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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Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
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
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!
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
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, June 16, 2010
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.
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