GOD!!! ...and praise Him for his Love, Mercy and Tender Care... What better news can you get than that!!?!

Please pray for my in-laws... they aren’t Christians...and we hope and pray that even this experience might bring them face to face with Christ...

... for Marco – who is having a hard time with the fact that someone shot at and then hit his dad... ...for the boy’s project money that was stolen and needs to be replaced... for El Jordan’s replacement bank card to get here quickly...and for Keiden to forget this scary experience...

Thank you for praying for us... we felt God’s hand tonight... and we thank you... and Him...

Corina for Marco and Keiden

Just one more reason why your prayers for us are important.  Thanks for praying!

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More on our new house...

I met with the architect again today to see his preliminary drawings for the new house.  Let me just say...the guy nailed it!  I was really happy with what he came up with.  The first time we met, he just asked a bunch of questions about what it was I was looking for in the new house.  So I just talked while he took notes.  Afterwards I was trying to imagine how he was going to fit it all together.  I had nothin'...

So today when he showed me what he'd come up with, I was very surprised.  He managed to get bedrooms for fifteen guys, a study area, two bathrooms upstairs and another downstairs, a common area upstairs, a guest room downstairs, your usual living room, dining room, kitchen...a huge storage area, an upstairs deck (which we have now and love), another bedroom downstairs for whoever is helping with the guys (with a private bathroom and small outdoor patio)...all in one house.  And it doesn't feel institutional or anything.  It looks very "family" which is what we have now, and want to maintain in the new place. 

One thing I really wanted was a fairly open concept with lots of windows.  He designed the downstairs so that it's open from the living room straight through to the backyard where he's got a great patio area.  With fifteen guys, we wanted there to be different areas where the guys could go to read or study, and not feel crowded all the time.  He nailed that too.  There are different areas that the guys could go to, to have a bit more privacy.

All in all, I left his office very excited.  We're still talking about what my space will look like.  I'm not completely sure if I still want an attached apartment.  I'm thinking it might be wise to have something close by but not quite on the same property.  =)  We'll see...I'm working through the pro's and con's in my head.

So...if you want to check out these great new plans (and see a very cool 3D walk through that he's doing for us) you need to come hang out at our Bolivia Fundraising Banquet on March 6th.  It's going to be a fun night of great food (I'm cooking!) and good company!  I'll be taking everyone through what the future is going to look like for us.  Keep an eye out here at the blog if you're in the Saskatoon area...I'll be posting more information.  The tickets will be onsale soon! 

Anyhow...thanks for praying everyone!  There were other things that happened today, but I'll get to that on another day.  =) 

PS  As a completely unrelated side note...I saw a taxi today with a big decal on his back window (that's pretty normal here).  It said, "In the garden of my life, my mother is the most beautiful flower!"  I just thought, if I ever put that on the back window of my truck, my mom would probably say to my face "Aw...thank you son!  That's sweet!" all the while thinking, "Good grief...my son is an idiot..."

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Seriously?

Hmmm...I'm going home to this?

A friend posted that picture of their front yard in Edmonton.  As I looked at that picture, I just kept shaking my head and asking, "Why?"

Of course I do get to drive this...

My mom's new Civic. 

I wonder...are snow and cars and the occasional empty parking lot still as much fun as I remember?

No lectures people.  It's the only thing keeping me going...
  

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Just something...

My friend Amy lives in Cochabamba (she's a missionary from the States).  She's starting a new ministry and is going through some of the same things I am as we plan for this new house.  This was her Facebook status today...

"It's funny/terrifying that God has me doing all kinds of budgets and expense reports for Casa Koinonia (both for Risen Savior in the US and for the Bolivian government) because I haven't even balanced my checking account in probably 12 years and I pretty much forgot to pay taxes in 2004... But I can do this!!!"

That made me actually laugh out loud.  If you know me at all, you know I'm more or less in the same boat administratively (although I think my taxes were in fact paid...thanks Dad).  God has a good sense of humour.  =)  Maybe it's just that those of us who are a little more clueless don't always know what we're getting into until it's too late. =)

But then there's also this...

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me..."

So it's all good.
  
    

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Some exciting news...

Wow...I just signed a contract with an architect to start working on plans for our new house.  It was a weird feeling.  It was a bit more money than I had expected (it always is) but I think we need to start moving on this. 

One of our concerns right now is how land prices are skyrocketing. It's incredible. There are areas of the city that are now more expensive than Saskatoon or most Canadian cities. In the past year we've seen certain parts of Santa Cruz more than double (or triple) in value. So we want to at least buy land while it's still affordable. Plus there are cement shortages which are driving up construction costs. Some days I see hundreds of people lined up waiting to buy cement.

Life nothing if not interesting here...

So...by the time I come home I'll have plans for our new house.  I'll have no money.  But I'll have plans.  I think that's kind of the story of  my life.  =)  I was saying to Maribel yesterday how nice it would be to just have all the money we needed and not to have to worry about it.  But in the same breath I acknowledged that if that were true, it'd be way too easy for me to just do my own thing and not wait on God.  The house we're in now and the furniture and everything we own are amazing testiments to God's provision and timing.  He knew exactly what we needed and when we needed it.  It was very cool how He provided every step of the way with this house.  I have no doubt he'll continue to do so.

So...once again...Ken's jumping off with both feet.  I'm not sure if I totally know what I'm getting into.  =)  But that's pretty much normal for me. 

Like I said it's kind of a weird feeling, but at the same time it's kind of exciting.  I'm looking forward to seeing what God has planned for us.  And what the architect comes up with...  =)
  

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News from Bolivia...

If you've been following along here long enough, you'll remember our diesel shortages of a few years ago when I was buying my way through blockades and waiting in gas stations at three in the morning hoping to buy some fuel when no one was looking (the station's tanks were "officially" empty, but they usually kept some diesel back for their clients...buses and taxis's...I had a friend who was sneaking me in). 

At any rate, those were interesting days.  Waiting in line ups litterally hundreds of vehicles long.  Hoping they wouldn't run out before I got there.

We're facing shortages again these days.  Only this time it's sugar.  That's right...

Sugar.

It's been all over the news lately.  Something happened to the sugar cane crops and there are huge shortages of sugar.  None of the markets are selling it.  If a truckload does show up, there's practically a riot of people trying to secure a bag or two.

Yesterday we heard that our local supermarket had some, so Maribel and I hurried over.  Sure enough they did, but they were limiting people's purchases to two bags each (there was a security guard standing by the pallet of sugar bags).  We sneakily split up, each grabbed two bags and then went through different check outs.  We met back up at the truck.  It was quite James Bondish.  We watched a mom and her three young kids do the same thing.  Once they were out of the store she was like, "Get in the car!  GET IN THE CAR!"  And then they went burning out of the parking lot. 

All in all it's been quite entertaining. 

No one knows exactly when the sugar crisis of 2011 will be over, but it doesn't seem any time soon.  They're talking about trying to ship some in from Brazil.  I'll keep you updated.  =) 

Sugar is actually one of our main exports, so it's more serious than I'm making it out to be.  As a farmer's kid I shouldn't laugh too much.  Crop failures can obviously be pretty bad for a lot of people.  It's just that the image of that mom trying to smuggle bags of sugar out of the supermarket was pretty funny.  =)

One other announcement to make.  We have a new guy in the house.  Jose Manuel (Andres' younger brother...who I introduced here) has decided to come live with us.  We're excited about that.  He's a good kid and I know Andres is excited to have him in the house.  Because of our strained relationship with the home where Jose Manuel used to live, his leaving was a bit of a difficult process.  But it's all good.  He showed up just now with his little bag of clothes.  He sort of didn't tell me that he was coming until this morning, so now we're scrambling a bit to find a mattress and sheets and whatnot for him.  We'll be doing a market run later today.

I also have a meeting with an architect friend to talk about plans for our new house.  So that's exciting.  He's going to start work on some blueprints for us.  I'll keep you updated on that as well.

So that's life in Bolivia these days.  Thanks for praying everyone! 
  

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My day...

Lest my life seem too discouraging, let me share part of my day yesterday...

It’s been really dry lately...so I decided to wash my truck. I can’t really explain it, but suffice it to say that we need rain and washing my truck is me doing my part. A clean truck inevitably leads to a serious rain within twenty four hours. I’ve documented it. Well...in my head I’ve documented it. That’s good enough for me.

As the guy starts to hose off the dirt at the car wash, I decide to open my wallet and see how much money I have on me. Hmmm...that would be none. Well, except for the three tattered one dollar bills I’m saving for Miami since no one wants them here. They’ve been in my wallet for over a year ‘cause I always forget to use them whenever I’m in Miami.

Since it generally takes about an hour for them to wash my truck I decide I have time to walk to the nearest ATM. Which isn’t really all that near...but whatever. It’s not like I have a lot of options. In the scorching 40 C day we’re having, I stagger the fifteen blocks and jam my card into the machine. The machine promptly tells me it hates me. Well, it tells me my card isn’t working which is basically the same thing. There are three machines huddled together and all three don’t want to accept my card.

So now I’m nowhere near my house, I have like twenty cents in my pocket and a cell phone that has about thirty seconds of airtime left on it. I call Maribel and quickly explain the situation. She has no money to loan me, so I tell her to get one of the guys to go through my bathroom window into my room and get some money off my desk.

Weirdly my bathroom has a giant window in it that looks into the common area of our upstairs. Ivan climbs through it and over my mini fridge which is weirdly in my bathroom and finds the money. He climbs back over the mini fridge and out my window and heads off to the corner where we agreed to meet.

While I wait for him I decide to use my last twenty cents to buy a bottle of water. As I open it I hear the dreaded hiss of gas escaping. The silly lady gave me water with gas (which I hate) instead of water without gas. Seriously could my day get any worse. I tried to drink it but it tastes like...water with gas...and so I abandoned it after a couple of sips. And now I’m even grumpier than before.

Eventually Ivan shows up and hands me my money. Being the zealous kid he is, he hands me every bit of money I had on my desk. A random bunch of Bolivian bills, a US twenty and a fistful of change from my change jar. I guess he wanted to make sure I had enough.

I hurry back to the car wash place to find that the slowest car wash guy in the history of car wash guys is washing my truck. What normally takes forty five minutes to an hour takes this guy over two hours. Roberto is waiting for me at a job site and by the time I get there to pick him up, he’s sprawled on the front lawn of the house where he was working, sound asleep. I’m sure the people there wondered if he was ever going home.

By now I’ve figured out that it’s the Royal Bank’s fault that my card isn’t working and I have a full on, curl your hair rant going on in my mind. I am so ready to let those people have it, I can’t even tell you. I call the 1-800 number and prepare to let loose all the rage and anger and fury that’s built up in my head.

And then the nicest lady EVER answers the phone and starts chatting me up about the weather and where I’m calling from and wow, it must be nice to escape the snow. Before I knew what was happening I was sitting there grinning like an idiot and practically apologizing for bothering her.

That nice lady transferred me to another very nice lady from the fraud department who good naturedly scolded me for moving to Bolivia without notifying the bank. I tried to explain that I’ve actually lived her for seven years and that I’ve talked to the bank numerous times about that fact (every time they kill my card), but she happily continued on, obliviously explaining that she’d be happy to reinstate my card for me but next time I travel I should really let them know.

I wanted to get grumpy and use that perfectly good rant that was still banging around in my head...but my Pavlovian Canadian conditioning to politeness kicked in and I just sat there drooling and waiting for her to pat my head or ring a bell or something. She told me to have a nice day and if I ever needed anything else to not hesitate in calling.

Hmm...maybe they could stop killing my card every time I take out more than fifty bucks.

In the end my card started working again, I got massacred in a game of foosball (the kid didn’t use his goalie which just added to the humiliation) and one of the guys randomly told me that my shorts keep falling down ‘cause I have no butt.

And tomorrow’s just a whole new adventure....
   
Oh...and it rained last night.

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A prayer request...

I'm generally a lot better with the funny stories than I am with the heart stuff here on the blog.  The heart stuff happens, but I enjoy telling the funny story better.  It's tough sharing the hard stuff. 

I know a lot of you who read this are parents.  I imagine most parents have had the experience of watching their kid do something they know is going to cause them pain.  You want to intervene...but how do you do that exactly?  When someone starts closing doors, it's tough to stick your foot in there.  At least without losing a couple of toes in the process.

As most of you know, I kind of got dropped into the situation of being "Dad" to a group of ex-street kids.  For the most part I don't always feel like I know what I'm doing.  There are lots of days when it's fun and rewarding and I get to see God doing great things in the lives of the guys.  I see them learning to make good decisions and how to move past the pain of their pasts. 

Then there are the other days.  The days when you see someone slowly moving down a road that you know is going to be destructive and hurtful for them.  You want to help, and yet you have no idea what to do.  It's tough because, with ten guys here and another half dozen who we help outside the house, there always seems to be someone struggling with something.

Right now it's a kid who I care about a lot.  Obviously I appreciate all the guys here and would do whatever I needed to, to help them.  But there are those certain kids who you connect with just a little more deeply and who mean just a little bit more to you.  I can see incredible potential in this young man's life.  In the past few months, God has spoken clearly to him and has really revealed Himself to this young guy.

But lately something's been happening in this kid's life.  I have my suspicions as to what it is, but there's not a whole lot I can do about it.  I (and Maribel) are praying and I know that God is at work.  But at the same time I know people make bad decisions and often don't listen to either God or the people who care for them.  It's never the end of the story, but there can be some difficult consequences.  I don't want to see this kid have to suffer any of those consequences.

At any rate...it's been a sad couple of days.  My young friend is angry and frustrated and feeling (what I'm pretty sure is) a lot of guilt.  Please pray for him...that the Holy Spirit would guide him and convict him, and bring him back to a place of obedience and peace.  That Maribel and I would know how to best support him and encourage him, and at the same time help him understand the consequences of his sin.  For me, I really want to trust and know God's peace through all of this.  I tend to always want to try and figure out how to fix a situation, when in reality it's only God who can do that. 

Thanks everyone for praying.  I appreciate it.  
  

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My dream car...

I rode the bus this morning (my friend Efrain was working on my truck).  It's funny...every time I'm on a bus I end up feeling empathy for the bus driver.  It's not easy wheeling a big beast around through Santa Cruz traffic.  And pretty much every time I vow that I'm going to be nicer to the bus and taxi drivers the next time I'm in my truck.

That usually lasts about three and a half minutes before some bus driver or taxi driver does something absolutely ridiculous and I just want to ram them with my truck. 

But I think I've come up with a solution....

I'm fairly passive/aggressive when I drive here, so I wouldn't actually have to use any of the guns (although a missile launcher would probably be too tempting to resist).  It would just be all about intimidation...

Anyone know where I can pick up a few things for my truck?
 

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Packrats...

I knew this before, but it was once again confirmed to me today...

I live with a bunch of packrats.  I don't know if it comes from having lived on the streets or if it's a part of being Bolivian or if it's just an innate part of my guys' specialness...but they keep everything.  I've thrown things away and then a couple of days later seen one of the guys with the object I threw away.  What?  You went through my garbage?  And if someone offers them something...it doesn't matter how dumb or useless...they'll eargerly accept.  If you look in some of the guy's dressers, they have drawers filled with stuff that they'll never use or look at again.  But they will NOT throw it out.  I suggested to Ruddy once (he's one of the worst) that he get rid of some of it.  He just gave me this slightly hurt, slighty "Dumb gringo", slightly "Are you kidding me?" look.

Take today for example.  We do lawn care/odd jobs for people as a way for the guys to make a bit of spending money.  Today two of the guys were working for an older lady, cleaning out some junk from her house.  She offered them some boxes of stuff that she didn't want.

As a side note...when an elder lady offers you boxes of junk that she doesn't want...nine times out of ten you don't want it either.

At any rate, when I went to pick the guys up, they were sitting on the steps of her house with four cardboard boxes gathered around them.  I knew...I mean, I knew...that the boxes were full of stuff that we did not want or need at the house.  I refrained from commenting until we were in the truck and on our way home.

Me:       "So...what's in the boxes?"

Guy 1:   "She gave it to us!"

Me:       "Uh huh...what is it?"

Guy 2:   "Movies!"

Me:       "Movies huh?"  (I knew there was more to the story)

Guy 1:   "Yea, cassettes..."

Me:       "Cassettes?  You mean VHS?"

Guy 1:   "Yea..."  (Guy 1 was starting to clue in a little...)

Me:       "What are you going to do with VHS cassettes?  We don't have a machine that plays VHS."

There's a pause for a moment as the guys consider this.

Guy 2:   "We can sell them in the market!"  (Guy 2...no clueing in happening...)

Me:       "Who's going to want to buy VHS cassettes?  Do you know anyone who watches VHS?"

Guy 1:    "No one watches VHS!  No one is going to buy them!"  (Guy 1 has suddenly switched sides and is now mocking Guy 2 for his enthusiasm.  So much for loyalty).

Guy 2:     Stubbornly "Someone might!"  (Atta boy....stick to your guns!)

For the rest of the ride home we didn't talk about the boxes of video cassettes we now owned.  Oh yea, I forgot to mention...all the video cassettes are about Jesus.  Which is fine.  But even in a Catholic country I'm not sure there's a big market for four boxes of Jesus VHS video cassettes. 

Sure enough, I just went downstairs and the four boxes are piled by the front door.  Guess who has to figure out what to do with four boxes of Jesus VHS cassettes now?  It's okay though...I'll just do what I usually do.  Donate them to my friend Corina and let her figure it out.   =)

UPDATE:  I just went and looked more closely at the videos.  One entire box is full of brand new cassettes still in their wrappers.  My first thought was, "We really should try and do something with these."  Then I noticed the sticker "Italiano". 

They're all in Italian.  Guy number 2 was sitting on the couch and when I started laughing.  I asked him what we were going to do with a box of Jesus VHS cassettes in Italian. 

"Give them to Hermana Corina?"  (I think they're catching on...)

"And what's she going to do with them?" I asked.

"Put them in a garbage bag?"

Yep...they're learning.
   

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Christmas Eve...

So if you're curious what Christmas Eve is like in Bolivia...and you know you are...

And if you have 8 minutes of your life to waste...and if you live in Saskatchewan and it's minus 100 outside you know you do...

Then check this out.  It's entertaining.  I've come along ways since my first Christmas here, although it was pretty funny too.

Anyhow...Christmas 2010!





Blowing things up is not the reason for the season of course.  But it adds a certain je ne sais qua.  Not to mention the element of possible death...

UPDATE:  This works better if you watch in full-screen and let the little grey bar across the bottom of the screen disappear (it happens automatically if you don't touch anything).  Then you can read my witty little comments on the bottom of the screen...
  

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Life...

I had coffee with a missionary friend of mine today who works with YWAM here in Santa Cruz.  They have a home similar to ours (they had the idea about the same time I did) so it's nice to get together to compare notes and talk about what's working and what's not.

It's interesting...we started off with very similar ideas and goals, and yet our two homes have gone in somewhat different directions.  Theirs has become a little more institutional, while ours has developed a fairly strong family feel to it.  That's not to say that their home isn't working or that ours is functioning better...both have had their good moments and bad.  It's just interesting to me.

I think one of the factors in how our home feels is that we do a lot of things together.  We go to church together...we eat together...we play soccer together (well...the guys play soccer together...).  Even though we're nearly twice the size of the YWAM home, we've built a good atmosphere here.  Most days anyhow...

I think another contributing factor is that their home is run more by committee (there's a team of them)...which can make it difficult sometimes.  At our place it's just Maribel and I.  I tried to explain to my friend what it was that we were doing that helped build the family atmosphere, but it was difficult to put into words exactly.  I have my list of things I want to accomplish here, but most days we seem to be flying by the seat of our pants, so to say.  But...it's working.  Most days anyhow...

One encouraging thing is that we're becoming more proactive and not just responding to problems or putting out fires.  We're meeting with each of the guys individually every week to see how they're doing and to study God's Word together.  I'm not patting myself on the back, just so you know.  That's all Tonchi and Jorge (our pastors)...they're the ones making that happen.  We still have our problems (trust me)...but it's getting better and better.  I can definitely see God at work and the guys are changing and growing.

Are there things that annoy the daylights out of me and make me want to smack somebody upside the head?  Just about every day...  =)  But overall things are going well.

Tonight was one of those nights were there were a few crisises but at the same time God was moving and using the situations to bring growth and a deeper understanding of our relationship with Him.  The whole Romans 8:28 thing...using all things for our good.  I met with one of the guys tonight, who's been struggling in his faith and who has had more than a few doubts lately.  We talked for close to three hours.  He asked all kinds of questions (some that really challenged both my Spanish and and my theology).  It was a great conversation.  I think he (and I) walked away encouraged.

I think I'm rambling a little, so I'll wrap this up.  I just wanted to let you know how things were going and to say thanks, once again, for your prayers.  It makes a huge difference for us.  God responds when His people pray.
  

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Our Christmas present...

So here's the craziest thing...

Our friends, Corina and Marko, gave us a dog for Christmas.  Although that's not really the crazy part...that's still coming.  Last Christmas they did the same thing. That dog did not become a productive part of our family.  We gave her back. I couldn’t deal with the whining and barking all night.

This Christmas Sandro came upstairs and handed me a Christmas card from El Jordan (Corina and Marko’s ministry) and said, “Your gift is downstairs!” I was like, “Oh that’s nice of them.” I was thinking it was cookies or something. I got halfway downstairs before I realized that it was going to be a dog.

Again.

Sure enough, she was sitting in our back yard with a bow around her neck. Marko’s convinced we need a dog. He’s probably encouraged in his thinking by Sandro who’s also convinced. This dog seemed calmer and nicer than the last dog, so I thought, “Well...maybe...” She was better looking too...

We had her for two days and then one morning the boys told me she was gone. She escaped somehow. I called Corina to tell her what had happened and that they should keep an eye out for here. I didn’t really expect that they’d see her again but I’ve seen “Incredible Journey”....so you never know.

And...guess what? I just talked to Corina and the dog showed up at El Jordan again. She was sitting there waiting for them yesterday morning. But what blows my mind is that the dog was only at El Jordan for an afternoon before they brought her to our house. She’d never lived there. And they brought her to our house in a truck.

You want to explain to me how that dog found her way back?!

Craziness...

So I guess we’re going to try again. We’ll see if we can convince her to stay this time. But at least it’s good to know that she can find her way home if she decides she doesn’t like us...

Andres with our new friend...

Discussing our new friend...

Um...checking out our new friend's teeth?

She's a nice looking dog.  Now if only she'd like us...

PS  Oh...I forgot to tell you.  Evo (our President) caved and gas prices are back to normal.  For now anyhow...

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