The Power of Prayer

I just got back tonight from one of the most moving prayer meetings I have been to in quite some time. Lucho was speaking about family and how despite having good families that attend church, that work hard, that have good intentions, we still have children that are making bad mistakes. This was directly in reference to five students from the Secondary 4 (Senior class) that were expelled last week from La Palmera for failing 3 or more classes and basically were not doing anything productive during the school day and causing distractions for other students.

Lucho reminded us that we are in a spiritual fight with the forces of evil and that we need to pray for our children. Normally on the nights we pray for families, people come forward for prayer for a cousin who is sick, an aunt/uncle dying, a relative that just had surgery and are too ashamed to ask for prayer for their own immediate families. Lucho said that is exactly what we need to be doing though, praying for our own families, specifically for kids, who are at risk every day of being led astray because they are so innocent. It is like Jesus said that it is better to tie a millstone around one's neck than to lead a child astray and I understand why he says this now because kids are so fragile and so easily led astray.

Then instead of praying in pairs or trios like we normally do, Lucho asked all of the parents to form a circle holding hands and all of the kids/young people (basically anyone under age 30 that wasn't married) to go in the middle. Then starting with Lucho and going around the circle, every parent prayed for the spiritual health of us. It was quite moving. Several mothers cried, and everyone was humbled at the faults they had made in raising their children. I could feel the Holy Spirit moving each one of them as they went around the circle. It was an awkward moment for me, since I'm old enough to be some of these kids fathers, but at the same time am still maturing in some ways, so I'm more a kid too. I was touched at the coming together of our church to intercede for the future of the project here. Father, I pray that you help me to be a good example for these young kids I come into contact with and be firm and loving with the youth that I am leading both in the church and in my computer class.

Meanwhile in Trinidad . . . .

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile, there has been stuff happening, but I have been swamped with work and haven't had a chance to write until now. Let me bring you up to speed:

Last weekend we finally got some much needed rain which put out the fires in the area and ended the smoke problem. Since then we've had 4 days of rain in the last week, and it's currently overcast with a good chance of rain today and tomorrow. I think it's safe to say rainy season is upon us, although the heavy rains won't hit until mid December. The airport has reopened as of 8 days ago and things have more or less returned to normal weatherwise.

My young people's group (Jovenes) is going well, I've had three meetings with them since I took over leadership and we have done three different dynamics - one week with just games, one week with worship and a message and this past week worship, group discussion and a game. I think the group discussion worked the best, so I plan to keep that format for the future meetings (plus it's easier to prepare).

The computer projects are still looming, the most daunting of which is a system that will track the data of students, sponsors and families at the school that the church, administration and sponsorship coordinators can use to help with managing records. Then I also have the school website to finish as well as a website for the football (soccer) team.

My class is going well, we are doing typing right now, so it's nice because I don't have to plan anything, the kids just use the software that I found and installed. Some of them are enjoying it so much they come in after school to practice! I gave my first exam last week and it went well, but I have yet to grade it, so I have no idea how they did.

And personally, things are going better for me. As I had mentioned in my newsletter I have been really drained of energy lately and have been spiritually challenged. Part of it is from stress on several levels (projects, class, Jovenes and the heat) and part of it is from the longer term cultural adjustments I'm making. As of today, I have now been in Bolivia for 5 months, so I am hitting a wall that missionaries typically hit in the 4-6 month range where they feel lost, broken and unsure of themselves. Your prayers would be most welcome in this time of trial for me. I'm doing well with it though and I have a great group of people here that are encouraging me and the "be calm, take it easy" attitude of the Bolivians has helped me to realize I don't need to be worrying about my work all the time, and just to take things as they come.

This week is La Palmera Anniversary week, the project is celebrating its 22nd anniversary. There will be all kinds of festivities including an inaugural ceremony, a parade of lanterns (at night), a soccer/basketball parents tournament (which I am participating in), talent night, a food fair and a night of worship/praise at the end of the week. I'll report on this next week with some pictures.

The other major development is that officially as of December 1, Americans will now be required to have a visa to enter Bolivia. This has been in the works for the whole year and was expected to be coming, but it's now official. The word is that visitors will NOT need to apply for one, but simply show up at the airport and pay a $134 fee as well as fill out some additional paperwork. Evo's defense of this is that the US Embassy charges $100 for an appointment for Bolivians to apply for a visa and that US citizens can easily afford this. It's another step in the tit for tat game Bolivia is playing with the US.

Anyway, I hope things are well with everyone and GO ROCKIES!!