Dear Friends and Family
Thank you so much for your love and support throughout all these years. It means a lot to us!
We wish you a FELIZ NAVIDAD... PROSPERO AÑO Y FELICIDAD...
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Raining Cats and Dogs
Dear friends
As the year comes to an end there is all the normal activities of end of year functions. The ministry school has 4 students who will be going onto normal school next year. This makes a total of 16 children who the ministry is currently supporting in normal schools. There are a few on line schools in Colombia and we are going to be enrolling 6 of the kids in one next year. There are a few challenges to overcome such as what do you do when the Internet company won't reinstall the cables as they are stolen so often. These new challenges is one of our big prayer items for next year- we are also in need of 3 more teachers.
Carlos was able to go to another church run camp. This time for adults. There were some amazing testimonies- one of the men in his group came with 6 family members. Their brother- in -law had attended a camp a year ago and had been so transformed from his alcoholism and all of its consequences, that these family members came to see what Christianity was about and met the living God. Another of the men from his group, along with his family, is now faithfully attending church.
We have some good news for the project of completing the purchase of the houses where the drop in center and Jungle club run. We have been given a matching grant and need only US $36.000 to complete the purchase and do some renovations. The idea is to have 1000 people give US $36.00 . If you would like to help with this project you can do so through us or directly through the ministry website. This area of the ministry is having a tremendous impact into the community. The auditorium is now being rented out on Sunday's to a local church so follow up can be done with the families of the prostitutes and recyclers. There are also plans to have a special club held for about 25 kids from the “Bronx.” This is a couple of streets that is so full of street people, and addicts that if you go in there uninvited and unescorted you come out in a body bag. Our ministry has spent years praying for God's timing and strategy to reach the children who live in this area.
A few years back the government bulldozed down the last similar area where we would do street evangelism. Some of the kids who came from that area are now missionaries or are receiving Biblical training. It is exciting to see God opening up the doors for another harvest of transformed lives.
Alex has his end of semester exams next week- eighth grade has been challenging as he gets ready for entering High School (American system) next year. Simon and Gabriela are enjoying the days that they do homeschooling at home rather than at the office. It is fun to see them learning and of course I am learning or relearning things as I prepare classes. There are so many cool free websites for the kids to learn from- Simon is signed up for an on line astronomy class on Monday. Internet definitely makes home schooling so much easier and fun. Thankfully, where we live the Internet cables aren't stolen and the Internet connection is good.
We have had a couple of architects looking at the best design for covering the patio and turning it into a home schooling space. We have been given some money towards it and Simon had been given a calf that was sold when a cow. He is giving his money toward the roof so he can have his own space to study. I guess that says a lot about how uncomfortable he is at the dining room table. We hope to start putting the roof up soon. We will work on finishing the job in stages as the money comes in.
Carlos has started translating a excellent book called “The Supernatural Power of Forgiveness” by Jason and Kris Vallotton. It is a true story of Jason, a pastor who learnt about forgiveness when his wife left him and their 3 young children. It is definitely well worth reading and putting into practice the steps he and his father Kris share.
For me personally it has been a struggle with homeschooling and ministry work- sometimes it feels like neither are been done justice. We really need a person to help with the office work next year. I am looking forward to a few weeks break from school over the holidays. Gabriela is also very happy. She has repeatedly come and given me a hug and a kiss and says "Thank you Mummy that you are going to give me a holiday from school work".
In between the heavy rain storms the kids have been out playing in the park. The washing pile is never ending and the rain doesn't help the drying process. The road into Bogotá had been shut as the flood level had risen. There are still some parts that never dried out from the last floods 6 months ago. It is sad to see so many people losing homes. Listening to the news, one day an older women was crying for help. Her town was under water, she had lost everything. She along with the rest of the town's inhabitants were sleeping in the cemetery and were nearly out of food. The flooding had turned the cemetery into an island. Since September 108 people have died including nearly 50 in an avalanche. We continue to pray for God's mercy.
As the year comes to an end there is all the normal activities of end of year functions. The ministry school has 4 students who will be going onto normal school next year. This makes a total of 16 children who the ministry is currently supporting in normal schools. There are a few on line schools in Colombia and we are going to be enrolling 6 of the kids in one next year. There are a few challenges to overcome such as what do you do when the Internet company won't reinstall the cables as they are stolen so often. These new challenges is one of our big prayer items for next year- we are also in need of 3 more teachers.
Carlos was able to go to another church run camp. This time for adults. There were some amazing testimonies- one of the men in his group came with 6 family members. Their brother- in -law had attended a camp a year ago and had been so transformed from his alcoholism and all of its consequences, that these family members came to see what Christianity was about and met the living God. Another of the men from his group, along with his family, is now faithfully attending church.
 |
| Carlos and Alex at the Church Camp site |
We have some good news for the project of completing the purchase of the houses where the drop in center and Jungle club run. We have been given a matching grant and need only US $36.000 to complete the purchase and do some renovations. The idea is to have 1000 people give US $36.00 . If you would like to help with this project you can do so through us or directly through the ministry website. This area of the ministry is having a tremendous impact into the community. The auditorium is now being rented out on Sunday's to a local church so follow up can be done with the families of the prostitutes and recyclers. There are also plans to have a special club held for about 25 kids from the “Bronx.” This is a couple of streets that is so full of street people, and addicts that if you go in there uninvited and unescorted you come out in a body bag. Our ministry has spent years praying for God's timing and strategy to reach the children who live in this area.
A few years back the government bulldozed down the last similar area where we would do street evangelism. Some of the kids who came from that area are now missionaries or are receiving Biblical training. It is exciting to see God opening up the doors for another harvest of transformed lives.
Family wise
 |
| Making a Gingerbread House |
We have had a couple of architects looking at the best design for covering the patio and turning it into a home schooling space. We have been given some money towards it and Simon had been given a calf that was sold when a cow. He is giving his money toward the roof so he can have his own space to study. I guess that says a lot about how uncomfortable he is at the dining room table. We hope to start putting the roof up soon. We will work on finishing the job in stages as the money comes in.
Carlos has started translating a excellent book called “The Supernatural Power of Forgiveness” by Jason and Kris Vallotton. It is a true story of Jason, a pastor who learnt about forgiveness when his wife left him and their 3 young children. It is definitely well worth reading and putting into practice the steps he and his father Kris share.
For me personally it has been a struggle with homeschooling and ministry work- sometimes it feels like neither are been done justice. We really need a person to help with the office work next year. I am looking forward to a few weeks break from school over the holidays. Gabriela is also very happy. She has repeatedly come and given me a hug and a kiss and says "Thank you Mummy that you are going to give me a holiday from school work".
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