Pictures!!

Kristen, here. Just wanted to put up some new pictures of our stay in the Chapare so you all can see the progress. This is the orphanage... (side view)

And this is what we worked on. Scrubbing bricks!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

GOOD WORK KIDS!!

Happy Birthday Miguel

Well, we started this week by trying to get out to Villa Israel. Now, it wouldn´t seem to be that big of a challenge, but the awesomeness of Bolivia is that when people are mad about something, they start blocking roads. So we couldn´t get out there until Monday night. Which ended up working out incredibly well. We went to go celebrate the birthday of Miguel. Now it may not seem like much, but we brought a cake and that nice set of clothes you see him wearing in the picture. He was so shy about it all, and it was such a sweet sight to see. Oh, a cool observation about Bolivia. I have noticed that birthdays will often have a religious bit almost every time. This time Lizzette prayed thanking God for Miguel, who turned seven, and then Miguel got a chance to pray. After the festivities had died down, we started to talk to the parents about school schedules and when we could come visit. Come to find out, half the kids have school in the morning, and the other half will have school in the afternoon. So we took a group picture with all the kids thinking that we might not have that chance again, and headed out.

We came back the next afternoon, and that house was a completely different place. I don´t even know why. It could be that half the kids were at school, or it could be that the kids we were working with had calmed down in school. But either way, it was amazing! We each got to work with a kid in a one-on-one situation. I´m looking forward to these times we get to go play at Villa Israel.

In other news, the Center has been pretty low on number the past couple of times we have been there. Again, we could complain about this, but I have loved it! We have gotten a handful of kids to love on, and we are now able to focus on these guys. Building strong relationships was not exactly as possible with tons of kids running around demanding attention. Now we just kind of chill, and we get to just relax and spend quality time with the kids God brings us.

Prayer Requests: We are still hashing out the scheduling of our week now that school has started. I pray that we will be wise with the time God has given us and that we will be sensitive to the opportunities God gives us. Also, we are entering our team season... which means that the number of people living in our house will increase dramatically. Please pray that I will have patience.

Oh yeah, last night I got my first hair cut in Bolivia....

Remberto´s Testimony

Justin, Kristen (new intern) and I (Michelle) had the chance to travel and work in Chapare with Remberto´s family this month. During this time we learned more about Remberto and how he came to know the Lord and how he started to work and build orphanages for Internatinal Teams. Please sit back and enjoy this great story....



Remberto started to work for Mike Timmer about 5 years ago. A friend of his was also working for him and that´s how he met Mike. He decided to take on a project for a few weeks to start and see how it went. At the time Remberto was thinking about moving to another country in South America in order to make more money.

After his first project, Mike asked him to work on the Muyurina
Orphanage, which was the first orphanage built here in Cochabamba through International Teams. At the time Remberto was not a Christian, but a Catholic who did not have a relationship with Christ. Mike would talk to him about the Lord, but Remberto didn´t really want anything to do wtih Chrsitianity since all he knew of Christians was them telling Catholics how bad they were. His perception of Christianity was not one of love, but of harsh judgement.

During their time working together, Mike started to pray for Remberto´s salvation.



After the first orphanage, Remberto was asked to help on home #2 in Villa Israel. It was during the time of building this home that Remberto started to open his heart to the things of the Lord. He started to observe the Christian workers and to ask more questions about Christianity.

During this time Bonnie would ask Remberto about his salvation but he would just say he was not ready to become a Christian.

After awhile, Rembeto started to go to Cochabamba International Church with the Timmers. After two years of working with this family, one day Bonnie asked him again if he would like to recieve Christ, and he said he was ready.

Remberto´s ministry of building a home in Chapare started about a year ago. He now works with his brothers and a friend. There have also been many short term teams and interns come in to help with this home. We hope to have the house completed by mid-April to beginning of May.



There is a church on the same property as the new home in Chapare. It is the hope that this church will have a big part in the spiritual development of the orphans there. Remberto is a leader in this church and has had a big part in preparing the members to receive these orphans into their congregation and lives.



Please pray for Remberto and his team as they strive to finish this home, and for the church as well.

Pray requests for Remberto:
1. His wife is expecting a baby very soon but needs a c-section. Please pray for a safe and healthy delivery.
2. Direction for Remberto after this project.
3. Remberto would really like the funds to buy a truck in order to haul small teams and supplies back and forth to the work sites.

MIGUEL- "Child of the Week"

MIGUEL ANGEL CHOQUE

Miguel, who is six years old, and lives in the Villa Israel home is our child of the week. Miguel is a joy to work with. He is an easy going kid, who enjoys the company of others. Miguel´s brother Roberto (who was last week´s child of the week) also lives in this home. Miguel is currenly in tutoring with Jaclyn, one of the interns here now. Right now Miguel is studying his alphabet, basic math, reading, his colors and basic English.

Here are some other fun facts about MIGUEL:

Favorite food: Sandwich

Brothers and Sisters: Roberto, Jackie, and Evelyn

Likes: To paint, play video games and transformers.

Favorite Color: Orange

When Miguel gets older he wants to be: A Professor

Thank you for your support and prayers which help Miguel and the other children at this home learn more about the Lord and grow in their character as well!

ROBERTO-"Child of the Week"

Roberto Fernandez (right)is this weeks "Child of the Week" at Villa Israel Orphanage.

Brandon, Michelle, Roberto (left) (tuturing class)

I (Michelle) have had the pleasure of working with Roberto for the last 4 months in tuturing each week. As of now, I am working with Robeto in reading, double and triple digit addition, and subtraction. We will soon move into multiplication. One of the joys of working with him has been seeing his academic and personal development. When I first came to work with him, it would be so hard to get him motivated. We would start on a project and he (without even trying) would say ¨no puedo¨ (I can´t). He would also shut off every few minutes and not respond to anything I said. Now this is rare for him, and he is so much more motivated to work during our tuturing session. He also is developing in his reading. Roberto can read, but he is a bit slow at it. So I have him read to me during our time. I also give him a book to read for the week and the next week we exchange it for another. He now loves to read and try to see if he can do it on his own. Roberto is usually very cheerful and happy. He is a fun kid, who likes to joke around and enjoys the company of others.

Here are some fun facts about Roberto:

Birthday: March 24

Siblings: Roberto has one brother (Miguel) who lives with him at the home, and two sisters who do not.

Likes: He enjoys drawing and painting.

Color: Favorite color is red.

Favorite thing in school: Art projects

Grade in School: 2nd.

Passing Time: Likes to hang out with friends and neighbors who live nearby

Last week, we went to summer camp, and I will say that it was far better than I expected. It was a great time to learn about the Bolivian culture, practice some Spanish, and make some friends. The camp was pretty good size and had 700 people there from all parts of Bolivia and even other countries. We met people from Sucre, Santa Cruz, Chile, Argentina, and of course Cochabamba. And it was so cool to see how God provided for us. To start off, we left on the morning of a blockade, which I was under the impression that you don´t cross blockades with a car much less a bus. But we approached the blockades, and every time, they would decide to move the cars and let us pass on our way to camp. It was amazing. And God continued to work through the rest of the week by providing people that we could understand easily, friends quickly, and when we couldn´t understand we were never far from someone that could translate. That was definitely a first in Bolivia. And on the last night, there was a banquet, and we got to see what a formal event looked like for Bolivians. All in all, I would say it was an amazing experience. So glad we opted to go.

JHOEL- ¨Child of the Week¨

JHOEL at Villa Israel Orphanage.


Jhoel has three brothers who live with him at the orphanage, Erlan (4), Samuel (6), and Brandon (8). He also has a baby brother who does not live at the home,but with his mother, and another brother on the way. Jhoel has been at this orphanage for a few months now and is really starting to feel that this is his home. Jhoel, being the oldest of all the children before Anna arrived, has a true leadership position among the rest of the kids. Jhoel is leadership material, and has become an example for the rest of the children at Villa Isreal.

Here are some interesting and fun facts about Jhoel:

He enjoys coloring, playing soccer and other sports, and watching movies. Something Jhoel really enjoys doing is visiting other places like parks or the public pool, which Nate and Kate have taken them to a couple times. He enjoys getting out. He also enjoys going to the Cancha (the outside market here) with his house parents and helping to purchase food or supplies for the house.

Jhoel is 10 years old and his birthday is March 27th.
He will be entering the 3rd Grade in February when he starts school.
Jhoel is studying addition, subtration, English and writing with Justin. His favorite subject in school is writing.
His favorite color is red.
His favorite food is asado (a type of meat).
When Jhoel gets older, he wants to work in a bank as a teller.

Please pray for Jhoel as he enters school next month, for his growth in the knowledge of the Lord, and that he would use his leadership abilities for the good in the house and outside as well.