Our good friend Ryan left this morning…at 6 AM.  It’s fortunate for him that I liked him ’cause I don’t get up before 6 AM for just anyone.  I don’t get up before 8 AM for just anyone really.  Ryan’s travelling South America for a year, and awhile back he wrote and asked if we would mind if he crashed at our house for a month.  I said sure no problem.  When you already have nine guys living with you, what’s one more?  Besides…he’s a skinny white guy.  He ate like half what the rest of the guys in our house eat.  We barely noticed he was there.  =)  Ryan’s the cousin of my friend Jordan from back home in Canada.  Jordan and a couple of guys stayed with me two years ago for a month over Christmas.  I had an excellent time with them, and I guess they had fun too since they’re reccomending Casa de Ken to other South American travellers.  =)  Ryan moves on to Cochabamba for a month and then heads to points south…Argentina…Chile…those places. 

We really did have a great time with Ryan.  I felt a bit bad for him at first.  He arrived in the middle of the Saskatoon Chritian School team.  He was here about 15 minutes and then we put him to work and dragged him around Santa Cruz.  He was an excellent sport about it, and I think actually had a good time too.  My guys sure enjoyed having him here!

Tomorrow morning our other good friend, Andy, heads back home to the US.  He also leaves early in the morning.  And we’re also going to miss him a lot too.  Andy’s a student at Wheaton Bible College and has been here for three months.  He’s 6 ft 5 in and although you can’t see it in this picture, his hair adds another four inches or so to his hight. 

When I first met Andy, I wasn’t sure what to think.  He was kind of quiet.  Marcee and I were laughing about it the other day.  She said she wasn’t sure if she could mock and tease him or not…if he’d be able to take it and laugh.  She said their future friendship depended on this.  As it turns out…not only can Andy take it…he’ll throw it right back at you and be funnier than you were.  He’s probably one of the most laid-back, funniest guy you’ll ever meet.  So yea, he passed the friendship test with flying colours.  =)  We’ve enjoyed having him here alot!  I for one, will be sad to see him go.  

The other day, thinking I’d try to give him a little incentive to come back to Bolivia, I offered him a job working with us.  Turns out I’ll have to wait in line…he’s had more than a few people trying to get him to come back and work for them here.  But the job offer stands…and I’d be the funner guy to work with…

This is Andy fixing our door.  It warped from the rain and was scraping the floor.  It took a bit of a push to get it open.  Andy planed it down and put a new door handle in (the old one broke from the preasure of trying to wrentch the door open).  I would have fixed it eventually of course =)….but it’s sure nice to have someone here who likes doing that kind of stuff…     

Anyhow Andy…we appreciated having you around!  You’re welcome to come back any time.  But next time…just work with us okay?   =)

So yea…everyone seems to be leaving.  I’d feel worse about it if I wasn’t leaving too.  Yep…you read that right.  I’ve decided to head back up north for a bit.  I’d planned to try and bring the guys up to Canada sometime this summer, so I was originally thinking I’d be home sometime the end of July.  But that doesn’t look like it’s going to work out.  We’re going to try to swing a trip with them next summer.  So when those plans changed, I suddenly realized I was free to travel sooner.  It’s my furlow year (which means a longer trip), plus I’m still having problems with my back, which I need to figure out.  One of the leaders on the SCS team was a doctor, and he suggested fairly strongly that I needed to come back to Canada and get this back stuff dealt with so I don’t have problems the rest of my life.  

That all being said, the result is…I’m on my way home.  Soon.  A week from tomorrow (Friday) I’ll be arriving in Saskatoon.  Obviously there are lots of things I need to do in the next week.  I’ll be gone for almost three months, so there are some preparation that needs to happen here.  But things are progressing well (I’ve known about this for a little while, so it’s not like we’re doing all of this in one week).  My pastors and their wives, along with Isabel and some people from her church, are willing to step in and run things while I’m gone.  I actually think that’ll be a good thing for my guys, and a good way to get more people involved here.  But please pray for us as we plan and prepare for this trip. 

If you or your church would be interested in hearing more about what I do here, please let me know.  I’m looking for opportunities to share in churches or Bible studies…or wherever…about the ministry here.  Or if you just want to sit down for a coffee…that’d be great too!  =)  I’m putting together a schedule right now, so just fire me off an e-mail or leave a comment here.

Thanks for praying everyone!  And this time when I say “see you soon”…it’s actually true!  =) 
  

Sunday night Isabel and I went to a play entitled “My Name is Rachel…(something or other…I forget her last name).” It was a monologue based on the journals of an American girl who went to Israel in 2003 as a peace activist, to protest the destruction of Palestinian homes in Gaza. In the end, she was killed during one of the demonstrations. It was an interesting play, and very well acted. I would have enjoyed it a bit more had I understood everything being said mind you (the role was obviously quite emotional, and as a result, the actress spoke very quickly at times…it made it a tad difficult for me to follow)…but a couple of things did stand out to me.

The first thing that struck me was the passion this young lady had for the calling she felt. The stand she took against the injustices she saw. One of the benefits of not understanding everything being spoken, was that the emotion and passion of the play struck me more intensely I think. This was a person who didn’t want to sit back and do nothing in the face of what she perceived to be wrongs being committed. Her passion drew her out of her comfort and culture, and into a place of unsurety and even possible physical danger.

The other thing I saw was that, in the midst of her passion and action, Rachel was just an ordinary person…like the rest of us. She laughed about how crazy taxi drivers were in Jerusalem and how much she enjoyed the family she lived with. There was a funny part about her meeting a good-looking Israeli man and her schoolgirl crush reaction to him. She was saddened by her father not understanding what she was doing and his decision to not write her while she was there (although in the end he did write her a letter).

She was just an ordinary person who’s beliefs and passions challenged her to live life in a un-ordinary way…

I listened to a sermon by John Piper the other day, “Don’t Waste Your Life”. Same title (and material) as his latest book. I found it pretty challenging. It’s not complicated, just the idea that no matter where we are or what God has called us to do, we can (should) live a life of passion for the things of God. That we should have the desire to step outside of ourselves and what makes us comfortable, and take risks for Christ. And that in Christ we can, and will, experience remarkable things.

There are people out there who think missionaries are somehow different than the average Christian…that they have this raging, constant fire in them that never seems to go out. I’ve met a few missionaries who fit that description for sure. They blow my socks off. In my experience though, most of us are the of the same “don’t mess with me when I’m tired or I’ll take you down” variety.

And yet, I can’t deny the desire in my heart to experience and be a part of the work of the Holy Spirit. To see the miraculous. I’m not necessarily talking about water into wine or bring ‘em back from the dead kind of miracles (although…come on, how cool would that be?!). But to see a life transformed by the love of Christ… To see someone set free from the sins and pain of their past… To know the presence of God and to be used by the Holy Spirit to be an example of God’s unconditional grace and forgiveness. Those kinds of miracles.

Of course you don’t have to be living in Bolivia to experience those kinds of miracles. Bolivia just happens to be where God called me. That’s the beauty of it. You can live in Toronto…or Saskatoon…or Kelfield for that matter…wherever, and still step out and do those un-ordinary things for Christ.

Not sure about you…but I kind of appreciate that.

I don’t want to live a life without significance. I don’t want to have regrets. I don’t want to waste what God has given me. I want to have that fire…that passion. I want to step out of myself and see what the Holy Spirit is doing…and be a part of it…

I want to experience the miraculous.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…”
   

The Fairmont Baptist group from Saskatoon left tonight.  We all went out for supper and then Marcee and I took them to the airport.  I didn’t get too many chances to hang out with them, but when we did…it was fun.  =)  They were a goood group.  Interesting side note (at least to me and it’s my blog so…), Dennis (the group leader) and I used to know each other back in my Asquith Baptist Church days.  The two churches are from the same denomination.  Asquith Baptist was the first church I youth pastored at, and Dennis was the youth leader at Fairmont (and still is!), so our two churches often did things together or were at the same youth events.  I haven’t seen Dennis in over ten years probably, so it was a bit of a shock when he came through the Arrivals door at the airport.  =)  But it was good to catch up with him and hear how the kids who were in his group are doing.

I had a bat fly into my room tonight.  That’s about as random a piece of information as you’ll get.  It flew into our common room upstairs and Andres was being funny and pretended to wave it into my room.  Then it actually did fly into my room and he wasn’t quite sure what to do about it.  So we sat there and watched it swoop around for awhile (and dodge it when it seemed to be coming our way…).  He left to go find a blanket to catch it in, but fortunately it ended up flying out the window.  Another side note (I’m all about the side notes tonight)…you know you’ve been working with ex-street kids too long when one of them throws a bat at you and it sticks to your leg and you just flick it off like a peice of lint and it barely makes a dent in the conversation. 

And no…that’s not allegorical.  And yes, that means it did actually happen.  Of course I didn’t actually realize it was a bat until after I flicked it and by then it had already been flicked so…  I think Sandro (who, surprise, surprise was the guy who threw it at me), was impressed that I didn’t react.  Chalk one up for not paying attention.  I will say though, that they’re creepy little critters…

Oh yea, and a dog bit me the other night.  I was just walking along, minding my own business and he came up and bit my hip.  He mostly just got my shorts, so it didn’t actually hurt or anything.  But he wasn’t playing around…he was serious.  It kind of caught me off guard.  Normally the dogs here bark and growl at you before (if ever) they do anything.  I’ve been nipped at before, but like I said, I didn’t see this one coming.  He just calmly walked up to me and bit me.  His owner was right there and so she yelled at him and he calmly went back into their yard.  Silly dog.  

Things are going well at the house (thanks for praying…).  I’ve talked with a couple of the guys about our crisis from the other week, and I’m hoping and praying that God will use this to help the guys understand some of what needs to change in their lives.  Even though some of them have been Christians for awhile now, they’ve never really had good Godly examples in their lives.  So I find that there’s still a lot of garbage that needs to be dealt with.  But like I said earlier, when God brings that garbage to the surface, no matter how painful or messy it is…it’s always a good thing. 

I still have a couple of conversations I need to have this coming week that aren’t going to be easy, so please feel free to continue praying!  One of the conversations is with one of the guys here, and the other is with the pastor I mentioned earlier.  With both situations there needs to be some accountability.  So if you would, please pray for wisdom, peace and a sense of God’s presence and guidance.  I’d appreciate it.

And finally, I thought I’d end with a picture of our road at the end of the day today.  As you can imagine…the truck (once again) isn’t so clean.  But it was a nice 24 hours while it lasted…

        
PS  Oh yea, and Saskatoon Christian School people…remember all those bricks and rocks you so carefully hauled out onto the road and used to fill all our potholes?  The day after you left, a grader came through (for the first time in nearly a year) and “graded” the road.  Basically he dug up everything you put down, and scattered bricks and rocks all over the place.  And then it rained. 

But serisouly…thanks for the effort.    =)
 

It’s raining today.  Which is a nice respite from the heat of the past week or so.  For those of you who thought I was kidding about the rain here…these are some pictures from a rain we had a couple of weeks ago.  So far today…nothing too serious…

And the after 20 minutes when the clouds cleared and the sun came out…

The good thing is, most of that water drained away fairly quickly, as it usually does.  Now you understand why a four-wheel drive truck is kind of important here though.  =)

One other thing before I go.  I’d appreciate your prayers today.  I’m having a tough day with my back.  I didn’t sleep that great last night, and that usually means a sore day.  I’ve got things to do, so it’s kind of annoying.  

Anyhow, thanks for reading and for praying.  =) 
 

God’s given me a nice truck down here…and I’m very thankful.  It’s fun and drives nice and I like it.  I just wanted to state that for the record before I tell you that…it’s often not very clean.  People hassle me a lot about that.  Don’t get me wrong…I like driving it when it’s clean.  I told the guys the other day that I’m pretty convinced that it goes faster when it’s clean.  Or maybe that’s just me.  At any rate, I’m not a guy who likes to drive a dirty truck.  

But here’s the thing…for those of you who’ve been down here and have witnessed my road in all it’s glory, you understand that it’s kind of tough to keep vehicles clean with that road.  Every time it spits a little, our block becomes a veritable mud-hole.  It’s fun mind you…but not condusive to a clean vehicle.

So I washed my truck yesterday…or rather had it washed (that’s how you do it here).  This morning I was driving a couple of the guys to pick up a few things for the house, and they were teasing me about how dirty my truck usually is, and how rare it is for it to be clean.  I was getting a little defensive and was trying to explain all my excuses that I just wrote above, when we drove past a group of random little kids from our neighbourhood, and one kid commented, 

“Hey look, he washed his truck!”

Yea…I’m never going to live that one down.  That was the end of the guys listening to anything I had to say about the subject.  They were still laughing about it this afternoon…

Anyhow, I’m actually writing to ask you to pray for a couple of things here.  First of all, for our pastor, Jorge.  For those of you who’ve been following along here for awhile, you know that he and his wife were in a bad accident in January.  It’s been amazing to see how God’s healed him over these past months (more than a few times the doctors said he wouldn’t live through the night).  His life really is a miracle.  But he’s still been having a few problems.  From the impact of the other vehicle he was thrown across the car and out through the passenger side window (I think I’ve mentioned that).  He can’t hear much out of that ear yet, and recently there’s been another development.  A few times last week he had episodes of extreme dizziness and nausea.  He says it’s a pretty terrible experience when it happens.  It seems there’s some problem with his inner ear.  The doctors are looking at it, and are saying he’ll likely have to have another surgery in June sometime.  So if you could pray for healing, and for peace for Jorge and his family, and for the doctors to have wisdom as they determine what exactly is wrong, that’d be great.  I know Jorge and everyone here would appreciate it.

As well, if you could continue to pray for myself and the guys here.  We’re doing okay, but it definitely feels like we’re coming under some attack from a wide range of different areas.  It’s been a bit crazy really.  I’m working at having patience and I’ve been praying a lot for wisdom, but still…it’s been a challenge.  On the upside, it has brought out some issues in the guys’ lives that needed to be dealt with, and that’s always a good thing.  I can see most of them working to change, with the exception of one guy maybe.  So pray for him as well.  God knows who he is.  That’s been tough too…knowing how to respond to this kid. 

Anyhow…thanks as always for reading and praying…

PS  I’m feeling a bit vindicated at this moment…and just thought I’d share why.  I took the above picture just before I started to write this post.  It’s been hot and sunny all week and all day today too, by the way.  The picture below is of my truck 10 minutes ago…in the rain…

Exactly.
  

I went for a walk with Sandro last night.  It was my “trying to get a little exercise after being on bedrest for three months” nightly walk.  When Sandro saw that I was heading out, he scarfed down his supper and was quite insistent he was coming too.  I’m not sure if he wanted the exercise, or figured he needed to be there to watch out for me.  Which, if you know Sandro and understand that he only comes up to the bottom of my chest, is kind of funny.  Although, having said that, I can kind of imagine Sandro being a tough little dude in a fight.  He’s fast and wiry.  At any rate, he sometimes sees himself as my self-appointed guardian.  I am, after all, just a naive gringo…  =)

At first, I wasn’t completely sure I wanted company.  I’ve started listening to different speakers/preachers on my new I-pod (thanks SCS) on these walks, and I’ve been kind of enjoying the solitude (well, except for those crazy, semi-rabid pitbulls my neighbours are raising!).  But Sandro was convinced, so I figured some company would be fine.

We ended up having a great conversation.  He was in quite a talkative mood.  We walked for close to an hour and covered a pretty broad range of topics, from my sister’s car accident, to how we were raised as kids, to Paul’s “Why do I do the things I don’t want to do?” passage in Romans.  We talked about the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives and how compassion for others is important, but if we try to help them on our own strength, it often doesn’t amount to much.  

Like I said, it was an interesting conversation.  It was encouraging to have that moment with Sandro.  I could see God working in the topics that came up, and the questions Sandro asked.  I enjoy those kinds of conversations and with the busyness of the past few weeks, I haven’t really had the chance to have them much lately.  So it was a good moment.

But a normal evening walk here wouldn’t be complete without some kind of strangeness. 

And so here it is…

We were nearly home when we walked past a taxi station wagon and a Toyota SUV who were nose to nose on our narrow street.  Neither vehicle wanted to back up and let the other pass.  As we passed by, we kind of smirked at the people arguing about who should give way to the other.

We walked a half block farther when suddenly we heard the taxi rev his engine and then the unmistakable crunch of metal on metal as the taxi rammed the SUV.  Seriously.  Then the taxi backed up and started to turn around.  As the SUV moved as well, somehow the taxi mavouvered around him (which I guess was the point, in the first place) and went racing past us, with the SUV in hot pursuit.  As the SUV flew past us, bouncing over the ruts in the road, in a cloud of dust we saw…I kid you not…a woman standing on the running boards on the passenger side, clinging to the side of the truck.

I guess when you’re chasing someone in a high speed car chase, there really isn’t time to stop and let your passenger into the vehicle.  You might lose the other vehicle.  Of course the fact that you might lose the passenger seems a somewhat more important factor to me…but what do I know… 

Sandro and I looked at each other and started laughing.  It made a good story to tell the guys back at the house…

I love my neighbourhood.
 

This is just a quick note to ask you to pray for us down here.  I can’t (don’t want to) get into it all, but you know how it can be.  This isn’t actually something that’s happening with the guys…they’re mostly fine (except for Ronelo busting our glass door to the patio upstairs…replacement value $200).  This is something that’s coming from outside of the house. 

One of my biggest frustrations here is the levels of gossip and talk that go on behind people’s backs (in the guise of being “concerned”).  I thought I was keeping my head down and staying out of it…but not so much as it turns out.  So now I need to deal with some things.  The crazy thing is, one of the guys here (a “pastor”) who’s decided to spread some dirt around, is someone I barely know.  I haven’t even seen him in over a year.  But that doesn’t seem to matter.  I’m fairly non-confrontational most days…but not this day.  I have a few things I would like to say.

The funny thing is, the last time I spoke to him he invited me to preach in his church…

I’m thinking I might take him up on that offer.
 
Thanks for praying.  I could definitely use some wisdom and patience.

PS  I just reread the post below this and realized that it was also Ronelo who likely killed our mango tree last week.  And now this week the sliding glass door…

Maybe a prayer for Ronelo might be a good idea too.  =)
  
 

I just got back from a late night walk around the neighbourhood.  It’s all peace and quiet tonight (well, except for the house with all the crazy dogs.  That was momentarily worrisome.  Note to self…next time avoid the house where they seem to be breeding pitbulls…).  The peace and quiet is a nice respite from the craziness of the past couple of nights.  I think my neighbours must be in recovery mode.  Friday night was the night they hired the Mariachi band for their wedding/birthday/whatever the heck it was.  I’m not normally opposed to Mariachi music (come on…who doesn’t like a little toe-tappin’ Mariachi music)…but these guys went ’til 4 AM.  4 AM people!  And they’d tease me.  They’d stop just long enough that I’d think they were finished and I’d start to drop off to sleep, and then bang, away they’d go again with the trumpets blaring and the drums…drumming… 

So you can imagine my happiness when I laid down to go to sleep on Saturday night and the same people fired up their karioke machine.  And we all know karioke only gets better the drunker people get.  At around 2 AM I almost got up to go see what we were celebrating and join the party.  If you can’t beat ‘em…

But tonight the barrio is at rest and we only have to contend with barking dogs and buzzing insects…and the occasional taxi driver trying to keep himself awake (and everyone in a 300 ft radius) with his stereo.  Pretty much normal…

Actually…as I wrote that, a drunk lady down the street started banging on her gate trying to wake someone in the house to let her in.  Ah…irony…

I realize that I haven’t been here much lately.  I checked my blog stats to see if anyone was actually still coming to read, and I was surprised to see that lots of you are.  So then I felt guilty.  Then I felt even guiltier when I realized my last post was about not wanting to share my toilet paper.

You’re a good bunch of people!

Then thing is, I do actually have lots to write about.  Which is why I haven’t actually written anything.  It’s been a busy few weeks here.  So even though it’s a bit late right now, I figured I should at least acknowlege that I’m still here and promise to write something significant and profound in the next couple of days.  Well…I’ll promise to write something anyhow…     

Until then, I thought I’d just leave you with some random pictures from the past week.  Hope you enjoy them…and thanks for caring enough to keep coming back!

Some pictures…

So the other day (the day before the Christian School team left), I was in the shower
when I heard a pop, bang and a couple of other funny noises and then the power
went out to the second floor of the house (killing my hot water in the process, by the way). 

It turned out our electricity was trying to burn down the house.  It would have succeeded
if it wasn’t for the fact that we live in a cement box.  This is where the electricity
comes into the house (in my room).  Somehow the wires all melted together and more
or less exploded.  Well…maybe “exploded” is too strong of a word, but when you
have black soot marks on your wall, that’s never a good thing.  Fortunately I’m 
paying for classes for a future electrician and for once I got something back
(other than the joy of helping someone of coure…) and Jimmy was able to fix us
right up…at least until the propane tank decides to try and take us out… 

Andres airbanding…

Our new brick patio and BBQ pit in the back yard that the Saskatoon Christian School
built us.  We used it for the first time to entertain another S’toon group,
Fairmont Baptist.  They’re here for a couple of weeks working with one of our
interns who is from their church.

On a side, and sad, note…notice our mango tree is dying.  It was fine on Sunday and by
Wednesday the leaves were all drying out and falling off.  We’re not sure what happned…
(actually that’s not entirely true…we think Ronelo watering the tree with a five gallon
paint bucket without really washing the bucket out and thus poisoning the
tree is what happened…)

…but it’s sad…

We cooked some serious beef…

This is Ryan.  He’s staying with us for a few weeks.  He’s the cousin of one of my
friends back home, Jordan.  He’s traveling SA for a year.  I only include this picture
’cause it makes me laugh.  Sandro took it. 

Of course it might be funnier ’cause it’s 1:34 AM….

Cleaning up after the BBQ.  Andres’ hand on the back of my neck signifies that I’m
his “cachorro”…someone he rules over (it’s a street kid term for someone you
could take in a fight).  Sigh…he thinks he’s being funny…

Andres reaching to put his hand on my neck once again for the picture.
Sandro just jumped the gun with the camera…

Again with the “cachorro” thing…

Andres discovering who’s who’s “cachorro”…

The “I’m a good leader and don’t really beat up the kids in my house” picture…

Olya, our IT intern and my fellow Saskatoonian…the shaking of the fist is just a joke. 
Really.

Andres getting tired of Sandro taking random pictures of him…

Sandro being…Sandro.  I think he was overseeing us cleaning the kitchen…

Marcee sitting on top of all the foamies left over from the SCS team (as a side
note there’s a lot of them ’cause I got mixed up and bought double what we needed. 
Now I don’t know what to do with them). 

Why is Marcee doing this you ask?
Uh…yea…that’s a good question.  Write me and I’ll send you her e-mail address.
I’ve stopped asking those kinds of questions…

Anyhow, that was our week more or less.  At least the part we took pictures of.  Thanks again for praying for us!
 

Oh oh…I’ve got a big problem here at the house…

The boys ran out of toilet paper last night, so I dipped into my private stock of Canadian TP left over from the team at Christmas.  To cut down on costs here, usually each team member brings a couple of rolls.  There’s always some left over, and they just leave it here.  I don’t mean to be selfish exactly…but come on!  Toilet paper from home!  It’s not like I buy bad stuff for the guys….

But now…they know what the really good stuff is like.  That’s a problem.  Now they want to share and…well, I don’t.

I’m not sure if this makes me a bad person or not.  But I’m pretty sure it makes me a bad missionary…
  

It’s late, so unlike normal, this’ll probably be a bit short.  I just wanted to ask you to pray for me/us tomorrow as we finish getting ready for the Saskatoon Christian School.  They arrive Friday morning bright and early.  If you know me at all, you won’t be surprised to hear that I’m not totally ready (although the big stuff is in the bag).  So there’ll be a lot of running around and buying things tomorrow.  It’s a big team (twenty seven I think) and we’ll be eating most of our meals here at the house.  I realized yesterday that we don’t actually have plates/silverwear/chairs, etc. for thirty five plus people (including us).  As well, the guys are sleeping here at the house, so that means finding foam mattresses (I haven’t the foggiest where you’d buy those here…), and getting things set up for them.  

But like I said, the big stuff is figured out.  Over the next week we’ll be visiting a drug rehab home, the woman’s prison, a couple of different children’s homes.  As well, we’ve got work projects set up…so we’ll be keeping the team pretty busy. 

I’m excited to have them here.  It’s always fun to have people visit from home.  And my mom is sending a care package down…so that’s a happy thing too.  =)  But please pray for the team and for our week together.  It’s going to be a busy one.  Pray that the kids connect with and develop a heart for Bolivia and the people here.  Pray for safety as we work and travel around Santa Cruz.  Pray for an openness in the hearts of the people we meet and minister to. 

I’ll try to keep this updated as I have time.  If any parents are reading this, feel free to leave messages for your kids…I’ll make sure to pass them along. 

Thanks in advance for your prayers.  As always, we appreciate them.  As a side note, I think Jimmy is doing okay, but please continue to pray for him as well.  I’m sure it’ll take some time to work through how he’s feeling about his friend’s death.

Thanks everyone! 

PS…Just another little side note.  It’s interesting…I write about life here at the home…life in Bolivia…share prayer requests, etc…and I get my usual 50-60 people or so who regularly check in to see what’s going on down here.

But then I write about finding a random band-aid on…my anatomy…and I get three times that many people coming to read the story. 

I’m not really sure how to feel about that.    =)