Goodbyes And New Interns

Hello Everyone,

So the Timmer family leaves today to go back home to the States. It is quite a sad day for me because this might be the last time that I will see Mr & Mrs Timmer, Mallory, Sydney, Emmy and Gracie for I will be back in the UK by the time they come back. But I know that we will all meet one day again in heaven and we will have the rest of eternity to spend together in the presence of The Lord.

Apart from the above, things still stay the same out here. I keep going to see the kids at Muyurina, bible studies are still running and El Centro is still as crazy and fun as ever!

A new but old intern arrived last month, Kristen Polcyn. She was an intern here a couple of years ago for 11 months and it has been great being able to meet someone who did exactly what I'm doing out here. Hear from her experiences, what she enjoyed doing and to see how the kids still remember her! Kristen has only a couple of days left but she will write an entry soon telling you about her trip to Potosi.

The only thing that I don't like about meeting new people is the fact that I am going to have to say goodbye to them not knowing, once again, when I will see them. But as a friend once said "I prefer to have met you briefly on this Earth and having your friendship forever than never have met you and never have come to known you". And that is very true, I thank God for the friendships I have made while I've been out here, not knowing when I will see them again.

Another new intern is arriving on Wednesday morning called Melissa. I think this is her first time out here, so it will be very exciting showing her the Bolivian ways and orphanages.

Not much is going on apart from the World Cup starting in a few days and I cannot wait to see my country (Spain) win this cup!

Until next time!

Thank you all for your prayers

Real Team Players

Teams are always a big encouragement to us and we’ve been plenty encouraged this year.

We’ve enjoyed teams from Nashua Christian Academy, Devon Park Christian School, Beechwood Reformed Church, Bedford Community Church and a small Detroit team that tackled some special projects.

Check out a couple of theses sites to see what they were up to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNEUuhXXPyY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV_PNpVwYBw&feature=channel

If you’re ever interested in coming down with a team just let us know.

What's in a name?

One of the most frustrating things about Bolivia is their government departments. We’ve had the joy of seeing Veronica, Franki and Dalia growing in size and faith over the past five years in our Muyurina-Frutillar Orphanage. We’ve struggled to get them their birth certificates during that entire time. Countless meetings and false starts have finally led us to victory. With birth certificates they can finally be legally registered at school and we can now apply for carnets (legal ID) that are required for college, voting, jobs and so much more. Just a piece of paper but a huge victory. Praise God!

Want a baby? Come to Bolivia

Speaking of babies…

The Mosey were an important part of our ministry for nearly a year. Ted and Caroline decided to cut their service time short to prepare for their second child; born just a few weeks ago was Ada Scarlet. We praise God for their continued friendship and support of the ministry through technical support and fundraising events.

Braeden and Tiffany in Bolivia

The Ellis family joins us.

It was truly an answer to prayer when Braeden and Tiffany felt called to join us. They were able to come on a wing and a prayer and get here in record time. We were able clean out the guest rooms at our house and turned it into an apartment for this growing family…that’s right they’re expecting their first child this September. Bonnie and I are so excited to have our first grandchild here in Bolivia. Please pray for this brave couple who will be running the entire ministry on their own for the next two months while we’re state-side getting Sydney started in college.

Farewell

Annie here for her last blog. :(
with just 2 weeks to go now till I head off travelling I'm trying to soak up as much as Cochabamba as I can and do all the things I've wanted to do here since I arrived.
I've tasted all the main typical foods including silpancho, saltenas, pique machu etc. I have yet to try Chicha the sort of corn beer thing as I'm not drinking here but on my travels when I return to Bolivia I will clear up any things missed then!
I'm going to try to climb Mt Tunari on Monday because thats something I've always wanted to do!.....could be interesting with the altitude but we'll take it slow!
So what have I learned from my time here and what will stick with me forever?
Well I have really learned alot about myself (so cliche I know) but its true, I've learned that all around the world their are amazing people that you can make friends with for life. That I have definitely learnt to make compromises in my lifestyle depending on the circumstance...and the amount of money I have?! The things that will stick with me forever are the children here and their stories, the way we can give them a second chance and to see their lives and relationships flourish with this opportunity they've been given, the poverty and the culture of Bolivia, the massive clash of developed vs undeveloped, poor vs rich and of course my friends and all the lovely people I have met here which I hope I can stay in touch with as much as poss!
If you ever have a chance to come out to Bolivia, especially Cochabamba, jump on it! get here! see its beauty and culture! witness the many lives you can change and that can definitely change you!
thankyou for reading!
Annie x

Sam arrives!

Hello I am Sam and I am the new intern from England. After four flights I arrived in this beautiful country on Friday 2nd April in Cochabamba to start my 3 month mission trip. The journey was OK until I touched down in La Paz where the altitude posed a big problem for me. Thankfully I only had to be there a couple of hours... Mike, Sydney, Gracie and Annie where waiting for me at Cochabamba airport and I was already getting really excited at this opportunity I was given.

I was glad to escape wet, miserable and cold England and arrive in this nice, sunny weather! I had the pleasure to meet Marcelino, Sofia and the orphans from the orphanage at Frutillar and do Bible Study and play with the kids. Having lived for fourteen years in Spain has been a great blessing to me for I am able to speak to language and interact with the Bolivian people. After the orphanage a group of us went for some drinks and I was able to meet some of Annie's friends. On Saturday Annie and I visited the Albino Patiño Centro in which we looked after the toddlers and tried as hard as we could to feed them. This was a totally knew and very heartbreaking experience for me. I was to hold an eight month old baby who was the size of a one month old baby! After we fed the babies and toddlers we got the Trufi (Bolivian transport) to the centre of town, the traffic was hectic!

Easter Day, Sunday, was the local election day and all means of transport was forbidden so Annie and I had to cycle down to Church which wasn't too bad. We were invited to Easter lunch at the Timmers house which was delicious and very much appreciated.

On Monday, the thing I was dreading most happened, my card (I think) got swallowed by an ATM... The Bolivian ATMs are different from the ones back home so I didn't realise I walked away without my card. I called my bank and it has been cancelled but I think it will take about five weeks for my new card to arrive in Bolivia, not good!

There are a lot more stories to tell but not much time! So I better go and... Until next time!

God bless you all and prayers are very much appreciated