Yep…I’m sure you’ve noticed.  I haven’t been here much lately.  Sorry about that.  I’d like to say it because I’m so busy being home and all…but that’s not really it.  I think I’m just decompressing a bit, and maybe need a bit of space from thinking too much about what’s happening in the real world.  That’ll be my excuse for the crazy amount of movies I’ve seen since getting back too.  Escapism…  =)

But life continues wether we try to be a part of it or not.  So I thought I’d drop back in and let you know a bit of what’s happening.  I spoke with Isabel tonight, and got an update on how things are going back in Bolivia.  For the most part…pretty good.  That was nice to hear.  I think one of the guys is still struggling with his attitude (which is probably indicative of deeper issues), but most of the others seem to be stepping up and trying to make better choices. 

I’m especially pleased with one of the guys.  The night before I left for Canada, I sat down with him and we had a long talk (not the same fellow I mentioned in the last post.  Jorge did speak with that fellow, and it seemed to go well).  This is a guy I’ve worked a long time with…we’ve been friends for a lot of years.  In that conversation, I just tried to encourage him that it was time for him to start living his life a little more deliberately.  Not allowing himself to be tossed and turned by every wave or tempation that came his way.  He’s a kid with natural leadership ability, but he tends to use that ability to tear down rather than build up.  

So you can imagine how pleased I was to hear Isabel tell me that he’s been one of the biggest encouragements to her since I’ve left.  He’s been working hard to bring the guys together and do whatever he can to help.  I’ve said for a long time (even in the midst of some pretty dumb choices on his part) that I see the potential in him.  I think Isabel (and a few others!) have had their doubts about that at times.  =)  But it seems like this young guy has started to realize who he is and how he can use the gifts that God’s given him to serve and lead.  So…that’s pretty exciting!   

As well, Jorge (my pastor) shared with Isabel that he’s been feeling God speaking to him, and he’d like to come onboard at the home on a regular basis when I get back.  That’s exciting for me too.  To be comletely honest though, sometimes it’s a bit intimidating…seeing someone like Jorge or Tonchy (our other pastor) get more and more involved.  It’s what I want (absolutely!), but at the same time, it’s so much easier for them than for me.  Language…culture…it’s a part of who they are (being Bolivian), but for me…not so much.  

At the same time though…I’ve seen ministries and leaders who try to hold the people they minister to so tightly in their fists that no one else is let in.  They become isolationist and don’t want anyone else to work with “their people”.  

I refuse to be that person…  I’m not going to let my insecurities or struggles affect what God desires to do in the lives of the people He’s entrusted to my care.  The more voices that speak into our lives…the more we feel a part of a community or family…the stronger we are.  Each of the people that God leads to work with the guys plays a part in their growth and development.  There’s a place for each of us.  

But feel free to pray about that with me.  And please continue to pray for the guys as they study and are challenged in their relationships with God.  It seems like we’ve turned yet another corner, and that’s encouraging.    

On a side note, I’ll be speaking at the Asquith Baptist church on Sunday if anyone in the Saskatoon area is interested.  I’ve still got most of the Sunday’s in July open, if you think your church might be interested in hearing a bit more about what God is doing in my corner of South America.  Just let me know…

This coming week I’m going to post some of my favourite posts from years gone by.  For those of you who are new here, there are probably a few stories you haven’t heard yet (ie. the one about the kid who was hiding live fish under his pillow…).  So stay tuned.  =)

Thanks for reading and praying everyone!  I appreciate it…
 
PS  Andres wrote me on Facebook today and told me they missed me and warned me not to get fat on my mom’s cooking like last year…

It’s nice to be loved.
 

I spoke with Isabel tonight, and I wanted to ask you all to pray about something when you have a moment.  Before I left, I had a talk with one of the guys regarding some serious choices he was making.  We had a good conversation, and I think he understood what I was telling him.  I had to lay down some consequences for what he had done, and at the time he seemed okay with that.  I found out tonight though, that he hasn’t been following through on what we talked about.

So…Jorge (our pastor who’s helping out at the house while I’m gone) is going to sit down and talk to him tomorrow.  If you could pray for wisdom for Jorge, and for him to be able to connect with this young guy.  This fellow needs to understand that his actions are wrong and are going to seriously affect his future if he continues.  I’m not really sure what’s going to happen here.  I think there’s a chance this guy might make the decision to leave.  I’m praying that doesn’t happen, of course.  Please pray for this young guy as well.  I don’t think he’s stopping to think through the situation very well. 

One good thing in all of this, is that Jorge understands what this young guy is going through.  He’s made similar choices in his past.  So he’s a good person to have this conversation with this guy.  Other than this situation, by the way, things are going well back at the house.  Thanks for praying for that as well.

This weekend I’m off to YC in Edmonton with my sisters, so that should be fun.  It’s been awhile since I’ve done anything like this.  =)  But I’m looking forward to it!  It’ll be good to  hear some teaching (in English) and be a part of some good worship times (in English).  =)  And I have no youth group to watch over…so I’m pretty much going to do my own thing.  If I feel like sitting in the car and having a nap…so be it.  Well, actually…I think I did that when I was responsible for the youth group too.  But this time I don’t have to feel guilty about it….

Well…actually…not sure I felt guilty about it last time either…

As I said, thanks for praying!  I’ll keep you updated on how things turn out…
 

A year or so ago, we taped Ticua’s (one of the guys we work with) testimony for a video we were doing.  We didn’t end up using it, so I thought I’d post it here.  Lots of you know Ticua, so this’ll give you a bit better idea of where he’s come from.  He has an interesting (if not kind of sad) story.  One part that did make me smile is when he talked about buying all his report cards when he was in elementary school.  =) 

Anyhow, the video’s about four minutes long…

For those of you who don’t know Ticua (that’s his nickname…his real name is Abdel), he’s probably one of the most compassionate, easy going, strongest Christian kids I’ve ever met.  When you hear about who he was before he became a Christian (fighting, stealing…involved in killing rival gang members), you understand again the power of Christ to change lives.   

Thanks for watching.  I’m going to post different things here while I’m home, so keep coming back.  =)  Hopefully I can keep it interesting.  You can only complain about the snow for so long…
  

When I left Bolivia last week, somehow I had this idea that I was coming home to summer in Canada. In my defence, I haven’t been home in May for over four years. When we landed in Chicago, I looked out the window and saw a lot of brown…not so much green. I figured that wasn’t a good sign. But then the stewardess on the flight from Denver to Saskatoon made the announcement that it was 33 C in Saskatoon. That put a smile on my face and made me feel better. It would be just like home in Bolivia!

In hindsight I think she meant 33 Fahrenheit…

When we pulled into the gate and people stood up and started putting on their winter jackets, I knew I was in trouble. I actually did okay though. The cold took my breath away for a moment when we left the airport…but I did okay. When my mom locked the keys in the car outside Superstore and we had to wait in the cold for a tow truck…I did okay. Even when I woke up this morning to snow all over the ground…I did okay. I even walked for an hour or so this afternoon…outside…and I enjoyed it. It was nice to experience the crisp, snowy air. Someone had a wood fire burning and the smell of the smoke made me feel kind of nostalgic for winter in Canada.

But when I left the house tonight and it was storming and snowing and my car was covered with frozen ice…  Come on people!  That’s just too much….

So…I think you’ve all had your fun now, and it’s time for summer. For those of you who laughed at me on Facebook? Aren’t you enjoying this same winter weather that I am? Is it funny that you’re freezing your butts off just like me? Just curious… =)

At any rate…obviously I’ve arrived safe and sound in Canada. It was a bit strange leaving Santa Cruz. I said goodbye to everyone and went into the security area. The security people told me they were boarding another flight and asked if I would wait a bit longer. So I went back out into the waiting area, just in time to see Isabel and the guys walk across the lower level and leave the airport. That was kind of a strange feeling.

It’s been a bit strange in general, being home. I went with my mom to Superstore the afternoon I arrived (where the aforementioned keys in the car incident happened…), and it ended up being kind of overwhelming. I had a moment where I thought I might have to go back out to the car. It’s a good thing the feeling passed…since I wouldn’t have been able to get into the car anyhow…  =)

It’s a hard thing to explain, really. I’m not sure I can right now. It was just weird to see so much in one place. It’s really something, the country we live in…how much we have available at our fingertips. Walmart hit me the same way later in the week.

Anyhow…a couple of prayer requests before I go. If you could pray for the guys back in Santa Cruz. I’ll write more soon, but some of them are going through a difficult time. A couple of them are making some bad decisions. Pray for God’s Spirit to work in them. As well, pray for those who are running things while I’m gone…Isabel (my girlfriend), Tonchy and Jorge (my pastors) and their wives, Noelia and Viviana. It’s a lot of work that they’ve taken on, on top of everything else they do. But both Tonchy and Jorge didn’t even blink when I asked them if they’d be willing to help. They were excited to be able to have the time with the guys. Hopefully they still feel that way after three months. =) There’s no doubt that they’re going to have to deal with some tough things while I’m gone. I’m praying though, that God will use their words to speak into the lives of the guys that are struggling.

I don’t want to leave things on a negative note though. God is doing some great things in the lives of most of the guys. I had a couple of great conversations the night before I left. The guys just shared what the house means to them, and how God has changed them over the past year. So that was good to hear. I’d been a bit discouraged before that. It’s easy to focus on the negative and forget the good.

At any rate, I’m home for the next three months, if anyone wants to hang out and grab a coffee. =) I’m staying at my sister Wanda’s house…her number’s in the phone book. Just give me a shout. If you’re interested in hearing more about Bolivia, or if you think your church might be interested in hearing more…just give me a call. I’d love to tell you more. =)

I’m looking forward to seeing you all! It’s good to be home, and it’ll be fun to have the chance to hang out!

Thanks for praying everyone…
  

My last week in Bolivia…

Let’s see…I got crashed into by a taxi driver who tried very hard to blame me and get me to pay for the damages…which were more serious for his little car and not so serious for my big truck.  If you look really, really close you can see a dent in my back bumper.   He, on the other hand, had to throw his headlight into the back seat.  And he won’t be openning or closing his hood for awhile…  In the end he backed down and just told me that it was on my conscience if I didn’t pay.  Yea…I can pretty honestly say that it never even got close to being on my conscience.  The funny thing was that I didn’t really catch most of his little speach about my conscience and whatnot.  When he was done I just looked over at Isabel and was like, “Well…can I go?”  She was like, “Yep.” 

Good enough then.

We went to see “Wolverine” for my despedida (going away party)…in Spanish.  Fortunately my fellow Saskatonian, Olya, was there with me, so we could discuss what was going on and what we thought was being said.  Best moment?  When the American military guy tells Wolverine to fight for his country.  Wolverine replies, “It’s not my country!  I’m Canadian!”  Olya and I woo hoo-ed loud enough for the whole theatre to hear.  Even if no one else appreciated it, my guys thought it was pretty funny…

For those of you who pick up on the details and notice that I’m about to post this at 3:30 AM-ish and wonder why I’m still up (when I leave for the airport in three hours).  I’m waiting for my clothes to dry.  We’ve had 30+ degree weather for the past month.  The day before I’m about to travel and I need to do laundry and have clean clothes?  It’s cloudy, cool and humid.  I’ve got clothes hanging all over the house with our fans going full speed to try to dry them and get them packable.  I’m thinking I may be a little damp when I leave in…three hours and twenty one minutes…

Finally….we’ve had some definite up and down moments with some of the guys here this past week for sure.  But I sat down with Andres last night and we had a great conversation about his life and how he feels he’s changed and matured while living here at the house, over this past year.  That was encouraging to hear.  =)  I learned early on that this is the kind of ministry where you can be dealing with some pretty lame things one moment and then be encouraged and see good things happen the next.  It was good for me to have that conversation and focus on some of the good that God’s doing… 

Thanks for praying everyone.  Please continue to do so!  =)  Things will go one without me here, so I know my volunteers and the guys would appreciate your prayers! 

I will be on Canadian soil at 2:10 PM, Friday afternoon. 

This is just a quick note to ask you to pray for us (me) down here this week.  It’s shaping up to be a bit of a doozy…

As most of you know, I made kind of an abrupt decision two weeks ago, to head home to Canada for a couple of months.  There are a few different reasons for that decision…it’s the year I normally take a furlow (which means a longer time at home)…my back problems…needing a bit of a break…

As a result though, of making that quick decision, these last two weeks have been busy.  It’s no easy task, leaving a ministry for an extended period of time.  Fortunately I have some gifted, servant-hearted people here that are willing (excited) to step in and help.  But there’s still lots of preparing to do.

Then today, three days before I leave, suddenly some serious problems have come up in the lives of a couple of the guys.  Issues that need to be dealt with.  That means some difficult conversations tomorrow, on top of everything else. 

So if you could pray for all of this, I would appreciate it.  Please pray for wisdom and insight for myself and for the guys…that the guys involved would have the desire to change…for my volunteers who need to continue to deal with these problems after I leave…and finally for spiritual protection for all of us.  In my experience, in these moments it’s easy for things to get twisted and distorted.

As well, if you could pray for my co-worker Marcee.  She’s facing some difficult decisions and conversations of her own.  I know that she would appreciate your prayers.  

I’ll try and write again before I leave on Thursday to let you know how things are going.  Thanks in advance for praying about all of this!  It helps a lot!

And once again…see you soon!  =)
   

And the saga of my life continues…this episode is called, “The Search for a Swimming Pool!”

I knew of a pool not too far from our house.  So we tried there first.  I knew of this pool because Sandro once pointed it out and told me that when he lived on the streets, he and his buddies would sneak in to swim.  It was open when we got there.  However, upon closer examination, we discovered there was no water in the pool itself.  On to pool number two…

Pool number two (which David knew about) turned out to be a hotel’s pool.  Being Canadian I assumed that we wouldn’t be aloud in to swim unless we pulled a Sandro and snuck in.  I actually found out later that we probably could have used the pool if we paid.  However, I didn’t know this and we moved on to pool number three.

Pool number three was a bit tough to find.  We had to four-wheel drive it a bit through a construction site and still weren’t sure where we were.  Against my better judgement, I let one of the guys go ask a security guard at a nearby condo if he knew if there was a pool nearby.  He quite loudly laughed and said there was no way there was a pool anywhere in the area.  Two taxi drivers parked in front of the condo joined in to back him up.  Essentially they said we were idiots for thinking there was a pool anywhere within a two mile radius.

We drove a half a block and saw the gate to the pool.  The property of the pool actually backed up against the property of the condo.  Which just reinforces my “don’t ask for directions because people are dumb” policy.  I walked in to check out pool number three, but unfortunately it was being rented by a church group who were surrounding the pool singing choruses while the pastor baptized people.  I figured they probably wouldn’t appreciate us trying to play water volleyball.  It wasn’t that big of a pool.

Onto pool number four…

Pool number four was the money pool!  It was amazing (as you can see by the pictures below)!  It wasn’t even that expensive ($5 to get in…$6 for lunch).  And there were hardly any people there.  I assured the boys I’d be returning…I just wasn’t sure if I’d be with them or not… =)

Anyhow…we had a great time.  But enough talk…on to the photos.  I’m sure you’re all anxious to see how we spent our day….

The pool…

Jimmy, Jose Miguel and Jesus…

Jimmy and Jesus were determined to master the backward summersault…

They did pretty good…

Although they also discovered the little diving board thingy was kind
of hard to keep you balance on….

But they finally figured it out…

Meanwhile, David and Sandro decided to have a little poolside rumble…

Sandro held his own for awhile…

But in the end….David took him.

Let’s be honest though…Sandro was a little out of his weight class…

And Andres you ask?

Then came volleyball in the pool…which is really more like soccer in the pool
with a volleyball, since you can only use your head…

I wanted to include a whole collection of pictures of
Jimmy making the head shot…

…but I settled on this one…

The other guys playing…

And one more of Jimmy…

And Andres?

But he woke up in time for lunch…

They came out to the pool and asked us what we wanted and then had the
table set and food ready for us before they called us to the restaurant.

This was a good pool.

And in case you were wondering…except for the picture taking and eating lunch…
…this was my view from my deck chair the rest of the afternoon.

Like I said…it was a good pool.

Anyhow, before you get too jealous, it’s not like we do this every day.  But it’s nice to know we could if we wanted to….    =)

Thanks everyone!  See you soon…
  

It’s hot and sunny here…and it’s a holiday…

So if the boys ever finish their chores, we’re off to the pool for the day.  It’ll be a nice break from the heat….

Just thought I’d share that with all you folks enjoying…what is it?  + 13 in Saskatoon today?

Hmmm…I guess that’s better than minus 13….

Ah, those arrogant missionaries and their “how hot it is here” jokes.  Lame eh?  I guess I’ll be suffering along with the rest of you soon enough.

But today?  +34 and I’ll be layin’ by a pool…
  

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…”