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| Christian Character Day at school. Gabriela as Mary Slessor |
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| Simon dressed up as Loren Cunningham ( YWAM founder), with a first grader as Steve Bartel (our director) |
Gabriela and I left the
camp to attend her first gymnastics competition. After a 13 hour bus ride we
arrived with her team. A midnight meal and then at 1:00am the girls got to bed.
The next morning they had practice and then the opening ceremony. This was an
international competition but only one or two of the 30 teams were from outside
of Colombia. A 6:00am start for competition day left the girls yawning as they
waited to compete. Considering the lack of sleep Gabriela and friends did well.
She is in level 1 and was competing against girls from 6 to 9 years old. That night we had a 10 hour trip back to
Bogota arriving at 6:00am. Two days
later and we were still catching up on sleep. 
In August Gabriela
turned 6 and in September Alex turned 15. All 3 kids have been back at school
this school year. I was pleased to see that both Simon and Gabriela have got
good grades as that means last year’s homeschooling was a success.
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| Gabriela`s 6th Birthday |
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| Alex turned 15. |
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| Alex's latest hair style |
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| Back view of Alex`s new hair style |
Ministry wise
The Jungle club
continues to attract a lot of kids. There was one very special day when the
ministry was celebrating 30 years back in September. The parents were invited for
a lunch and the testimony of the lady who started the ministry really impacted
the parents, many of whom were in tears. She had been a university student and
a member of a guerilla group, when she became a Christian and joined YWAM. For
2 years she along with 7 others interceded for the street people, many times
holding all night prayer vigils. The building that we have bought to hold the
Jungle clubs in was once a church. The pastor 28 years ago was the only one who
would allow his church building to be used for the street people to have a
church service. Now this is happening weekly in the same building. God has a purpose for the people of this neighborhood
and it started in prayer.
In the 30 year
celebration there were very many encouraging stories and testimonies. It was
fun to collect data for some statistics. Here is some of it. There have been 18
couples who met in the ministry and later married including Carlos and myself,
17 ministries were started in different cities and countries after volunteers
receiving training with us, 18 kids have been the first family member to ever
graduate from high school and most of them the first to complete primary
school. 16 kids who grew up in the ministry served or are serving God in
ministry; volunteers from 35 different countries have served with us. The fence in front of the office has been
painted by people from 17 nations.
The school has had some
new students starting along with some new teachers. There are another 6 kids
ready to graduate to a normal school next year. The academic coordinator is
returning to the USA next year. Please pray that we would find the right
coordinator quickly so there will be a smooth transition.
The 31st of October a specail Jungle event was held to give kids a safe place to be. 170 kids came and heard the gospel. Last Saturday Carlos went into the rooms where some of the kids live. It is heart breaking to see the squalor and hopelessness of there reality.
The ministry continues
to have more expenses than income. Please join us in prayer for God’s continued
provision. We are studying and praying about different possibilities to have
fewer expenses but we need to know God’s plan. Please pray for His guidance.
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| Alex sprained his knee and the next day Simon his ankle. Both are now mended. |
