NEW INTERN!

Hey all I (Annie) have just joined the Timmers from Bath, England.
I'm living in the hacienda on my own at the moment and await teams and another intern in February. I have been here about a week now and am enjoying the rays seeing as the whole of Britain has been in a snow blanket! I'm just getting used to the way of life here in Bolivia. Trying to improve my spanish and bearings so I can take taxis on my own around the city and become a little bit more independent! I have been introduced to as many markets and coffee shops as possible and tommorow I'm going to a football match between the two Cochabamba teams which is really exciting! I love football and have been to a few matches in England but I hear Bolivian matches are a little dangerous and lets say..interactive!
I have been introduced to the orphans at the orphanage just down from the hacienda and they've also come up to sift through the many generous contributions in the store room up there and taken away some clothes and toiletries...they had so much fun doing that and trying on clothes!
On Friday the Moseys (another mission family here for 9 months and leaving in March) and I took all the kids to the park which was a laugh, they all had a go on the bumper cars and had a lot of fun! We are planning to take them all once a week in two taxis to the park or something before they go back to school.
I was really surprised when I went to the supermarket how many English imports there were!! So I'm doing just fine with my Heinz tomato soup and Hellmanns mayonnaise! I was worried what I would eat here but I'm doing just fine so far!
My spanish is also something that needs much improvement and I'm planning to take a lesson a week to get back up to scratch...I used to know alot more but in the past few years have forgotten. So prayers for my Spanish to be picked up easily and that I can sleep better at night...also an annoying extra!!
Thanks for reading!
Annie

Chapare Orphanage and New Intern!

A lot has been happening lately in Cochabamba and there have not been nearly enough blog posts to document it! Here is a quick post to highlight a couple of the things that have been happening.

Above is a picture of the new houseparents at "Orhanage 21" in the Chapare region, Samuel and Elsa.
Our new guests:
Liz Fanny 9 yrs old
Mary Cruz 4 yrs old
Their mother abandoned Liz at birth and left the baby with Grandma. She returned 5 years later to drop off Mary Cruz and has had no other contact. Grandma and Grandpa are in poor health but were caring for them until the river crested this year and destroyed their house and everything they owned. Please join us in praying for these girls as they adjust to new surroundings and faces.



Last but not least, we are excited to welcome a new intern to our team! Annabel (Annie) is joining us from Baath, England. She'll be helping with the ministry for the next 5 months and just arrived in Cochabamba this week. Above is a picture of Annie learning the secret hiding spot of Evelyns baby doll. Welcome, Annie!

Radio Interview

On December 11th we were invited by a friend and "The Well Radio" anchor Gina Johnson to come on and share with her listeners. If you were not able to tune into the interview, you can click below to listen.

If you or someone you know has an outlet to speak in the media where we can share our story and spread the word of what He is doing here, please let us know!

Sending back a piece of Bolivia for Christmas!

Christmas is just around the corner, and this year IOU was excited to try something new for the holidays: homemade Christmas tree ornaments! Christmas trees aren’t quite as popular in Bolivia as they are in the States, but that’s what made the whole experience even more meaningful and fun. Last week we took a herd of very excited children from the orphanage in Frutillar up to the IOU guesthouse for some serious silliness and crafts. They spent lots of time carefully painting and decorating the ornaments, and were happy to be making something special for the people who love and support them a world away. Decked out in their holiday finest (bed sheets tied around their necks to keep their clothes clean) and perched on little thrones (phone books stacked in their chairs), the IOU kids created beautiful memories to hang from your trees this Christmas.
Starting December 5, the first 50 coffee orders from BoliviasBestCoffee.com—no matter the size of the order—will receive one free ornament enclosed with their purchase. Thanks in advance for all the coffee you drink to support this ministry, and your hearts for these little children. This is their way of saying thanks and giving back to YOU!

Business Growth

A special thanks goes out to Carlisle & Company for allowing us to pick the brain of consultant Samuel Frank! Samuel joined us in Cochabamba for 3 weeks in November and provided pro-bono consulting for IOU’s supporting businesses, including Bolivia’s Best Coffee and hardwood flooring exportation. His hard work and insight were a great asset to IOU and helped to streamline our communications and give “backbones” to many of our ideas.
His passion, enthusiasm, and friendship will be missed, but we are confident he will be back! Thanks for using your gifts for IOU, Samuel!

We are also excited about the opportunity for exporting high-end wood flooring as another means of supporting IOU. Cochabamba is home to Jolyka, a company that sells exotic wood flooring. Jolyka has their FSC certification, a difficult “Green” certification to obtain and the only flooring company in Bolivia to boast this title. If you know someone in the flooring business or custom home-building business, we would love to connect with them and talk about an opportunity to sell high-quality wood flooring at a great price and help the children of Bolivia. Jolyka has graciously offered to allow us to export the wood at cost to benefit out mission.

We are blessed to have termendous support for Bolivia's Best Coffee, opportunities with Jolyka flooring, and childrens' lives that these businesses have the opportunity to touch. Our deepest appreciation to all those who donate their time, talents, and networks to help further the businesses that support His work in Bolivia!

Chapare Visits

The IOU team has made several visits to the Chapare region over the past couple of weeks. We've been checking on the construction and progress of different orphanage homes in the area. We've been fortunate to have to lots of visitors from the U.S. this month to encourage and assist us, and make the 4 hour trek to Chapare more fun! Here are pictures of Puerta Villaroel, being built right next to the supporting church.


And speaking of orhanage progress, this weekend we'll be helping the houseparents move into the Villa Israel orphanage...the first step in reopening and on our way to being able to accept children there. Prayers for a smooth process during this time would be wonderful!

Navidad En Bolivia

Looking for a way to give back this holiday season? Why not help make this Christmas special for IOU kids in Bolivia by contributing for individual Christmas gifts? Please visit www.NavidadenBolivia.info for details on how you can contribute not only to children in Frutillar, but also to other ministries across Bolivia as well! Please feel free to pass along the site to your friends, family, churches and neighbors:)