One of those weeks! Part 4

As we were about to start the Sunday morning meeting I looked up to see Saul guiding Sebastian to a seat.  Sebastian is over eighty years old and completely blind.   He and his wife, Martha, who is also blind, live in Santa Cruz.  They used to visit us together but she is not able to travel now.  They met while studying at an institute for the blind where they learned to read in Braille and do macramé.  For many years they supported themselves with their handy work.  Sebastian still gets around; he travels alone and does very well.

After the meeting he had dinner with us.  If we would allow him to share in the evening meeting he wanted to stay and spend the night with us.  Everyone is impressed when Sebastian reads from his Braille Bible.  He always has something good to share.  He asked for prayer for his son who has recently been diagnosed with cancer.  After spending the night with us Marcos took him back into the city.

Sunday afternoon we got a call from Saul.  The driver of the vehicle that ran into him was back in town waiting for his vehicle to be repaired.  They needed a place to spend the night.   Saul doesn’t have room so he asked if they could spend the night with us.  Now we were able to get to know them, Florencio and María. They had supper with us and went to the evening meeting with us (Saul was preaching that night).  After breakfast they headed back to Cochabamba. We had a nice time with them and made some new friends.  Pray that the seed sown with produce fruit.

Praise the Lord for a house with enough room and praise Him for the people He sends to fill it.

One of those weeks! Part 4

As we were about to start the Sunday morning meeting I looked up to see Saul guiding Sebastian to a seat.  Sebastian is over eighty years old and completely blind.   He and his wife, Martha, who is also blind, live in Santa Cruz.  They used to visit us together but she is not able to travel now.  They met while studying at an institute for the blind where they learned to read in Braille and do macramé.  For many years they supported themselves with their handy work.  Sebastian still gets around; he travels alone and does very well.

After the meeting he had dinner with us.  If we would allow him to share in the evening meeting he wanted to stay and spend the night with us.  Everyone is impressed when Sebastian reads from his Braille Bible.  He always has something good to share.  He asked for prayer for his son who has recently been diagnosed with cancer.  After spending the night with us Marcos took him back into the city.

Sunday afternoon we got a call from Saul.  The driver of the vehicle that ran into him was back in town waiting for his vehicle to be repaired.  They needed a place to spend the night.   Saul doesn’t have room so he asked if they could spend the night with us.  Now we were able to get to know them, Florencio and María. They had supper with us and went to the evening meeting with us (Saul was preaching that night).  After breakfast they headed back to Cochabamba. We had a nice time with them and made some new friends.  Pray that the seed sown with produce fruit.

Praise the Lord for a house with enough room and praise Him for the people He sends to fill it.

One of those weeks! Part 3

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY were fairly normal. 

 If you're wondering where the pictures are, my camera isn't working.  I'll try taking some with my cell phone.

SATURDAY morning 2:30 AM the phone rang.  It was Saul our math and science teacher. Things have been tight financially for them so he had gone into the city to make some extra money using his car as a taxi.  On the way home a drunk came over into his lane and slammed into another vehicle and then into the driver’s side of Saul’s car.  I called Marcos and we went looking for Saul.  The driver of the other vehicle tried to drive off but his vehicle was not drivable.  I came back to Portachuelo and got a tow truck for the other vehicle.  Marcos stayed with Saul to drive his car back but the radiator was losing water and overheating. I made another trip back to the scene of the accident (What did we do before cell phones?) and towed them to the mechanic shop where the other driver was waiting.   The other driver was angry and didn't want to pay the tow truck driver so things were a bit difficult for awhile. Finally they settled accounts. Saul went home, the other driver and his wife; (she was drunk also) slept in their car.  The next day they all went into the city with Marcos to look for a new door for Saul’s car.  

Sunday we'll meet the other driver and his wife again.

One of those weeks! TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY

Since Fabian has been in the rehab program it’s been a challenge get him into the city to the orthodontist.  He had a root canal treatment in a molar and we couldn’t get him back into the dentist for awhile.  Finally I decided something had to be done and arranged to drive in and get him and spend two days in the city getting his dental work up to date.  Tuesday morning as I was getting ready to leave I got a call from the director of the program telling me that Fabian was in the city.  I didn't have to go out into the boonies to get him.  The tooth got an abscess and his face was swollen.  They sent him out with someone else.  I picked him up and we got him taken care of.

Wednesday is the day I go to the city to purchase for the school.  So I had some help carrying things.

It was good to spend the time with Fabian.  The Lord is working in his life.  When we went to visit him in November for his birthday, I invited his aunt Lourdes to go with us.  When she saw what was going on in Fabian’s life she said she needed something like that.  Since then she has started going to a church near her home, she has received the Lord as her Savior and is to be baptized.   Fabian will be finishing the program soon.  He has a job lined up in Santa Cruz and he will be living with his aunt.  He says Portachuelo is still his home and he will be spending weekends with us.  We are his parents.

Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and mercy.

One of those weeks! Monday

Kathy  wants to go to college in Santa Cruz but the government will not recognize her high school diploma from Spain.  They will only credit her for two years so she is enrolled as a junior in our school to get a Bolivian diploma.  Her mother remained in Spain working and is sending money to finish building a house.  So Kathy would not be alone the mother brought her aunt and her children in from the country to stay with her.    The aunt’s 26 year old son was working on someone’s farm and got sick, so they brought him into town.  No one was home so they left him on the floor of the patio.  The family found him and took him to the hospital where he died.

Now we get involved.  The aunt didn’t know what to do; so all the responsibility fell on 17 old Kathy.  She showed up at school Monday morning asking for help as she didn’t know what to do either.  Oswaldo and I spent the morning, arranging for a casket, getting a death certificate, getting permission from the authorities to bury him, and finding a place to bury him.  That involved going out into the country to find a grandmother who knew where the family had a burial plot at the cemetery.  

Father's Day Already!

In Bolivia Father's Day is celebrated on March 19th.  It is one of the special days at the school.  The auditorium is not big enough for everyone so we make use of the shade of the tamarind trees.  Each class prepared something special for the program and the end result was declared to be the best Father's Day celebration we have ever done.

Taking advantage of the shade

The parents are always asking when we will get the roof over the basketball court.  One of its functions will be to provide a place for these special occasions.  

Someday we'll have the roof over the court

One of the highlights was volley ball played with water balloons which were caught and tossed using a towel held between two people.  Try it for your next family picnic.  Its a blast.  One of the fathers said this is the first Father's Day where I have not only been honored but entertained. 

Water balloon volley ball

In the evening the ladies from the church prepared a meal for the fathers in the church, following by a program to honor the fathers.

The fathers dining on the basketball court

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.