129,000 children with no family can't find a place to call home despite 10 million church-going families in the USA

I was at a church to represent CIN on Sunday. It was a small church, still new and meeting in a school gym, and they were celebrating their first annual Celebrate Adoption Sunday. I don't recall ever being in a church service devoted entirely to adoption, and this one got me thinking. So I did some research, and this is how the numbers broke down:

510,000 children are in foster care in the USA
129,000 of those children are ready to be adopted
300 billion is the approx. population of the USA
20% is the lowest estimate that I could find for the number of people who attend church on a regular basis. So hopefully it is actually more than that.
60 million then is the approx. number of people in the USA that regularly attend church
4 is the "normal" family size, with 2 parents and 2 kids
15 million would be the number of "normal" sized families that regularly attend church
10 million is a more probable number of families in churches, since many singles also attend church

With 10 million families regularly attending church, why can we not find homes for the 510,000 kids in foster care????

Even more so, why do we still have 129,000 kids just waiting around for someone to decide to love them and permanently invite them into the family????

If we have been Christians longer than 2 days we know that God has COMMANDED us to care for the fatherless. So what are we doing?!?! We are living in sin. Caring for these children is a command to every single Christian just like loving our neighbors and observing the sabbath. Departments of Children and Families should be overrun with calls from Christian families asking for available children. All the group homes should be closed because all the kids are in families. And no child should ever be placed in an institution because there are no families and the group homes are all full (I used to work for an institution and I personally know foster care children who were placed in my program simply because there was no other place to put them.) Neighborhoods, church bulletins, and community posts should be plastered with fliers from Christian singles who have been certified to offer babysitting services for foster care families.

Christians should be clamoring for the chance to care for these children.

If you aren't clamoring, this is your warning. You will be held accountable.

Another Surprise

At 6:45 this morning Felicia’s brother and nephew were at our door again. This time another of Felicia’s brothers was with them. He is another very large man. So they came in to visit and Felicia was cooking again and Steven was off to the bakery again. Poor lady, she thought she was going to make breakfast for two women and a boy and was surprised with three large men in addition. How gracious is she!!

Surprise Guests

At 6:30 this morning there was an unexpected knock on the door. It was Felicia’s brother and nephew. They had come for a visit. So Felicia got up and let them in and woke Steven up and sent him to the bakery to buy bread so that she could make them breakfast. I don’t know what your mental picture is of these two guys, but you should be picturing two very large adult men. I came down to shower and eat breakfast too, and then was off to school. When I got home at noon, Felicia said that they had just left. I’m not sure if that was culturally appropriate or as crazy as I thought it was….

Rice Limit

I think that I have a rice limit. When I am in Bolivia, for the first couple of weeks I am hungry and I eat plenty of the amazing food set out before me. But after about 3 weeks, I loose my appetite. I just don't want to eat. I know the food is delicious, but I have to force myself to consume even small quantities. I couldn't explain it for a long time.

Now I am in Costa Rica. I get delicious food here too. And I have been eating it and enjoying it. But about a week ago, my appetite left me once again. I know the food is good, but I just don't want it. I'm not hungry. Felicia always tries to over feed me, but now she seems really worried about me. She asks if I am dieting. I'm not. I would really like to eat that food! But even when I force myself to eat small portions, it is hard to convince my body to swallow. I'm just not hungry.

I tried to explain to Felicia that I have the same reaction in Bolivia, but it was hard to explain because I didn't know why I have the reaction. The food really isn't that different. I don't eat anything in Bolivia or Costa Rica that I never eat in the US. The only difference that I could come up with was the amount of rice I am eating. In the US I eat rice once every week or two. When I am out of the country I eat it every day, and usually twice (here in Costa Rica usually three times) every day. I think that I have a rice limit and after 3-4 weeks I just can't take any more in. That's all I can come up with.

Don't Look Them In The Eye

The Costa Rican Secret Service goes to my church.

No really.

Every week there are about 20 big men dressed in dark suits with ear pieces and microphones in their cuffs. They roam around the congregation during the service and use hand signals with each other. These are not the ushers; the ushers wear red coats. I am scared of these guys.

The Coming Rain

So it rains every afternoon here in Costa Rica. Yesterday, I was hanging out in the living room with my tico (Costa Rican) family when Felicia told me to listen. We keep the front door open for the breeze, and I also think it is meant to encourage visitors. She asked if I could hear what sounded like the garbage truck. I could. And as we listened it got louder. And louder. It was the rain on the metal roofs and the front was headed our way. We bunched together in the doorway and watched the wall of rain cross the rooftops of the houses farther from us. We watched the rain, in a straight line, come down across the roof of the house across the street, cross the street, cross the apartment parking lot and come sweeping directly to our door. It was incredible!! I am really tired of the rain and deperately miss the sun, but this was a reminder to me that even in its abundance, rain is something amazing.

Mashed Potatoes

Felicia serves me rice every day. At every meal. Today she didn't serve me rice at lunch and so she wanted to explain to me why. She explained that she wasn't serving me rice because she was serving me potatoes. But the potatoes didn't look like normal. She pointed out to me on my plate that THESE were the potatoes. They just looked different because they were PUREED. That's right, I got a five minute explanation of what mashed potatoes are. I like this lady :)

Rough Day but He Made Me Smile

I had a really rough day in class. I haven’t had a grammar class in about 13 years (hey, that’s HALF my LIFETIME now). And suddenly I am in intermediate Spanish grammar. That is really frustrating some days. Today was one of those days. I just couldn’t get what the teacher was talking about. In the middle of the morning, after grammar class, we have a half hour break. Usually I go to the computer room and do some work, but today I went out on the balcony because I saw a small spot of sunshine there. So I stood in the only spot of sunshine I have seen in several days and nearly cried with frustration. Then the bell rang and I went back to class, where the teacher promptly replied that we were going to go to a different room for the day.

The rooms are all basically the same except for one. The different one is my favorite, but I don’t have any classes in it. My favorite room is a rectangle and the two long walls are all windows. It is beautiful. My class was switched to that room and I began to feel some relief. Also, the classrooms are not numbered, but are named after various Latin American countries. So I checked the name of my favorite classroom before we went in to see “where” I was going. And guess what…..it was Bolivia.

I had been having a terrible time, but God gave me sunshine, a beautiful room, and a visit to Bolivia. Sometimes I think He is as random as me…but He surely is good to me.

Birthday Time

Today is Sandra's birthday.

Sandra works in the medical clinic at the BLC. She schedules the medical and dental appointments for all of the boys, and then accompanies them to the doctor. Sandra also distributes medicine and vitamens at the Life Center, tracks medical records, and does first aid. Because of her, our boys are strong and healthy.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS SANDRITA!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Jose Armando's 9th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS JOSE ARMANDO!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Marco's 12th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS MARCO!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Brayan's 10th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS BRAYAN!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Limber's 10th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS LIMBER!!!!

Birthday Time and Bolivian Independence Day

Today is Joel's 15th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS JOEL!!!!

Today is Fernando's 14th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS FERNANDO!!!!

Today is Carlos' 13th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS CARLOS!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Michael's 10th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS MICHAEL!!!!

Double Birthday Time

Today is Jhonny T's 14th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS JHONNY T!!!!

Today is Marcos' 14th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS MARCOS!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Nelson's 10th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS PLATERO!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Ismael's 10th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS ISMAEL!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Ernesto's 13th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS ERNESTO!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Jose's 15th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS JOSE UVA!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Wilfredo's 7th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS WILFREDO!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Milton's 12th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS MILTON!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Alex's 9th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS ALEX!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Jorge's 11th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS CHICKEN JORGE!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Rogelio's 10th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS ROGELIO!!!!

No Boliviana Aqui

Today was Sandra's last day in the USA. We were all very sad for her to leave. We started the day with sunrise at the beach and then a Cuban breakfast. We managed to get a little work done at the office and then got everybody together for lunch. After heading home one final time to finish packing, we were off to Miami. We prayed together before Sandra had to go through security. I will miss her so much. And I will see her again in only a month! I thank God so much that He allowed her to come and spend this time with us. She was a wonderful blessing.

It just gets better

So I told John today about my church raising $1800 for me to go to language school. He was elated too! He sent me the link to a language school that he liked and has talked to before. The total cost for the 7 week program, books, room, and board is $1800!!! How amazingly perfect is that??? So now all I need is a plane ticket to Costa Rica. God is so amazing to me!

You did WHAT while I was gone?!?!

I was out of town all last week for my uncle Randy's funeral (thanks mom and dad for the plane ticket). Last Saturday my church had a fundraiser for their team's trip to Bolivia this summer, but I missed it. They had a talent show, dessert auction, and live auction. They were going to surprise me the night of the auction, but had to wait a week and surprise me today! One of the items to auction off was vacation time in the cabin in North Carolina that is owned by one of the church members. The surprise was that they had decided not to auction it for the team, but that all procedes from this particular item would go towards sending me to language school!! And they raised $1800!!!!!!!!!!!! I am absolutely floored. The opportunity to go to language school, to actually know and speak spanish, will completely revolutionize my ministry. The chance to go to school is something that I have definitely wanted, but never expected to actually be possible. I still don't think that I have a good grasp on the reality of this.

Impact Banquet

Tonight was our yearly Banquet. It was beautiful! So many people worked so hard to make this all come together. The silent auction had lots of great items available, the dinning area was well decorated, the music and videos rocked, even the dinner was wonderful :) There were a couple of people at my table who had never been to Bolivia and I really enjoyed watching them throughout the evening. As they learned more about CIN and the work we are doing, I could visibly see their passion and excitement growing. The gentleman I sat next to shook my hand before he left and thanked me for allowing him to come and be a part of this. I had never met him before. I am happy that we can reach people where they are, and I am happy that we are reaching a level of comfort in our ability to do these ministry briefings/fundraisers. Big thanks to everyone who was involved!

Birthday Time

Today is Daniel's 12th birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS DANIEL!!!!

South Florida HEAT

Courtesy of John's brother, Sandra and I got a free pair of tickets to the last Miami Heat home game! (Thanks!) We went down a little early to explore Bayside and have dinner at the Hardrock Cafe that Sandra was curious about. The first half of the game we were surrounded by wild and crazy children who screamed all of the cheers. It was really funny, but we were releived when they left at halftime :) Sandra especially enjoyed when they announced the final two minutes of the game in spanish! The Heat even won the game!!

Children's Day

Today is Children's Day in Bolivia. Teachers will put on special programs for the children at school. Some prepare special dishes for the kids. Sandra was telling me that the mothers of the children often join them at school today for a meal. She said that one of the boys from the BLC asked her to come to his class last year. At first I thought about what an honor that was. This boy whom I know has had great struggles. He has not known a healthy, normal family. But he still sees the importance of sharing this time with someone he loves and trusts. And he asked Sandra to be that person for him. Then I thought about the pain that he must have felt, wanting to celebrate this holiday in his honor like all of his other classmates. But he had to find someone and invite them to replace the mother who should have been there. Sandra went on to tell me that she had several kids from the Life Center with doctors appointments that day and how she felt terrible because she had to leave early to continue working. I wish that I could be there more. I wish that I could just stay in Bolivia and be their mom and go to their school stuff with them and take care of them and just be there. I know that I am doing what God has called me to right now. I just pray that everyone who has found their way to this post and is interested enough in Bolivia and the children to actually read through it- I pray that each of you are doing all that God is telling you to do for these kids. Don't leave them hanging.

I love my job!

Today work happened a little differently than usual. We got everybody together and headed to Peanut Island on the Hernandez's boat! We checked out the JFK bomb shelter, had a picnic, walked around the island, and had floating lessons with Sandra. Sandra had never been on a boat out in the ocean before, so that was the purpose of today's treat. Not a bad day at work at all :)

Birthday Time

Today is Alfredo's birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS ALFREDO!!!!

Pray for Nick

Our amazing friend and co-worker Nick had emergency surgery today. Please pray for him and his family!

Ocean Day

That's right, today is Ocean Day in Bolivia. I know that they don't have an ocean, but it is true. From what I've gathered, they used to have a day in celebration of the ocean, but then after the war with Chile about 150 years ago, they used it to mark the day that they lost their access to the ocean and to hope to regain it again some day in the future. Wishing Happy Ocean Day to people in a land-locked country just seems mean though.

To Be A Policeman Is To Die

There have been protests by the police in Bolivia against Evo, the President, recently. Sandra was telling me about them and how they are protesting because they earn so little and they have no protection. She said, "to be a policeman is to die."

I have seen very few policemen while I have been in Bolivia. The main time, there were a few men standing in the median at a stop light. When the light was red, they went from car to car checking drivers licenses (drivers licenses are very expensive and so many people drive illegally). All of the officers were on foot. They did not even have radios. If something were to have gone wrong, they had no way to stop it or get additional help.

A few years ago we had a pig farm at the BLC. We had not yet built our perimeter wall and so we began to have problems with our pigs being stolen. We are within walking distance of downtown SipeSipe, but we discovered that their police department did not have a phone. We could not call to report a robbery. When someone broke into the barn, we had to leave our property, drive to the police station, hope that someone was there, and drive them back to our property.

The police have very little power, very little authority, and very little pay. Sandra also explained to me that there are some times when the police will take or request bribes. She said that this was not due to corruption but to their desperation to care for their families.

Birthday Time

Today is Ramiro's 14th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS RAMIRO!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Edgar's 14th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS EDGAR!!!!

John's Shuttle Launch Photos

John was much closer than we were. The Gorie family sent him tickets to the restricted area for friends of the astronauts.

My Shuttle Launch Photos

Out Of This World

We were sitting around the dinner table last night and talking about the shuttle launch. Three of my housemates and I all planned to watch it, but since it launched at 2:20am we were still discussing what time to get up. I wanted to go out to the beach so there would be fewer lights. But which beach to go to? One of my roommates commented that if we left soon we could just drive up to Cocoa Beach and watch from there. A silence filled the room as we all secretly longed to do exactly that but weren't sure if anyone else was serious. Well a few cat naps and cups of coffee later, we were on the road. We ended up going to Titusville and had an amazing view. When the countdown was under 5 minutes we gathered together to pray for the launch, the mission, Commander Gorie (I work with his daughter!), the rest of the crew, and the families of the crew. When the shuttle ignited, the whole sky lit up, kind of a peach color, bright as the day. The shuttle crept up and disappeared through the clouds. Just as it was hidden from site, the roar reached us. A long, loud, rumbling that seemed to go on a ridiculous amount of time. It was one of the most amazing and beautiful experiences I have ever had. And then as we drove away, we were all in a state of shock almost. It is very hard to come to terms with the fact that our friend's father is in outerspace right now. Weird.

Birthday Time

Today is Salamon's 10th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS SALAMON!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Sandro's 15th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS SANDRO!!!!

Getting You Is Like Getting Two

John has been speaking with and interviewing people while he is in Colombia. Today he was able to pass a few of the stories on to us. He has been able to meet with several widows whose husbands were pastors. One woman he talked with said that her husband had been taken by the guerillas and cut up into 30 pieces which they placed in a garbage bag and handed to her. The persecution for pastors and missionaries is very heavy there. One pastor told John that for the guerillas getting a pastor was "like getting two."

So what do we do here? How can we as Christians respond to this woman who is left alone to care for her children after her husband was so brutally slain for being a pastor? How do we support pastors who are afraid of trees because this is where the guerillas typically hide? How can a strong body of believers form under these conditions? And what is our responsibility to them as a fellow part of the body of Christ? "There should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." 1 Corinthians 12:25-27

David and the Women's Faith

John is traveling to Colombia this week to meet with some various ministry partners. We have been connected with Colombia through friends at Voice of the Martyrs for some time now, but one of the people that John will be meeting with is a man named David Woodworth. David was in Cuba and was arrested on the night that Fidel Castro took power. A group of women, convinced that he had been taken to be executed, got in a car and began to drive around, praying that God would show them where he had been taken. God stopped the women by a house and told them that he was inside. With more faith than I can imagine, the women got out of the car, approached the house, and pounded on the front door until it was opened, then demanded to see David. The people inside the house were shocked and could not understand how the women had known that they did indeed have David inside.
David went on to teach John's parents in Bible School and now is a missionary in Colombia.

Birthday Time

Today is José F's 9th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS JOSÉ!!!!

(and Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!)

Birthday Time

Today is Julio's 8th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS JULIO!!!!

Missions Fair

I was able to take part in a Missions Fair at Palm Beach Atlantic University today. It had been a while since I last set up a booth, but I think that I am getting better at it every time. Being back on campus and having the opportunity to reconnect with so many people that I have seen travel to Bolivia in the last two years was so encouraging. The passion and excitement in their faces and voices is still so clear. I think I especially enjoy sharing my story with PBA students because I started out the same way they are. I went to PBA and I went on a mission trip to Bolivia. I certainly wasn't planning it at the time, but now here I am full time staff. I wonder where each of them will go and what lasting impact this will have on each of them. God has crazy cool plans for each of us if we are willing to follow Him.

Birthday Time

Today is Isaias' 9th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS ISAIAS!!!!

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!!

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)

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 :)

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.

Birthday Time

Today is Edwin's 10th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS EDWIN!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Rodrigo's 7th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS RODRIGO!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Ariel's 11th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS ARIEL!!!!

Birthday Time

Today is Marcelino's 11th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS MARCELINO!!!!