The Bronx!

This March, after several months of praying each week, a group of 5 foreign volunteers from our team and myself as the only Colombian, started going to the streets to build friendship and trust with the street dwellers. God led us to an area considered by the police as one of the most dangerous streets of Bogotá called “El Bronx”.

The Bronx! It is a place probably named after the dangerous New York ghetto where many African American and other minority groups (including many Latin-American immigrants) live. The Bronx is hard to describe with words.

More than two thousand street people live in these two streets of downtown Bogotá that make up “El Bronx”. It is sort of a commune of thieves, drug dealers and users, outlaws, and destitute people that trade in paper, glass, plastic, cardboard, wire or scrap iron that they pick up from the trash on the streets. They don’t have any other option but to wander restlessly around the city. They are like the last of the nomad tribes that feed on carrion and that look through and classify the garbage in search of their daily living. Anyone can see them around in horse-pulled carts, or pushing their ball bearing carts or simply walking with a sack on their backs. This is normal in Colombia where the poor have very few opportunities to get out of their prostration.

The Bronx is clearly not a touristic site and not many people take the risk to pass by such a dirty and dangerous area. As soon as you enter into their surroundings you can sense a rarefied atmosphere loaded with a filthy stink of a slum. As soon as our team arrives with the bread and a hot drink made of water and brown sugar loaf called “aguadepanela”, the “desechables” as they are commonly called (literally translated as “disposables”, the shaggy and sour-faced people) arrive with their heavy sacks made of rope or plastic where they carry their limited belongings.

They look tired because of the heaviness of their dissolute lifestyle. Their faces smeared with soot and dirt can only show desolation. You see them preparing their dose of crack cocaine or heroin, while others sniff glue containers trying to reach the heavens. Not even the children can escape this curse and you see them stupefied by the damned glue that takes them to Wonderland. The fifty pieces of bread and drink are not enough and they disappear in just a few minutes.

A kid from the Bronx

The Bronx

What future can these people have? Sometimes you get disheartened not seeing immediate fruits. However, the words of the Apostle Paul are comforting when he says: “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain”.

And it is surely not in vain. This month we celebrated the 15th birthday of Lucy Katerine, a girl who came almost 11 years ago from an area similar to El Bronx, if not worse. Tomorrow, Tito, from the same area, who has also been in the ministry for 11 years, and who I tutored in Math, Physics and Chemistry is going to Argentina as a missionary to work in a ministry to young drug addicts from the streets. So little by little you see a light of hope. It is for sure a lengthy work!

Katrina has been working on many tasks. One has been helping to keep an adoption process going. This process has been on and off again for a couple of years for a variety of reasons. Katrina is trying to get it either approved or stopped instead of dragging on as it affects the life of a teenage girl and an American couple.

The repair work that she has organized is nearly finished at the Kiwi house. With a new floor, kitchen bench, stove and garage door. We hope that the ceiling will be completed soon and we can apply for the necessary inspection.

Family wise:

Thank you for those who prayed for the kids’ health, they have all had a healthy month.

Simon and Alex received their school report cards last week. They both did well in the academics.

Alex has had a couple of soccer games with kids from other schools. One of these games was located about half an hour away in another part of the city. Alex forgot where he was meant to get off the school bus and we had a very worried hour as we tried to find him. (Bogota has over 8 million inhabitants) He went to a parent’s house that was able to contact us. Since then he wears around his neck the contact details and his pick up location instructions.

Simon turned six this month. He was extremely excited about his birthday celebration and was inviting everyone he could think of. Thanks to his Colombian grandparents help he had a great party at a pizza place with lots of outside activities for kids. A two story high slide which you go down on sacks was the highlight.

Simon, his classmates and their teacher

Simon with his teacher at the letter Q and letter U wedding at school


Gabriela is becoming a chatter box in both Spanish and English. She is very happy accompanying her parents to the office as there is normally one or two babies or more around. Gabriela loves playing and looking after them and is good at telling people to be quiet if a baby is sleeping.

Daddy with his princess

I am part of our local church team of 130 or more people that are reaching out to high school youth at a local public school. We have had 3 Saturday outings this month, where we teach on values and morals. This has been a buildup to a 3 day camp in May where the gospel will be shared. It is great to see the church working together and reaching out to the community.

Thank you for praying for our personal finances. The exchange rate has not improved but some people have given to us which has kept the debt down. We are praying about what we can do to stay in ministry and not be going into debt. I am working hard at translating another book, which helps but we still need more frequent income. Please keep praying for us in this area. The book is called “Wholly Jesus” by Mark Forman who is the head Pastor at North Coast Calvary Chapel in California. If you are interested you can learn more about the book and the difference between Holy and Wholly in http://whollyjesus.com/.

Other prayer requests:

· Alex to be able to concentrate in his school exams this week.
· Katrina to be able to finish the many ministry projects that she is working on.
· Simon and Gabriela to keep safe and healthy.
· Protection for the team that meets with the street people.

Thank you all so much for your continued interest in our work and calling, and for your prayers and support. It's very meaningful to know we have you all behind us.

Blessings,

Carlos for Katrina, Alex, Simon and Gabriela.