Hello From Bolivia,
It’s been a little while but hopefully this blog gets you caught up on the goings on here in Bolivia. PS the videos are back 🙂
So the three/four main ministries that our team focuses on this month are called:
The Men’s Shelter
The construction project for this month. Lets us be a part of helping build the new Mens Shelter in the area. It’ll help provide a constant place for the men in the families being helped off the street.
El Jordan
Helps families that are currently on the street to find the opportunity they’ve been looking for, to let them work and contribute back to the very society that has rejected them. Leads bible studies for the women while teaching them crafts so they can sell their handmade jewelry. A lot of our work is playing with the kids and helping clean the building.
Reintegration at ‘The Journey” (La Jornada)
The young men featured in the 1st film below are part of this ministry. Once belonging to the street culture, some as long as 15 years, these 10 young men have been through a boys home and decided to place their trust in another organization. The leading contact is Ken Switzer and the vision is to bridge the gap for the teens that age out of boys homes at 18 to constant healthy life off the street. Many of men and women will continue to live on the street after leaving the boys/girls homes at age 18, but the Journey allows the opportunity to go on to university and live together in this amazing household. Experiencing things like budgeting, good work, and how to live on your own, these men are choosing to let go of their pasts (a daily struggle) and learning to hold on to the hope that comes from the Love of our Lord Jesus Christ as they continue on to become doctors, lawyers, mechanics, and much more. Visit their web page. Click
La Jornada!
Hitting the Streets with YWAM
Youth With A Mission helps us look at the other side of their story; life on the street. Others on my team have blogs explaining these days in a little more detail, but the gist is this. The team will leave early in the morning and go to the spots underground that many of these young people live. Drugs, cold welcomes, or illnesses are often the ways we find our new friends… and the leader of this ministry has been seeing that for over 8 years (talk about perseverance!)
Sorry that was so long but this is now a look at the young men that I’ve been talking about. Look at the Joy on there faces and just the way the Lord has opened the door for us to be here in their hearts; and we’ve only been here for 11 days. 🙂
The videos below are of us the back of the truck with some of the guys in the Journey. The second is a little time there in the middle of the evening worship at their church. And the third is the video that La Jornada put together to show introduce their lives a little better. Enjoy!
Love you all, Thanks for all of your prayers and dreams. I’ll continue to try and post blogs as long as you’ll keep reading them .
Love Life,
Josue
Philippians 4:6-8
