Severino GETS DUNKED!

Happy Days! After having received the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal saviour & Lord & 3 months of baptismal classes at the local church - Severino WAS BAPTIZED this Saturday! It was a marvelous day for he & his grandparents who came to the ceremony.

Severino is a young man of many talents. He's the drummer for our worship band at the boys' home, a straight-'A' student at the local private school close to the boys home, and the goal-keeper for the soccer team @ the home. Severino has made remarkable strides since coming off of the streets almost 3 years ago. He's committed to following the Lord & is a great influence on the other boys at the home, many of whom themselves are now interested in getting baptized!

Where our kids come from. . .

The homeless children & teen population here in Bolivia continues to grow. It's startling to see how many young kids, in Santa Cruz alone roam the streets filthy, high, hurting, hungry & hopeless. Most of these kids come from broken homes where many times parents have substance abuse problems themselves & will often send their kids out to help bring home extra income for the household. The great majority of the kids at our homes & those who're still on the streets come from backgrounds of physical, sexual & psychological abuse - & have sometimes been abandoned all together. They turn to the streets as a method of survival and it's there where older kids teach them how to steal, introduce them to drugs, and lead girls into prostitution. What does the government do? Not much really. Police regularly beat & extort the kids, and there really is no concerted effort to solve the problem. Street kids are for the most part looked as a nuisance to society, and from time to time are 'rounded up,' & dropped off somewhere outside the city, only to find their way back the following day.

The men folk

These are the guys from our Boys' Restoration Home for ex-street kids, 'El Camino' (The Way). At present there are 25 boys who've left a life of drug abuse, petty theft, misery, rejection & self-destruction on the streets to start a new life at the home. We're very proud of all of our boys who've shown a unparalleled resilience & determination despite all the pain & trauma they've been through.

At the boys' home the boys are 

Meet All of our precious GIRLS !

Above are pictures of all of our girls at our Restoration Home, El Alfarero (The Potter's House) for ex-street girls. 

After having come from backgrounds of neglect, sexual & physical abuse, drug addiction, and even prostitution from living on the streets - at the home the girls are given love & guidance as they gradually allow God to restore their lives & experience a new beginning. Hopeful that their lives can & will change, girls are counseled & nurtured by staff, are given the opportunity to go back & finish school, & those who are young mothers are instructed & supported as they care for their babies.

BIENVENIDOS! (WELCOME!)

L & P

Hello!  Welcome to our Bolivia blog, where our intent is to keep everyone (who might be interested) better informed in what's going on in our lives & ministry while in Bolivia. We've found that a quarterly newsletter really isn't enough to keep everyone abreast, & really there's so much that happens in 4 months time that it's tough to cram into a tiny newsletter. Thanks for visiting. Bookmark us & come back as often as you like.