Helping Hands in Bolivia

On our way home

2011-07-16T16:50:00.000-04:00

Last night we saw God move once again. This time it was at the airport in Cochabamba. Our airline AeroSur decided to push our flight from coch to Santa Cruz back a few hours and we would miss our flight from Santa Cruz to Miami. The Helping Hands missionary Jess was not satisfied with that and would not rest until we were placed on another airline. According to Jess what happened does not ever happen. God honored His daughter's determination by getting us to Santa Cruz.

Today has been interesting to say the least. If in fact is is today. We thought we were coming home around lunch time but God had different plans. Our plane experienced engine trouble during the push back in Santa Cruz and we sat on the plane for about 5 hours. After that we slept on the airport floor for about another 3 hours. The airline finally decided we could not leave until today at 5:30 pm. They gave us taxi, food, and hotel vouchers for the day. I have grown in my understanding of God's sovereignty. God's plan allowed part of our team to pray for and encourage our taxi driver to and from the hotel. God used us to encourage a brother but we realized we needed our brother to encourage us. Our team will be less rested for the difficulty in our travels but our souls will be more encouraged for the Divine appointment with Brother Luis Alberto, God's taxi driver.

We are now about to board our flight to Miami again. Man's plan is to get us to Miami at around midnight and Atlanta before lunch tomorrow. God may have something else in store and I would rather do that.
Matt Stacy

Brendita give a girl a tract in Kara Kara during door to door evangelism.

2011-07-15T16:54:00.000-04:00

Thursday

2011-07-14T23:03:00.001-04:00

Today started with some of the girls getting up early to make sandwiches for our morning ministry. We left early to minister to some youth that live in a tent community and are addicted to sniffing glue. Past experiences before have shown us that their behavior when they are high can be unpredictable, so there were many unknowns. We set up in a fenced in soccer court and Jessica and Steve took the bus to pick up the youth and bring them to us. They arrived wearing dirty clothes, some with no shoes, some with shoes falling apart, and glue bottles in hand. Our team showed no fear and began to introduce themselves. We had brought some shoes to give away but quickly realized there was not enough. One of our team members grabbed some duct tape and began mending their shoes. Transitions from one activity to another was very important because if these youth had to wait around long, they would lose interest and leave. Our team was Johnny on the spot, quickly transitioning from introductions to a soccer game. The sad thing was that they wouldn't even put down their bottles of glue to play soccer. One kid had his in his mouth, huffing it while dribbling the ball. After this we fed them the sandwiches and cokes and while they were eating Matt shared the gospel. We passed out tracts and gave them Bibles, shoes, blankets and more. Many of the youth spoke with our teammates and were really open to wanting to change their lifestyle and learn more about Christ. One pregnant youth that was there gave her life to Christ and said she needed help. We asked the ministry coordinator and she said there was a home that she could live at that would help her get off the drugs. The team decided they would pay for this and she will get the help she needs.
The youth really connected with our team and even asked us back to see where they live. We went and saw tents made of tarps, where they live outside among the cacti and thorns. We sat down and spoke with them. They shared with us that they really want to get off the drugs but don't know how. Our hearts broke but the existence of this ministry and the missionaries that work with these kids give us hope. When we were leaving one of the boys said "thanks for giving us a good day".

After we left those youth, we went shopping in South Americas largest open air market, ate lunch, then went to the Statue of Christ. We finished up the day with a prayer meeting at Kara Kara where half the team prayed and the other half ministered to the children. Rachel sang a beautiful song and Hannah shared her testimony. Tomorrow we will go back to Kara Kara to go door to door and share the Gospel.

A glue sniffing pregnant woman gave her life to Christ. The team is paying to put her in a shelter.

2011-07-14T11:09:00.000-04:00

Day ???

2011-07-13T22:33:00.001-04:00

Our God is so great. This morning we spent time in prayer for God to open our hearts and make our hearts like His as we prepared to enter the prison. We reflected on the fact that the prisoners are God's beloved children and that His love is for them is greater than our greatest love. We of course had some apprehensions about being locked in a high security prison, but what God would do next knocked us to our knees.

Upon arrival we had to surrender our passports and be searched. Then we followed our leaders into a Church in the middle of the jail. We then noticed there was a soccer field, swimming pool, basketball goal, and a very open atmosphere. The Pastor Felix introduced us to all of the leaders of the church, who all were convicts, and they instantly became our brothers.

We had planned a lot of things for the kids visiting but it ended up that we did a massive service of about 125 men. We sang some songs and then Matt preached the Gospel and God met us there in the prison. 76 men came forward to receive Christ. Glory to God! We then had the privilege of praying with many men and worshiping among them. We are all in awe that God would use us.

Then we ate at an amazing place called Tuesday's and made our way to the Nursing Home. We had awesome fellowship with them. We sang songs, prayed for them, and made salvation bracelets for them. We had such an amazing time today. God moved in their hearts, but also changed ours.

Rachel

After praying with this lady at the retirement home, she began to cry and Ashley consoles her.

2011-07-13T16:04:00.001-04:00

Today was "Move The Rocks From

2011-07-12T22:36:00.001-04:00

Our devotion time this morning was wrapped up by Matt praying that if Jesus carried a cross for us, then there was no way that we were going to complain about having to carry a few rocks for Him!

And that set the tone for our day.

The work that we had to do was backbreaking. We literally picked up rocks - ranging in weight from a couple pounds to a couple hundred pounds - put them in containers, and then unloaded them a couple hundred feet away where the missionaries were building a fire pit for their annual youth camps.

It was such a blessing to watch the team tackle this task with grace and humor. We worked hard - really hard. But we laughed much harder. And after the emotional strain of yesterday, we appreciated having a task that gave our spirits a break.

We used our time moving rocks on the mountain to build new relationships and to strengthen old ones. The fellowship we shared was priceless. And the teenagers on our team - Ashleigh, Emily, and Hannah were nothing short of amazing. They attacked the job with smiles on their faces and NO complaining. We are all so very proud of them.

We were treated to a steak dinner tonight at Las Estancia. I have no idea where it was ... Somewhere in Bolivia, I suspect. But the meal was wonderful. But as good as the meal was, the ride in the van was better. There was theological discussion, teenage girl talk, a little laughter, a LOT if giggling, and many inside jokes that reminded us of the day's labor.

All in all, it was a great day! Now we are all looking forward to tomorrow's challenges - a maximum security prison and old folk's home. PLEASE continue to pray for us - I suspect we will need it.

God bless you,
Steve

The team getting rocks to build a fire pit.

2011-07-12T16:45:00.000-04:00

Day 2

2011-07-11T22:37:00.001-04:00

Ok I'm really bad at typing on an iPhone. So sorry. Anyway, today we went to the boys orphanage. Christina, we saw the famous Raul. He remembered you and was emotional when I gave him a hug from you. The boys had a blast playing soccer, baseball, kickball and doing all sorts of crazy games. Pastor Matt made sure they got a couple of good doses of the gospel.
When we left the orphanage, the boys gave us some lingering hugs revealing their need for loving touch. I would have loved to hold onto each of them as long as they would have let me.
A highlight of the day was watching Brenda On our team washing the boys feet. She is an amazing woman of God.
A low of the day was driving by some young girls and seeing them sniffing glue. That issue is so complex.
The team is really bonding now. We are constantly laughing. Angela, Karen, keri you would be proud of your girls down here. They are doing Gods work. Mack is doing great and Rachel never ceases to amaze me with the many layers of her faith.
Matt's mind is spinning with possibilities to share God's love, but he's missing Brandi, jack and the twinkies pretty badly.
Babe, I love and miss you, sweet pea and little buddy so much. Thanks for this opportunity.
Steve is a crack up and a source of strength for us. Nora has been constant with a servant's heart. Ok, that's all for now.
Love, Trish

Emily and Steve washing an orphans feet during a foot washing ceremony at an orphanage.

2011-07-11T17:32:00.001-04:00

Day 1

2011-07-11T11:38:00.000-04:00

The theme for the very beginning of our trip was, "Wait!" We waited at the church for our last team member; then we waited at the Atl airport for check-in, security, (and then security again! Apparently, if you leave the secure area of the airport, they will allow you to do it again! AND, if you left your Passport and Boarding Pass with your carry-on back at the gate, you get to send someone through security an additional time! And the TSA agents WILL show a slight sense of humor when you go through for the third time!)

Got to sit on the plane for about 45 minutes waiting for luggage.

We ate lunch at the Atlanta Airport, ate Supper at the Miami Airport, ate Supper (again) on the flight to La Paz, stayed on the plane in La Paz, so we missed that culinary experience (thank God); coffee on the flight to Santa Cruz; then lunch at the airport in Santa Cruz. Seems like all we've done so far, is eat. And still, at every stop, the first thing out of Matt's mouth at every stop is, "when do we eat?" I'm gonna need two plane tickets to get home.

Out flight from Santa Cruz got cancelled. Had to wait an additional hour. So Rachael broke out her guitar and we had church at Gate 1 in Santa Cruz. Had several locals singing and clapping along with us. Even had a guy from Brazil sit in with us with his guitar. We would take turns - we would sing a worship song in Spanish, then he would sing a love song on Portugese. It was a great time!

Finally arrived in Cochabamba a couple hours late, and Matt was ready to eat!

Bolivia is absolutely beautiful! We are completely surrounded by (Andes?) Mountains. Many of the peaks are covered with snow. But in the midst of the beauty of God's Creation, is desperate poverty. You can't escape it. But the people seem to be truly joyful.

Our first "official" ministry opportunity started about two hours after we arrived in the country. We split into two groups. My group went to a community of what I guess were mud huts, connected by a common wall. Every Sunday, the children from the community gather at the little church for "Happy Hour." They sing, play games, learn Bible Verses; and have snacks. We did a sort of Vacation Bible School. We Sang some songs in English, then had them participate in telling the Creation Story. The theme of the story was that they - the children - were the central theme of God's purpose in creation. Then we split into groups for Soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, Face Painting, coloring, and sharing the Gospel with the aid of Salvation Bracelet's. The kids ware amazing. They we so full of energy. So loving. And so ready to receive love.

Then after Supper [Matt was ready for Supper], we went to Cara Cara for church. We arrived a few minutes late, and they were already singing. They sing in Quechuan - which requires two translators for us to understand - one to translate into Spanish and another to then translate to English. They were really excited to have us with them.

After a couple of us shared our testimony, we split the group again to minister to the children. I got to share the Creation story and Salvation Bracelets with the teenagers.

These kids - all ages - are so hungry for love. They didn't want us to leave. And they used all of their English. They would say, "chow, bye," over and over.

Our first day lasted nearly 34 hours without sleep. We were miserable - at least when it was just us. But the time we spent with these wonderful people was worth every minute, every mile, every delay, and every dollar it took for us to get here.

Thank you for your support during our preparation. Now we truly covet your prayers as we strive to be the arms of Jesus for a whole bunch of people who simply need to be loved so they can discover just how special they are in God's eyes.

God bless you all.
Steve

Some of the group singing at Kara kara

2011-07-10T21:19:00.000-04:00

Pastor Matt preaching at Kara Kara Church

2011-07-10T21:18:00.000-04:00

Rachel playing guitar at the airport. A lot of people are enjoying and nodding their heads.

2011-07-09T16:15:00.001-04:00

Our team leaving today from First Baptist Buford to go to Bolivia.

2011-07-09T13:08:00.000-04:00

Preparing for the trip

2011-07-09T09:49:00.000-04:00

The team packing and weighing 22 bags to be 50 lbs a piece. The team is bringing supplies for their ministry, as well as clothes, vitamins, etc for the next Jungle trip.

The Last Few Months

2011-05-03T23:41:00.007-04:00

Wow! A lot has happened in the last 2 months. Below, you will see a recap of the main events.

Tuesday, April 12 was el Día del Niño, or Children’s Day. It was a packed day! First, the CED group from Word of Life went to a local village, about one hour away, Arani and had a program for the school children there. There were 2,400 kids!! The team had lots of crazy games for them and activities, but most importantly, they presented the Gospel. In the end, about 330 students received Christ!!!

Also, back home, at the property, we had a special activity for the students at Aguila Academy. We had ice cream, played relay races and ate lots of food. The kids loved it!

The CED has started again!!! There are 47 Evangelism and Discipleship students this year for Word of Life. They arrived at the first of April. They had a bon fire on Wednesday to commence the year. Pray for these students as they begin this great change in their lives, that God will work and change their lives forever.

We have started the new Aguila Christian Academy school year, at the first of March. It was a CRAZY day, children everywhere! Parents everywhere! Teachers everywhere! Dogs everywhere! The biggest hit of the year so far are the lockers we have this year. We found some old lockers, repainted them and they are all the rave. The kids find any excuse to go and put something in their lockers.

I asked one of our new students yesterday, in 3rd grade, if she likes school. She said, "I LOVE it!" Awesome!

We have students everywhere, there is never an empty room or space during the day, and the bathroom. . . it is never empty ( which means the kids have learned not to wait til the last minute to go. . . )!

The second week of school, a couple of my students found a baby tarantula in the playground. They brought it to school. As you can imagine, this caused quite the excitement. . . the girls screaming at high, ear-piercing pitches, the boys acting tough but cowering when it came near them. The teachers, most of them, not going anywhere near it. . .

I set up a habitat for the tarantula, putting rocks and leaves and a few flowers in it (not sure what they eat besides birds and lizards). The kids came and looked at it all day every chance they got, it was the high-light of their day. Gracie, my 3 year old wanted to know if it was REALLY REAL!?! Many kids asked me where his fangs were and where his head was (the head and rear are very similar. . . ). All in all, it was a good, calm day of viewing, until Marcy (an American teacher) wanted to take a picture of one of her sons holding it. That is when it got exciting! At the end of the day, we walked out side and began trying to get it out of the fish bowl. The squills and shrills began – also random running and jumping . In the end, 5 of the 19 students held the tarantula and 2 of the teachers (myself and Julie). It felt like a giant grand-daddy long-leg in my hand – kind of neat, but don’t want it on my face!!

Afterwards, we sent all the kids home. Esteban, a 9^th grader asked me to let me let it loose again. So, he took it to a rocky area and released it. But, we set the fish bowl with the lid back in the school.

School starts in 3 days. . .

2011-03-05T06:51:00.001-05:00

Aguila Christian Academy will start it's 2011 school year on Wednesday, March 9.

This is a school for the children of Helping Hands and Word of Life Bolivia missionaries. It is there on the Word of Life complex in Bolivia. I am the Director, a teacher, the janitor, the cook, the disciplinarian, the gardener, the. . . . Well, you get the idea. We are small, but we do great things. This year, we will have 20 students, ranging from 4 years old to 9^th grade! I have at least one student in each grade except for 7^th, which means we are not just teaching 20 students, we are teaching 10 different grades, all in Math, English, Spanish, History, Reading, Spelling, Science, etc. It is a tall order to fill, but with God’s help, we are able to do it. It is a bilingual school; we have full courses in both English and Spanish. Our goal is that when the students leave, they are fluent in both languages.

The reason we have a private school there on the property is that the missionaries were driving 3 hours each day to take their children into town to school! Losing so much ministry time! Now, they can focus on the ministry because we are focusing on their children! Last year, between the Helping Hands and Word of Life Bolivia, over 30,000 people heard the Gospel!! Águila had a direct part in that!

Our new school year starts on March 9 and runs until mid November. Please pray for God’s hand on the school, that we can minister to the children as well as the other teachers in the school. Also, pray that their parents can effectively share the Gospel this year with the people of Bolivia.

Dr. K

2010-08-16T11:09:00.000-04:00

Dr. Richard F. Kowalske, 58, died suddenly on Saturday August 14, 2010 at Northeast Georgia Medical Center from malaria.
"Dr. K” had recently returned from Uganda, Africa where he and his wife, Brenda, were serving with Helping Hands Foreign Missions.

Dr. K was born June 6, 1952 in Wyandotte, Michigan to Harold and Maryann Kowalske. Life Chiropractic College brought him to Georgia. After graduation, he moved to Gainesville where he set up his practice
of over twenty-five years. In 2002, Dr. K and Brenda were called into full time ministry and formed Helping Hands Foreign Missions. Together with Helping Hands, they focused attention in Bolivia and Uganda where the lives of countless people have been changed by their medical and spiritual ministry.

Master of Martial Arts, Dr. K studied and taught Tang Soo Do for over thirty years. He also had a passion for building and construction, a talent he utilized in the designing and building of communities here in Georgia as well as Bolivia and Uganda. In the past twelve years his greatest desire was to reach the hearts of people for Jesus Christ.

He is survived by his wife, Brenda; his children Lisa, Jennifer, Richard, Ryan, Zachary, Russell, Lee, Freddy and Allison; his grandchildren Billy, Joshua, Benjamin, Hannah, Andrew, Ezekiel, Trey, Savannah, Norah, Hazel, Lucas and Micaela.

Funeral Services will be held at Riverbend Baptist Church, 1715 Cleveland Highway, Gainesville, GA 30501 on Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be made to Helping Hands Foreign Missions for the Village of Eden project.

Brenda examining a little girl in the mountains.

2010-05-08T21:29:00.000-04:00

Day ???

2010-05-08T18:01:00.000-04:00

Wow, we're finally home! We left the Mountain village 32 hours ago. What a long day! the good news is all of our luggage made it back, and we didn't lose anyone either! (although we had to make sure Tracy had her passport, iphone, and anything else that she left behind, :O) The whole team is exhausted, but the memories of the trip is keeping smiles on all of the faces. I just got out of the first hot shower that I've had in 10 days, and am sitting in my easy chair in the living room. There are so many little things like electricity and hot water and just the comfort of a warm home, that we take for granted.

This was a great trip. The team was awesome! We had a diverse mix of personalities, background, experience, and talent, and each person excelled at their little niche, and added so much to round out the team. I guess God knew what He was doing when He called each of these people. :O) well, I've just been staring at my laptop now for about 5 minutes, and almost nodded off, and my brain hurts, so I'm going to try to get some rest and try this again tomorrow.

Bruce.

Kim and Sydney helping at the baby washing

2010-05-08T17:52:00.000-04:00

May 6

2010-05-08T13:20:00.001-04:00

Thursday morning began with breakfast at 7:30. We began preparing the VBS for all of the school children which we thought would begin at 9:00 AM. However, once we were setup outside the school, we learned from the teachers that the kids would be in school until 10:30 AM. As a result we had more time to prepare for the lesson and the games. Some of us had the opportunity to help Brenda, Theresa, Marcy, Aaron, and Jessica in the medical clinic. The adults had the option of taking a vision test and being fitted with eye glasses as necessary. Many were pleasantly surprised when they could see with greater clarity. The medical clinic was a huge success. Many children and adults were treated and given basic vitamins, medicines, and tooth care. Others from our team had the opportunity to share the gospel with a group of school children that walked seven miles to take part in the clinic and VBS. Many had never heard of Jesus. As a result many kids gave their life to Christ. After a brief lunch we were able to start the bible school for the day. We began by acting out the story of Jesus and the coin found in the fishes mouth. We followed this with games and stations where the kids could color, recite a bible verse, have a gummy bear eating contest, and hear more about the Bible. Toward the end of the day Aaron and Jessica took the truck to return the kids from the next village back to their homes. This saved them from walking another seven miles. Supper included roasting hot dogs outside over the fire. At 7 PM the Jesus film was shown in the church. The entire congregation was focused on this powerful film for 2 hours. Bruce gave a message after the film and several children chose to accept Christ. Bruce shared with us later that the church leaders had been praying for help in reaching their children. What an answer to prayer. We said a final farewell to the members of the church. The evening concluded with our final time of stretch and bless. We shared what was the most powerful event of the week and what lessons we would take home. Many people mentioned how blessed we were to work with the children, the reminder shared of how blessed we are with physical items (fresh water, toilets, cars, etc.), and the blessing of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the Bolivian people. This was a very long day, time to turn in and prepare to head for home tomorrow! - Jason

Bruce Preaching after the Jesus film

2010-05-08T13:17:00.000-04:00

May 5th

2010-05-08T13:12:00.000-04:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

We celebrated by waking up to a 4am alarm, threw on our clothes and headed to the bus for a 4:45am departure and 5 hour bus ride to the remote mountain village of Quillaorgo, this means moon hill. Unfortunately Rendee was getting sicker and she decided to stay back where medical help would be more readily available if she should need it. It was sad to leave one of our team members behind but we knew God would use her in a special way at the PDV campus. Our devotion on the bus was from Philippians 2:14-36. "Do everything without grumbling or complaining…" Just the passage we needed to put us in the right frame of mind for the 2 days ahead of us; Sleeping in tents in 40 degree weather, cooking outside, playing with the kids on the dirt field, no showers or bathrooms, well, no indoor bathrooms anyway. The challenge was finding the perfect place to create our own bathroom aka. a tree or a rock. The best part of our banos was the view of the valley and the mountains on the other side. I wish my bathroom at home had such a view! Our 5 hour bus ride only got us so close to the village. We unloaded the luggage, supplies and people on a flatbed truck that could navigate the rugged terrain and get us to the village. We unloaded our supplies, set up our tents, and had a half hour to spare before our VBS started. Our Bible story was Jesus healing the blind man. We played lots of games with the kids in which they were blindfolded. They loved all of the games and the songs that we sang. Their smiling faces encouraged us. While we were conducting the VBS, Brenda and Teresa, our capable nurses conducted a medical clinic and not only saw the children of the village but their parents as well. After lunch we enjoyed a competitive game of soccer aka. football with the children. School was over at 3 and the children went home because some of them had to walk 2 hours to get home and needed to get there before dark. We enjoyed a nice break and dinner before our evening church service. Jason preached a great message to the people of the church continuing with our theme of Jesus healing the blind man. The 35 people in attendance seemed to enjoy the service and music, we did too. Our stretch an blessed was shared around a roaring campfire, which was a blessing in the 40 degree temps. Off to bed hoping the weight of our luggage and our bodies would keep the tents from blowing off the mountain. We are thankful for the children we were able to minister to today and are looking forward to an awesome day tomorrow.

-Gail

Day 5

2010-05-04T21:30:00.000-04:00

The morning started with Gail giving our morning Devotional with James 3 about sharp tongues and the damage such a small part of our total body can do. Then the women and I raced to get loads of laundry done and hung out before we started our strenuous day . . . btw no clothes lines, but big bricks work well!.. Then we broke up into two teams – Team 1 was responsible for raking rocks, yes I said raking rocks, out of the driveway and against the wall of the Lydia house to allow for a smoother driveway and grass to be planted along the wall. Team 2 got to drive up the mountain and collect rocks. Here in Bolivia, because there is an abundance of natural rocks, they put them in the foundation and then pour cement around it (also saving on cement $). Jason learned that so far to date, this campus has been built using 1800 loads of rocks off the property - - - we did 2!! Both teams were EXHAUSTED needless to say by lunch. We had lunch with the students and then no rest for the missionaries, Team 1 went up the mountain with Team 2 and a few other folks. Alan was able to install a Pencil Sharpener from his sponsor, which was a struggle as tools are not abundant here at Palabra de Vida. At the same time, another group had the fun duty of assembling the tents for the mountains and inspecting them. FYI, they were not together, tents, poles, stakes, bags . . . all over, none with the right stuff and missing things everywhere. However, after much aggravation and ingenious thought, they were able to assemble 7 tents for our trip to the mountains. Then all the teams came together to pack the tents and load the bus. We had empanadas for dinner and back to the Lydia house for stretch and bless. As you can imagine most of our stretching was laborious!! A very long and strenuous day and I thought delivering packages was bad, but knowing our work is the foundation for a dorm to educate and train future missionaries made it worth the while. It is 9pm and we are heading to bed as we have to be loaded and en route at 4:45am for a 5 hour bus ride into the mountains to start our 3 day trip to a remote village.

(P.S. This is my second time coming here and I am still receiving many more blessings. I find the Bolivian people to be caring and giving people and enjoy so much spending time with them. . . I feel the 3rd trip coming ! Thank you so much to our sponsors for making this happen)

Much love to my family, miss them so,
Callie

Some of the crew getting rocks to build the foundation of the new dorm's for the kids

2010-05-04T16:29:00.000-04:00

Some of the crew cleaning up the rocks around the house we are staying at.

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Bruce guarding the van and making a little extra money!

2010-05-04T08:41:00.000-04:00

Day 4

2010-05-04T08:39:00.000-04:00

Dear People of North America.
Monday, May 03, 2010
The day started out great with scrambled eggs and ham, and a devotional by Tracy from James chapter 2. From there we packed up the Trufi, (the Helping Hands van) and headed to the prison school. In Bolivia, when a man goes to prison, his whole family goes with him. The children are let out each day to attend school, and then sent back to the prison to be with their families. This was a great opportunity to spend time with these kids, and share the gospel with them. We sang some songs with them, played some games, and brought them a bible lesson. Before we left, we were able to spend some one on one time with the kids. Several of the kids including Ludien, (the boy I talked to) accepted Christ as their savior. I told him that we may never see each other again, but some day, I'll be able to see him again in heaven. What a wonderful experience.
From there we went to la concha, the South America's biggest open air market. It was quite an experience. We were able to pick up several souvenirs and gifts and no one in our group got mugged. J The ladies could have spent all day there, but we had to move on.
After a great lunch at the pizza place, (yes, you can get great pizza even in Bolivia) we finally got to see the Statue of Christ. The Trufi seats 14 people, but we crammed 21 people in it, and drove up the mountain without guard rails looking straight down the mountain. Yes, there was a lot of praying today!!! Most of you are familiar with the statue in Rio, most people think that it is the largest statue of Christ in the world, but Bolivia did not want to be out done, so they made theirs three feet higher. We got some great photos, and then headed to Kara Kara.
At Kara Kara we returned to the houses that we visited last Friday to do some follow up visits. In the past, we just did door to door, and then never saw the people again. This was a great opportunity to see the people again and build some relationships with them. We heard many great stories from the team.
Then it was off to Chinese food, (we came all the way to Bolivia to eat Pizza and Chinese food) after our experience on Sunday, we took turns guarding the vans while the rest of the team ate. I got a lot of very strange looks from the locals as they passed by me. Apparently a white guy playing a guitar on the street corner is not a very common site in Bolivia. :O)
Tomorrow will be a very physical day as we will get to start construction on the new dormitory for the campus. The first step will be to gather rocks as this is the main staple for their building materials. So we're off to try to get a good night's rest for tomorrow will be mucho duro trabajo!

-Bruce

Bruce leading a boy to Christ!

2010-05-03T18:35:00.000-04:00

Alan, Rendee, Teresa, coloring a sheet that goes along with the lesson.

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Bruce using his braclet to evangelize

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Callie praying with some girls at a prison ministry

2010-05-03T10:22:00.000-04:00

Blessings in Bolivia Abound!

2010-05-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

We awakened to delicious pancakes with a special sauce. Muy deliciosa!
Alan presented an excellent devotion to get our day started. James 1: 16-27
We attended the morning service at ICEM the church in Kara Kara. We were greeted with a special sign written in English welcoming us to their church. We joined in the song service with songs in both Spanish and Quechuan. There was a brief testimony service and then the children were dismissed into three Sunday School classes being instructed by our team members. Bruce presented a powerful message. The congregation was exceptionally attentive.
After service we attempted to visit the Cristo Statue. We saw him peeking over the mountain and later reigning in the mountain. We didn't get to make it to the attraction because we had a reservation for dinner at La Estancia. The food was excellent. We will be loosening our belts before we make it home. Unfortunately, while we were dining our vehicles were broken into and several items were stolen. Juan, the director of Palabra de Vida, called us into a circle. We prayed about the situation and it helped us put things into perspective. We are thankful that everyone is safe and it was only material items that were taken. Our spirits are not broken, we will not let Satan discourage us and we will forge on with our mission.
Later we did a scouting visit to a new orphanage. There were 24 children, aged 18 months to 5 years. We performed a skit, played games, sang songs, made crafts and we laughed a lot. The children who were initially apprehensive about the invading "gringos" waved goodbye to us and blew us kisses.
We had a full day. Hopefully we will have a great night's sleep and look forward to the blessings to come.
-Teresa

Bruce preaching at Kara Kara

2010-05-02T10:48:00.000-04:00

Day 2

2010-05-02T08:30:00.000-04:00

Hey folks,
We had a very active day here as we had a sport camp here on the property and had just fewer than 900 young folks from as far away as La Paz. The expectation was to have 2000 people but there was a blockade from protesters and the police do nothing about them. So not everyone that was coming could make it to the camp do to the blockade(these can go on from 1 hour to 3 days). These are some very athletic and wonderfully kind kids who showed that to everyone. We started the day with a very enlightened devotional from Debra on the first few verses from James and breakfast cooked by our team then we all went to work here. Bruce and I were given our first task of the day. We had to mix cement and help finish a sidewalk on Dr. K's house. This proved to be some very exhausting work as not only was it very filthy and physical (we are way up in altitude, heavy Breathing). Bruce and I did this in great Spirit as all of us did. Most of the rest of the crew has made an incredible lunch of some kind of meat and cut up a lot of tomatoes and potatoes. They swapped off with others that were outside promoting and selling hotdogs and sodas to our visitors for the day. Callie and Marcie played some very nice volley ball and were entered in the finals. The real fun for them was to meet in a casual setting with the Bolivian woman they played with and against. Bruce was given the task of weed eating and I thought I was out of the physical labor. Unknown to me I was going back at it after lunch. Very physical day for Bruce and I. God moves us when we are doing his work and we prepared all day to go to the church in Kara Kara. We gave the entire service in this dirt floored church. This is our second visit to this church and one of many from the Helping Hands organization. Thomas the head of the church has given his life to the people in this area of Bolivia. You adore him the moment you meet him. We started the service with songs and then split into four groups for games and lessons for the kids. My group of 9 teenagers named ourselves "The believers". They are amazing! 35 or 40 teenagers attended on a Saturday night with a festival going on. We had some good humor and I played the blind man and Bruce played Jesus for a skit to go along with the sermon. Jason preached for the first time and did a very nice job even though they had a lot of distractions. Rendee told her story of coming to Christ and one of the teenagers told hers. Both these stories connected with us and teenager. When we finished we all talked and became friends with some of the people at the church. I really connected with a 20 year old named Ramone who went with us door to door yesterday. He is very bright and a really good communicator. We got back to the Lydia House around 10 for stretch and bless. Each member of our team tells of their day. I would tell you but frankly I am so tired I must go to bed. I am blessed by all the people I am here with and the people I have met. All of my sponsors at home have blessed me in ways you cannot know. There that was half of it. Good night, as I have to give the devotional in the morning further on in James 1:16-27.
-Alan

The guys mixing, hauling and transporting cement

2010-05-01T17:00:00.000-04:00

The guys cleaning up the campus

2010-05-01T16:59:00.000-04:00

Some of the ladies selling food at the sporting event.

2010-05-01T16:46:00.000-04:00

Blog

2010-05-01T11:58:00.001-04:00

Hola Amigos!

What an amazing full day we had :) our flight left Miami at 11pm - they fed us at midnight and some of us fell asleep at 1:30 while others were later which made our 5am arrival in Santa Cruz a fun challenge. Thanks to Aaron's skillful negotiations he was able to fast track us through the Visa and Immigration lines AND back through security! We arrived in Cochabomba at 8am ready and raring to go!

A few Bolivian observations : the Gov't is very suspect of American dollars, the visa line took forever because they scrutinize every bill - if only we were so diligent with our moeny! And the mass of people crowded around the arrivals was like the academy awards without flashbulbs :)

We road the Missions bus outside of Cochabomba on the road to Tarata on Lake Angustura - which is beautiful and the splendor of the view is inspiring! It was and hour ride, we had 35 minutes to unpack everything and then went on a tour of the Palaba de Vida (word of life) campus. We met many amazing missionaires who are giving their lives and family to God in this country where hope is needed.

We had lunch grabbed our bags and left for Kara Kara! We arrived at Gloria de Dios (Glory of God) and met up with members of the church and a few other missionaires/translators. Kara Kara is a large shanty village that is on the towns old landfill/garbage dump. We separated in groups and after direction and guidance, we started going door to door meeting and speaking to the residents. It was so humbling to meet and speak to them. The teams all had fascinating stories of helping people and explaining the Joy of Christ and the hope the he gives. We had one woman crying over her fears, 2 men who quit working and started asking some detailed questions about faith and the trinity and a few people who accepted Christ We will be following up in a few days. After 4 hours of walking around we returned home to get ready for the evenings events - only to discover the womens shower not only did not have hot water, but water was a challenge. A few braved the cold
water but we all found the humor in it and nothing could detract from our joy of the day.

We had a birthday celebration for Dinner for the head of Palabra Vida and got to meet and interact with many of the missionaires and students of the evangelism college. Then we had the pleasure of serving these amazing people by washing the dishes of 200+ people. It was arduous work, but we enjoyed serving those who are serving others!

We returned to Lydia house to debrief on the day in our "stretching and blessings" where we all shared where God's prompts had stretched us in the day and the blessings we witnessed. It is so wonderful to hear what God had worked in all of us this day and the people that were impacted. At 11:30 we climbed into bed after 48 hours of going strong with less than 3 hours of sleep. We set our alarms for 6am thankful for the day and a hope for tomorrows youth sports tournament and revival!!!

Sent from my iPhone

Hola

2010-05-01T10:56:00.000-04:00

Hola Amigos!

What an amazing full day we had :) our flight left Miami at 11pm - they fed us at midnight and some of us fell asleep at 1:30 while others were later which made our 5am arrival in Santa Cruz a fun challenge. Thanks to Aaron's skillful negotiations he was able to fast track us through the Visa and Immigration lines AND back through security! We arrived in Cochabomba at 8am ready and raring to go!

A few Bolivian observations : the Gov't is very suspect of American dollars, the visa line took forever because they scrutinize every bill - if only we were so diligent with our moeny! And the mass of people crowded around the arrivals was like the academy awards without flashbulbs :)

We road the Missions bus outside of Cochabomba on the road to Tarata on Lake Angustura - which is beautiful and the splendor of the view is inspiring! It was and hour ride, we had 35 minutes to unpack everything and then went on a tour of the Palaba de Vida (word of life) campus. We met many amazing missionaires who are giving their lives and family to God in this country where hope is needed.

We had lunch grabbed our bags and left for Kara Kara! We arrived at Gloria de Dios (Glory of God) and met up with members of the church and a few other missionaires/translators. Kara Kara is a large shanty village that is on the towns old landfill/garbage dump. We separated in groups and after direction and guidance, we started going door to door meeting and speaking to the residents. It was so humbling to meet and speak to them. The teams all had fascinating stories of helping people and explaining the Joy of Christ and the hope the he gives. We had one woman crying over her fears, 2 men who quit working and started asking some detailed questions about faith and the trinity and a few people who accepted Christ We will be following up in a few days. After 4 hours of walking around we returned home to get ready for the evenings events - only to discover the womens shower not only did not have hot water, but water was a challenge. A few braved the cold water but we all found the humor in it and nothing could detract from our joy of the day.

We had a birthday celebration for Dinner for the head of Palabra Vida and got to meet and interact with many of the missionaires and students of the evangelism college. Then we had the pleasure of serving these amazing people by washing the dishes of 200+ people. It was arduous work, but we enjoyed serving those who are serving others!

We returned to Lydia house to debrief on the day in our "stretching and blessings" where we all shared where God's prompts had stretched us in the day and the blessings we witnessed. It is so wonderful to hear what God had worked in all of us this day and the people that were impacted. At 11:30 we climbed into bed after 48 hours of going strong with less than 3 hours of sleep. We set our alarms for 6am thankful for the day and a hope for tomorrows youth sports tournament and revival.

-tracy

Some of the ladies preparing food for over 1000 youth coming to a sporting event at Word of Life

2010-05-01T09:55:00.000-04:00

our ride! Coming back from Kara Kara

2010-04-30T17:57:00.000-04:00

We made it Bolivia!

2010-04-30T08:20:00.000-04:00

Leaving Miami

2010-04-29T22:20:00.001-04:00

After checking our bags with Aero Sur, and enjoying a nice dinner at
Chili's, we are boarding the plane - headed for Bolivia! Hopefully
everyone will be able to sleep tonight and will be ready to hit the
ground running tomorrow! Good night & thanks for your thoughts and
prayers.

Gail

We made it to Miami! We met up with our Michigan team and we are waiting to check in.

2010-04-29T19:09:00.000-04:00

It's Getting Close!!!

2010-04-28T17:12:00.000-04:00

The team will be leaving Thursday, April 29 for 8 days in Bolivia. This past Sunday afternoon the team assembled and packed up 20 Action Packers, suitcases and yard equipment. We didn’t leave one square inch of space empty, in fact, we even opened the weed eater box and stuffed it full of supplies!! Now all we need to pray for is that Delta’s scales will read light, and none of our bags are over the 50 lb limit!! Keep praying for the team! We’ll keep you posted.

Bruce.