Darlene & Angela - Summer of Missions!

Darlene & Angela (pictured above w/ Patty) from the girls' restoration home, 'El Alfarero,' just finished up their summer of missions course at the YWAM base while taking a break from school! They both graduate in November of 2011, and along w/ Ninoska, will be our 1st girls to ever graduate the girls' home!

The summer of missions course is basically a mini-DTS, spanning 4 1/2 weeks, 2 weeks classes & 2 weeks in ministry outreach. The course was a huge blessing for both the girls, who were absolutely radiant when we went by to congratulate them just before their graduation night of the course. They are the 1st girls to participate in the program, & all the feedback we got from the base was overwhelmingly positive. We very proud of them & excited about what the Lord's going to do with their lives post-El Alfarero!

Abel ties the knot!

Ok so we didn't exactly spot this one coming a long way off . . . but Abel formerly of El Camino & the reintegration house has become our 1st boy to get married! He & new bride Mariela, decided to get married after 4 months of dating. They met at Abel's place of work, fell in love & decided to not waste any time.

They were wed in a simple ceremony with close friends & family in attendance. Abel & Mariela are both now working during the day & pursuing their studies in the evening, living in a small apt. in the city.

PAOLA Returns

Above is 17 year old Paola, who's joined us for her 2nd stint at the girls' restoration home. She is ultra vivacious, full of personality, knows what she wants and brings a lot of life, energy & fun to the girls' home.

Paola 1st came to us at the end of last year & had been doing well battling her addiction to heavy drugs; but instability in 2 of the other girls (who wound up leaving the home), also influenced her to leave the home.

She is back with us now though, w/ new determination and a strong drive to be reunited w/ her 3 year old daughter who lives w/ the child's paternal grandmother currently. Please help us to pray for Paola's continued victory over drug, stability, new challenges in going back to school and for a continued surrender to the Lord's will for her life.

Latest on Raul O.

Raul Ocana (pictured left) came to have dinner at our apt. the other week. Raul is part of the 1st graduating class from the "El Camino," boys' restoration home now 3 years ago. He had some big news to share w/ us, that he is now dating a girl from his church! As a true gentleman does here, he asked the girl's parents for permission to go out w/ her, is being mentored at church & has also brought his girlfriend to meet the family at the reintegration house. Raul is very happy & well on his way to a successful future.

Raul just finished up the theoretical & practical portions of his coursework in printing & development. He is working part time at a local printing press - in order to study graphic design this year & add more skills to his skill set.

Nestor Arrives!

Mr. Nestor Ramirez (pictured middle, flanked by Dona & Ingrid to the left & Patty & Larry to the right) ladies & gentlemen - came to us from a rural, coca (& subsequently cocaine) producing area of the country. He is Juan & Francisco's (of the reintegration house) nephew and is 18 years old. Nestor's story is unique in that he doesn't hail from a big city here, but wound up deep in cocaine & on the streets after attempting to kick his habit & start afresh in a new town. Nestor, like many youths from the coca growing region where he's from, got pulled into the drug trade & actually for many years helped produce Bolivian cocaine from the abundant coca leaf crops. He eventually wound up being shot at and chased by police on one occasion, where he & another friend narrowly escaped. Despite his eventful past, Nestor is quiet, hard-working, eager to study & has a good heart. He accepted the Lord as his personal Savior at the reception house & we'd like to ask you to please help us pray for his complete restoration; as we PRAISE GOD THAT THERE'S NOW 1 LESS DRUG PRODUCER here in Bolivia!

The Hike

Charging up the lush, green mountains - in the amazon basin area of Bolivia w/ 9 of our bravest boys from the 'El Camino,' boys' restoration home was absolutely exhilirating. We took a bus about an hour south of the boys' home & began our hike shortly after lunch. Our path followed a mountain creek bed & was full of phenomenal sights, vegetation, rock structure & critters along the way. It took several hours to make it to the top, but the scenery from above made it well worth it.

On our way back down, Luis Enrique sliced my hand w/ the machete as he was chopping at Lord knows what - lesson learned: Never walk in front of the guy w/ the machete.

As we got to the bottom, the guys jumped into the river & it soon began to pour the rain. We had to jump into the back of a rock loaded truck as it was becoming dark & raining. Shortly after we were fully drenched, a bus came near & we all leaped off & boarded the bus back to the home. It had been an unforgettable weekend adventure.

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.