I'm famous! More or less....

Okay, funny...I happened to have some time on my hands this morning and so I was checking my e-mail.  There was an e-mail waiting from my college with a link to our school's magazine, so I was putzing around looking at it.  Low and behold, tucked way at the end was a link called "Briercrest grad helping Bolivian street kids become responsible adults". 

I was like, "Well...that kind of sounds like me.  How many of us can there be in Bolivia?"

So I checked it out and low and behold it was me!  The reporter interviewed me last February when I was home visiting the school, but I never heard anything else about it.  I guess in July it made the magazine (or at least the online version....I don't think I saw the article in the paper version they send out.)

At any rate...it's a pretty decent article.  Probably the best that's been written about us so far.  Some of the others have had some rather amusing errors.  But this one I like.  I probably sound a little more together and on top of things than I really am....but whatever.  =) 

If you have a moment, take a look...

Have a great day everyone!

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A good day at Yimy's house...

Yimy's (one of the guys who lives here at the house) mom lives in Argentina and his dad works way off somewhere in the jungle (they're separated).  But the family has a house an hour or so outside of Santa Cruz (where Yimy grew up).  His two younger brothers live there and his mom comes home to visit every month or so. 

This trip she bought the family their first fridge!  So Yimy and I hauled it out there on Saturday.  Everyone was pretty excited.  I took a few pics with my camera (the quality isn't that great...but you get the idea).

The new fridge...

Big smiles!

Leveling a spot on the floor...

Yimy, his brother and his niece with the new fridge!

All in all a good day!  I told them there'd better be cold pop in there the next time I visited....  =)

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The final chapter?

Most of you probably remember when this happened (and a bit more here)...even though it was way back in May of 2011.  Seems like a long time ago doesn't it?  And it is.  Certainly long enough for my truck to be fixed and sold long ago.

Except it isn't.

Almost a year later, I'm still fighting with my insurance company to get everything done.  The details are too long and frustrating to bother getting into here, but suffice it to say that I finally lost it today.  After all the delays and lies about when the truck would be ready (or that it was ready when it wasn't) and terrible bodywork that had to be redone...today was the last straw.

The only thing the truck needs at this point are two new fog lights and to replace the right headlight bulb.  Somehow that's managed to take nearly a month.  Yimy and I sat in this guy (Daniel)'s office today for nearly an hour while he waited for the guy in Cochabamba (Sergio) to approve the purchase of said lights.  This would be the same guy that took eight months to "fix" the truck in the first place. 

Finally Sergio called back and said that they would pay for the fog lights but not the headlight because they didn't know if was because of the accident or not, and Daniel (the Santa Cruz guy) agreed with that.  After ten months of waiting...four trips to Cochabamba to pick up the truck only to be asked if I could come back in a few days because "it wasn't quite ready"...more waiting in Santa Cruz for the bodywork to be redone....multiple trips to the Santa Cruz office to try to get them to finish the work the Cochabamba office didn't do (this Daniel character actually told me that it was my fault he hadn't gotten to this sooner because I didn't come into the office often enough to remind him to contact the Cochabamba office for permission to buy the lights.  He said that he had "lots of other work to do!").

And now they were fighting me on a $5 light bulb. 

I couldn't believe it.  I seldom get angry over things, but that was the last straw.  I ranted to Daniel (he later told Yimy he was annoyed that I left without saying thank you for his help!) then went to my insurance agent (who I've bought my insurance from for the past six years) and ranted to her.  She was sympathetic and asked if I wanted to talk to the main boss guy.

Oh, heck yes...

So I told the boss guy my whole story and explained that I couldn't believe that, after everything I'd been through with them, they were saying they wouldn't buy the stupid lightbulb.  I figured it was the least they could do.  It's cost me hundreds of dollars in interest to the bank to have that truck parked for ten months when I couldn't use it or sell it, not to mention the trips to Cochabamba, not to mention the aggravation of waiting for so long.

Yea...I was pretty angry.  I told him that if he wanted to keep his clients happy he shouldn't argue with them over a stupidly small thing when they've done such a terrible job in the first place.

He was actually really good about it.  He appologized and immediately agreed that they would pay for the $5 lightbulb.  I walked back past Daniel (the pain in the butt guy) with my head held high and a pride in my step.

Yay for Ken!  He finally get's to win one!!  Who cares if it's only a $5 lightbulb...it's still a victory for the little guy over the big, evil corporation!  I was quite pleased, if I do say so myself.  I never seem to get to declare victory in these kinds of situations. 

And then....there's the funny, little final chapter to my story.  We stopped back at the house to get the broken lightbulb from the truck to show the parts store what bulb it was exactly.  After a couple of minutes Yimy came back into the house with a smirk on his face. 

When he went to pull the lightbulb, he noticed that there didn't seem to be any wires coming from the headlight like there were on the other one.  Turns out the autobody guys unplugged the light when they were working on the front end and then never plugged it back in again.  When Yimy reattached the plug?

Low and behold the lightbulb was fine and everything worked great.

Ahem.  Would "Oops" be the appropriate response?

After a moment of somewhat self concious laughter on my part, I decided that I don't feel too bad about my ranting.  Sure it was over a $5 headlight bulb that turns out was never broken (haha...that makes me laugh even as I write it), but that was really just the tip of the iceberg.  My insurance company's work was terrible and it feels good to have been able to say something to someone who matters. 

I also decided that my insurance company is never going to find out.  Yimy's the only one who knows down here and I pay for his food so that effectively buys him off. 

And so....yay, Ken finally wins one!

Kind of.

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My Shoeshine buddies...

Back in 2007 when I was still working at the boys’ home, I used to come into the city and make use of different coffee shops’ free WIFI.  I got to know a family of brothers who were all shoe shiners in the area.  The youngest was probably two and the oldest ten or eleven.  You can read about the first time I met them here.

Over the years I’ve stayed friends with them.  I run into them every once in a while and we stop and chat.  I usually give them a few Bolivianos or buy them a little something to eat.  Now that I live in the city, I see them less because I don’t go to use the WIFI as often (only when I’m trying to escape the house).

Recently though, I ran into Erlan (the middle boy).  I visited with him for a while and told him I’d like to meet his mom someday.  A couple of weeks later I was once again trying to escape and I went into the coffee shop I use.  There he was waiting for me.  He must have been going every day to see if I was there.  He had a list of school supplies and asked if I would be willing to help him out.  I said sure, and we made plans to meet the next day to go to the market.

The next day Maribel, Yimy, Erlan, his little brother Fernando and I headed off to the market.  I let Maribel do most of the shopping.  I just waited nearby with the money.  It’s kind of how we do things.  As it turned out, he needed a lot of supplies.  I have no idea how most families afford them.  It was over $50 worth which is a lot down here. 

The price aside, it was darn fun seeing him and Fernando carrying the big bags of school supplies back to the truck.  I gave him the lecture that he’d better study hard and get good marks now.  He solemnly assured me he would.  =) 

We dropped the boys off at their house because I wanted to meet their mom.  The house is pretty far out on the edge of town but it’s definitely a hard place to miss.  It’s painted bright purple with a neon green set of chairs and table out front.  It made me smile.  The boys’ mom shyly came over with a smile and introduced herself.  No doubt it’s intimidating to have a gringo with a big truck show up at your house.  But Yimy, Maribel and I were our chatty, happy selves and she seemed to relax. 

As we were about to leave, Erlan asked if we could by his little brother’s school supplies as well (he didn’t have his list yet), so we made plans to get together again the next week. 

The next week when Yimy and I arrived at the house, the boys’ mom told me that they’d already left for “work” (shining shoes), so she hopped in the truck and away we went to find the guys. 

They were sitting on the same corner I first saw them at five years ago.  Christian was there too, so all three boys piled into the truck with their mom.  I decided it would be fun to treat us to a Saltena (a Bolivian breakfast food), so we stopped along the way at one of the many Saltena restaurants.

Erlan

Even though they’re a popular, traditional food here, I’m not sure any of them had ever had a Saltena before.  They weren’t entirely sure how to eat them.  They figured it out mind you and we had a good time eating and getting to know each other better

I found out that there are nine kids in the family.  The boys’ mom washes clothes to support her family.  There’s no dad in the picture as far as I can see.  There were ten kids, but sadly, the oldest boy (who I met that first day) died of cancer a couple of years ago.  He was only fourteen.   

Fernando (the youngest)

I noticed that Christian’s face was all scraped up.  His mom explained that about a year ago he began having seizures.  They’re not sure (he’s never been tested) but they think he has epilepsy.  He generally has a seizure every day.  His face was all scraped because he fell down on the sidewalk the last time he had one.  It worries me because of the lifestyle these kids have.  He’s constantly running across the street between cars.  If he’s having that many seizures (I’m no expert, but one a day seems to be a lot), there’s definitely a danger of him having one in a bad spot.

Christian's face

They were pretty happy when I explained that while there’s no cure for epilepsy (if that’s what he has), there are ways of controlling the seizures.  I know a missionary doctor here, so I’m waiting to hear from her to see what we can do to help him.

Please pray for this young family.  The boys’ mom says she’s afraid the boys are going to end up on the streets.  I think that’s definitely a possibility.  They’re close now.  Thankfully they’re still studying and coming home at night.  But they’re going down that path that so many of the street kids have gone down.  Their friends are all mostly street kids.  It’s where they spend most of their day.  The time is likely coming when they’ll just stop going home at night and they’ll take that step towards being on the streets full time.

After working for so many years with kids who spent years on the streets, I really want to help these young guys to not go down that road.  I feel like there’s a chance to be proactive here rather than just picking up the pieces afterwards.  But it’s complicated.  I’m not sure how to help this family without starting to pay for everything.  To begin with, I can’t afford that, and secondly I don’t think it’s healthy for them either, to completely depend on the gringo.  So I’m thinking it through.  Pray for wisdom for me as well. 

Thanks everyone, for taking the time to read this.  I know it’s a bit of a novel.  And as always, thanks for taking the time to pray for us!

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My favourite day...

After multiple tries, this video is finally uploaded.  I may have built it up a bit too much by saying it was the coolest video ever...maybe it's not, but I'm sure you'll agree that it's pretty darn amazing none the less. 

I'll let you watch now and judge for yourself.  Watch the video before you read anymore...



A couple of things that I love...

 - I said in the video that Mary understood what was going on.  She didn't.  She said later that she thought Uncle Norman was buying her a new door for her house.  She had no idea what was happening either.

 - The house was fully furnished.  The family didn't need to bring anything from their old house except their clothes.  Dishes, towels, bedding, furniture...it was all there.

 - Each bed had an afghan on it, hand knit by a group of ladies from Canada.

 - I missed this when I made the video (I was in a noisy coffee shop) but at 9:13 one of the kids says "Us!" and Corina responds "You!".  Watch the little guy on the left's face at 9:15 when he realizes what's going on.

 - When they're looking at the bathroom one of the little guys points to the soap dish on the wall and his older brother says, "It's soap!"

 - I also missed the kids discovering the fridge.  They couldn't get over how it was so cold inside.  =)

 - When I showed this video to Yimy (at the house) he just kept saying, "Oh.  Oh.  Oh." throughout the video of the house.  He couldn't get over how nice it was.

And finally, after Uncle Norman and Corina and everyone visited and filmed the family's first house, Mary asked if she could borrow a little bit of money.  With the rain we've been having, she hadn't been able to wash clothes and all she had in the house to eat was a cup of rice.  Nothing else. 

If she only knew what the next day was going to bring!    =)

A huge thank you to Uncle Norman and Aunt Nancy (Corina's uncle and aunt) and all the amazing people both in Canada and Bolivia who made this happen.  Words fail.  This is beyond cool.  And thanks Uncle Norman for letting me be a little part of this day!

Seriously....best day ever.

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Oye!

"Oye" is our catch all word in Spanish for a variety of things.  In this context in means...

"Oops, I just forgot a 7 AM doctor's appointment for a 82 year old gentleman we're helping....the 14 minute video I'm uploading seems to be stuck at 21% after 25 hours of uploading and says that there's 3256 minutes to go....the storm that swept through Santa Cruz last night did a number on my room (I wasn't home) and literally flooded the entire floor of my beadroom and soaked everything and now my room smells like a musty basement....my bank card got cancelled this week and has been causing all kinds of problems...oh, and the water got cut off for lack of payment last night (it's back on now though)...."

Okay that last one just makes me laugh.  But the rest of it?

"Oye."

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Prayer....

I've started this post probably three times and then deleted it and started over.  It's tough to know what to say.  In a lot of ways things are improving...and that's encouraging.  But we're still dealing with the consequences of the past few months and that can be difficult.  The good thing is, I (and Maribel as well) feel God's peace in the midst of all of this.  So that helps.  =)

I guess I have my moments though.  I texted my friend the other night and asked her if she ever wished she didn't care so much about the people around her (she's in ministry too).  I was having this weird moment of laughing and joking around on the outside with one of the guys and then feeling that clenching of the heart and stomach when I thought about what had happened and what was still happening in this young guy's life.  In that moment I just wished I didn't really care...or at the very least I wished I could turn the caring off for awhile and just go watch TV or something.

She wrote me back a very wise e-mail that encouraged me and helped me think through a few things.  I think one of the challenges for me is that it never really stops.  It's 24/7 and there's no escaping.  =)  I laugh when I think back to those initial moments of planning for this home and how I thought I was going to be the cool big brother and we'd all live together in harmony and peace.

If I didn't know myself I'd ask myself what I was smoking. 

The reality is...the guys I live with are good guys and good friends.  For the most part they have the desire to change and grow and live differently than they did.  But like all of us, they're products of their pasts and not all of them have been able to move forward the way they (and I) would like.  There are addictions and temptations and sins that still plague them.  We're doing battle with a lot of years of living apart from God.  There are consequences to that.

But there's also victory and freedom.  God is bringing both.  None of us has arrived yet and we (I) need to be reminded of that occasionally.

Tomorrow Maribel will be dealing directly with some of the consequences we're facing.  I (and she) would appreciate it if you could pray.  Wisdom and patience and a sense of God's direction, I think.  As well, for myself if you could pray for a continued sense of God's presence and peace (and wisdom...always wisdom).  For the guys, pray for a renewed passion for Christ and freedom from their pasts. 

Thanks everyone!  I promise that soon I'll post a funny story of some random event in my life.  =) 
   

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