I don’t have much time today, but I did just want to say…I have a house!  We’re signing the papers tonight, and the guys are all helping me move in tomorrow.  Then on Monday we’ll start shopping for the things we need for them to move in, and on Tuesday they’ll join me.  It’s pretty exciting!  =)  I went to look at the place one more time with the owners and Isabel on Tuesday, and it looks great.  They’ve done all the things they said they would, so that was encouraging.  As I said before, it’s been a bit of a complicated process, but I think all parties involved feel confident about moving ahead…so we are…  I’ll post some pictures next week sometime, so keep watching.

A quick prayer request.  Bolivia is drowning in the rain we’ve been getting.  There are parts of the country that are completely underwater and many people are suffering.  It’s been better in our area, but we were affected this week by the rains when a bridge near my house (and between me and the home) washed out.  Last year a number of houses were washed away along this creek (or what used to be a creek) when the banks collapsed…but they managed to save the bridge.  Now…the bridge is gone as well.  This is about a km up the road from my house. 

They way they should have the road open again with a temparary bridge by Monday.  This is an important road and this is causing problems for a lot of people.  Even for the home, they can’t get into town to buy supplies until the road is open again (although you can walk across, so that may be how they get groceries back to the home…transport them to one side, walk them across and then drive them the rest of the way to the home). 

At any rate, if you could pray about this, that would be great.  Thanks again, everyone, for your prayers though the process of getting this new house too.  God is good and has blessed me with a great place!

Just a quick update on the meeting with the owner of the house and her lawyer.  It went fine I guess…it’s just that there are some complications with the house.  I’m not going to get into it right now…it’s a bit difficult to explain.  But if you could continue to pray with me on this.  I need to know what my next step should be.  I’m still thinking this is the place…

On a completely random note…I’m sitting in a very trendy little cafe in one of Santa Cruz’s more affluent areas (free WIFI) surrounded by the rich and richer of Santa Cruz.  And the music playing on the speakers is very 1980’s Christian worship music…in English…  I was sitting her humming along and all of a sudden realized what I was listening too.  It’s a bit surreal….

I just have a couple of quick prayer requests.  I meet with the owner of the house with our respective lawyers today at 6:30 PM (4:30 PM Saskatchewan time).  I know that most of you will probably read this after that, but please keep praying about the process of signing the contract for the house.  Things can get a bit complicated and bureaucratic here (as I guess they can everywhere).  We’d like to be in the place by the weekend. 

Also…I’m not completely sure what’s happening, and it might be a bit premature to mention this…but it seems like maybe one or two of the guys are struggling with fear of going to school and living in the city.  I think I need to have a couple of conversations.  Please pray for the guys (and for myself).  This is a big change for some of them, and I think we’re all a bit nervous (but still excited!).  Most of the guys are fine and happy…but there are one or maybe two who seem to be backing away a bit.  I’m not sure why exactly.  For sure, the spiritual battle for the lives of these guys is intense some days.  Normal fears and concerns can get exagerated in their minds very easily.  So please continue to pray for them.

I need to pack up my house this week too.  Not something that ever excites me.  But it’ll be nice to find all the little whatevers that I’ve lost over the past couple of years.  They always seem to turn up when I move.  I guess there’s something to be said for cleaning and organizing…but of course then I’d miss the joy of finding my lost whatevers.  It’s kind of like Christmas all over again.

Thanks for praying and for checking this out.  I appreciate it…

I told the guys that if we won any money from YQ maybe we’d splurge and buy ourselves a foosball table ($100 used here).  They like foosball a lot.  But who doesn’t really…

So…I guess we’re buying a foosball table!  =)  We tied for third place and are happily accepting $4000 to furnish the house.  Technically the Caronport High youth group won.  They’re buying stuff for us.  I don’t actually care who’s buying stuff really…’cause it’s for us.  =) 

One funny side note…the other group we tied with are led by another ex-Avalonian (my old church) like myself, Mark Hettinga.  Mark’s brother lives and works in Peru, and the money is to help with a project there.  So that’s kind of cool…

Anyhow…I guess I have some shopping to do?  Anyone want to come help? 

I’m sitting here waiting to hear about the money from Briercrest….it’s a bit agonizing. For those of you who haven’t heard, Briercrest (my old Bible College) has a big youth conference every year, Youth Quake. They used to bring in big bands from all over, to entertain the masses. But a couple of years ago they decided to change their format a bit. They still bring in bands, but smaller, more local groups that cost less. That freed up around $25,000 which the organizers of YQ then made available to youth groups to support various projects. You have to apply for the funds with a video that introduces your project and how you would use the cash.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Cheryl told that her youth group wanted to apply on my behalf, and asked if I had a project in mind that they could present.

Did I have a project….

Yes, yes I did. So I scrambled and put together a video of what I do here (there were a few all nighters involved), and the fact that we could use help furnishing the new home we were about to open. I had to put together a list of how we would spend the money and I suddenly realized that…wow, I was going to need some cash…

We have to furnish the house…that means beds, dressers, a couch and chairs, kitchen table, desks for the guys to study at, etc. Then there are appliances…fridge, stove, freezer…maybe a washing machine. Bedding, curtains, pots and pans…dishes…

We’re basically outfitting a house for 10-15 people from scratch. I have some things, but most of what I have was the smallest I could buy at the time (fridge, stove, etc.). Well…except for my TV. I ended up buying a big TV. I didn’t mean too…it didn’t look that big in the store. But when I got home…. But other than that, much of what I own isn’t going to help us all that much.

Anyhow, this weekend is Youth Quake. I found out a week or so ago, that I made the list of finalists. The organizers of YQ chose ten videos from however many they received, for the kids at the conference to view. Over the weekend, they all vote (all 3,000 or so of them) and choose four projects to support. Each project can receive up to $8,000. So you can see why I’m a bit anxious at this moment…

I’m actually okay with whatever happens though. If I’ve learned anything through the process of starting up this new ministry, it’s that God provides for His people. If He chooses not to use YQ and this money…He’ll provide in some other way. I’m confident of that.

But…the money sure would be nice. =)

So check back later. I’ll let you know either way. And either way…God is good!

I got my hair cut today. I was starting to get “the crazy hair” that my Dad demonstrates so well in this picture, so it was time. The hair cut is fine…when you don’t have much, it’s not that complicated. Or so you’d think, at any rate. Last time I pretty much got butchered. Something definitely got lost in translation (literally). But fortunately hair grows back…or some of it anyhow.

The lady today was very nice. We had a good chat about the fact that there are very few “gringos” living in El Turno (the little town where I live) and about the plight of street kids. She has actually helped out (cutting hair) at another home in the area that’s run by YWAM (Youth With A Mission). So that was kind of cool…

Anyhow, the crazy hair is gone and I met a nice lady…not bad for a dollar. Well, actually I tipped her fifty cents, so it was a buck fifty…

I’m meeting with the lawyers today about signing the papers for the house…the owner’s lawyer and mine (my lawyer is actually Isabel’s sister…gotta love having good connections!). It’s gotten a bit complicated, but nothing we can’t get through I don’t think. I’ll know more after today. There are just some questions regarding the papers for the house. Feel free to pray! =) The plan is still to be in the new place by the end of next week.

It’s been a busy week of registering guys for classes…trying to sort out their papers and report cards…buying school supplies and uniforms for the two guys we’re helping who are finishing their last year of high school. Lots of running around…

And as a side note, getting papers and report cards for the guys has been a bit complicated. They have to have their last four report cards to register for university…but when you’ve moved around a lot, as some of these guys have, it means a lot of backtracking to all the schools they studied in. Plus, for a couple of the guys, their names were misspelled on their report cards, which means visits to lawyers and having to buy new forms for their corrected report cards. Report cards are official documents for students here, and are considered fairly important. It’d be nice if high school officials would take a bit more care in filling them out. Misspelled names seem to be a fairly common occurrence…

I find out Sunday about the money from Briercrest (my Bible college) for buying furniture and appliances for the new place. I’ll let you know…

Well…gotta go. I’m meeting a couple of guys in a few minutes for more shopping. Thanks for taking the time to read this and for praying. Things are still kind of tense at the home with the leadership and myself, so please keep praying for that. I’m praying that God will bring restoration to those relationships…

Have a great day everyone! It’s warm and sunny and life is good.

Well…it’s warm and sunny here…

PS:  My friend has been hassling me about my use of commas and now I’m feeling a bit paranoid. I’m thinking for my next post I won’t use any punctuation at all….

This is the new place.  Well, assuming I get all the cash.  =)  My lawyer talked to the owner today and as far as I know, things are still good.  I’ll be glad when we sign the papers next week though.  Here you never quite know until it’s in writing…

The plan is to take possession the end of next week.  They still have a bit more work to do on the place.  I’d like to take a day and do a bit of painting inside as well.  Then we’ll be in!  Well…after I pack up my house and drag everything into the city…then start buying from scratch what we need for eight guys to live…

Thanks for praying everyone.  I’ll post more pictures once we’re in the house….

I do a Bible study each week with a group of the 14 to 16 year olds on sexual purity. The group’s been kind of dwindling, with some guys leaving the home and others getting busy with homework now that school’s back in. Tonight there were only two guys there. But that was okay, because they were two of my favourite guys. Two guys who are growing amazingly in their relationships with God.

Which made tonight a bit of a surprise…

We were talking about how far is “too far” physically. The book we’re studying was talking about how we should look to Jesus as our example. They had a little chart with a list of actions (holding hands…kissing…etc.) and then when these things should happen (first date… dating… engaged… married). I almost skipped it because it seemed a bit beneath the level I figured these guys were at. Keep in mind that these guys are strong, committed Christian guys.

Anyhow…first we talked about Jesus…

“What do you think…would Jesus hold a girl’s hand on the first date?”
“No hermano (brother)!”
“What about the second date?”
“No hermano!”
“If He was dating the girl?”
“No hermano!”

I was starting to get curious as to just when exactly they thought it was okay to hold a girl’s hand.

“What about if He was married?”
“No hermano!”
“If He was married, you don’t think He’d hold his wife’s hand?!”
“No hermano no!”

It was at that point that I kind of realized that we were obviously not on the same page here. So I backed up and came at it again. I explained everything over again and then suddenly I saw the lights come on in one kid’s eyes and he explained it to the other one. They thought I had been asking what Jesus actually did when He was here on earth. I think they thought I was a bit of a heretic and they were starting to get worried that I was suggesting Jesus had a girlfriend and/or wife. =) Granted my Spanish is a bit off at times, but I think the other problem was that the guys don’t do great with hypothetical situations. They’re very concrete, black and white kind of guys.

So I decided we should just skip to what they thought was okay.

“So when is it okay to kiss a girl? The first date?”

One guy said no, but the other guy thought that maybe it was okay…depending on the situation. I was curious. So I pressed for more details. I found out that it was okay to kiss her, if the date went well and she talked to you. Okay then.

The other guy thought it was okay to kiss her on the second date.

Then the book asked when it was okay to “explore each other’s body”. Delicately put I thought. They had no clue what that was talking about. So I had to explain in slightly more graphic terms…and pantomime a couple of things. Ah…they were both in full agreement…this was okay on the second date.

And sex? You’ll be happy to know, that was off limits until they got married. Oh good…they’d been listening. So I asked how long they thought they would be dating their girlfriends before getting married. Three years said one…four said the other…

“So then…let me get this straight….you think you can do all this stuff and go right up to the line…and then wait three or four years before actually having sex?”

“Yes hermano!”

I told them they’d be lucky to make it three weeks and that “Ken” would be a good name for their respective babies…

It’s interesting sometimes, the levels of understanding and knowledge the guys have. Ask them to quote you a particular Bible verse and they have no problem. Ask them how they would apply that verse to their lives and many times all you get is a blank stare. For sure they wouldn’t have sex before they got married. But everything else? Second date.

I’m definitely learning that I can’t make assumptions here. I forget sometimes, where these guys are coming from. These two are good guys and they want to do what’s right.  I know that neither of them were sexually active on the streets. I wasn’t sure a study on sexual purity was what they needed.

Now however…I believe we’ll continue on…

It’s been brought to my attention by a concerned friend who plays way too much Boggle, that I had a brain freeze in English as well as Spanish when I wrote about baking cookies the other day.  She suggested that perhaps the reason I couldn’t get anyone to understand what I was looking for, was that I didn’t know the word for flour was in fact not “flower”.

Yes yes…whatever.  Said brain freeze has been corrected.  Thank you to all my other friends who noticed but were too polite to say anything.  My friend is Dutch.  That should pretty much explain everything.

I’ve said many times that my Spanish is not getting much better…but my English is getting a lot worse. 

So now I can’t speak in two languages….

So, I guess the big news would be…I found a house! After nearly four months of searching…we’re good to go! There have been a few “this might be it!” moments…but then plans would always fall apart for various reasons (“Sorry but the owner of the house is in Saudi Arabia and doesn’t know when he can get back.” Saudi Arabia?! Seriously?). The housing market in Santa Cruz is crazy right now too. Sometimes a house would be in the paper in the morning and would be gone by the afternoon. It’s been driving prices up as well. But I’ll get to that part… =)

The guys were all starting to get anxious as well. Their classes start in less than a month, and all I could ever say when they asked about the house was “We’re still looking…”. For most of these guys, nothing very good has ever happened in their lives, so doubts creep in quickly when they start thinking about the future and what God might have for them. I always tried to be positive and tell them that sometimes we have to wait on God, but if we believe this new home was His will for us, then of course He would provide what we needed. I told them that this was a great opportunity to learn to trust and have patience. They would all hesitantly nod and agree…

Hmm…

It was all true for sure. But wow, I felt like I was inching myself way out on a limb, so to speak. I had a couple of moments when, as I was telling one of the guys this, I could also hear a voice in the back of my head saying, “Okay God…I really don’t want to destroy this kid’s faith! You are gonna come through…right?!”

And of course He did… =)

So…you probably want to know more about the house. It’s pretty great. It’s not a “pretty house” like the other house I was talking about. But it’s new and nice, and the best part is…it’s BIG! The kitchen and especially the bedrooms are all huge. It’s got one bedroom on the main floor and three more plus a great patio on the second floor. The patio is open but has a roof. I’ve got some plans for that space…some chairs and lots of plants. Maybe a hammock… =) It’ll be a great place to hold meetings in the evening.

One initial concern was that the neighborhood is a bit poor. Well…a lot poor actually. It’s definitely a change from the last place we were looking at. But…I think that may actually part of what God has planned for us. The last house (the “pretty house”) was in a fairly affluent neighborhood…and there was a moment when I questioned wether that was right for us. The perception of the “rich gringo” opening a new home in a fancy part of town was something I wasn’t completely sure about. Don’t get me wrong…I probably would have taken that place in a heartbeat. But fortunately God sees these things more clearly than we do. We talked with some of the neighbors at the new house and everyone seemed friendly and told us that this street is safe and nothing much ever happens there. Probably the biggest news in awhile is that a gringo is moving in. There were a ton of kids running around on the street, so I’m hoping that maybe with time we can do something to get to know them all. Maybe we can be a good influence in the neighborhood. At any rate, I drove by today with the guys and they were pretty excited when they saw the place.

The only slightly stressful part of this is that…I technically don’t have all the money I need for the place. =) They were asking $22,000 (which was already a bit of a stretch for me) in the paper, but when we got there, two other people had already offered $25,000. If you remember, we’re doing what’s called an anticredico. You pay the price asked (a portion of the value of the property) and then in a year or two (depending on your contract) when you leave, you get all your money back. You have use of the property and the owner gets to use your money. It’s a very common practice here and a great deal for us. So I have two weeks (we want to sign the contract March 1^st) to come up with a bit more money. It seemed that this is the place God has for us…so I took a bit of a step of faith. That seems to be the norm for this little adventure…

Please pray that all of this comes together for us. God has provided time and again with this new project, so I have no doubt that He’ll continue to do so. But we do need to come up with the $5,000 as well as a bit more monthly support for the guys themselves. If you’d like to be a part of this adventure =) …please contact me at ken.switzer@iteams.org or speak directly to Janelle at International Teams (1-800-465-7601). She’ll be happy to help you. Once we get settled and things up and running, I’m going to connect those of you who are supporting the guys with one of the guys themselves. You can get to know each other and hopefully learn a bit more of who they are. I was explaining this to one of the guys, and he was pretty excited about the idea.

So…there you go. Keep watching the blog (www.kenswitzer.blog.com). I plan to put some pictures up of the house as soon as I can. That’ll give you a bit better idea of where we’re going to be. At any rate…it’s pretty exciting! =)

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all your support and prayers. There’s no way I could attempt any of this without your support and help. We’re all thankful down here…