Quick update

Hey guys just a quick update for you all. No super funny or crazy stories to report but rather an answer to prayer and a new prayer request. First off thank you for your prayers, I have gotten back to 100% health so that is awesome! And now I ask that you would pray for Tim, he has obtained a stomach bacteria of some kind and now has a stomach ache, head ache, fever and is just all around not feeling good. We went to the hospital last night so now he has antibiotics, but for the next week he probably wont be doing much and has a specific diet he has to follow. So if you could pray for a speedy recovery that'd be awesome.

And I guess on quick story couldn't hurt. Last night at the hospital while we were waiting for Tim's test results, I pulled out my Ipod and was listening to some music, then Tonchi (our pastor and the guy to took us to the hospital) saw it was was immediately interested. Now one thing you must know, Apple is not big down here and Ipod's are basically no where so this is a pretty new thing for a lot of people. Anyways, Tonchi saw it and was like a kid in a candy store. He continued asking me to show him different games and apps and was loving every single one, he literally turned into a little kid, it was awesome. Then we went to the music, he was so impressed with my music collection and continued to say over and over that he "needed all of my music, all of it". Anyways that's the short story it sure brightened my day even though the situation was not awesome it still made for a good time.

Oh also one other quick note, I am reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan right now, if you have not read it, I would recommend it highly, amazing insights and it really makes you think long and hard about your faith, awesome book.

Anyways thanks again for praying, love you all.

Shalom and God Bless,
Michael

God is Good

So this past week God has been good. Well actually He has been great! And no, he didn’t do anything miraculous and not much has changed, but I guess it’s more that I have changed and realized God’s goodness which has always been there. That being said He has answered some of my prayer requests. For those of you who read my past blog you will have read about a boy named Christian, well he is now in school so praise God for that! We have also been quickly improving in our Spanish which is awesome! Sadly I still feel sick, but that is no reason to doubt God’s goodness. He is an awesome God! And although I still feel sick, it has not stopped me from doing anything yet so praise God for that!

So anyways, this week was good, we went to Talita Cumi, El Jordan, did Spanish, and Ken left and all was good. This week had its fair share of interesting moments however. First off we learned that catching a bus in the rain is easier said than done, they run a lot less and are often too full to get on. We worked through it however and made it to our destination, even if we were over 40 minutes late… Secondly we went to the plaza on Thursday and Ivan showed us this place where you can get frappuchinos, which were only the best thing ever! Then we watched a live band play which was super fun. And finally we played with a monkey, that’s right a monkey.

Now to explain, El Jordan have just bought a baby spider monkey for their property outside the city, but right now it’s just a baby so it is staying and Corina’s house. But on Friday we were heading out to the property to do some prep for a game day with the kids (which was supposed to be today but sadly it has rained a lot and so it was cancelled) and we got to bring the monkey along. So while we were setting up for things, we carried the baby monkey in our monkey murse as we have coined it, super cool. Then once we were done we were able to take the monkey out and hold it which I thoroughly enjoyed. And come on it’s pretty cool how many people get to carry a monkey around just because? Not many.

Anyways those are a few of the highlight from the week, but outside of those we still had lots of fun. Lots of playing with kids, teaching guitar, playing soccer, things like that! So yes, God it very good! And now for some prayer requests:

1. Praise God that Christian was able to get into school
2. Continued prayer for me as I am still sick. Also that no matter how I feel, I would be able to continue down here with joy.
3. That as we continue at various ministries that God would be working through us, not us working for our own desires.
4. That I would be able to clearly know what I am supposed to do next year, as right now I have no idea and I am a little worried about not knowing.
5. Praise God for our ability to learn Spanish so far and for continued understanding
6. And finally, that we would have opportunities each day to grow and teach others.

Gracias Y Dios Bendice

It's A Wonderful Life

Hola all, and Como Estas? First off, sorry about how long it's been since I last posted, it's been a busy week! Now where to start... Well I guess I give you some highlights of the week. The week started off with lots of Spanish lessons and hanging out at Ken's place, but along with that we did some errands including going to Talita Cumi for the first time to visit. Then on Tuesday we had a professional chef from church come and cook for us which was super cool and really tasty. And then on Wednesday we worked at El Jordan and did a lot of odd jobs for them, including cleaning out their water tank which took a good 5 hours to do! Side note, the water tank is on their roof and it was a really sunny day so in the end both Tim and I burnt our backs.

Then on Friday we spent our first full day at Talita Cumi which was super awesome! We mostly did odd jobs for them that day, but we are now going every Monday and Wednesday for full days so we are getting to do a lot more. Monday was our first full day there with a routine and it was a blast! We taught Guitar and Physical Education to three of the kids who had learning disabilities and don't go to school so that was super fun and I know they loved it which was good. So now we'll be doing that every Monday and Wednesday morning with them! In the afternoon we did some work projects and played with the kids, including taking all the boys to the park. It was a really good time where they were able to run off some energy which the full time staff at Talita Cumi was appreciative of. All in all Talita Cumi is a place we are quickly falling in love with and we can't wait to work there more!

Then today, Tuesday, Ken left for Canada, so we are now living at Ken's place for the next six weeks while he is gone, hopefully that all works out and that Ken's trip goes well! Please pray for him as he is going home to fund raise for a building project for his ministry. They really need to build a new home for the guys but it will cost about 200,000 dollars which he obviously does not have. Anyways it is all in God's hand so it will work out.

On a note outside of mission work, on Sunday afternoon while a lot of you were watching the Superbowl, I was watching a different game. Tim and I along with some of the guys from Ken's place went to the Classico, which is a professional soccer game where both teams from Santa Cruz are playing each other. The teams are Oriente and Blooming, and I was cheering for Blooming. Unfortunately Blooming lost 2-0 even though they played better than Oriente, which caused the crowd to get rowdy and start a little bit of a stampede, which is why there are the police with riot gear in attendance at the game. In the end from what we could tell, two people were taken away in ambulance, but hopefully they are okay.  All that being said the game was super fun and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and coming home to find out the Packers won made it just a little bit better :).

So anyways that was my week, thanks for reading! But finally a few prayer requests:

1. For Christian who is a boy from the family we helped his family build a house. He is extremely smart and was ahead in school but since they moved they are having difficulty getting him into classes since there is no room, which is a big issue here. So as of right now he is not in school. So just pray that that would all work out.
2. For me as I have been feeling a bit under the weather. Pray for a quick recovery from whatever I have and that it would not hinder my ministry down here.
3. For Ken as he is in Canada, that his trip would be safe and a welcomed rest and that he would be able to raise the funds he needs.
4. That as we continue at various ministries that God would be working through us, not us working for our own desires.
5. That I would be able to clearly know what I am supposed to do next year, as right now I have no idea and I am a little worried about not knowing.
6. For the ability to quickly get a hang of the Spanish language.
7. That we would have opportunities each day to grow and teach others.

 Gracias Y Dios Bendice

My Past Week

Hola All, I know it has been quite a while since my last blog and you may all think it’s been because I was crazy busy, but in fact it’s the opposite. This week was really slow. We didn’t do much, that is until this weekend. The week following my last post, all we did was hang around at Ken’s place while Ken was gone to Cochabamba. It was fun and everything just not much to blog about.

There were a couple things that happened this week though. First we went for a walk at the plaza where we saw all the kids dancing and begging for money and some looked like they couldn’t have been older than 3 or 4, it was super heartbreaking. Then later on our walk we saw a shoe store called American Pie (in Spanish “Pie” means “foot”) and then we laughed and wondered if they had called it that on purpose. Other than that nothing super crazy or story worthy happened this week, that is until this weekend.

This weekend we did a lot of different things, on Friday night we went to visit Mision Timoteo which is one of the orphanages that we will be working with a lot during our time here, most likely three times a week starting next week! Then on Saturday we got called up by Marco at 8 am and were asked to help him out, so we did. We ended up helping dig a trench for a water line for their new property in the +40 weather, good times… Then in the evening we went to The Green Hornet in theatres with Ken and the guys which was a nice change.

Finally there was Saturday which was my personal favourite. In the morning we went to church, nothing new there, but what was new was what happened while at church. During the break between worship and the sermon everyone greets and talks with each other which is cool, the funny thing is what I ended up talking about. This random guy comes up to me and starts ranting in Spanish for a few minutes until I can get a word in and tell him that I didn’t understand what he was saying. So once he knew that he went and found a translator so he could say it all again. Basically what he was saying was that he was a director for commercials and he thought I had a face for TV, whatever that means, and he wanted me to be in the commercial he was directing the next day. I would have made $200 in one day! Sadly I had to say no because I was busy, but hopefully he will ask again in the future and I can say yes! 

So anyways that’s how my day started, but the stories don’t end there. Then for lunch we went to a restaurant where Tim and I both ordered cow tongue, surprisingly it wasn’t that bad. The worst part of the meal ended up being these super weird and gross potatoes that neither of us finished, go figure. Anyways that’s one food to knock off my to eat list. Then after lunch we went down to the river to play soccer on the beach which ended up being a sand bar, it was super fun but also super muddy, so we ended up getting a little bit more dirty than planned, it was all good though because after we finished with soccer we went and swam in the river, good times. And that my friends was my super awesome week, hopefully you enjoyed hearing about it. 

Shalom and God Bless

Prayer Request - Corina and Marco

Hey guys I just have a quick, but important, prayer request. Yesterday night, Friday the 21st, Marco, the guy we had been working with and his family were assaulted in their home. After Marco had dropped us off at Kens place he went home and as he was going into his house some guys forced themselves in with him. But instead of writing about it from my limited knowledge of the event, I have put a copy of what Corina had written about the experience below. I hope that you will read it and keep this family in your prayers, thanks!

Well... should we start off with the bad?

Tonight at about 8 o’clock I was upstairs watching baby Einstein with Keiden... it was almost time for bed... Marco had a terribly long day – he left the house this morning just after 6... and still wasn’t home...

I vaguely heard loud voices outside... I didn’t really pay attention... Marco’s parents are here visiting from Peru – his dad is hard of hearing – so I thought Marco had gotten home and they were talking... When I paid closer attention – I realized the voices were angry... Looking out the window I saw a strange man... and was on my way downstairs with Keiden to see what was going on – when I met 3 delinquents with guns pointed at Marco and my inlaws – pushing and shoving them upstairs... Marco told me, “We’re being robbed... just do what they say...”

They had us on the ground (I laid down on the bed with Keiden) and wanted to know where our money and jewels were... “Blondie – give me your cell phone!” I told them it was in the other room (they didn’t take it – its held together with duct tape... they just left it!!!) One guy had the gun waving around at us... threatening to kill us if we moved... or looked at him... Poor Keiden was so scared... and would look at the man yelling, shoving Marco and his dad around (they both have lumps on their heads from being hit with the gun) and he just screamed and screamed... I tried to comfort him and hold him tight... he’d quieted for a bit then he’d get all worried and scream again.. He just couldn’t understand what was happening...

Marco’s dad has high blood pressure – the reason he couldn’t come to our wedding... so while he was on the ground, he needed some water but they wouldn’t let us get him some... While I was there trying to comfort Keiden, I just prayed that no one would get hurt... who cares in that situation about stuff... its lives that count!

They eventually left... threatening us if we came after them... while they were loading our things into their car, Marco told us to hide... and he started throwing the balcony patio furniture at them – hoping that someone might notice and stop them (sorry about the furniture Uncle Norman... they actually held up quite well)... anyhow... that made them get away quick... who knows if they would have come back in for another load otherwise...

What all did they take? Well... they held Marco up when he was parking his truck... kicked him on the ground... and searched him... they took his wedding ring, wallet, some $, documents, keys, bank card... and $900 of El Jordan’s money that he had just gotten out of the bank... Marco’s mom had gone to the gate to help close it... and she got held by her hair and gun point by another guy...

When they had us all lying down... they took the TV, DVD, my vacuum (!!!), our computer... They tried to take Keiden’s music – but his shelf is screwed into the wall (thanks Dad!) and they couldn’t get the cords untangled... The worst is that we had $2000 US (not counting the $900 he had just gotten out of the bank) and 2000 bs. for the boy’s project – tomorrow Marco was supposed to finish paying the dumptruck company for the 50 loads of fill, pay the tractor that leveled it all out... and buy iron that they need for the walls – because our builder says that there is a rumour that iron is going to go up in price and possibly get scarce... All that money was taken...

They even took Keiden’s diaper bag. What is worse than him losing his shoes, bottles and his favorite stuffed dog (!) is that he is so scared... After the robbers left, in his 1 ½ year old language he’d tell me his worried story... and bang his head with his hand... showing me what the “bad men” had done... Heidi stayed with him while Marco and I went to the police station – and he didn’t want out to venture anywhere alone... and any noise made him scared... So you can pray for him... that God will give his little being peace...

Is there good news?

Yes... I thought they had stolen the laptop I take back and forth to El Jordan... We had our first lunch/meeting with our volunteers at El Jordan today so I had my computer over there today... I brought it home... and thought I had left it on the dining room table (that is usually my office at home)... but I had actually left it under a sweater I took for Keiden today just in case it got cold, in my uncle’s room... That is where they had us lying down... without the light turned on so we wouldn’t look at their faces... So... I am SO thankful I didn’t lose all of my info, reports etc that I’ve been working on... and my e-mail addresses – although not up to date because I didn’t use this computer for my letters... I still have the majority... If you know of anyone who has changed their address in the last 8 or 10 months who was on my update list I’d appreciate you sending it to me so I can get it up to date again...

We were worried about them having taken Marco’s truck keys because it has the house keys on it as well... but when I went outside to look for them “just in case” – they had been dropped in some little weeds at the edge of the driveway... Thank you God!

Some other VERY good news? Marco’s dad has military background... 78 years old – his instincts kicked in... and he actually gave a really good kick to the very surprised robber... who lost his balance and dropped his gun... Another guy jumped in – and shot twice at my father-in-law’s head... The gun just went “click, click”... (that’s when he got hit over the head with the revolver) ...but when the robbers were getting away they started shooting again – but this time bullets flew... hmm... It kind of reminds me of a similar story – when someone wanted to steal my truck – shot at me twice – but the gun just went “click, click”... when he was making his get-away, he shot into the air – and his gun worked! What else can we say – but THANK YOU GOD!!! ...and praise Him for his Love, Mercy and Tender Care... What better news can you get than that!!?!

Please pray for my in-laws... they aren’t Christians...and we hope and pray that even this experience might bring them face to face with Christ...

... for Marco – who is having a hard time with the fact that someone shot at and then hit his dad... ...for the boy’s project money that was stolen and needs to be replaced... for El Jordan’s replacement bank card to get here quickly...and for Keiden to forget this scary experience...

Thank you for praying for us... we felt God’s hand tonight... and we thank you... and Him...

Corina for Marco and Keiden

Just one more reason why your prayers for us are important.  Thanks for praying!

Building Relationships

¿Hola cada uno, cómo es usted?

So I thought that I would give you an update on what we have been up to the past three days. If you read my previous blog you would know that we went to help a family build a house through the organization El Jordan. Well Marco liked us so much that he asked Ken if we could help him out the next day with another project. We were told we would be helping build a gate, and so the next morning off we went. 

Seeing as we were only building a gate, we dressed in shorts and t-shirts, didn't wear bug spray or sunscreen and thought nothing of it. Bad mistake, apparently building a gate means getting a property outside the city ready for a barbed wire fence. That being said I will now explain the day.

So we got up and were picked up by Marco at 8 AM, at which point we headed out of the city. Pretty soon we were far off the beaten path and due to the recent rains the roads were definitely not the greatest, but we made it so that was fine. We arrive at a property that is owned by El Jordan and met the couple that looked after it for them, Anna and Santiago. Then after we had picked up a few supplies, a chainsaw, a weed whacker, a couple machetes and black string, we headed out.  

We drove for a couple more minutes and reached another property which El Jordan had just purchased. The land that they had purchased was only part of a property owned by someone else and so a new barbed wire fence was in order. That being said at the time we had no idea what was going on so we just carried the equipment and followed along. 

We walked through the jungle until we reached a path at which point we were told to wait and Marco and Santiago went off ahead. And so we did, standing in the middle of the jungle waiting getting eaten by more bugs than I care to remember, for 15 to 30 minutes. But we made the best of it, we sang some songs and things like that. When the returned they said it was time to go somewhere else so we followed them again, hit another point where they said to wait again and left. Again we waited and again we got bitten by bugs while we sang, it was a good time. Then they came back and we moved on to point three. Point three was a field, at which point they explained to us what was actually happening. Apparently El Jordan has just bought this piece of land and needs to put a fence up, but for a large portion of it the jungle needs to be cleared. 

When you think of buying property in Canada, the land you get is precise and already measured off, not so in Bolivia. How we knew where to clear the trees was by standing in the field beside a tree and visually making a line from a fencepost, to the tree, to a dead tree that you could see up the hill side in the jungle. So Santiago and Marco started clearing trees with their machete as Tim and I directed them from the field. I must tell you it was tiring work ;).

Now although we did not do much for the morning as for physical labour, in the afternoon we got our chance, we were given a turn at clearing trees which was really tiring but a lot of fun. I know that we did not do it nearly as fast as they did, but I also know they were glad to be able to take a break.  

At the end of the day we were quite happy with the work we had done even if we did not get to do as much as expected, and things did not go as we had planned. We were full of mosquito bites, we had sun burn, and our legs were fully scratched up from all the thorns, but we left at the end of the day satisfied and happy. Although it was not one of those situations where we had to do tons or got to witness to someone, I know our efforts were appreciated, we had a really good time, and Marco thought we did great so he asked us back for the next day.

So today and yesterday we went to work with Marco again. This time we were working again with the family building the house, although we did not spend that much time there. The majority of our day was spent driving around picking up supplies. First we picked up the roofing for the house because all the walls had been finished, impressive since it only took two days. We then went and picked up a bunch of random supplies at the market such as door handles and locks and things like that.

After all the running around in the city we went out for lunch and had some beef, which also came with bacon, a nice change from the chicken we have nearly every meal. In the afternoon we went back to the families house and spent some time there. We were able to play with the kids which was really fun and they were super excited. After a couple minutes Christian, the oldest boy brought us out a white coloured drink which we think was corn milk. We drank and bit but did not like it very much so we set out to sneakily pour out the rest while pretending to drink it. This ended up being easier than we thought because right then we went for a walk with the kids. This mean we could fall behind once in a while and pour a bit out, the kids didn't notice and we were able to not offend anyone by not drinking it, hurray! After the walk Marco told us we had to do some more work so we ran around for the rest of the afternoon picking things up and then we went home.

The next day we went back to the house building and did all the work for the floor while the others finished the roof. We were told the ground needed to be level, so we took acement block with a piece of rebar sticking out of the top and went to work flattening the dirt inside the house. After this we went to work placing bricks in a specific pattern for the floor. It took a while but eventually we finished and then we mixed together a cement and sand mixture for the mortar. One of the other guys took it and did the rest of the work on the floor. So for the rest of the day we were able to play with the kids which was super fun. By the end of the day the house was completely finished, impressive since it took a totally of 5 days to complete.

All in all the past few days have been very rewarding with lots of work but also a lot of fun. I can tell already that this trip will be full of great stories, so keep posted to hear some more. Also sorry about the length of this blog and I’ll make sure to keep the rest of my blogs shorter in length. But if you’ve made it this far thanks for reading! 

Gracias Y Dios Bendice