For the Love of Bolivia and Jesus Christ: January 2008

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Missions Meeting

This afternoon I was able to meet with the team from First Baptist Church Royal Palm Beach that will be taking their first trip to Bolivia this June. I am extra excited about this team because it is from my "home" church! I got to continue sharing my passion for the BLC with my own church body, and I had the opportunity to get to know their hearts as well. We talked about the reasons we wanted to go to Bolivia and then played a game to help us understand our cultural assumptions. Several of us got frustrated when our cultures were challenged (and the whole game had to be played without speaking). Some people became aggressive by standing up and banging on the tables, some became frustrated and gave in, and some tried to compromise by creating a third culture (both the first one and the last one were me!) When we processed the game, we talked about specific cultural assumptions that we were aware of. One man at the meeting used to work in China. While he was there, someone he had been talking to and getting to know asked him, "When it is your turn to talk to the president, what will you ask him?" His friend assumed that everyone in the USA got a time to meet with the president! Sounds ridiculous to us, but surely we have equally ridiculous beliefs. I'm so excited to bring this part of my family to meet the Bolivian part of my family!!

Monday, January 21, 2008

The Minds of Boys

At Christmas our boys wrote letters to their sponsors. The letters have been translated and the last couple of days I have been reading over what they wrote. The things they say and ask have been amazing me:
-Are you married yet?
-When are you coming back to Bolivia? I want to meet your new baby.
-Thanks so much for all the love that you are giving me.
-I am so thankful to God that He sent me to the Life Center.
-Why don't you come with your wife?
-God keeps you. Continue forward.
-Please come soon because I almost don't remember you.
-I'm still thinking about being a pastor some day.
-God will give you double for all the gifts you sent me.
-I give you 1,000,000 kisses.
-I like to work with my uncles and aunts here.
-Our dog here is huge.
-I'm so happy, because some day I will see you and then that day, I will hug you strongly.
-I would like to sing a beautiful song for you "I miss you so much, with love, I love you so much with happiness, I miss you with love, I love so much, Merry Christmas"
-I'm so happy because of you.
-What does the United States look like?
-You and your kids are in my heart.
-I'm good at kicking the ball and making goals.
-I thought you would come for Christmas, but you were not here.
-You made us happy, not just me, but all the kids who live here.
-I would like you to come here so I could teach you how to play soccer.
-You are the mother who loves me. I have not had my mom, but you are my mom.
-Nobody before has done these things for me. You've been giving me love and security.
-Tell your baby Merry Christmas from me.
-I like to be here.
-Christmas night was amazing, everybody had gifts. (from one of our two newest boys)
-Everybody here was so happy to have a gift. (from the other of our two newest boys)

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Wedding Time!

Gerson, our amazing Administrative Director

at the BLC, was married today!!

Congratulations Gerson!!

I look forward to meeting his new wife when

I return to Bolivia in March :)

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

What Do You Do With An Orphan's Family?

I received news this week that two of our families of boys (groups of brothers) have recently encountered a new struggle. All of our boys have been abandoned. All of them have been through the system. All of them have horror stories. So what do we do now, when their families show up at our door? My natural reaction is to work to reunite them. Fix things. Not that I want to send any of my boys back home. I want to keep them forever :) but if their family wants to come visit and be on good terms with them, it just seems like we should do everything possible to make it happen. About a millisecond after that initial reaction I have another strong thought. It is a fierce protectiveness. I know what these boys have been through and I know that these are the people who put them through it. I know that these boys have grown, received counseling and love, begun following Christ, and totally changed their lives. I don't know that about their family. Both sets of brothers have reacted with strong opposition to seeing their families. Do we press them to forgive? Do we encourage them to open up? Or do we step up and provide a barrier of protection from the repetition of past hurts? I don't know, but we are praying.