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Come celebrate what God had done!

BOLIVIA PARTY

Sunday, June 27th @ 6:00pm

in the BPF Worship Center

Pictures, Videos, and Stories

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WINDING DOWN A GREAT TRIP!!
Saturday June 19
What a wonderful week we have had here! It is so encouraging to know that God can take you so far from home and then despite a language barrier and a different culture He can use the skills and gifts that He has given to meet the needs of such grateful people. Sometimes I have felt so inadequate when I had a chance to serve outside my comfort zone but He has shown me especially on this trip that He can use us despite our inadequacies (imagined or real) and establish relationships with those that we have come to help and with each other. Today was a rest day- which we really enjoyed. Some of the guys went hiking and saw some beautiful waterfalls and the girls spent some time shopping and being pampered with manicures and pedicures. Some of the ladies that help in the Transition Home and also Juanita (a resident there) also came to enjoy our " girls day out". They were really appreciative and had a good time too. It will be sad to leave them because God has blessed us with their friendship but it´s awesome to know that they will always be our friends even though we can´t stay here. I look forward to the time when I can return if that´s what God has in mind but I know that He will continue to grow his work here as more and more people are drawn in to what He is doing at the Transition Home and at Centro de Vida (the Life Center). I was overwhelmed when I had the opportunity to tour the Centro de Vida. I was looking at the bulletin board that showed pictures of the mommas and babies that have been saved through this center and already had a lump in my throat just thinking about how God is at work here but then Vicki showed me to a small room off to the side and opened the doors to reveal an ultrasound machine. I can´t even begin to tell you the incredible overwhelming joy that swept over me as I looked at that machine! I realized at that moment just how united we are as the body of Christ because I know that it is His desire to bring life and to bring it more abundantly and He is moving on the hearts of believers all across the world to accomplish that goal. What an awesome and mighty God we serve that knows no boundaries and can can communicate His love so clearly. I couldn´t feel more blessed.
Love,
Teresa

Reflection on this Week

This is Robert posting. As a teenager, Bolivia has affected me differently than most of the adults. When the water well team arrived in the villiage I realized how much we really have. The villiage consisted of a few small houses with roofs made of palm branches and straw and if they had walls (which few did) they were made of either tree trunks, mud bricks, or wooden planks. I saw children 8 and 9 years old doing things that most 14 and 15 year olds could not do for such long periods of time. I saw 14 and 15 year olds doing things many adults would consider difficult. When we were building the well and needed water, the adults from the villiage would tell the young children to go get water from the swamp-like area, a distance of about 500 feet from the villiage. It was incredable to watch these small kids work together to carry 3 or 4 buckets full of 3-4 gallons of water each. After the well was done we built a platform around it by placing logs in a square and filling dirt in it. Boys my age (including myslef)spent hours digging and carrying dirt to fill the platform without a complaint. I think that God has told me this week to be grateful for what I have and through hard times to remember that many people have it worse than I do.

Best of Both Worlds

Hi! It´s Sidney
I have really enjoyed my trip to BOLIVIA! I really feel like God has provided for my wants. Before the trip I thought I wanted to help with the Ruth and Naomi Transitoin Home, but later after much thought changed my mind and decided to join my adventerous mom and work at the water well. Though I was more than happy with my decision, I still wanted to help with the Home. Well, all turned out just perfectly.
I went to the jungle, talked with the natives, cooked food that I had never eaten before, went fishing (and caught fish) in the rapids, ate pirahna, hauled water, rode in a bush plane, saw at least 150 crocadiles, and had one of the most adventerous and thrilling times of my life! Luckily we finished the well early and gained an extra day in the city.
Once in the city I had a good bath, and luckily got to help out with the Home too! I got to paint inspiring words on the wall at the Home and spent time with all of the wonderfull girls that will be living there in the future!
I got the ¨best of both worlds¨ and was able to do both of the things that I wanted to do!

Thursday and Friday

Thursday was a great day, very busy, but great! The transition team met with the staff of Ruth and Noemi and had an intense time of prayer for the girls that have been in the home and the staff. We prayed over each room of the house for God´s blessing and protection. After some rest, the water well team joined us to finish up last minute details on the home and a wonderful lunch of tacos made by the staff of the home! We definitely have NOT gone hungry here. The food is wonderful! The girls from Talita Cumi that will be transitioning to the home soon joined us and we had a great time of fellowship, a little game of UNO, dominoes and Robert even taught the girls a US card game. Robert was a big hit with the girls, they all thought he was muy guapo! After lunch the guys all left so we could have a girls day! We watched Bride Wars in Spanish, had chocolate fondue and taught the girls how to make the cross t-shirts. It was such a treat for them, something they never get to do. They were all so proud of their shirts! It will be a great way for them to sell them and make money to help support themselves and to save for when they leave the home. (They open them a little savings account for them) We ended our time at the transition home with a dinner and very hard goodbyes!!! Can´t we just pack a few in our suitcases. I have gotten very attached after doing lots of intense counseling with the girls and getting to know their stories. It is heartbreaking what some of these girls have been through. I am praying that the work we have started here with begin some healing from their deep hurts. As we were leaving the home, Juanita, the girl staying in the home grabbed my arm and took me up the stairs to her room. She hugged me and told me she would love me forever and she searched through her purse and pulled out some earrings to give me. I was very touched. Juanita has one of the hardest stories I have ever heard. She is struggling with the scars of terrible abuse and abandonment, but praise God she is being loved and cared for in a safe place at the transition home. It makes all our work worth while to know that we are making a difference in her life.

Yesterday we had a free day and went out of the city to a BEAUTIFUL butterfly sanctuary! There were tons of butterflies, birds, monkeys, even bunnies. Everyone had a great time relaxing and swimming. Last night we headed to the city for some shopping and an Americanized meal. It was a good day! Today, our last day here, half our team will head to a waterfall and half our team will stay in town to do some more shopping. Some of us are even getting mani/pedis because it is so cheap here ($5-7) We are going to treat the ladies from the transition home!
We all miss our loved ones back home, but everyone is having a blast! We will see all of you soon! Hasta Mañana! Stephanie

Wednesday

God has really worked this week. My son Robert was ill, and I became ill during the week. But each time, we prayed specificially and saw each of us recover quickly as hoped. We are continually amazed at the beauty of the Bolivian people, their simple homes, and their family life. We've enjoyed using our Hispanic and basic Spanish language capabilities to communicate with the people each day. In many ways, this community is at least 150 years behind in technology, yet their joy and work ethic continue to provide for their families each day. Time starts with sunrise, and generally ends with a few hours of conversation in the dark, staring at the bright stars and Milky Way. Fishing, basic hunting, and basic home structures have sufficed for now. We are enjoying serving with our hands, providing them clean water, and looking forward to continued relationships with people in the region. As a father/son team, I have enjoyed watching my son enjoy being a boy with the other children, and also becoming a man as he serves and shares God's love from his own Christian background. God truly got us here, clearing my work schedule and putting me on his time, rather than my own. Great pics. We'll share soon when get back.

This is Nathan, reporting in for the well drilling team. We just arrived back in Santa Cruz we are all feeling very refreshed after a shower. The well drilling project was a successful adventure! We left the Santa Cruz hotel on Sunday morning and drove to a local (small) airport. We boarded two six-seater airplanes and flew two hours to the village of San Lorenzo de Moxos. Our landing there disrupted the local church service as many of the attenders ran to the grass runway to meet our planes. We joined them for the end of their church service and then ate lunch with some of them before embarking for the village of Las Hermosas. The trip to Las Hermosas consisted of a six-hour trip upriver in a dug-out wooden canoe with a small motor. The wildlife we observed on our trip was astounding. We saw numerous species of birds, including macaws and kingfishers, monkeys, and even some pink dolphins! In addition, we counted 31 alligators and crocodiles, including one that we estimated to be about 12 feet long! Sunday morning we camped at the farm of our canoe guide and then finished our trip on Monday morning. We arrived in Las Hermosas, met the villagers, ate some breakfast, and began setting up to drill. The locals were very helpful - it was incredible how quickly they chopped up large tree trunks with a simple set of tools (axe and machette) to use for the frame of our drill. We went right to work on the well and actually completed drilling on Monday evening - two days ahead of schedule. Danny said it was the fastest they had ever drilled a well to that depth. (I would like to think that the strength and endurance of our team played a key role in that accomplishment, but the soft sand was also a major factor!) On Tuesday we helped put the finishing touches on the well and then had a chance to go fishing with some of the villagers. They hauled in about a dozen fish in less than an hour with a bow and arrow and spear and simple hook and line, but the Americanos would have come up empty except that Terri and Sidney each caught a fish! Today we reversed our trip. It was slightly faster downstream. Our croc count on the return trip was 43! Well, the transition home team just arrived back at the hotel, so we are going to join them for dinner and recount our adventures!

Tuesday

The water well team finished early. Danny Beams said it was the fastest they have ever completed one. They only had to go down 25 meters to get good water. So, the well team is headed back to Santa Cruz early. They will be back late tomorrow afternoon. Pray for their travel tomorrow.

The transition home team had a full day today - and has a full day tomorrow. The house is really looking great. The resident and staff are so grateful. It is a wonderful place already doing amazing ministry - and has so much potential for so much more! Stephanie and Vicki had pretty intense but fruitful days with their work with the girls and staff. The rest of the team also worked hard and was pretty tired at the end of the day.

It is a totally different trip staying in Santa Cruz, very good - just different.

We have had so much fun and laughed so much. We have dozens of inside jokes that I wont bore you with. I will just close by telling you this: one of my favorite parts of my job is getting to see our people connect their vocations, passions, skills, and hearts in our partner countries! I can't get enough of that!!

Monday

Today the real work began! The transition house team painted, painted some more, and painted ALOT! Pictures will follow, but for now, imagine a very excited Juanita (a resident at Ruth and Noemi Home) when Teresa and I, Vicki, hung new curtains, and helped her put her new bedding on. Also envision, paint covered workers, lots of laughter, singing by Larry (a.k.a. Randy), and yes, the World Cup on every T.V. It was a rather long day, but so rewarding! I trained Vanessa, the resident housemom, a board member, and Angelica (the precious woman who went to cook for the water well team last year), and her daughter Gabby. This group of women are so hungry for ways to serve God by loving on these girls who have no where to go and need to be loved! What an incredible privilege and blessing it was to serve this group of women. Vanessa translated for me but the fact is different faces, same challenges we face at Safe Haven. We cried, we laughed and we shared for over 3 hours AND then we painted! Long day but how comforting to be His hands, feet, and heart in another part of His world! Dinner, a hot shower, and a good night's sleep and I am ready to go again, and again, and again............. - Vicki

Hi again- it's MM. I just have to say it's awesome to see God at work after you have specifically prayed for people on your team. Vicki had shared with us this morning how anxious she was about teaching. Well, I just happen to take a quick break from painting and took a few pictures. As I watched Vicki through the lens of my camera, I could totally tell how calm she was and see the bond she had made with the ladies. It was awesome!! Vicki's heart has been captivated by the ladies here. She's has already said that "she has to come back next year!"

Sunday

Hi friends! The Water Well team left bright and early this morning at 6:30am. Steph and I kissed our hubbies good-bye as we sent them off into the bush. (...to meet the crocodiles, piranhas, monkeys, and BUGS!)


The City Team has enjoyed seeing the sights in Santa Cruz. We started the day worshipping together at Trinity International Church. Brother Randy Dane shared with the missionary families and other guests. After a great lunch at a Cuban restaurant, we strolled through a city market for a little local shopping. Ohh...and by the way, did you know the WORLD CUP is going on??? It's on every TV around here. Small tvs in grocery stores or the MASSIVE 30 foot TV in the middle of the market place.



After shopping in the market, we visited the Talita Cumi Orphange. We were greeted by a precious 4 year old girl, Naomi, who was determined to give the tour. She immediately wanted to know all of our names and wanted to hold each of our hands. The kids were excited to meet us and show off their home. Heidi, a missionary who helps run the home shared with us some of the needs of the home and some of the heartbreaking stories of what the kids have gone through. It was very touching. We even made some purchases of items the children had made to help support the kids.



Tomorrow the real work begins. We will spend the day painting and training the staff from the Pregnancy Center. Then later in the week Stephanie will do some counseling. After everything is decorated and finished we will have the opportunity to host the girls from the Talita Cumi home who will be transitioning to the Ruth and Noemi Home. We are excited to get started! Right now we are tired and headed to bed! Goodnight!
Mary and Stephanie

Saturday

After a long journey here we have had a great day. We arrived early in the morning. The Beams and friends were at the airport waiting for us. We went straight to Danny and Vanessa's house, where we had fresh fruit and cinnamon rolls. After some rest, each team had a breif meeting to discuss plans for the week. The water well team will leave early tomorrow morning for the jungle. They will take a 2 1/2 hour airplane ride on small private aircraft, and then a 6 hour canoe trip up river (motorized). When they get there tomorrow they will set up camp and get to know their hosts. Drilling will begin Monday. The transition home team will go to church, where I (Randy) will be preaching. After that we will see the transition home, the orphanage, and work on some preparations to begin first thing Monday morning.

Right now we are resting, showering, and getting ready to go for dinner this evening. I don't know the name of the restaurant we are going to tonight, but I do know this - it is a meat fiesta!

It is already clear that God has assembled a great team for this mission. We are ready to see 1 Peter 4:10 in action!

BPF Bolivia Team

The team from Brazos Pointe Fellowship is officially on its way to Santa Cruz. Two members not pictured are John and Robert Rodriguez, who are meeting the team at the airport. Please be in prayer for our group as they travel tonight and tomorrow. They will hit the ground running when they arrive.

2010 Mission Trip

A team of 15 leaves for Bolivia on Friday. This is an exciting trip! After a couple of days to acclimate and worship we will divide into two teams on the ground in Bolivia. A team of 8 will go DEEP into the jungle to dig a water well. What has come together for this is incredible and exciting! Read the story here:
http://aguayaku.org/en/blog/item/49-exploratory-trip-to-san-lorenzo-de-moxos
The other team will stay in Santa Cruz to work at the Ruth and Naomi Transition Home that BPF supported through our 2009 World Missions Offering. That team will decorate the home, do some counseling, training, nursing, and praying.
God has put together an awesome team of folks for this mission. Please pray for our team!

Some specific prayer requests:
-Pray for our final preparation this week
-Pray that the Water Well team connects with the locals and has success
-Pray that the Transition Home team connects with the residents and staff
-Pray for opportunities to share the hope we have in Christ
-Pray for our missionary partners and hosts - Danny and Vanessa Beams
-Pray that some bedding we have ordered for the Transition Home arrives before we leave
-Pray for health, safety, and transformation

Thanks for praying!