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... =)
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.
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. =)
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 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 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!
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!
3 comments:
Diga a Andres que estoy orgullosa de el...de sus logros y exitos. Se que puede hacer todo lo que quiere si sigue poniendose los ojos fijos en Cristo.
Yo puedo! =)
I love your random pics. And I wish I could respond in Spanish!
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