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