Well…there nothing like a little self-pity to generate some e-mail traffic. =) Thanks to all of you who wrote and said nice things and told me you were praying for me. I actually had a moment last night when it felt like I could physically sense that people were praying. It was encouraging for sure! I had a Bible study with a group of the guys (which was okay) but then afterwards one of the guys stayed, and asked me a bunch of questions about what he was reading in the Bible. He’s an astute kid and he’s reading through the Old Testament. So I was scrambling a bit to come up with answers to his questions and preserve my “Youth Pastors Know All” status (Yea, yea I know…that ship sailed a long time ago, but still…I try). It was fun though. We had a good conversation about what’s happening spiritually in his life and how important it is to make that heart connection with God and not just a surface “change my actions and make everyone happy” decision. We prayed together and it was a good moment. The pastor at the home actually mentioned him later too in a conversation, and said that he’d noticed a growing passion in this young guy and that he’s been a real help to him (the pastor). I’ll write more another day about this guy (his name is Ernesto) but for now, please pray for him.

I also found out a bit more about Jose Miguel (the fellow who left). The pastor was telling me that everything seemed fine and that there was no indication that he had plans to leave. He thinks something may have happened with one of the other guys and in a moment of frustration, Jose Miguel gave into the temptation and left. It’s sad really. The problem is, when he left, he stole some things from some of the other guys (which is fairly common here…the guy leaving needs money). Unfortunately, that makes it very difficult for the guy who left to come back. Not only do they have to face whatever consequence or punishment there might be from the staff, he has to face the boys he stole from. So…that makes it a bit unlikely that Jose Miguel will be back any time soon. But please pray for him. I keep thinking that God’s not finished with him yet and despite everything, he may still decide to return to the home.

And…I still have to deal with the situation with the guys in my house and the fellows who decided it was a good idea to put up posters of naked women on their wall. =) Yep…it’s bound to be an interesting evening. Feel free to pray about that as well.

But some good news. I may have found a house for the new home. It’s a bit more than I had planned to pay, but the flip side is that it’s worth a lot more than what they’re asking. I’m not sure if I’ve explained this before, but my plan is to get a house with something we call “Anticredico” here. Basically you pay a portion of the value of the house and then have use of the property for a year or two (depending on your contract with the owner). When the contract is fulfilled and the time is up, you get all your initial money back. So you have use of the house while the owner has use of your money. It’s a very common legal practice here. So far I’ve been looking for houses in the $10,000 to $15,000 range, but unfortunately they’ve all been too small or in bad neighborhoods. This house is actually $20,000 but should probably be closer to $30,000 or $35,000. It’s a bit farther out from the centre of town which is why it’s a bit cheaper I think. But wow…is it nice! Just what we’re looking for. There are other people interested as well, however. So please pray that the owner finds favour with the gringo!! And also that the extra money we need will come in.

On that note, as well…thanks so much to those of you who have committed to sponsoring one of the guys this year. We’re about at the halfway mark with having funds for all the guys for this first year. I’m going to put together a letter with pictures and a bit of a testimony of each of the guys, so you’ll better know who they are…but if you feel that God is leading you to sponsor one of the guys, it’d be great to hear from you. =) We need to start paying for classes in February and classes start the beginning of March, so time is becoming a bit of a factor. Please pray for these guys as well. I can sense that there’s definitely a spiritual battle happening in some of their lives right now. I’m sure it’s related to this new step they’ll be taking, and it’d be good for them to know that people are praying for them.

I’m having lunch tomorrow with the fellow I mentioned yesterday, Julio. Please pray that it goes well and that I have wisdom in what I say. I’m not really sure what the answers are for him right now, so I need some direction. But I’m looking forward to reconnecting more with him. He’s a great kid.

I’m in an internet café right now and there’s another gringo having a LOUD conversation with someone over the internet. It’s kind of entertaining. Not sure he realizes that he’s including everyone in the building…

Lots of prayer requests here. Thanks for praying! It’s definitely needed. Corina’s letter is below…  Next time I’ll tell you about my latest “nearly getting killed on a bus” story. It’s kind of funny….

Miss you all. Don’t miss the -50 C.

Luego,

Ken

Letter from Corina Clements with the ministry “El Jordan”…

Well… “Christmas on the Streets” is gone for another year!!! We hope and pray that the seeds planted will grow and give fruit in the future… I had a phone call from someone who took the Christmas meal into jail to a group of 120 prisoners. They had the opportunity to present the gospel of Christ’s love and sacrifice… and twenty people said that they believed that message for the first time… Pray for these and others who received a physical demonstration of God’s love in a special meal and gift, combined with hearing of God’s saving gift to us…

We’ve had several days to just sit back… sleep…eat… and do NOTHING!!! …a needed and special treat after so much activity…. Let me take you through the last couple weeks…

Monday, December 10^th, two weeks before our “big day”, we concentrated “full time” on the preps for “Christmas on the Streets”… Eight HUGE bags of “puffed corn” arrived… I mean HUGE!!! Each bag is at least 2 meters HIGH and about 80 or 90 cms across… It’s cheaper buying in bulk… and then we rebag it into 9000 little bags – two each for every Christmas gift bag… That, and gift wrapping the 4500 gifts for the Christmas bags are our main jobs that first week… plus… getting gifts together for the ladies who study the Bible with me in jail… and for the men at two rehabilitation centers we always remember at Christmas time… In addition to that, we had our “Christmas” for our students and their children… (another 100+ gifts)…. For most of them, the gifts they get here are the only ones they’ll get…

Anyhow… There are people in charge of different areas and my job is just making sure everyone has what they need to work… bags… tape… wrapping paper… gifts… etc, etc, etc… and working on organizing the numbers, orders and timing for Christmas day (here the 24^th).

Everything went really smoothly… we were ready to put the gift bags together on Monday the 17^th… Hmmm… imagine… 4500 bags… 4500 tracts or booklets… 4500 wrapped gifts… 4500 each of two kinds of puffed corn… 9000 lollipops… 27,000 pieces of gum… and 45,000 candies… and 4500 knots! That’s what it takes to make up 4500 gift bags!

We probably had 60 people come to help make up the bags the first afternoon… There were 7 kids between 6 and 8 years old that were too small to help in the assembly line… I rolled my eyes wondering how was I going to keep them “entertained”, working all afternoon??? I got out the 4000+ disposable plates and set the kids up around our patio table… The plates stick together, and there is NO time on the 24^th to be picking them apart… so we cut strips of paper to put between each plate… The kids were incredible… I was so proud of them… I thought they’d lose their interest after a couple hundred plates each… but they finished ALL the plates!!!! Maybe it was the prize I promised them if they worked well!!!! (I took them to eat ice cream around the corner after!)

We finished half of the bags that first afternoon… and finished everything the next day… Then the bags have to be divided up according to the “orders” for Christmas… for example… 30 at 12:30 p.m. for Gloria to take to Maximum Security. 120 at 1 p.m. for Iver to take to a group in regular jail… 40 at 1 p.m. for here… and another 40 at 1 p.m. for there… etc… To further complicate matters, some of the places (like jail and some areas on the streets) are mainly adults… other places are mainly children… others are families – so we try and send gifts and tracts that are appropriate… Hmm… I’m glad I’m not in charge of arranging all of that!!!!

Amazingly, we had to tell people to quit coming to help!!!! …to only come in the mornings from Wednesday to Saturday because we were so ahead of schedule… We borrowed trucks to bring the industrial ovens (12), pots, gas tanks (23) and freezers (3)… All the plastic containers for the food and pans for the ovens had to be scrubbed and washed… The spoons (cutlery) put with the serviettes… juice packets divided according to the different places we were going to…

150 chickens were delivered on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning… to be cut up and spiced before going into the freezers… a total of 450 chickens… We had a system down and I’ve never seen it go so well… We had a couple ladies come to cook… the first day we had chicken feet soup… hmm… I happened to get a bowl with THREE feet in it… Oh dear!!! The next day they got out the barbeque and made heart and gizzard shish kabobs which I enjoyed better than chewing on the feet!!!

Of course… there were a few little snags along the way…

“We have a problem… we miscounted and we’re lacking 300 gifts…”

“Corina… that freezer that we borrowed isn’t freezing… the 150 chickens haven’t frozen at all!!!” (Pretty serious when it is terribly hot and it’s only 7 in the morning… and we have another 150 chickens we have to put into the freezer!!!)

They say if your kids are really quiet… beware!!! …well, with everything sailing so smoothly for Christmas, could it last? Well… we had a bit of problem with the pork… We ordered “at least 850 kilos” of pork from the boys’ home… more wouldn’t be a problem because I knew there was money to pay for it… and since pork is so important for Christmas here in Bolivia, I wanted everyone to have a nice piece… The meat was to be delivered at noon… helpers were supposed to come at 2 to help spice it etc.. The meat was supposed to arrive cold – “almost frozen”… so there wasn’t supposed to be a problem with the timing… Well… 1080 kilos of pork arrived… at 11 in the morning… and it wasn’t very cold!!! There wasn’t anybody at El Jordan… the people delivering the meat were afraid it might go bad in the plastic bins with the heat… SO… they dumped it out on tarps… in El Jordan’s living room… under the fans going full blast… with ice on top of it… in hopes it would keep okay until we got there… Hmm…. My sister, nephew and I arrived, with more ice, at about 1… by then, bloody water had spread everywhere… and under everything!!! …under the door and onto the patio… into the rice… under our plates… under the gas tanks… everywhere… Of course when we REALLY needed 60 people to help us they weren’t there… It was a crazy hour or two… trying to keep everything under control until people starting arriving to help… 

From there on, things didn’t stop until “Christmas” was over… Literally, there was a ton of pork to be washed, cut and spiced… 30 big stalks of bananas to be separated, cut and counted… 875 pounds of potatoes to be counted… and peeled… washed and cut… and counted again… Even my nephews were peeling potatoes!!! 8 teenagers from the boys home work 12 and a half hours STRAIGHT with no stopping to prepare our 1000 pounds of rice…

Words can’t describe what it is like to see so many people coming together… working… and making an incredible feat possible… So many people worked SO hard… One of our newest volunteers, a Mennonite lady, really wanted to help… but because she has to tend to her family, she and her teenage daughter came from 11 p.m. until dawn!!! My sister was another one who was up all night, helping with the potatoes… the meat… and so much more… For roasting the pork and chicken, Eulogio and Abraham (our volunteers) always have boys – who have been on the streets or are still on the streets – that show up to help… They work all night long as well…

With so many volunteers working such long hours… we try to get people to donate refreshments… I got a phone call from one restaurant who we understood was going to bring us lunch on Monday for our volunteers… that “Sorry, we can’t bring any food… but could you come right away? There are four bags of duck innards in our freezer… We need the space… could you pick it up right away?” Sigh. I tried to be thankful as I drove to pick it up… I had flashbacks of the cow stomachs, livers and hearts that were donated for “Christmas on the Streets” years ago… I imagined duck heads, feet and everything… in the end it was all gizzards and necks… so it wasn’t that bad…

Medin, our honorary volunteer, that comes to El Jordan once a year to make cookie plates for the people who locally support our center, left cookie dough in our freezer… so those got made up at about three in the morning on the 24^th… They were a special treat! Our pizza man from around the corner came through and brought over 10 pizzas for our helpers on the 24^th… So everything works out in the end…

At noon, the assembly line is set up… and the food is served… Our first order goes out at 12:30… By one, 450 plates go out… at 1:30 – 358; 2… 650; 2:30 – 400; 3:00 – 650; 3:30 – 350; 4:00 – 410; 4:30 – 340… The students come and pick up for their families between 12 and 2… that is another 300 plates… …so in 4 hours, 4500 + plates are served and sent out into almost 100 parts of the city… Amazing… but I think you have to see it to really imagine it…

Our priority, as the name “Christmas on the Streets” suggests, is to the people who live on the streets… Over the years we have broadened that to include “extreme poor”… another group in the city who are often overlooked… and who usually expect, nor hope for anything for Christmas… They are another group of people who can use a good plate of food… and whose hearts might be touched by this display of love – and knowledge that there is a God who loves and cares for them… We say “extreme”… not to keep up with the TV shows in the north, but because there are “poor” people… and then there are people whose poverty is truly extreme… We desire to encourage churches to look beyond their comfort zone and reach out to the many, many needy people surrounding them… Isn’t that what Christ did - even when others were appalled? I think the great response locally to “Christmas on the Streets” – in donations and participation – is evidence that those attitudes are developing in our churches…

I always go out to an area on the streets that no one else takes – but at the very end, when I’m sure everything has ended well… This year, I don’t know how, we ran out of chicken and potatoes early… and we had pork, rice and meat left over… By this time there were only maybe 20 of us left at El Jordan… I shut off the music so everyone would listen to me… “Does anyone know of anyone is very poor who you could take some food to?”

“I know a physically handicapped home near my house – there are about 23 people there… They don’t have anything… I could take there!” “I had wanted to take to a ver poor home for old folks, but I was told there wasn’t going to be enough food… I could take some there!!!” “I know two families who are extremely poor.” “I know some people who are extremely poor…” “I can take some to the mentally handicapped home nearby…” “I can take to where we took Christmas on the Streets last year… I wasn’t going to because it was too late to put in my order… but now I can!” …and so at last minute… we divided up the food that was left… I sent some people in taxis… Marco took others… and with everyone helping out, we were able to get the extra food to people who really needed it… Some of the comments that came back from these last minute options, “I thought you had forgotten about us!!!” “We weren’t going to have anything for Christmas!!” “Thank you so much!”

My group arrived late to “our” spot on the streets… Only two girls were still waiting for us… the rest had given up and left… …but it wasn’t long before they started coming back again… A couple prostitutes looked on from afar but then turned to leave. I recognized “Paola” (not our student), who had expressed interest in coming to El Jordan and getting out of that lifestyle, so I followed them… Their “boss” wouldn’t let them come… but they showed me where they’d be… and I promised to take them something afterwards… We pray that “Christmas on the Streets” would break down barriers and fears that some of the kids have… so that they’ll feel free to come to El Jordan to look for help… Other people we saw on the streets that night… “Jorge” – whose older brother and sister both have died on the streets… He is only about 15… but has been on the streets for at least 9 years… “Lorena” – Oliver’s mom… “Gordito” – Doña Gorda’s son… and over 50 others… I asked them if they knew why we brought them food and gifts… (because its Christmas… because we celebrate Jesus’ birth)… then I asked if they thought God could love them if they were on the streets, sniffing glue, stealing etc… I looked around… With sad, empty eyes… they shook their heads “no”… In their own eyes, they are rejects… unlovables… Unfortunately, society and even churches, often confirm rather than dispel their suspicions. God DOES love them!!! He doesn’t like what they do… but that doesn’t change His love for them… We were able to talk to them a bit… and also invite them to El Jordan…

From there… a couple of us continued on to a few families on the outskirts of the city… We arrived to one place, a mud shack with a teeny, tiny window… … it looked as if no one was home… I called out the boys names… nothing… After a few more yells, a neighbor came out and confirmed… “No one is home… they all went out!” I turned to go… when I heard a child’s desperate little voice from inside the darkened shack… “Tía??? (Auntie??? That is what these kids call me) Tía??? Is that you??? Don’t go away!!! Please don’t go away! Tía??? Are you leaving???” It just about made me cry… They were locked in their dark room, they couldn’t get out… nor could I get in… but they were afraid that I was going to leave…

Fortunately, a neighbor lady had the key to unlock the door… Out tumbled two little boys… Their older brothers (10 and 12 years old) were out “working”… Their mom… who knows where she is (she works on the streets)… They were alone with their baby sister… Sigh… (This is the same family who a couple Christmas’ ago, the mom had locked her kids in the room because she thought she’d just be a couple hours at a doctors’ appointment… but then ended up in the hospital… She had the keys… and didn’t know who could help her…. In the middle of Christmas preparations, I had to follow her directions to find the little house and bring the kids home with me… The neighbors had already cut the chain off the door and let the kids out… but that is another story.)

We had one more stop to make before heading home… Tired out… but satisfied… with a joy that comes from giving… instead of receiving… I have received so much… how can I not share with others?

Thanks to all of you who gave who made this “Christmas on the Streets” possible… In the end, we were able to share “Christmas” with about 4650 people… Thanks…

We trust your Christmas was special as well… and that in this New Year, God would continue to guide and use each one of us…You might not have the chance to reach out to a child on the streets… or a prostitute that wants to change… or people in “extreme poverty”… but where ever we are, there are always people who need a touch of Christ’s love… they might have everything under the sun… but still be the poorest, emptiest person around…

May God bless you richly…

Lots of love,

Corina (for Marco too)

A comment from Ken…

The last picture is of Corina with a baby born on the streets.  The little girls is two weeks old.