Regarding our ministry to new moms....

In my rant on life yesterday, I forgot to mention our new, young mom, Natalia.  She's now had her little one for almost two weeks.  It's been tough for her, I think...at least in some ways.  She's eighteen, and the idea of a baby wasn't quite in the plans.  So...she's adjusting.  But she has a great heart, and she really loves her little girl, so I'm confident that with a little help, she'll do great.

She took a good first step today.  She and I met with my friend Corina, who works with families coming off the streets in her centre El Jordan.  The staff teach the girls (and now guys) some basic job training and life skills.  As much as I've been happy to help Natalia, working with young moms isn't really a part of our ministry profile.  =)  We've talked with her about the importance of her becoming self sufficient eventually.  We want her to feel supported and encouraged, but also understand that caring for her life and the life of her baby, is her responsibility.

So tomorrow afternoon she'll be starting cooking classes and a Bible study.  I think she's excited.  =)  A little nervous for sure, but she really enjoyed talking with Corina.  I don't think it'll take long for her to feel a part of the community there.  Which is something she really needs.  Her parents died a few years ago, and both her brothers are still on the streets (I think she was sad tonight, that they haven't tried to contact her to see how she's doing).  She's definitely become a part of our family here (the guys LOVE having the baby around), but it's time for her to expand that family to include people who are better suited to help her.   

Please continue praying for Natalia.  Like I said, she's a good kid with a great heart.  But this has been a huge adjustment for her.  Truth be told, she was completely unprepared and she has a ways to go.  But I think she's willing.  She's certainly open to learning and growing, and she's been reading the Bible Maribel gave her.  El Jordan will be a good place for her.

Thanks everyone.  Next time she's here, I'll get a picture of her with her little girl to post here.  The little one's a cutie!  Not all babies are you know...  =)

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A little update on life...

After a week of no truck and no internet, I've finally rejoined the 20th century.  More or less anyhow.  At least I'm back online and mobile...what more can I ask for.  Okay...a lot probably...but I'm good with this for now.

Life?  Let's see...

The truck took forever to fix.  Then as I was driving to the bank to get more money to pay my mechanic (hmmm...) I heard a funny noise and pulled over.  Yes...for the third time, I nearly lost a wheel.  Actually...let's make that for the first time, I nearly lost a wheel.  The other two times I did, in fact, lose a wheel.  One of the worker kids didn't tighten the lug nuts and I could move three of them with my fingers. 

It's so smokey here from burning sugar cane fields, they've closed down the airports.  Visibility was about half a kilometre today.  That, combined with the heat, is making people a little crazy.  Well...I should probably only speak for myself.  It's making me a little crazy.

We went to a pool on Sunday.  It was fun.  You really can't complain about hanging out at a pool on a hot...smokey...day.  The only slightly grumpy thing was that it was a bit crowded (we didn't get there until after church), so all the deck chairs were taken.  I told Roberto if he could find me one, I'd buy him a Coke.  He wandered around until he saw someone who looked like they might be ready to leave and then pounced the moment they were two feet from their chair.  That kid's great!  And cheap... 

David just smelled electrical smoke and went into his room to find that the plug to the extension cord we use for our computers blew up.  Literally.  There's smoke up the wall and the plug is all black and melted.  Part of the plug is still in the socket and I'm thinking that's probably not a good thing.

We've been trying to help the guys start doing regular daily devotions (we all know how busy life can get sometimes).  So I've been writing out questions for them for each day, and then on Monday's we get together and go through them.  It's been a lot of fun.  It took a bit to get going, but after being on the hot seat of not having anything written down, the lazier guys in the crowd picked up the pace this past week.  =)  Nothing like a little public shame to motivate you.  I'm such a good parent.  But it's turning into something we've really been enjoying...so that's good.

I'm sure there are other things too...but I should probably go figure out what to do with the live electrical plug sticking out of David's wall....

You thought I was kidding....right?

PS  Thanks for all the comments on my other posts, by the way!  I enjoyed them.  I usually try to respond, but with no internet all week, I kind of fell behind.  But I wanted you all to know that they were appreciated...  =)
 

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The wheels on the bus go....

Once again, the truck’s visiting its mechanic friend. They’re close it seems. If they don’t see each other every month or so, the truck gets cranky and leaves its owner high and dry in the middle of nowhere. As a side note, just once I’d like the mechanic to say, “No worries my friend. It was just this 25 cent part that I actually already had here in the shop. Give me three minutes and you’ll be on your way!” instead of some long, twenty minute explanation of what’s wrong and how it’s going to cost you $300 if he can find the part.

And so...Ken has been relegated back to public transportation. Again. For nearly a week now. I’m kind of torn really...buses and taxis here add a certain joie de vivre for sure. They keep life entertaining. But at the same time...they’re so ridiculously slow! It takes forever to go anywhere. Yimy and I went to his house yesterday (out in the country) and what would have taken forty five minutes in my truck turned into over two hours on a bus. I guess it should make me thankful for what I have and not just freaking frustrated.

It should...

Tuesday night I was on a bus with Sandro, and we came to a spot where a parked car was blocking the oncoming lane of traffic. An SUV tried to swing out around the car just as we got there on our bus, so we ended up bumper to bumper. Of course no one wanted to back up, so what does our driver do? He turns off the bus and shuts off his headlights and sits there. The other guy doesn’t care...he’s talking on his cell phone and obviously has no where better to be. There are now other cars behind the SUV and people are getting impatient. Finally someone on our bus nicely says, “Well, there’s room behind us...”

With a very dramatic sigh, our bus driver starts up the engine and backs up...a foot. Then he stops. The SUV inches ahead a foot. Our driver backs up another foot. And stops again. He wants to be sure the other driver knows he’s giving in reluctantly. The SUV moves forward another foot. This goes on until finally the SUV can squeeze through with mere inches to spare. Sandro and I look at each other and just shake our heads. Sandro’s annoyed. I’m mostly entertained.

Then later a young hippy lady gets on the bus with some kind of little, two octave keyboard thing attached to a hose that she blows in. She rides with us for two blocks and plays a little ditty with one hand and then asks for donations. She made a killing! Everyone gave her something. It was crazy. I told Sandro we were going to start doing that. Everyone playing or singing on a bus for an hour and we’d have bus fare for a week!

I’ve mentioned this before, but there’s a certain code of chivalry on the buses here. If you’re sitting down near the front, and an elderly (or even middle aged) lady gets on the bus, you should give up your seat and stand while she sits. I guess we probably have that back home too. Anyhow, Sandro and I were sitting near the front and the bus started to fill up. He gave up his seat first, and then I began my usual “Oh please don’t be an old lady! Oh please don’t be an old lady!” chant in my head ever time the bus slowed to pick someone up. It’s not that I don’t want to be chivalrous...I do. But the buses here are not made for tall gringos and so I end up standing, hunched over, looking at my feet while getting tossed into random people until it’s time to get off. It doesn’t add to the entertainment value at all...

Yimy, on the other hand, has been nothing if not entertaining these past few days. Yesterday on the bus I looked over and a spider was crawling up his arm. I was like, “Dude...” He says, “It’s just little.” “Yea,” I say, “but it’s going to bite you!” Yimy doesn’t say anything in response; he just makes the hand gesture of shooting webs out of his wrist.

Public transportation also involves a lot of walking. As in, Ken’s too cheap to pay for all of us to ride a bus when we can walk. So Sunday after church we walked for about fifteen or twenty minutes to the restaurant where we were going to have lunch. It was a good time of laughing and talking...so it was all good. My favourite moment of the week came when Yimy, who was walking beside me, tried to reach over his head with his right arm and slap the top of my head. Only I was just a bit too far away and with those big, monkey arms of his, he missed me and slapped himself good on the left side of his head. Then he rubbed his ear and said, “Ouch!” in perfect English. It was awesome.

Ah well...soon enough (hopefully) my truck will be fixed and my days of riding a bus, hip to hip and bum to bum with thirty other people will be over (once again I learned that there’s always room for one more on the bus!). At least until the next time my truck misses his real friend, and wants another visit.

This weekend (if the truck is back) we’re going camping out in the jungle at some very cool waterfalls. It’s a long weekend here and we haven’t gotten away as a group for awhile. It’s Santa Cruz’s 200th Anniversary on Friday, and the city has been gearing up for the party for weeks. We’re planning to escape the festivities if we can. =)

Thanks for praying for us by the way. Life is going well here. Other than those normal little bumps in the road that come with every household, we’re all good. I know no one in Saskatchewan wants to hear this, but summer has arrived with a vengeance. After a crazy cold winter, the last couple of weeks have been really hot. I was on my second shower today before 11 AM. I can only imagine what February will be like.

Oh well...the waterfalls await...
 

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And more placenta...

Just a little update on the whole "burry the placenta in the backyard" deal (see below if you don't know what I'm talking about), 'cause, you know...I'm sure you want to hear more about this.  So yesterday I'm in my truck talking to a young friend who had a baby boy about a year ago.  I figure...what the heck, I want to know if this is standard procedure here.  So I ask him...

"Efrain...this is kind of a weird question, but when your son was born, did they give you the placenta?"

"Yep."

"Really?  What did you do with it?"

"We burried it in the garden."

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

Then he starts going on and on about the bad people who throw it in the garbage and how terrible that is.  Yimy, who's driving and who's the only person down here who knows what actually happened to our placenta, doesn't crack a smile or anything...he just starts talking...

"Really?!  In the garbage?  People actually throw it in the garbage?  That's terrible!" 

And he just keeps my friend going on and on about how bad this is, while I sit in the passenger seat and contemplate all the bad things I'm going to do Yimy as soon as there's opportunity.

Finally I confessed to my friend what I did to our bag of placenta.  He was quite for a moment and then said,

"Well...you know...it's not really that bad..."

Yea, whatever.  Yimy's in for a world of pain.

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TLC presents..."Baby Stories!"

Well...remember two posts ago when I said I wished I had something funny or “nifty” to tell you? I think the following qualifies. You can let me know...

Most of you probably know that we’ve been helping this young pregnant (then) soon to be mom. Her brother is a friend of mine who’s living on the streets. He called me up one night, fairly desperate, looking for help for his sister. Natalia was in the ninth month of her pregnancy and by law here, wasn’t allowed to work. So she had no money and no food. I went and picked her up and took her to the hotel where she’d been staying and paid for her room. We’ve been helping her out since then, waiting for the baby to be born. These past few days she’s been staying with Maribel’s family so she wouldn’t be alone.

Anyhow...we knew she was getting closer and closer, but we hadn’t quite gotten around to getting what we needed for the baby. Her due date wasn’t until the end of the month. Yesterday I called Maribel (the lady who works with us) and right away she said we needed to go buy stuff for the baby now, ‘cause it was on its way. I was all like, “I’ll be there in two minutes!” No, no she tells me...the doctor said she wouldn’t be ready until one or two in the afternoon.

Promptly at 2 o’clock we pulled up to the clinic. I dropped the girls off, parked the truck and hurried back. Now, understand something...I’ve been some pretty crazy places in my life. Maximum security prisons...drug dens...under bridges hanging out with street kids...that kind of stuff. But, I’m pretty sure nothing has thrown me off, quite the way walking into that waiting room did. My feet just kind of subconsciously slowed down and stumbled over themselves.

What I hadn’t realized was that this was a clinic just for pregnant girls or new moms. So the place was packed with large ladies and/or crying kids. Like forty or fifty of them. Even the security guard was a lady. I did eventually see one male doctor and another young guy hunkered down behind the front door. He looked ready to make his escape at a moment’s notice.

I awkwardly found my chair, pulled out my book and got myself comfortable...ready for the inevitable wait I knew was coming. Two minutes later the girls were back. She’s not ready, Maribel tells me. We need to come back at six.

Off we went to Maribel’s house so our young friend could rest. Promptly at 6 PM we were back at the clinic. Nope, the doctor said...come back at 10. Of course.

As I slowly drove back across town (once again) to Maribel’s house, I was laughing to myself how I hadn’t gotten to have that crazy, adrenaline pounding, heart pumping drive to the hospital experience that you see on TV. I was kind of sad. I was sort of wishing I’d had the chance.

A wise man (or more likely woman) once said, “Be careful what you wish for...” Truer words have not been spoken. At 9:15 PM I was just about to leave my house when my phone rang. Maribel was gone to a meeting, so it was Maribel’s mom and she was talking fast! I managed to catch “contractions”, “fast” and “here”. I may have missed 97% of what she said, but the combination of those three words was burned into my brain. I went flying out of my house and laid rubber all the way across town.

When I arrived at the house, they were waiting for me on the sidewalk. As Natalia climbed into the truck, she was puffing and crying and was obviously in the middle of a major contraction. I tried to be comforting as I drove, and eventually she calmed down and I could see that the contraction had passed.

And then a few blocks later another one started.

I was like, “HO-LEE LICK! That was so not two minutes!”

The next few minutes kind of blur together in my mind. I know I started out praying “Oh Lord please no not in my truck!” but that quickly deteriorated into, “Oh God seriously no!” which eventually became “No no no no!” I’m not sure but I think I might have been timing those “No’s” to the huffing and puffing going on in the passenger seat. I am sure I threw in the occasional “Seriously God!” in there.

So there I was, hands sweating, hunched over my steering wheel, driving like ol’ Mario Andretti himself. I was weaving and swerving, honking my horn, flashing my lights.  I showed some serious skills people.  All the while calmly telling Natalia that we would be there soon, while voices screamed in my head, “SERIOUSLY! NOT IN THE TRUCK!”

We screeched up to the clinic and I went barrelling around the help Natalia out of the truck. An old security guy ambled up to truck and asked, “First baby?” I was like, “YES!!” To which he calmly replied, “Okay then follow me.” and then slowly turned and ambled back towards the building. I was like, where the heck are the rushing attendants and the gurney and the people yelling medical terminology?! The nurse sitting by the front door on her break with her feet up didn’t even move. She gave us a nod and a smile as went by and then went back to doing whatever it was she was doing before we got there.

They all disappeared into the depths of the clinic where you couldn’t have paid me enough money to follow. One of my friends had hassled me earlier on Facebook about being in the delivery room when the baby was born. But you know...there were a few people already ahead of me in that line. Maribel... her mom... Noelia or Viviane (our pastors' wives)... a dozen or so women from our church... any guy in our church who’d already been through this with their kid... any random lady from the waiting room... pretty much the entire population of Santa Cruz, really.

So, I was feeling pretty much in the clear on that one.

Maribel’s mom came back out a few minutes later with a list of things we need to go buy at the pharmacy. That’s standard practice here...whatever medical procedure is going down, family or friends are expected to run buy whatever is needed. Rubbing alcohol was one of the things on the list...to be expected I would think. The three garbage bags on the list...not as expected. I had a bad feeling about that one.

I went and picked up Maribel and we headed back to the hospital. Then I took Maribel’s mom home, as Maribel took over the waiting.  Total number of trips across the city so far that day?  Nine...in case anyone was keeping track. Maribel told me to go home since the doctor was now saying it was probably going to be 4 AM before the baby was born. Ha...so much for nearly killing us numerous times in my high speed race across Santa Cruz.

I was home and just nicely tucked into my bed when the phone rang and Maribel informed me the baby had been born and could I please come pick her up and take her home (Maribel...not the baby). Off I went again.

Sure enough, Maribel came out of the hospital carrying a little, black garbage bag of...something. I was pretty sure I knew what it was. Maribel confirmed that it was in fact the placenta. The doctor told her that we should dig a hole and burry it in our garden. Seriously? Maribel just shrugged and said, “I don’t know either...”

Suffice to say that I wasn’t too psyched on a bag of placenta buried in my backyard. So after dropping Maribel off, I disposed of it in my own little way on the way home. I tossed it in a dumpster.  If that wasn’t the right thing to do, I’m sorry. But it was 3:30 in the morning and I wasn’t thinking all that clearly. I’d never had a bag of placenta in my truck before.

This morning we went and saw mom and baby, and they’re both doing great. She’s a cutie all right. They’ll be out tomorrow. And don’t bother asking me the baby’s name, she doesn’t have one yet. And may not for a few weeks. And then her name might get changed a few weeks after that. Besides, Natalia had been told she was having a boy and we only just found out last week that it was, in fact going to be a girl. So all the names she was thinking about no longer apply.

Anyhow, please feel free to pray for mom and baby. Once she gets back on her feet, the real fun begins. We’re looking for a room for her to rent (hopefully near a family from the church) and then I’ll be buying a bed and baby clothes and whatever else they need. Lots of fun!  =)

Thanks for praying everyone! Just to be clear, by the way...this was a one-time deal and I’m not starting a ministry to unwed mothers.

Just to be clear.

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Prayer request...

Hey everyone...if you could pray for us today.  Well, me specifically, and the boys peripherally.  I've been having problems sleeping...back problems again.  I probably haven't gotten more than four or five hours sleep in the last three or four days.  If you know me at all, you know that's not a good thing.  I'm getting really, REALLY tired and I have pretty much zero patience when I'm tired. 

So if you could just pray for strength and patience for me, and wisdom for the guys to not jokingly try to push my buttons today.  =)  That's be great.  I'd hate to have to kill one of them.

Thanks people!  Everything else is doing fine...

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My life...

I really wish I had something nifty or funny to tell you.  A good story or something.  But I got nothin'.  Well, other than the fact that I just used "nifty" in a sentence.  Where'd that come from?  I haven't used the word "nifty" since I was like twelve.  I'd like to say never...but being who I am, I'm pretty sure that'd be a lie. 

It feels like all I've done the past week (or more) is drive people from one place to another.  Doctor's appointments (Ruddy's mom has been sick)...optometrist appointments (Sandro needs glasses and minor eye surgery)...ultrasounds (yay it's a girl!).  It's been crazy.  It also means a lot of waiting.  LOTS of waiting.  If we do anything well in Bolivia, it's waiting in lines.  I've learned to bring a book.

Those are only three of the highlights by the way.  I did more in the past two weeks than go to three appointments.  But you get the idea.  Yesterday Yimy and I bought a door handle for the outside, gate door as well.  The old one broke.  Right now we're using a vise grip, which, while ingenious (if I do say so myself) is a bit of a temporary fix.  He and I have a good system down when we buy stuff in the market.  I make subtle hand gestures or point with my eyes at what I want, and then keep walking while he stops and asks the owner the price of whatever it is we need.  Then I wait for him a few stalls away while he makes the deal.  It saves us getting the "gringo price".  There are the occasional moments of confusion as Yimy tries to figure out what I was rolling my eyes at, but generally we have it figured out.

We also waited forever while a guy cut ten keys for the new door handle.  Then I realized we don't actually need keys for the door handle.  Only if we lock it.  But since there's already a different, big lock on the door, that doesn't seem likely.  But I have a nice key chain full of worthless keys now, so...   

On the way home I introduced Yimy to the glory that is a strawberry milkshake on a hot, sunny day.  He was suitably impressed.  There were lots of wow's and eyebrows going up and down.  It's hard to describe...but trust me, it was entertaining. 

Today I've got a truckload of paperwork to do.  Ah, the adventurous life of a missionary in South America.  But the cool thing about living down here, is that you never really know what the day will bring.  The guys are around most of the day (this is the sixth time they've tried to have student elections at the university.  Not sure what the problem is, but it means another day off for the guys), so maybe we'll go do something fun later in the day.

Anyhow, that's really all I've got. 

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Our household is getting bigger...

We've outgrown our dinner table.  So we've set up a plastic one beside it.  It's funny...we're never quite sure who's coming for lunch.  There's a group of guys (and now a young mom to be) that have been showing up to eat with us.  They're all guys we know from various places...some from the boy's home...some are family members (or friends of family members).  They're all studying and most of them are barely making ends meet.  By the time they pay for their books, bus fare and other odds and ends, most of them don't have money to buy lunch.  Often they end up leaving their houses early in the morning, skipping lunch and then eating when they get home, at nine or ten at night.  Obviously that's not a good set up. 

So I've been saying that one more at the table isn't a big deal.  =)  And it's not.  Maribel keeps saying we need a bigger house, and that's getting to be more and more true.  At any rate, it's been fun getting to know some of these guys better.  Of course they all come with their own unique issues and problems...but that keeps life interesting.  We're now nine in the house and another eight or nine who hang out with us.  They don't all show up every day (probably a good thing) but we usually have two or three guests each day for lunch.  Some of them have asked if they can move in, but we just don't have the room.  I help these guys financially here and there as well, but I have to be careful with that.  If I open that door too wide, we'd get over run pretty quickly.

Anyhow, pray for these guys.  They're a good bunch, and we enjoy having them around.  Only about half of them are Christians, but I've been talking with them here and there, and encouraging them to come to church with us.  Slowly but surely...

One of the guys hanging out here is Jose Manuel, Andres' younger brother.  He's still at the boy's home where most of the guys used to be, but I think he finds it difficult there.  He's showing up here three or more times a week now.  It was his birthday last week, so we decided to surprise him with a cake.  The boy's home doesn't celebrate individual birthdays, so this was his first Birthday party! 

Maribel bringing out the cake...

Cocoliso (his nickname) with his cake...

Blowing out the candle.  It came free with the cake...  =)

I was trying to get him to take a bite out of the cake,

but sadly he didn't fall for it...

   

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Moving?

I was in the truck with Ruddy this morning, and out of the blue he asked me where we were going to live after the house. I wasn’t quite sure I understood him, so I asked for some clarification. He was like, “You know, where are we going to live next?” We’ve talked about the fact we need to build or do something eventually, but it’s always been a fairly vague conversation when it’s come up. So I asked him where this was coming from. He told me that he’d been talking to the lady next door, and she told him that the mother of the owner of our house (the owner and his family are in Spain) was asking them about buying their lot. Our neighbour went on to say that this lady’s son and his family were planning on returning to Bolivia soon.

Ruddy was quite nonchalant about the whole thing. I think he figures Ken will just know what to do and will have a plan up his sleeve. Hmmm...Ken was a little surprised and shocked to be honest. If the family comes back from Spain, it more than likely means we need to be out of the house by February of next year. That is, five months from now.

I spent the morning thinking about this. Of course I was worried...especially at first. It’s tough to find a house that suitable for twelve or more guys. Trust me on that one. But then as I thought about it, I realized that every step of the way, God has provided exactly what we’ve ever needed. I’ve no doubt He’ll continue to provide.

I told Maribel about it later, and I think she was a bit shocked too. But she agreed with me that God has taken care of us and will continue to do so. As we finished the conversation she said, “Well, we’ve been talking about needing a bigger house, so...”  =)

Feel free to pray about this with us. A move is a big step. It’s probably time to get the ball rolling on some kind of building project, but that sometimes seems kind of overwhelming too. I think the best scenario would be if we could stay one more year and work at raising the funds we need and then building something. That would save us a move in between.

Anyhow, thanks for praying. I’ll keep you updated. Just another interesting day in our lives down here...

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TACOS!!

Supper was entertaining tonight.  I made tacos.  Everyone who comes here from North America is always surprised that we don't eat tacos.  Most North Americans associate Mexican food with all of South America.  Truth is...people here generally don't know what tacos...or fajitas or whatever...are.  My guys had no idea.  So tonight was a bit of a treat for us.  I thought I'd share the moment with all of you...  =)

I demonstrated how to make the tacos, but Eduardo

was having a problem eating the crispy tacos. 

He solved that problem by making a crispy taco...

...and wrapping it in a soft taco.

Always thinking that kid...

 

Roberto with his mouth full...

I told the guys if they liked the food they'd better smile...or else.

Of course Andres made a point of not smiling...

...but he mostly just looks confused by the food...

He never manages to look serious for too long...

Eduardo was still going strong long after the rest of us were gone...

Anyhow...not sure anyone really cares what we ate for supper.  But I shared anyhow.  The guys want to know when we're eating them again, but I think it'll be awhile.  It wasn't exactly a cheap meal...we could have practically flown to Mexico for what the Old El Paso crispy taco shells cost.  But it was tasty, so who cares.  Sandro said there was a party in his stomach.  I think that's good. 

Anyhow...that's all.  Go back to whatever you were doing before.

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Church?

Trying to get everyone to church today was like herding cats. Not my guys, mind you. I have them pretty well trained. =) It’s everyone else. I left the house early this morning to go pick up Ronelo, one of the guys who used to live here. He lives way out on the edge of town, so I told him if he wanted to go to church with us, I’d meet him half way. Not sure what happened, but I waited half an hour and he didn’t show. I called his cell, but his cousin had it. He told me Ronelo left to meet me, but for whatever reason...nada.

So back to the house I went, to pick up the guys. I loaded them up and dropped them off at church, and then went to pick up another friend (who I wrote about the other day) who wanted to come with us as well. I’d forgotten we were starting early this morning (we have breakfast together the first Sunday of every month) so I’d told him the wrong time. I picked him up and headed back to church again.

Halfway through the worship, one of the guys got a phone call and his cousin (Larry, the other kid I talked about the other day) wanted to come to church too. So off I went again to pick him up. He lives about three minutes from our house, so it was basically all the way back to our place. I was half way there when he called and asked if his mom could come too. Well, for sure...the more the merrier. Then I thought about it and eventually called him back and suggested next week would be better for her to come, since we were going to be pretty late getting back to church.

In the end, that was an understatement. I couldn’t find where he told me to meet him, and so by the time we connected and got back to church, it was basically over. We got there in time for the final prayer. As a side note, he told me to meet him at the TIGO (one of our cell phone companies) antenna. I said sure, no problem!  I wasn’t entirely sure where it was, but I vaguely remembered it and I figured how hard could it be to find a big, giant antenna. Hmmm...harder than you’d think as it turns out. You don’t really notice antennas until you’re looking for one. Then you realize there are a LOT of them. I drove around randomly to every antenna I could see before I finally gave up and called him back and waited for him to find me.

So in the end...I didn’t get much church in today. But on the upside, I was happy that we connected again with Larry and my other friend (who did get to go while I spent the morning driving around). We all had lunch together, so in the end it was good. I looked around at the guys eating and laughing and talking today, and I had a “I like what I do and I’m glad God called me here.” moment.  I just sat there watching them and wondered where each of these guys would be this Sunday if God hadn’t started up this ministry.

Thanks again for your support and prayers everyone. This all exists because of your willingness to be used by God. And even if I forget to say it sometimes...we’re thankful for what you do!  =)
 

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Life...

I spent the afternoon driving around the city trying to find a place that rents ladders.  Believe it or not...after four or five hours of this...we still don't have a ladder.  People were very helpful with the directions of where they thought there might be a rental place...they always are.  Even if they have no idea what you're talking about.  The thing is, there's a problem with our roof and/or eves trough.  So water runs down inside the wall and causes all our paint to peal off.  It's annoying.  And since rainy season is just around the corner...we'd like to fix it.  Sandro figured he could monkey it out an upstairs window and climb up onto the roof, but I vetoed the idea.  If you've ever been here, you know our house is really high.  Even monkeys/Sandro's occasionally fall to their deaths.

The only other thing worth mentioning is that I let Jimmy drive today.  He has his licence so it makes sense to give him the opportunity to practice.  It's funny...after twenty some years, I still remember being annoyed at my Dad for correcting my driving and getting tense when I didn't really think there was a reason to be tense.  Hmm...sorry Dad.  Now I understand.  Although...I'm pretty sure I never made a left hand turn from the centre lane on a major road in front of a long line of cars.  Or came to within about an inch and a half scraping past a city bus.  Or made a right hand turn rather wide and put two wheels up onto the centre boulevard. 

Jimmy, on the other hand...

Jimmy's actually a pretty good driver.  He just needs to practice and stop trying to do what he sees every other idiot on the road down here doing.

Tomorrow I'm off to the STD clinic.  Not with anyone from here mind you.  Just thought I should clarify.  A friend of a friend needs some help and guidance.  Seems he made a mistake along the way.  He's young and scared.  I'm mostly there to drive and provide moral support.  It's always entertaining hanging out with thirty or fourty prostitute ladies who keep staring at you like you're a side of beef.  Well...maybe entertaining's not quite the right word.  At least I'm more relaxed now than the first time I went.  I probably told every person in the place, "Hi, I'm a missionary!" thirty or fourty times 'cause I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.  It got old really fast.  Now I just bring a book.

Anyhow...that's my life.  I'm also having lunch tomorrow with a young guy I know from way back when.  He disappeared for quite a while...turned out he was in jail.  But we've reconnected.  I haven't seen him for a few months now, but he called me up today.  I'd been thinking about him a lot lately (I'd lost his number so I couldn't call him) so it was good to hear his voice.  I imagine I'll get the lowdown on what's been going on.  He's a good kid, but lots of issues still from his past.  Also, I didn't hear from the girl from last night, so hopefully she'll call tomorrow as well.

Well, that's it.  Thanks for praying everyone!
  

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Another prayer request...

A kid I know from the streets called me tonight. He was kind of agitated and talking fast, so it was hard to catch everything he was saying. Eventually I figured out that he was worried about his sister. She’s eight months pregnant and had run out of money. It’s cold out, and he didn’t want her sleeping on the streets tonight.

So I went and met with her (my friend didn’t come with us...his sister said he's embarrassed since he’s back on the streets). I got the whole story from her. She’d had a job, but now that she’s in her final month, her boss told her she couldn’t work anymore. She’s sold pretty much everything she’s owned, and is living in a “hotel” that caters to people who don’t have the money to get themselves set up in a room somewhere (you can rent rooms by the month here). They charge per night, and it’s not cheap. She hadn’t eaten supper, and I’m not sure if she’d even had lunch or not.

I talked to her awhile, and paid for her room for the next two nights. I also bought her supper and some bread and orange juice for breakfast tomorrow. I’m going to talk to Maribel tomorrow morning and try to figure out what to do. But it’s a heartbreaking situation. She could have this baby at any moment really, and she doesn’t have the money to buy supper. She’s not ready at all.

I don’t really have the resources to pay her way for the next month. Even if I did, then what? She says she plans to go back to work as soon as the baby is born, but that’s pretty tough too. For sure we’re not going to leave her high and dry...she doesn’t have anyone else. Her mom died when she was little, and her father (who was an alcoholic and abusive) died a few years ago.

Tomorrow the first thing is to try and find her a better place to stay. The area surrounding this hotel is dicey at best. Then we’ll need to get her a bed and then try to figure out what’s next.

All I know is that it makes me really sad. She’s a nice girl with an incredibly difficult future ahead of her.

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Some things to pray about and some pictures...

Sunday morning in church (when I should probably have been listening to the sermon) I was thinking about some of the situations I was facing in the house. Two of the guys were seemingly dealing with issues in their lives (none of us were exactly sure what was going on, but the actions of these guys said that things were not normal). The third guy was doing fine on the surface, but there are a lot of things in his heart that give him pain, and I was thinking about how to help him with that.

Monday I had breakfast with Jorge and Tonchi (our pastors) and we talked and prayed about the three situations. One of them had gotten worse...the guy was talking about leaving the house. I still had no idea what he was upset about, but he’d been angry about something for nearly two weeks. The other fellow was sliding deeper and deeper into some sort of funk/depression. I was getting more and more worried about them. So I prayed some more.

And then by Tuesday lunch...everything was fine. It was kind of funny how God worked it out. I was praying that He’d give me some sort of opportunity to talk to these three guys without being all obvious that I was trying to talk to them. That sometimes makes the situation more tense. But by yesterday, I had the chance to talk to all three, and the issues were resolved. The angry kid was being kind of silly. But that happens. Something relatively minor had gotten bigger and bigger in his head.

The other two situations are definitely more complex, and they’ll need time to sort themselves out. But I can see God at work. The one fellow who was doing okay on the surface actually came to me to talk about some things. He doesn’t do that often. You can pray for him...there’s a lot of fear and trepidation in his heart. He worries that if he steps out and acknowledges some of his pain, and asks for healing, and then nothing happens, that will be more devastating to him than just doing nothing and living with it. I understand his thinking, but what a terrible way to live.

The other fellow is dealing with fears and doubts for the future as well...and learning to trust other people. But I think we had some “Ohhh...okay...” moments when some things clicked into place for him.

Please pray for these guys and for the group of us in general. Maribel and I talked about some of this yesterday, and we agreed that we can see a lot of growth lately in the guys. But that sometimes seems to open them up for more spiritual struggles, so spiritual protection is definitely something to pray for right now.

Thanks for praying everyone!  I thought I'd throw some random pictures up here to entertain you as well...  =)
 

Ernesto, Larry and Aron

 
This picture is back from my Nacer days.  Ernesto and Larry are brothers and Aron is their cousin.  Aron is living here in the city now, and is one of the guys we work with who doesn't live here at the house.  Ernesto is studying at a Bible College in Puerto Rico.  Larry I hadn't seen in a couple of years, but the other day one of our guys saw him on a bus.  Turns out he's here in the city now too.
 
 

Larry now...

 
This is Larry now.  Two years can make a big difference!  You can pray for Larry...he's a good kid, but I think he's on that edge where he could go either way.  He's been hanging out with us more and more, and I'm hoping he'll start going to church with us soon.  He's living with his mom now (she was in jail before) and I think that's a struggle too.  They don't really know each other, but have been tossed back together.  For sure it's been fun getting to know Larry again.  He was one of my favourites out at Nacer.  =)
 
 

Random picture of Roberto...

 
I'd like to say that he's studying, but I think he might actually be watching the third season of "Lost".

It seems I may have gotten him addicted...
 
 

Juan and his baby girl...

 
Juan lived with us a couple of years ago.  He's now the proud dad of a baby girl.  She was a bit of a surprise I guess.  Ahem...for some reason they always are...  But baby and family are doing well.
 
 

Andres being cool...

 
Andres had a presentation at school that he had to dress up for.  So he scrounged up a suit and I gave him a shirt and tie (the tie came off 30 seconds after he was done the presentation).  This is him that night when he got home.  Bolivian guys always want to be serious in pictures.  I think they think it makes them look tough.  =)
 

 

But it's pretty easy to make Andres laugh.  I told him the picture was for the girls in Canada.  =)  That makes the guys laugh every time.  He looks better laughing anyhow.  All the guys do.  I generally have two copies of every picture I take...the "angry" picture (which annoys me) and the "happy" picture (which I get on threat of death from the guys). 
 
Anyhow...that's life here.  Thanks for praying!  Have a great day everyone!
 

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