THREE WEEKS OF SCHOOL ALREADY!!!

It hardly seems possible that we are in the third week of school already.  We have 164 students enrolled.  This year we added the 11th grade. (but we don't have a 10th grade.)   High school takes teachers for special subjects so it has been a challenge to find the staff we need.  A number of students from last year moved to other areas or were taken out by their parents because of financial concerns.   The Lord faithfully provides so that we can cover expenses.  We are thankful for each of you who have had a part in the ongoing work of the Christian School in Portachuelo 

Every Monday morning starts with the National Anthem

Marion has 23 in kindergarten.  Her new helper is Rosa, lives in Montero, 12 miles away.  Rosa has a degree in educational sciences.  We are hoping she will want to stay in kindergarten and be Marion’s replacement but I'm afraid her heart is in teaching biology.

The end of another day in kindergarten

I have mentioned Bismar in my correspondence a number of times.  Bismar is the academic director of the school.  He is also involved in leadership in the assembly.  It has been a joy to see his spiritual growth over the past couple of years.  Thursday night he brought the message during the prayer and Bible study time.  He always begins with examples from what the Lord has been teaching him. 

Bismar and Ruthy with their two boys

Being the school director is a big job.  Especially since the government has instituted a new education program.  Bismar is swamped with paperwork.  The teachers are also swamped with paperwork and one of Bismar’s jobs is to make sure their paperwork is done so that he can do his.  His people managing skills are improving.  Bismar’s wife, Ruthy is the second grade teacher.

Ready to start mixing and pouring

The roof over the new classrooms has been poured.  The builder says it has to dry for three weeks before they can go back to work.  It is the rainy season so it gets frequent showers to keep it damp.  In the mean time the 9th grade is meeting in the back of the assembly hall.

This building will give us two more classrooms.  In two years we have to add the second story.    Then we hope to build another similar unit facing this one.  The department of education did an inspection awhile back. The school doesn't have a library or a science lab yet so we got points taken off.  We are still the best equipped school in town. 

WE NEED CEMENT!!!

The work is  further along than this picture shows.

We need cement!  The construction of the new classrooms has been held up for over a week because there is no cement.  The builder says he expects to get cement today.  They are ready to pour the second floor which will be the roof until we have fund to continue building.  

One class will have to meet in the assembly room until we have a room for them.  It will be at least a month before a room will be finished. 

Saul and Jenny moved from the city of Santa Cruz to join the team at the Portachuelo Christian School.  They are both graduates of the university in Sucre.  Saul will be teaching high school math and science and Jenny will be helping with English.  Pray they will find a house soon, for the time being they are living with us.  

Saul and Jenny with family

Not only are they an addition to the school, they are also an addition to the assembly.  They come recommended from an assembly in Santa Cruz, before that they were active in an assembly in Sucre.

Ten years old

The school is starting its 11th year .   Praise the Lord for His faithfulness. We are in the second week of enrollment. Each year we ask the Lord to bring in the students He wants to be in the school.  Many parents wait until the day school starts to enroll their kids.  Classes start on February 1.  We are expecting 175 students this year from kindergarten through 11th grade.  

There is no accounting for taste.

There is no accounting for taste.  Enrique and Carlos came to the house after the meeting this morning to use the computer.  I told them there was pie in the refrigerator if they wanted some.  There were three pies, mulberry, strawberry and lemon meringue.  Guess what they wanted.  “Can we have the leftover pancakes?”

Greeting to all of you, we thank the Lord for all who has stood with us during this past year in praying and giving.  Praise the Lord for His faithfulness.  As we look forward to another year we need your prayers for wisdom and strength.  The responsibilities continue but the energy is less.  The Lord has promised  "as thy days, so shall thy strength be."

Christmas Eve we spent with Marcos and family enjoying the traditional late supper.  Christmas morning we had breakfast with Oswaldo and family, then we took off for the country to have the noon meal with Fabian.  We took along all the fixing and had a cookout.  Praise the Lord for the progress we see in Fabian.

Oscar is in the Beni, another State of Bolivia spending some time with his father.  It has been a long time since Marion and I have had the house to ourselves.  It won’t be for long.  Helen and Miguel, the newlyweds are returning from Camiri in a couple of days.  They have a place lined up to move to, but for the time being they will be here until they can get settled.  


 After the New Year another couple will be in the house for a while.  Saul and Jenny are coming to work in the school next year.  They will be using our house as a base while they are looking for a place to live.  Saul and Jenny are graduates from the university in Sucre.  He will take over the job of teaching physics, math and chemistry.  Jenny teaches English and German.

Marion wonders how many grandmothers have the privilege of teaching their own grandchildren.  Here is a picture of Oswaldo with Oswaldo Enrique (Quique)  and Asiel, his two oldest.  Notice the green and white ribbon.  Those are the colors of the Santa Cruz flag.  It indicates that they are the best students in their class.  Quique is will be starting third grade in February and Asiel will be in first grade.  Marion was their kindergarten teacher.

Oswaldo with Quique and Asiel

Wedding Day One

The bride's family has been our personal friends for years.  They arrived (seven of them) at our house on Wednesday to help Helen with the preparations.  Praise the Lord for a house big enough to handle the crowd.  They are all willing workers so there are many hands to help with the work.

Tacos for lunch

On Friday afternoon the civil registrar arrived at our house to perform the civil wedding.  That is the only one that has any legal standing in Bolivia.  The immediate families and a few close friends were present for this ceremony.  Afterwards there was a snack and people stayed until late visiting and getting to know each other.

Helen and Miguel with their witnesses and the civil registrar

With the official document

Tonight the church wedding will be at the chapel in Montero.  I will be heading into the city later to pick up the cake and get it back to Montero.  

Along the way I pick up Fabian who will be spending the weekend with us.  This will be the first time since he went into rehab that he will be back in Portachuelo.

Beautiful wheels?

Motorcycles are the plague of the streets in Portachuelo.  There is no control, motorcycles don't need a license,  the drivers don't need a license, maintenance is kept to a bare minimum.   They come from all directions and there is no way of knowing which portion of the road they might want.  At night many of them are without lights.  It is like in the days of the judges, when every man did what was right in his own eyes.  It is the Lord's mercy that there aren't more accidents.  


How beautiful are the wheels......Each Sunday afternoon five motorcycles roar off down the road out of Portachuelo.  These five are all the motorcycles in the Portachuelo Christian Assembly.  Each one carries a special cargo.  They are a team from the  Assembly on their way to minister the Gospel to various small communities in the Province of Sara.   A province would be comparable to a county in the States and Portachuelo is the county seat. 

The team in Bañadito

Romans 10:15  And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 

Bañadito, San Ignacio, San Juan, Torrentes, San Miguel, Caranda are some of the towns that have been visited recently.  Usually they are well received. Sometimes there are surprises, like this past Sunday only two kids showed up for the meeting in San Isidro.  The reason,  the town's soccer team was playing in a tournament in Buena Vista, 40 kilometers away, and almost everyone went to watch.

Luis and Aldo with the kids in Bañadito

Most of those who attend these meetings are kids.  But some adults come out,usually women once in awhile some men.  At our midweek prayer meeting Aldo shared the request of a mother from Bañadito whose husband had died a few days before.  She asked for strength and wisdom.

It wasn't even a surprise.

Miguel Mendoza came to be the fourth grade teacher in the Portachuelo Christian School last year.  This year Helen Galvez came from Camiri to work in the school as the fifth grade teacher.  It didn't take long before everyone realized there was an attraction there.  Helen lives in our home, Miguel lives in Montero, 12 miles away.  Marion and I have been chaperons as the relationship matured.  Sunday they announced in the morning meeting that they were planning to marry on December 18.  We praise the Lord for this young couple.  The both love the Lord and are much involved in various ministries. 

Our house has become the strategy center as they make plans.  The civil ceremony will be in our house the night before the church wedding.  We have had a number of civil ceremonies here.

Pray for them as they begin their life together.  They plan to continue at the school next year.

Helen and Miguel

Things I learned doing a blog.

I got more feedback from this then I ever got from an email News Letter.  More than 20 people responded. 

• I was told to keep it short
• Send often with lots of pictures (What did we do before we had digital cameras?).  We didn’t have blogs then did we?
• Someone else said to send an email teaser each time with a link to the blog.
• Another said they couldn’t download the blog and requested the email version.  (easy to do)

Schools almost out!

Marion had the graduation for her kindergarten last Friday.  This coming Friday is the closing program for the rest of the school.

The kindergarten graduation

Sergio gets a good bye hug from his kindergarten teacher

As soon as school is out next week the builders will start their work.  We have 12000 bricks, a ton of steel and 100 bags of cement ready to go.  I won't be doing much traveling this vacation.  I'll be here overseeing the building.

Building supplies

We have heard rumors that the government is shutting down the other two private schools in Portachuelo.  The reason is that they do not have their own property.  They are renting the property and they do not have the required space and facilities. We praise the Lord for His provision for our school.  Who knew twenty years ago when we bought the big lot that it would be exactly what was needed now.  I expect there will be a number of new students wanting to enroll in our school next year.  Pray for wisdom.  We don't want to take in more new students than we can handle and ruin the spirit of the school.


Thank you for standing with us in prayer and giving.