Cristian's big day!

What a night! Christian graduated 2 weeks after his brother Michael & Roly did, & is the 1st graduate we've had from the public school 'Limoncito.' It was a wonderful evening for Christian as, together w/ his brother Michael & Marcelino, got to lead his entire class in a few different songs they'd rehearsed. He also was paid a rare visit from his mother & brother, and the whole evening was one he'll not surely forget. Congrats Chris! And God bless as you pursue your dream of studying Systems Engineering!

Titus at Aposento

Just before Christmas we were honored to have half of a bible school come and teach members of our church how to study God's Word. The team took us through the inductive study method over the course of an entire week, examining the Bible as a whole & then diving into the book of Philemon to unlock just a wealth of life lessons. Thanks to YWAM - Montana for sending the team to turn not only Aposento on to God's Word, but several other local churches & the YWAM Bolivia training base as well.

2010 GRADS!!! Micheal, Roly & Christian

Alright! We are back safe & sound from Haiti now, from a short term missions trip we took to Port-au-prince. It was a great trip & you can read all about it if you like on another blog we've written w/ pics from the trip at:

http://boliviatohaiti2010.blogspot.com

Things in Bolivia haven't slowed down a bit. There's a number of exciting things that've happened over the past couple of weeks & we're thrilled to be able to share some of them with you here.

We'll dedicate this post to our 2010 Graduates - Micheal, Roly & Christian who have wrapped up their high school requirements & 2 (Micheal & Roly) had their graduation ceremony last week! Christian will officially graduate from his school on Saturday.

Micheal & Christian are brothers and have been with us for 3 & 2 years respectively. While Roly has been with us for 4 years!

All 3 of these boys are really remarkable young men in their own right, & have overcome great obstacles, adversity & trauma really to have achieved this step in their lives. Micheal & Christian have both turned into annointed worship leaders & are continually fine tuning their musical abilities to bless & minister to others. Micheal was asked to lead his graduating class in 2 musical numbers on graduation night. Christian will do the same at his graduation next Saturday.

Roly was also asked to speak at his graduation, & chosen by his peers to honor one of the schools faculty members with a gift from the graduating class. Roly is a leader & has been at the home for several years now. He has fulfilled his military service dutifully & has been an example to the other boys at El Camino in his time there.

All of us would like to thank you for your prayers for these young men, & ask you to continue to pray for God's direction in their lives. Only Christian is certain of what he wants to study - electing the field of Business Administration. He along with the other 2 boys, will be preparing these next several to give their college entrance exam in January & then will be moving out of El Camino & into the reintegration house with the rest of the high school grads/college men.

Still a Ways to Go

Our street team is hitting the pavement once again.

This week we uncovered a new group of street kids in a completely different canal in another part of the city. It's a huge canal, underneath one of the main roundabouts in the city. We met new boys Pacho, Carlos, & Christian; and some old friends we hadn't seen in a while like Jorge, Epson, Shirley, Michel, Jose & Freddy. Although their 'sleeping quarters' are a bit more spacious, & there's no bullying from the police as of yet here - the plight of these kids & their blindness to their own destruction just breaks your heart. Surrounded by trash, human feses, rats, & drugs - what begins as a Huck Finn like adventurous existence quickly becomes addiction, disease & even death.

Jorge, a boy we've known for several years, who's now 19, upon waking up, let us know it was his birthday the other day. No sooner had he gotten the words out of his mouth, & another kid piped up & said, 'yeah, this sissy tried to hang himself on his birthday, had it not been for some little kid who found him in a noose & brought him down, he would've killed himself.' Jorge responded w/ silence, head hung low & ashamed. It's a dark reality & a lonely existence. We urged Jorge to let us take him to a rehab center for young adults that morning, and he just was not interested. Pray for him, his salvation & also for Jose, Pacho, Carlos, Christian & the other kids mentioned above. Time is NOT on their side, but God longs to do a redemptive work in them!

Celebrating w/ Darlene!

Darlene (pictured above w/ son Alex) has come a long way. Since coming to the home almost 3 years ago she has given her life to the Lord, had major reconstructive skull surgery, gotten back on track w/ her education & taken on the responsibility of raising her 5 year old son Alex, who up until last year was in the care of his grandmother. Darlene is developing into a fine mother & is also a wonderful cook. She celebrated her birthday this Monday, with all of the gang at the girls' home. Keep her in your prayers that she would continue along the right path & achieve the highest dreams God has for her!

Yolanda - 14 year old Princess!

Yolanda (seated 2nd from left), just celebrated her 14th birthday on Friday! Patty's 4 sisters (2 of them pictured above, Isset far left & Cinthia 3rd from left) & nephew were among several guests who came to wish Yolanda the happiest of birthdays on Saturday. Yoli will be going into private school next year & is growing up fast. Her older sister Lupe is also at the home & for her birthday Yoli's aunt & cousin came to wish her well!

Luis Fernando

15 year-old, Luis Fernando (picture above,) from the boys' restoration home, 'El Camino' last week, went through some pretty serious ear surgery to repair his ruptured, left ear drum. The surgery went well according to the ear, nose & throat specialist and Luis Fernando is back recovering at El Camino.

It was revealed to us after a routine check-up, that Luis had lost quite a bit of his hearing in his left ear earlier in the year. Apparently earlier in his childhood, he had suffered some trauma in the inner-ear which caused the ear drum to tear. The doctor recommended that he be operated on for the situation not to deteriorate any more. Please pray, as Luis Fernando continues to recover, & that God would heal his hearing through the surgery.

VIVA Network - City-wide Day of Principles & Values

The organization Patty helped to get up & running here, Viva Network (formerly called Red Viva), just recently helped get a municipal ordinance passed & funded that declared an official Day of Recognition of Values & Principles here in Santa Cruz! Viva has been partnering w/ the municipality to educate thousands of youth in schools across the city about abstinence, the dangers & realities of drug & alcohol abuse, maintaining one's integrity & other topics related to preserving Christ-centered values & principles for the past 3 years. The day of celebration of values & principles culminated w/ a concert of Christian artists & a ceremony honoring individuals who give their lives to defend principles & values. The event was a attended by a great number of people in the main town square.

Viva Network has worked for years to network Christian organizations together who work with children at risk in many nations around the world. The organization has helped to train, equip, organize & unite Christian organizations working in favor of children - in order to extend God's Kingdom more effectively & collaboratively. Viva also promotes Christ-centered values particularly among kids & teens, in secular & Christian schools throughout the city & country. Overall it was a wonderful event where the attention of the entire city was directed & reminded of our need to preserve a Godly standard w/i society.

WILMA TOO!

So everyone this is our latest girl, her name is Wilma (pictured above, planting flowers outside the reception house 'El Toborochi')! She came to us last week from the government child protection services, with a court order to come to the home. Wilma is 17, and hails from a small town called Comarapa, about 3 hours outside of Santa Cruz.

In an all too familiar story, Wilma was abandoned by her family & as a teenager got in deep with the wrong crowd. This year, she dropped out of school and was living on her own, bouncing around from house to house when she could. Wilma is excited about being with us & asks for prayer help in helping to overcome an alcohol addiction that she admittedly could no longer control. Please pray for her, as she gets acclimated to life at the girls' home. She is a sweet girl, wants to be a doctor when she's older & indeed has a bright future ahead of her.

Luis Enrique!!!

Luis Enrique (on the streets above, after coming to the home below), is our newest boy at the boys' restoration home, El Camino. He is Lidia's, from the girls' home, brother hailing from the south of Bolivia, from a city called Tarija. Luis Enrique arrived to us on the day of the World Cup Finals and his time with us so far has been a blessing.

He is 12 years' old, was abandoned by his father, & basically totally neglected by his alcoholic mother as well. Left to raise himself, running amuck in the markets & stealing to buy food to survive, Luis E. was taken out of school at a very young age. He is adjusting well to life at the home & has made friends with several of the boys. He is participating in classes w/ the tutor at the home learning to read & write, so that next January, he will go back to school. Pray for Luis Enrique, as he's got some serious wounds from childhood & probably stemming from that, tends to sometimes react aggressively. Learning new habits, everything from personal hygiene, to daily school work, to helping out at the home, Luis has shown a lot of courage & we know he will continue to grow, as he allows God to work in his life.

Renaissance Ladies!

Pictured above is our newly opened art studio, led by local artist Yovana Mamani (pictured far left), who also attends our church Aposento Alto. Yovana has been a delightful addition to our ministry, recently coming on to serve full-time in the ministry, after having graduated from University with her art degree. Some of her students are pictured above Lupe, Ninoska & Luz.

She is currently teaching the girls basic pottery skills, which only makes sense w/ the name of the the girls' home being 'El Alfarero' (The Potter's house). Pottery classes in addition to being a great stress reliever for the girls, also equips them with another skill they'll have before leaving the home. We want to thank CBC Highlands in particular for help getting the art project up & running by donating the equipment (art table, stools, some supplies) for the studio.

Blowing the Roof Off The Place !!!

Stunning! Wow! HOO-WAH!

One of the highlights of this year for me by far, has to be having participated in a worship service led by our boys from the boys' home El Camino, in celebration of YWAM's 50 year anniversary. A packed house got to witness redemption in action, as our boys well on they're way to being restored from a past on the streets; once timid & shy about worship - just let er' rip for one spectacular night!

Gifted musically & standing as a living testimony of God's grace - the guys belted out song after song declaring Christ as their saviour & His love as the answer for their lives. It was high-energy, loud & from the heart, setting the tone for an awesome evening of gratitude & praise for God's faithfulness over the last 50 years.

Sarah back in Bolivia

Wrapping up a season of remarkable guests, we recently had the privilege of welcoming the always lovely, insightful & fun - SARAH LANIER - to Bolivia for the 1st time in 17 years. It was an honor to have Sarah with us for our National Conference, 50 year YWAM anniversary, ministering to our street kids' ministry Op. Restoration team & at the training base as well. Gifted & renowned for her work in the areas of leadership, team dynamics & conflict resolution in multi-cultural teams, debriefing crisis situations, & helping missionaries finish well - Sarah brought the whole spectrum of light in a number of different areas to our team here. Sought after around the world and bombarded by requests for a piece of her time - it means the world to us here that she would take the time to come & serve us wholeheartedly. Thanks Sarah!

Update on Abel!

From the streets, to the boys' restoration home, to high school graduation, and now college and a job; God's redemptive work is exemplified well in Abel's (pictured above) life!

Abel was part of our 1st graduating class from the boys' restoration home, 'El Camino.' Since graduation he has completed the Discipleship Training School with YWAM and is half-way through his accounting degree at university. Abel has also become the 1st boy to officially join the work force, taking a job as a cashier at the local supermarket chain, Fidalga. He is working 40 hours a week and taking a full load of classes. Abel is the 1st in what's to be a long line of victorious lives embracing a new destiny & the life God has for them. Thanks for remembering him in your prayers.

Mt. Paran CORE Final Team

And just like that it's over...

What an amazing summer we had w/ all the folks from CORE! Team 3 was just as exceptional as the previous 2 and we just wanted to thank you all for such a spectacular week. I don't know when I've laughed as much over 8 days, and this team left us & our kids with some wonderful memories to be cherished. Anna Beth had her sweet 15 here, and was a great sport about the ole Bolivia b-day customs. Malik was hilarious, hard-working & insightful. Javon worked his tail off & never tired of giving piggy-back rides at the girls' home or going up for coconuts. Ken & Angie shared the Word & together w/ Wayne were the even keel for the group. Michelle, Kim & Anna Beth were all tremendously graceful, loving & diligent at every task we threw their way. Grace, Raluca, Sierra & Roxana made us proud staying on for 2 trips, helping out at the girls' home, tie-dying away, sprekining espanol, giving away pics & constantly writing notes for the kids, cleaning chickens, varnishing posts - not to mention that Sierra made an entire fence... practically by herself. Thanks you dear, dear friends. We miss all of you & wait anxiously for your return!

Mt. Paran CORE Team #2

Near freezing cold temps, unseasonal rain & some wicked air in La Paz made the 2nd team's mission a bit more of a challenge; but there's no doubt this was indeed a VERY special team. Made up of a nice mix of Bolivia veterans such as: Amain B, Grace, Sierra, the Ispai, Elaina V. & Annie G.; and 1st timers P James, Tiffany, Pablo Clayton, Will, Anna, Misgana, Karina, Libby, Rebecca, Sophie & Natalie - team 2 worked AND played hard all week. The team got to experience World Cup fever in S. America, dug a trench, made a ton of fence, took time to pray & minister to each one of our boys, went racing, shared the good news & helped bandage up the sick on the streets & kept the Man-swim trad. alive @ the Cortez. It was really momentous to have Amain & Grace back for the 4th year in a row - not to mention all of the Ispai on one team! The team really got after it and were a great witness & light all week in the homes, at church and on the streets! Thanks guys!

Highlands Bring Joy to Bolivia !

'The River' Youth from Community Bible Church of Highlands has gone international! Bringing a huge heart to serve & love, they came to Bolivia & held nothing back. Lead by Pastors Greg S. & Jimmy B., along w/ the uber-talented Steve & Corrie and pilot/developer/father of the trip J.B.; this was needless to say, a well rounded group. They were warriors in the trench at the girls' home, shared their life stories & a wonderful time of worship w/ the boys, went into nasty sewers to bring street kids into the light of day & encourage them to come off of the streets, taught us about the ways of 'ninja,' & were always looking for what else they could do to help. We were all really impressed w/ their up for anything attitudes, promptness & overall witness. We miss them & hope they'll be back soon. Thanks guys!

Mount Paran Returns to Bolivia 2010 !

Coconut harvesting, fence making, Bolivian soccer, street ministry, sanding, varnishing, C B Otts music, Collin & Micayla's drum & bass, Felicia's O Happy Day, concrete mixing ... and that was just the 1st couple of days I think! Wow, what an amazing week w/ the 1st CORE team of 2010. Andrew, Austin, Felicia, Esosa, Micayla, Rashida, Colin, Chelsea, Danielle, Mason, Olivia, Heidi, Silvana, & Jim it was an honor to host you guys; thank you so much. This was a team of extraordinary energy, talent, joy, love & determination. Thanks for making us laugh, dance, sing, bowl, dig deep & spin faster . You helped make our home a safer place, gave our tables & playground a new shine, helped update our kids' wardrobes & left an indelible impact on all of our lives. We had a blast w/ all of you & hope you can all come back next year!

Missions @ Aposento

Bolivia is expanding its vision for the Nations!

At the beginning of the year, our pastor at Aposento Alto, Dilmar Carrasco, announced he wanted our church to host a missions conference at the church sometime in May of 2010. This was new for the church, but we were very excited that Dilmar was now ahead of the charge in stirring up the local church's heart for the Nations!

The 1st ever Missions Conference at Aposento Alto was held during May 14-16, Friday - Sunday. We invited every church we had contact w/ & also talked it up on the Christian radio. Speakers were invited from Uruguay, the U.S., Ecuador & Bolivia to help infuse Christ's passion for the lost & hurting. Our good friend Susan, from N. Point Church in Alpharettta, GA, even came to share her missions' experience w/ us on Saturday. The focus was to be on 1) Local missions 2) International missions 3) and the church's role in Social Justice issues. Local missions organizations CET, CEC, Viva Network, Crown Financial, Campus Crusade for Christ & YWAM were also invited to set up stands & promote missions efforts in their respective organizations. The Aposento missions' team throughout the conference raised money for the 2010 missions trip effort to Haiti, by selling t-shirts & key chains. Even had a Bolivian folk band the last evening, who led us in a time of worship that roared through the neighborhood.

The Aposento team did an incredible job, decorating rooms in the church to remember God's faithfulness in all the different short-term trips the church had taken over the past 6 years. Patty & her team organized an extraordinary Sunday morning tour of the Nations for the 200 kids who participated, complete w/ passports & a time of intercession for the countries around the world.

Many young folks came forward to make a commitment to 'Go' during a Saturday night youth service. Scores of children's minds were opened to the need, not just in Bolivia, but around the world. And a few brave souls from different churches took the step to turn in their applications for the Haiti trip. Overall, we were very happy w/ the 1st ever Aposento Alto Missions Conference, & we feel confident that many seeds were sown that God is going to grow in years to come!

Do YOU have a Winston Churchill in your home?

Yeah I didn't think so. Well . . . we do.

Yes, the newest member of El Camino is quite the character. WInston Churchill Vaca is 16 years old, & lives every bit up to of his name. Doesn't quite have the bulldog face. Jolly good chap though seriously. Fresh off the streets, lots of energy, trying to fit in & find his place at the home, so keep him in your prayers please!

Joel ... Keep em' comin'

Alright, this is Joel. He's 17 and is the brother of the ever popular Luis Miguel (for those of you who've visited the boys' home here). Joel came to us out of desperation. He'd been kicked out of his house, kicked out of the nice neighbor lady's house, kicked out of his nice friend's house, of his other friend's house, & was now on the streets. I couldn't believe his step-dad wouldn't take him back into his house, so I went with him to 'sort it all out.' Well . . . let's just say there was a lot of profanity & Joel was basically crushed by the end of the conversation, & we were asked to leave.

I won't get into too many details, but the quick version is this is now Joel's past life.

As you've probably figure out already, he's with us now at El Camino (our boys' restoration home), & is basically kicking butt. Really great kid, studying hard to get back into school, super-helpful around the home, respectful - guess he just really needed a fresh start. His dream is to be a physician in order to help folks. Anyway, the honeymoon always wares, & at some point changing our lives always opens up some nasty wounds - so a new face for your prayer list.

Angel

So this is our friend Angel Lazarte. He is the younger brother of one of our guys at the boys' restoration home 'El Camino.'

Raul's in great shape. Angel as you can tell by the photo is not. Angel's 12 years old now, & strongly addicted to a form of smokeable cocaine ('pasta base'). He lives underneath a bridge in the city w/ some other 'friends,' who share the same problem. He's extremely malnourished, a runt for his age & is heading nowhere fast. We want to enlist everyone who reads our blog to pray for Angel, that he'd come off the streets, give his young life to the Lord & develop a repulsion to drugs. There's a group of 7 of these young guys trapped in serious drug use. We've managed to get one of them (Mauricio, posted in a previous blog), off the streets & he's doing well, hasn't looked back - so it is possible. Help us to pray Angel off the streets. We've gotten him as far as the reception house, but he stayed on a day or 2. We've also shown him filmed messages from his brother at the home in great shape, but so far naught. If you have any other creative suggestions drop us a line? We believe God CAN resurrect his life, EVEN after having been buried in the ashes of a crack pipe.

Carlos Andres

Carlos Andres is 17. He was put in an orphanage with his younger brother after his parent's split up at age 8. After having to defend his brother from getting picked on by the older kids, he left the orphanage and wound up on the streets, where he would spend the great majority of the next 9 YEARS. We have known and worked w/ Carlos for nearly 6 years on the streets.

Nevertheless, it was only after, Carlos Andres was hit by a car late one night during one of our recent street visits, that he decided to come off the streets.

He'd hit his head pretty hard & his bottom lip was totally busted. Iris, our volunteer doctor, stitched up his lip & we invited him to come back to the reception house, where if he wanted to he could stay. The following morning he DID INDEED choose to stay and turn his back to the streets. He spent the rest of the week at the reception house, where we were getting him ready to go to El Camino (the boys' home), & embark on his new life free of drugs & crime. The best news of the week is that Carlos Andres accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord & Saviour on Good Friday and will never again fight his battles alone!

Carlos is now at the boys' home, where he's adjusting to an academic routine, 3 square meals, lots of soccer, morning devotionals, household chores, new friends, and a healthy life.

Carlos Andres needs your prayers. It's not easy to change habits that've been ingrained in him for the past 9 years (most of his life). He's shown a great heart, an affinity for soccer, good work ethic & is loads of fun to be around. Pray that the Lord will continue to heal his whole person, that he would plant deep roots at the boys' home, for good influences to help encourage him, & just a total renewal of his mind, heart & soul by the Holy Spirit.

Baptism of Juan

Another one of our college boys got baptized last week. Juan, who's in his 2nd year at University studying electro-mechanical engineering, chose to profess his faith in Jesus Christ publicly on Good Friday. Juan graduated high school at 16, and has taken huge steps in his walk with the Lord since then. He attends the same church as Raul, Humberto and his brother Francisco, where there's a really vibrant group of youth passionate about the Lord. We're praying that God would continue to use Juan as salt & light at his university & beyond.

Juan has a great future ahead, & look forward to keeping you posted.

Concert in the Plaza

The worship team from the boys' home was recently invited to minister in the main plaza of the local town of El Torno, which is the largest town near the home. Luis Yerson plays bass, Severino plays drums, and while & while we're trying to integrate other boys to play guitar & sing, for now Larry & Patty are helping out w/ guitar & vocals. The concert was held to reach out to the local youth from the area, on a weeknight night when many would have otherwise gone to clubs or gotten drunk w/ their friends. The boys' home worship team ministered along w/ other local church groups. The event also included a evangelistic, drama performance from a YWAM missions team from Barbados who was visiting. The night was a tremendous hit & the boys were complemented by everyone involved. Their confidence is growing & they are seeing how 1st hand God can use them & their gifts to bless & reach out to others!

5 Guys

Ok so we're not really calling it that, but the boys @ the reintegration house ARE becoming micro-business owners (see 2 of the 5 boys pictured above Raul, left, & Humberto, right). Now at the end of their (South American) 'summer' break, we came up with a plan together w/ the boys to hopefully empower them a bit more economically & help them take another step towards integrating back into society as mature, restored, responsible young men.

The 5 boys: Raul, Abel, Francisco, Juan, & Humberto have agreed to start their own small lawncare company in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We've helped w/ the initial investment & contacting potential clientele, but now they are in charge & will handle all the accounting, client management, scheduling & maintenance.

So why lawncare? Well . . . it's rainy season in Bolivia, the grass is growing like crazy, we know several families who pay for this service already, & (unlike a normal 8 - 5 job) it allows for flexible work hours for when they need to study extra for exams, or have classes in the a.m. & the late evening. The goal is to help generate income to help cut expenses at the reintegration house where they live, while at the same time empowering them to pay for some of their own living expenses & teach them responsibility, team-work, time management (of work, school & household chores), as well as how to handle their own money.

We're excited. They're excited. And we know that it'll in time be a blessing, a great learning experience, & help to lessen the financial burden at the house.

Purpose

(Pictured above, part of our small group of older boys, at the boys' restoration home 'El Camino').

2 years ago, at the boys' home El Camino, we saw the need to deepen & improve discipleship with the guys, and felt like a small group format was the right step to help achieve that. So now we've divided the boys into 3 groups at the home basically by age. Patty is over the youngest boys, (under 13); our friend & ministry partner Roberto works w/ the middle-aged boys (13-16); and Larry ministers to the older boys (17-21).

Tuesday nights are our small group nights, & overall it's been a tremendous success. The smaller audience groups the boys w/ peers their own age, & enables them to talk about & go to what the bible says about real issues, problems, & insecurities they're dealing with everyday. Years of having to survive on the streets, has hardened the boys & many have expressed feelings of great loneliness, despite being around caretakers & other kids 24/7. Part of the idea of the small groups is to create (or restore) TRUE community & friendship within the home. We've begun by trying to shed light on 'normal' teenage issues, going against the internal notion that most harbor, that they're the ONLY ONES feeling what they're feeling, struggling w/ what they're struggling w/ etc. The goal is to inspire the guys to follow Jesus from a young age. Part of that is linked to them releasing & being honest about some of the intense inner conflict that almost all of us feel during adolescence, & allowing their roommates/peers the space to do the same. So far we've been able to tackle issues ranging from honesty to sexuality to decision-making and now . . . Purpose.

We're using Rick Warren's, 'Purpose Driven Life,' as a tool to look at what God's Word says to questions about who we are? & what we're created for? The older boys just finished the little over 7 week/40 day study & it's been a wonderful eye opener for all of us. The boys are maturing & asking great questions, beginning to see their lives past, present & future from a more Godly perspective; & are being challenged to rethink a lot of what they believe about themselves, God, His world & His plans for their future.

Welcoming Ruth!

Above is Adela Ruth Alvarez, 15 years of age. Ruth was taken to the girls' restoration home yesterday after spending nearly a week at the Reception house.

Ruth was born in Bolivia, but came to us from the streets of Argentina. Long story short, Ruth's mom sent her off w/ her uncle to Argentina to 'work' illegally, & Ruth within a short time wound up on the streets, into drugs & in with the wrong crowd.

Ruth is definitely a sweetheart, has recommitted her life to the Lord while at the reception house and has stated that she dreams of being a teacher one day. She also loves to sing and enjoys dancing. Help us pray for Ruth that she will make friends quickly at the girls' home, continue to seek the Lord and know Him more, and also make the most of school and different vocational activities for the girls there.

HAITI . . . Confirmed

We have shared w/ many folks our desire to have this year's Bolivian missions team go to Haiti. Looks like that's 100% confirmed. We just saw in the news that there's over 100,000 presumed dead in the capital after a major earthquake rocked the capital. The presidential palace is ruined, the legislative building is destroyed, the main cathedral is was also damaged and so are many hospitals & schools.

Please pray for the nature & timing of our trip - & for God's direction in the best way He could use us to help restore hope & aid those in need.

Helping Pastor Dilmar

Hey everyone, Happy New Year! Wanted to send along best wishes & Happy New Year from Pastor Dilmar and his family from Aposento Alto Church here in Santa Cruz. He & his wife Silenny have just had their 3rd child, a 10lb baby girls at birth - Valentina!

Silenny is already back finishing up her degree in Social Work, and for most of last year was doing her practicum with our 2 homes for ex-street kids. She did a great job & we are hoping to keep her on this year as well.

Dilmar is also doing well leading the church, overseeing the Compassion program at Aposento & counseling married couples, single adults & youth from church; all in addition to trying to grow & maintain the church as a beacon in the community.

We want to ask for your prayers &, for those who'd like to bless Dilmar & his family, your support. They are signing another lease on their house, that's 2 blocks from church, knowing that their church salary minus new baby expenses won't be able to cover the rent.

As some of you will recall, they lived at the Compassion center at the church for their 1st 4 years at Aposento, w/ over 400 kids right outside their door all week-long. Unhealthy, & a recipe for family disaster really, together w/ a 2007 short-term missions team, we decided to help them rent a place of their own 2 years ago & have committed to personally help them raise money for their rent last year & again this year as well.

Rent on the house is $150 a month, which is very reasonable given the area & condition of the house. We're hoping to raise this for them this year & also are praying at some point in the future to be able to buy the house as a residence for the church pastor, so any donations that come in on top of the what's needed for this year will go towards a future purchase. We're confident that A Healthy Pastor leads to a Healthy Church.

If you'd like to help Dilmar & his family out w/ a tax deductible gift, please let us know via e-mail: larrywmorehead2@yahoo.com

& we will communicate to you details on how to do that. Thanks & Happy New Year!