Finding the Joy in Pain!

Hello,

 

The past couple of weeks have been pretty rough ones. In my last update I asked for prayer concerning the Villa Israel orphanage. Well, a week ago we got the news that the house parents were thinking about stepping down. To say the least, it was a very discouraging day. These house parents were really great and we thought that although things were a bit rough with the kids… that things were really going to start getting better. The house mother, we found out, is pregnant and six months along. Apparently the stress in the house with eight boys and one girl has caused some complications with the pregnancy and they were worried about the health of the baby. This being the case, they decided that it would be best to step down. We really wanted to try and keep the parents and told them that we were going to do everything possible to make it easier on them. They said they would pray about it and get back to us. In the mean time, we decided that some immediate action needed to be taken concerning the kids in the house. Two of the boys, Roberto and Miguel who are brothers, have a mother who for about a year has been preparing to take them back. We met with her the next day and things worked out so that she was actually ready to take them that very day. We filled her pantry with food and gave her some money to try and help out with this sudden transition.

            We also started talking about the four brothers we have there. As hard as this is to say, our style house did not seem to be meeting the needs of these boys. There is a lot of background behind that statement which I'm not going to go into at the moment but after lots of discussion and prayer over the matter, it was decided that maybe our house was not the best fit. Our physiologist knew of another home that is made up of all boys and although similar to ours in the since that it is very family based, the structure of that house will hopefully be a better fit for what these boys need. To be totally honest, I struggled quite a bit with this decision of moving the boys out. I felt like we were failing them in some way and it really hurt inside. They have all gone through so much already and at such a young age. I felt like this was going to be one more thing that was going to cause even more of a wall to be built inside them. I really questioned God quite a bit on this. Why do some people have to go through so much pain and suffering? It just doesn't seem fair. Well, today was the moving day and as expected there were a lot of emotions being expressed. The oldest boy Joel, was crying and the goodbye between him and his house mother really set him off. The other boys took it a little differently. Although you could tell that there was pain inside, they covered it up with acting like they didn't care. They distracted themselves by asking lots of questions and just acting silly. This was equally as hard to see as Joel's crying.

            We got there to the new house and the younger boys barged right in. It was a big house quite a ways out into the country. After looking around the house and meeting a few of the boys who live there, a few of us made our way outside and we started knocking the soccer ball around with a few of the boys who lived there. It was good and I think helped to get our guys feeling a little more comfortable and at the same time helped to take their mind off what was going on. Samuel started showing off some of his cartwheel and handspring skills to me and so of course, being the "mature" twenty-one year old that I am, joined in and started showing off my skills, or lack there of. A bunch of the other boys quickly came over and started joining in. One of the older boys was pretty good and could do standing back flips and a front handspring into a back flip, which of course I had to try! It was actually a really good experience and as much as I still don't understand, God is truly good and in control. I left there feeling a real peace. As hard as this change is, I think it could actually be really good for our four brothers.

 

            It has been about two weeks since the boys arrived in their new home and this Monday we (us interns, Nate Spie and Matt Johnson) had the opportunity to go check up on the boys. There is twenty boys in total with a big range in ages. It was really good to walk into the house and not see fighting, arguing and crying! Instead, our boys were just playing a peaceful game of marbles with their new brothers. They ran up to us and gave big, deep, long hugs and it just made me feel a real joy inside. We got to hang out for a little over an hour and it was really good to see the change that has already happened in their lives. They are no longer 'top dogs' in the house and have other brothers who seem to do a really good job at setting a good example for our guys. What is really cool to see, is that our boys actually respect their brothers and listen to them and their new house mother when they are told to do or not to do something. God is truly good isn't He!

 

            I want to say thank you for all your thoughts and prayers as they obviously and evidently work! Some of our challenges now is starting the search process for new house parents for our now soon to be empty, Villa Israel orphanage. Guidance and wisdom in that and also out in chapparre (jungle). We have some prospective house parents for one of our homes out there; but we really want God's leading and guidance in that process because it really is a big task to take on a houseful of orphans. It takes a special kind of person with a LOT of love and patience!

 

            God bless you all and I hope you are enjoying winter! Don't be jealous that it is eighty degrees during the day here with no humidity at all. In fact, right now I'm sitting out in the hammock on our porch and there is a nice breeze keeping the temperature just right! HA ha… Love you all lots and miss you guys,

                                                                                     Craig (or as the guy at the bowling ally spelled my name on the computer screen : Greck!!!)

Its been to long!

Hola friends and family,

The Bedford Community Church team (my church back home in the states) just sent down five people for a little over a week. My dad was on the team which was really cool for me! It was sweet being able to show him and the team the adorable kidos I get to hang out with, the amazing people I get to work with, and some bits and pieces of Bolivia. Every day was different. The team was able to meet and play with the kids at our two orphanages and also do some fix up work at each one of the homes. They built doors, did painting and varnishing, planted some flower gardens, added onto the play set, and fixed some leaky roofs. One little side story, John and Diane Bisset, who were two of the team members, have been sponsoring a child (I believe through world vision) and he just happens to live in Bolivia. So one of the days they were able to take a few hours and go meet him and his family. That was pretty cool the way that all worked out and I think it was a huge blessing for them all.

We had the chance to take the team down to the Chaparre (jungle) for a two day trip. Well, we were met by some bad new when we got there. When we pulled up to Villa Catorce, which is where the newest orphanage is being built, the bees from a neighboring house attacked some of our builders! Romberto's brother Eliseo actually jumped off the second story floor trying to escape the bees that were viciously attacking him, but landed badly and actually broke his leg in two places! This had happened minutes before we arrived! Romberto came running down the road as we got out of the truck yelling for us not to go to close to the property as the bees were still swarming. He had been stung all over his body and his face was so swelled up, it looked like he had just been in a fist fight! Needless to say, this put a bit of a damper on our work plans. We took the team around the village and brought them to a nearby church that has been a big part of helping us get the land and will in the future be a big part of the kids lives who will eventually occupy the house. The following day we took off around eleven in the morning. The job site was still out of the question and Chaparre had just had some serious rain which had left some bad flooding, so work projects were pretty much out of the question. On our way home though, we stopped at the monkey reserve park. This is always fun, because you can actually play with and hold (and by hold I mean they climb all over you and usually explore the nasal cavities, mouth, and ears quite extensively) where as in the states you can usually only look in the cages!

There was plenty more adventures that the team had, but I think you'll have to ask them, or come down here yourself and find out first hand!

Currently in the Hacienda, there is only three of us, myself, Jen (who returned beginning of January), and the newest addition to our family, Leann. Leann got here a little over two weeks ago, about two days after the Bedford team got here. Jen and I are loving having her here, and I think we are going to keep her! The schedule while a team is here changes quite a bit for us, so over the past two weeks we have been just trying to get back into the normal flow of things. In a couple weeks, Feb. 11, we have a new intern coming. This is a big answer to prayer because we definitely need more interns. I'm pretty pumped because there is going to be another GUY in the house! Don't get me wrong, the girls are awesome and I wouldn't trade them for anything or one, but it will just be sweet to have another guy around.

I would like to ask for some special prayer for the Villa Israel orphanage. If you remember, back in December there was a parent swap for various reasons. The new parents have been great and I think they are doing an awesome job. But, I also know that it has to be hard on the kids to go through a change like that and plus the fact of what and where they have come from. It has been a little discouraging lately with our past couple trips out there because the attitudes of the kids have not been so great. So I want to ask for special prayers for the kids, for the new house parents, and for us interns. That we would have extra patience with the kids, that we would know how handle situations when they arrive, and that we would just be able to pour love over these kids which they need so desperately. I thank God so much for each one of them and for the work that He is so evidently doing in there lives. I think it is one of the best feelings when the kids run up and jump in your arms and just want to be played with and loved on!

With love from Bolivia, Craig.

Its been to long!

Holidays in Bolivia

Hola everyone, Como estas?!

I have now officially experienced Christmas in Bolivia and New years as well. Don't worry though; I'm still partial to Christmas in the states! It was a bummer not being able to spend those special days with my family, but God was good and I got to experience Christmas at 'BCM' which is the orphanage that Adrian works at. At BCM, they take in badly abused and abandoned children. On Christmas morning, Peter (the Australian man who started BCM with his English wife about twelve years ago) went around the table at breakfast time sharing with me the brutal stories and backgrounds of each of the children. Each one of these precious little kids all have been through such awful things that NO ONE in the world should have to go through. It was hard to hold back tears as he told me about different ones whose father, mother, or family member had hurt these little children. One boys "dad"(he doesn't deserve that name) had taken a shovel to his son's head and left an indent an inch deep into his skull. Another one had taken a burning hot knife to a little boys arm just because he felt like it. Story after horrible story I heard about how these little kids had gone through hell from people who are supposed to love them, protect them, hold them close when they are scared! I just sat, listened and looked at all these beautiful kids around me and it was evident that God had His healing hands upon these kids. They were laughing, smiling, teasing, chasing me around with ice water trying to spill it down my back, and just being kids like they are supposed to be! It's no wonder Jesus loves the little kids so much! I learned a lot that day and it has helped me with putting things into perspective when I think I have it bad or am going through a rough time. I am so blessed and have it so good, and I just don't appreciate it a lot of the time.

           

For New Years, Adrian and I just kicked back at the hacienda, did some burgers over the fire and watched a movie. It was really relaxed and for the most part pretty quite, but we had fun! The next night, we went back to BCM and launched some fireworks for the kids. I think Adrian and I had more fun than they did though. We almost blew our selves up a few times, seriously we did, but nobody was injured and we got some super sweet footage that may or may not make it for public viewing sometime in the future.

           

Over the past couple weeks I have been working a lot with Mike, (Timmer) running errands, delivering presents, taking care of maintenance around the orphanages, and lots of other fun stuff. A few days before Christmas, we had the opportunity to take both orphanages, Villa Israel and Fruitiallar, for airplane rides. Mano a Mano is an organization down here that has a jungle mission which they use little sesnas planes to get to their remote locations. The pilot offered to take the kids up for rides above the city and so we made a day of it. It was a blast and the kids loved it. I got to go up with some of the kids from Fruitiallar and Veronica who was a little nervous, clung onto my arm as we toured over the city. It was a sweet experience and an incredible view. While the kids were waiting there turn, we decided to make little paper airplanes and fly them around in the hanger! I think a few of the kids enjoyed that more than the real thing, but we won't tell Mano a Mano that.

 

Another exciting thing happened right on Christmas Eve day that was a real blessing. We were delivering presents out to Villa Israel orphanage and on our way home we got a call from the Malnutrition center. About a month before, Franz, one of the boys from V. Israel, had to be admitted to the malnutrition center. When he came to us, he had some bad malnutrition problems and he wasn't getting any better. After about a month of recovery time, we got the ok to pick him up and bring him home! When we got him back to the house, his brothers and sister there started chanting his name when they saw him from over the fence! As awesome as it was to deliver all the presents that day, bringing Franz home, I think was the BEST present of all!

 

This week, Jen returned to the hacienda, which Adrian and I were super pumped for! It has been sweet having her back after her vaca to the states for Christmas, but I'm sure it's going to be rough for her not having her other girl interns here who she lived with loved and lived with for so long. I miss them all and I was only living with them for three and a half weeks, so be sure to keep that transition in your prayers. Thank you

 

Today we are going to be picking up the Bedford team around 7 from the airport. I am pretty excited about this, because my dad is on this trip and it will be really cool to hang with him down here in Bolivia. Some things you can be praying for during there stay here:

-That God will be working in each one of their lives and that their hearts would be open for his teaching and leading

-For protection against sickness, as the food can sometimes be a little rough on the stomach! (I don't think any details are necessary!!)

-That there lives would be blessed as much and more as they are blessing others here

-And that over all… it would be a life changing experience where they can grow there relationship with God that much closer!

 

I miss you all,

God bless and thanks so much for your love and prayers.

Craig

Back from Chapare

Well, I’m sitting in the empty hacienda. All the girls have gone home for Christmas and only one of them (my amiga Jen!) is returning for sure. There is another girl (that will remain unnamed for now!) that Jen and I are trying to convince to come back as well. But we also want it to be God led, so we will just keep praying! Something that you all can be praying for is that God will send more interns for the New Year because as of now, there is only going to be a small number of us for a little while. I became really good friends will all the girls, so saying goodbye was really hard. They are all amazing and God is really at the forefront of all their lives and it was a blessing to be able to get to know them all! Pray for the ones who will not be coming back and are now starting a new chapter in their lives.

Left: Kristen, Katie T, Me, Adrian, Bethany, Katie S, Jen is on the right and was taking the previous Pic.

Yesterday (which was Sunday) I returned from the Chapare (Jungle) after a two week stint there. I’m trying to think where to start in telling you about my experiences there because there is just too much to tell you everything! Before I start, I guess I will share that one of my prayers before and during my time there was for brokenness; that God would fill me with more of Him and less of me. As hard and painful as that can be sometimes, God has been faithful in growing me and working in a lot of different areas in my life. My reliance and faith in him has definitely grown and he was with me every step of the trip. Yeah so, I’ll try to a mix of few experiences and a little bit of what the Chapare is like.

I got there on a Friday, late afternoon with Romberto(One of Mike Timmer’s builders who lives in Chapare with his family) and Freddy(one of Romberto’s workers). Negro is the second helper, and yes, ‘Negro’ really is his name! Anyways, when I first got there we made a quick stop at the jobsite where the new orphanage is being built. Romberto showed me around and gave me a chance to see where they were in the building process. Now keep in mind that my Spanish vocab is still very limited at this point. Romberto was asking me some questions about myself, one of them being my age. I told him I was twenty-one, which in Spanish is “vente y uno”. The next thing he said was that we would now be going to ‘Vente uno’. It didn’t make any sense to me and I thought I had just misunderstood him. We then got on his 125hp Pegasus motorcycle and continued down the road. I asked him again in broken Spanish where we were going and he again said ‘Vente uno’. I was already a little nervous just being in a new place, by myself, where I didn’t speak the lingo real well, and for some reason the only thing that I could think of was that ‘Vente uno’ must be a special place for people who where 21! (I know its kinda stupid, but I really thought that.) I was freaking out in my head at this point and did not want to go this ‘Vente uno’ place. There was a house on the orphanage property which is where I thought Romberto lived and I really wanted to stay with him since he was the only person I really knew. Well, it ended up that a lot of the villages in that area just have numbers for their names. Villa catorce (village 14) is the name of the village/town that the jobsite is in and ‘Vente uno’, is the name of the village that Romberto lives in with his family. I felt pretty silly after that! Later that evening though, God gave me an encouraging experience. We had just finished dinner and I was sitting in the living room when there was a soft knock on the front door. Romberto’s son Miguel, opened the door and three small, familiar faces walked in. On my laptop, I have a desktop background pic from a year and a half ago of my first trip to Bolivia. The three kids that walked in were all in that picture sitting next to me on a church bench that we had done some work in!! It was just kinda cool.

That weekend I went to four different church services at two different churches and I had to go up in front to tell the church who I was, where I lived, and what I was doing there in their community. Both of these churches are supporters in one way or another. One thing we try to do is build relationships with local, healthy churches so that once the orphanages get kids in them, the churches will be part of the kids’ lives. During some of the services, I found myself judging how they did church and how things were run. I don’t think I was right to do this and God had something in mind to help change my mind. Later in the week I went to a mid-week Bible study with Romberto that was held at the previous pastors’ house. At first I found myself critiquing them, but then caught myself. When I started to think about it more seriously, I realized that this church was a lot like the early church in Acts. There is a lot of prayer, public speaking about the Word, singing, (which I keep having to remind myself is for the Lord and not me!) and eating together. It was really cool to see. Random fact- The Greek word for this is Koinonia which means to fellowship or share. That is one of the few vocab words I remember from Mr. Blundell’s class!

Alright, I don’t want to make you guys board and I’m realizing that there is way to much to fit into one post, so I’m going to make another post later. Just real quick, I have a couple river stories, so I’ll fit one in here. It’s not really a story, but that doesn’t matter… In the Chapare it gets ridiculously hot sometimes, (actually its wicked hot all the time there!) so during lunch break, Freddy, Negro, and I like to go hang out in the nearby river. We are not the only ones though. Usually about half the town is down there at the same time as us which makes going to the river a rated “R” experience because a lot them like to go in naked! Usually it is only the younger children and older women who are fairly over weight, but it’s still kind of awkward! haha

Ok, well I will post some more Chipare adventures in a couple days.

Some photos...finally...

We had some issues getting photos directly uploaded to the blog.

Here are some pictures that Craig sent to me, enjoy.

News from Bolivia.. for real this time!

Hola and greetings from Bolivia. I have been here a little over a week now and I am really starting to fall in love. I am still living in the city at the Hacienda, I think it might be a little while before I move out to the Chapare to work on the new orphanage. There was one day last week that me and a few interns were able to take a daytrip to the Chapare to deliver some bunk beds for one of the orphanages out there. We road down in the back of a large fruit truck loaded up with all the beds and a large cabinet set. It was really cool because the orphanage we delivered the beds to was one of the orphanages that the BCC team and I helped out at a year and a half ago while it was still in its early stage of building. It is still not totally finished because they are waiting on funding. (I'll try and post a few pictures of it.)

            Every day of the week we do something different. On a couple of days out of the week we visit with the two orphanages, (Villa Fruitiar, which is like a five minute walk from the Hacienda, and Villa Israel, which is on the other side of the city.) We do tutoring with the kids, day trips, or sometimes just play days. One thing I find so amazing is the love these kids have. They are all orphans and have had horrible experiences in their past and yet they are so happy and grateful for everything. Immediately when you arrive, they come and jump in your arms and start chattering away.

Yesterday, Nov. 25, we celebrated one of the older boys at Fruitiars' birthday. He is either ten or eleven, we are not sure. It is just the day that has been picked out for him. Another exciting thing yesterday was that Viviana got to come home. Viviana's story is quite incredible. When she was quite little, she was pushed into a fire by one of the village kids. Thankfully she lived, but parts of her body where quite badly burned. Under her arms, there was a sort of web of skin which constricted the range of motion she had with her arms. Recently though, funding was raised so that she could have an operation to help fix that and other burned parts of her body. It was quite a long process that she was in the hospital, almost a month. But she took it like a champ and was well known around the hospital for her high spirits and excellent attitude. Yesterday was my first day meeting her, but it didn't take her longer than two seconds to come over, jump in my lap, and start playing with my watch. Little kids are so amazing!

On Wednesday's, we take the morning and help out at a woodshop of a missionary here who builds the bunk beds and some of the other necessities that the orphanages need. He does this for free, which is really incredible because he builds really nice stuff! There is actually the possibility that I might be able to work a little extra with him. But we will see how that works out. In the Afternoon, we go over to the "Center", which is a kind of after school program for kids. One of the interns here, Katie T. works at the center full time. It is a really cool place because it gives kids who have pretty rough home/social life, a place to come hang out that constant secular pressure. Some of them can be a little rough around the edges sometimes, but they just need Christ's love to be shown to them, and I really think they are getting that at the center. My first time there was a blast, because even though my Spanish kinda stinks, I was able to connect with a bunch of the guys in an intense game of football (soccer)! After, one of the interns told me that the guys had asked if I would be able to come back everyday; made me feel pretty good inside!

Well before I go I just want to share a scripture I read this morning that really touched me... "Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. Psalm 115:1" and, "I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. Psalm 116:1-2" The whole chapter of Psalm 116 was really encouraging to me, so if you get a chance check it out.

 

Love you guys, Craig

 

P.S. I would like to make a public appoligy to Jen for forgetting to mention her as one of the interns here!! Jen, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me it would be much appreciated!! Everyone, meet JenJ

 

Here at last!!

Hello every one. I have finally made it to Bolivia, it took a little longer than I expected, but I´m here and loving it! Right now I´m living in a hacienda with five other interns, who at the moment all happen to be girls. There are two Katie´s, a Kristen, and a Bethany. They are all super nice and have been taking really good care of me showing me around and just helping me get accustomed to the living here. On my first day here in Coachabamba Bolivia, we went to Sydney´s (one of Mike timmers daughters) highschool soccer game. We took the Fruitiar kids with us. The Villa fruitiar is the one of the orphanages and is just a few blocks from the hacienda where we live. The kids loved it and we even got to play some futboll (soccer) ourselves on one of the open fields. The boys had a blast and it was just a lot of fun playing with them.

      It has been a little overwhelming with trying to take every thing in. First of all my Spanish vocab right now is ¨UN pequito¨, very small! So that is kind of a bummer and is totally my fault since I could have been practicing before I left, but just always found a way out! Also I´m trying to learn my way around the city and the new mode of transportation that is used here when you don´t have your own car. The two main ways to travel here other than walking are, Troufii´´s and taxi´s.Troufii´s are like buses and cost a boliviano and a half;which is a Bolivian dollar and a half. * One American dollar is seven Bolivian dollars*.These troufii´s have letters on the front which is a key to their route. For instance, the ¨O¨, ܨ, and ¨M¨all come up to the somewhat close to the hacienda and go different places throughout the city. Its a little confusing still, but the girls are teaching me.

       I am writing this in a local Internet cafe. This morning, which is Tuesday morning I think, I went with Katie and Kristen to meet their Spanish teach,Tina who is a favorite among the interns and Timmers. She is especially for her grandmotherly character and love for her students. Once I figure a schedule for my time here.I hope to start taking Spanish lessons with her.

      Mike has said that for a few weeks at least I will be here in coach working at the orphanages with the kids. But I think at some point I will be heading to the chapàre (jungle) to work with Romberto who is one of Mike´s Bolivian builders. Actually tomorrow morning me and some of the interns are taking a day trip out there to deliver some bunk beds for the orphanages. I´m big time looking foreword to going out and seeing Romberto and the progress on the orphanage he is currently working on.

      I real quick just want to say thank you for your prayers. I had a real good trip here. On both flights I met someone who spoke English, and were able to help me with any questions. Both happened to be missionaries; one was a Bolivian from LA Paz who was a missionary in Japan, the other was a women from the states who was a missionary in coach. So God´s watching out for me! A few prayer request would just be that I would be able to learn Spanish quickly, I am normally a slow learner when it comes to things like that. But, I know that can change with God´s help, and plus I´ll be putting more effort into it, not like I did in school! A good overall prayer would just be that I adjust well and learn quick.

                                                               Love you all Lots and God Bless, Craig, ( or as the kids here say it,Grag!!)