Two reasons why I have been slacking on the blog:
1) We have started on our new team which is going very well and have been really busy.
2) Both of our computers have been broken for a while but now one of them is fixed...for now.
So I have a lot to post about and I will soon. On Tuesday Matt's brother Jeff is leaving Bolivia and we are going with with to La Paz tomorrow morning for the weekend. We have never been so it should be fun.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The following is an exerpt from our April newsletter explaining a change for us here in Bolivia...
We wrote our last newsletter feeling hopeful and excited about our new house parents in the Villa Israel home. Soon after writing that however, they informed us that they were too overwhelmed with the job and would be resigning. We were saddened to hear this news and it became clear that there had to be a drastic change in that house. We ultimately had to relocate all of the children to other orphanages that could care for them. We thought it was better for them to change homes than to go through another change of house parents when we couldn’t be sure if the change in house parents would be final. It was heartbreaking to see them leave but we knew it was better for them. That house has now closed while the search for new house parents continues. Fortunately, there was some space available at our other home so two of the boys, Franz and Elian, were able to move into the Frutillar home. We have seen a positive change in both of them since this happened. They are happier, talking more, and seem to be fitting right in. Viviana, who we have written to you about before, has really taken them in and shown a special interest in them. It has been very encouraging to see that home continue to run well and be a blessing to all of the kids there.
Having said all this, we find ourselves in a tough situation because currently in our ministry
there is only one house open and all of the interns we are working with will be gone by the end of
May.
Unfortunately, this means that there is not enough work with our team for us to be able to
justify the resources it takes for us to be here. We recognize your giving is sacrificial and we
want to be doing work that justifies that giving. Moreover, we want to be wholeheartedly serving and honoring God in the work we are doing. So with these points in mind we are leaving our team and joining a different International Teams team in Cochabamba. This decision was made with our IT regional director and with the support of our IT USA home office.
God’s timing is perfect and amazing. While we have been contemplating our significance and
usefulness on our team, David, our new team leader, has been praying for God to provide his
team with new members. The team we are joining has a constant need for more members and
we are excited to be a part of it. This team runs a drop-in center for kids in a poor neighborhood
of the city. The mission of El Centro de Amistad, Center of Friendship, is to let kids be kids,
teach them the Bible, show them good hygiene techniques, offer help with homework and provide them with some food. Matt will be working with teenage boys and Elsa will be teaching a class of 8-14 year old girls. We are looking forward to developing relationships with these kids and being examples to them of God’s love as many of them come from challenging family situations. Ournew team leaders are a Bolivian couple, David and Toti Quiroga, who we have known since we arrived in Bolivia and we look forward to getting to know them better. The other thing we will be focusing on is helping fellow IT team members, Nathan and Kate Spies, to start a foundation here in Bolivia that will aim to provide financial support to Bolivian Christians and missionaries who really need it.
So we are excited about this change within International Teams and look forward to serving at the Center and with Nate and Kate.
P.S. I can´t figure out why the format is all messed up...sorry.
We wrote our last newsletter feeling hopeful and excited about our new house parents in the Villa Israel home. Soon after writing that however, they informed us that they were too overwhelmed with the job and would be resigning. We were saddened to hear this news and it became clear that there had to be a drastic change in that house. We ultimately had to relocate all of the children to other orphanages that could care for them. We thought it was better for them to change homes than to go through another change of house parents when we couldn’t be sure if the change in house parents would be final. It was heartbreaking to see them leave but we knew it was better for them. That house has now closed while the search for new house parents continues. Fortunately, there was some space available at our other home so two of the boys, Franz and Elian, were able to move into the Frutillar home. We have seen a positive change in both of them since this happened. They are happier, talking more, and seem to be fitting right in. Viviana, who we have written to you about before, has really taken them in and shown a special interest in them. It has been very encouraging to see that home continue to run well and be a blessing to all of the kids there.
Having said all this, we find ourselves in a tough situation because currently in our ministry
there is only one house open and all of the interns we are working with will be gone by the end of
May.
Unfortunately, this means that there is not enough work with our team for us to be able to
justify the resources it takes for us to be here. We recognize your giving is sacrificial and we
want to be doing work that justifies that giving. Moreover, we want to be wholeheartedly serving and honoring God in the work we are doing. So with these points in mind we are leaving our team and joining a different International Teams team in Cochabamba. This decision was made with our IT regional director and with the support of our IT USA home office.
God’s timing is perfect and amazing. While we have been contemplating our significance and
usefulness on our team, David, our new team leader, has been praying for God to provide his
team with new members. The team we are joining has a constant need for more members and
we are excited to be a part of it. This team runs a drop-in center for kids in a poor neighborhood
of the city. The mission of El Centro de Amistad, Center of Friendship, is to let kids be kids,
teach them the Bible, show them good hygiene techniques, offer help with homework and provide them with some food. Matt will be working with teenage boys and Elsa will be teaching a class of 8-14 year old girls. We are looking forward to developing relationships with these kids and being examples to them of God’s love as many of them come from challenging family situations. Ournew team leaders are a Bolivian couple, David and Toti Quiroga, who we have known since we arrived in Bolivia and we look forward to getting to know them better. The other thing we will be focusing on is helping fellow IT team members, Nathan and Kate Spies, to start a foundation here in Bolivia that will aim to provide financial support to Bolivian Christians and missionaries who really need it.
So we are excited about this change within International Teams and look forward to serving at the Center and with Nate and Kate.
P.S. I can´t figure out why the format is all messed up...sorry.
Monday, April 13, 2009
I finally figured out how to get the pictures on again. Some good news to report...we finally have our one-year visas. We spent most of last year in strange visa situations so its good to finally be officially legal. We started the process a few days after getting back in January and made about 15 trips to immigration and other offices. It took about 2 months to get it all done. We had been hoping to get it done quicker though so that we could have gone to the IT Latin American conference in Quito, Ecuador but that didn't happen and we knew it was a long shot anyway. We are just glad to have them.
Here are some random pictures in the market. It is huge and most Cochabambinos go to La Cancha to get everything that they use on a daily basis.
The part that I dislike the most is all the raw meat in la cancha.
Here a woman is weighing and selling some meat.
A shoe stand
Lots of fruit here in Bolivia.
Here are some random pictures in the market. It is huge and most Cochabambinos go to La Cancha to get everything that they use on a daily basis.
The part that I dislike the most is all the raw meat in la cancha.Here a woman is weighing and selling some meat.
A shoe stand
Lots of fruit here in Bolivia.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
I know, I know
So I know it has now been over a month since I have posted anything, sorry. But now that I do actually want to post I am not able to upload photos and I can't figure out why. So I'll keep trying and hopefully I'll have something soon.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Our new house
We moved into our new house about a week ago and so far it has very nice living here. This house is older than our other one and a little more homey. The best part though for us is the location. We are very close to things and can walk to a lot of places which is nice since we don't really have a car anymore. It has also been nice to get back into our routine a little bit now that we're done with all this moving.
The walkway into the front door.
The front of the house.
Side of the house.
Part of the yard.
The all-important broken glass and barbed wire wall.
There are a lot of very pretty flowers in the yard.
Living room
Kitchen
And the desk area where I m sitting right now.
The walkway into the front door.
The front of the house.
Side of the house.
Part of the yard.
The all-important broken glass and barbed wire wall.
There are a lot of very pretty flowers in the yard.
Living room
Kitchen
And the desk area where I m sitting right now.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Still homeless
So we are still living living with Spies. We were planning on moving into our new house this past Wednesday but it got pushed back to Friday. So we show up at our new house on Friday with all of our stuff but unfortunately there were some problems between the owner and the past renter. Long story short, we ended up sitting outside of the house for five hours and weren't able to move in. Such is life in Bolivia. We are hoping to hear something on Monday and then we should have a better idea of when we can move in for real. We just hope it works out soon but maybe we should just hope that it works out at all. The Spies have been very nice to up with us for so long.
Last week we were able to go to the jungle for a night with our team. We went with the purpose of planning for 2009 and to get away from the worst days of Carnival. The thing about Carnival that is good to get away from is the incessant water balloons and water guns being directed at you when you walk anywhere in the city. So we went for a night to Chapare and had a good time with our team. Here are a few pics...
Matt and Lily Spies on the way there.
The Timmer's youngest, Gracie, holding the Spies' youngest, Daisy. So cute.
We had a little friend in our room when we got there. And the camera is zoomed so you can't really tell how big it is but it was about 3 inches long...no joke.
Last week we were able to go to the jungle for a night with our team. We went with the purpose of planning for 2009 and to get away from the worst days of Carnival. The thing about Carnival that is good to get away from is the incessant water balloons and water guns being directed at you when you walk anywhere in the city. So we went for a night to Chapare and had a good time with our team. Here are a few pics...
Matt and Lily Spies on the way there.
The Timmer's youngest, Gracie, holding the Spies' youngest, Daisy. So cute.
We had a little friend in our room when we got there. And the camera is zoomed so you can't really tell how big it is but it was about 3 inches long...no joke.
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