November 8 - 20

November 8, 2013

This morning was somewhat laid back...I didn’t have any meetings, errands to run, etc.  I was able to catch up on a few things I was behind on, which is always nice.  :)  After lunch, though, I did head into town with Chris, Samuel, Manuel, Vilissa and Wanetta.  Each of us had a few things to do in town.  I had to pick up some supplies, pay the light bill, make some phone calls and get ready for the Bible study at the base.  The study went very well.  We ended up doing two studies because we are trying to finish the series before the middle of December, as some of the soldiers will be heading home shortly there after (their service time is up) and we want to make sure they are able to finish before they leave.  If you’ve ever given a Bible study, you know that it is so refreshing when the people respond well and participate in the study...when it’s a two-way conversation rather than a teacher just teaching a lesson.  That’s what it’s like at the base.  The soldiers are always so eager to participate, read the Bible verses aloud, sing, etc.  And tonight was no exception.  As usual, we finished in small prayer groups.  Then, things got somewhat interesting...:)  We had told the soldiers that we would invite 10 of them to Familia Feliz on the second Sabbath of November (tomorrow)...and they have been eagerly awaiting this date.  Well, the time was here.  I thought the Colonel or Lieutenant would chose the 10 soldiers, as they know them better, have their little system set up, etc.  But tonight the Lieutenant told me to choose.  Boy!  I almost wish he would have done it.  :)  There were about 40 soldiers there tonight and ALL of them wanted to go!  I mean, they were doing anything and everything to try and get selected.  We figured that the most fair way would be a “lottery”.  So we wrote “Yes” on 10 pieces of paper and “No” on the other 30 or so pieces and placed all the folded papers in a bag.  We let every soldier pick a piece of paper and they had to wait to open them at the same time.  Soon, we had the 10 that were going.  But I felt really bad because those that got the “No” papers were pretty sad.  They really wanted to go.  So I said I’d talk to Jodi and see if we could do another day in the next couple of weeks to try and get more soldiers to come.  Hopefully we can work it out, because they are really excited about spending the day with us here at Familia Feliz.

When we left the study, I couldn’t help but feel....happy.  I truly enjoy spending time with these young men and sharing the Gospel with them.  I believe I leave more blessed than they.  And I just had to stop and thank God for giving me this opportunity.  I pray He gives me many, many more like this because it is a GREAT feeling!  

God bless you all! 

Maranatha!

November 9, 2013

Okay...today was an amazing day!  I ate breakfast a little earlier today because I had to go into town to pick up the 10 soldiers that were coming to spend the day with us.  We got to the base around 8:30 and they were ready to go.  They took a minute to wash up again, then lined up in formation and marched to the truck.  :)  But boy was it hard to see the faces of the other soldiers that had to stay on base!  They were all outside doing yard work, cutting the grass with machetes.  It was already very hot and humid and sweat was running down their faces.  And as their comrades marched to our truck, they all stopped working and watched.  It was pitiful.  It was as if I took all of my students to the ice cream shop and only 10 of them got ice creams while all the others had to just watch them eat it.  :(  We’re definitely going to have to plan another day for more to come!

We got back just in time for Sabbath School service.  The kids were excited about having our special guests here and did an excellent job in leading out in both services.  We sang several songs and the soldiers really enjoyed that.  Even though some of the hymns were new to them, they followed along and sang loud and clear.  Jodi did an excellent job with reviewing the lesson.  We had all but the 1st and 2nd graders stay in the sanctuary and just did one large SS class since we felt this lesson was one that we wanted to make sure all of our kids understood.  Since the soldiers obviously don’t have the Sabbath School quarterly or even know about the sanctuary at all, she explained everything in very simple yet complete terms.  Once again, they actively participated and really got involved in the lesson.  It was fun translating for Jodi too, as she was really getting into teaching this lesson on the Day of Atonement.  :)

During church, the soldiers were very quiet and respectful.  They each looked up every verse mentioned, sang every song and appeared to be soaking up every moment.  

After church, I took them on a quick tour of the property while the ladies were getting lunch heated and served.  The soldiers had never been here before, so they had many questions.  They were really impressed with our garden and all of the “strange” and new vegetables were had growing (okra, patty-pan squash, summer squash, etc.).  :)  

We had a wonderful lunch (rice with vegetables, red beans, homemade bread and a piece of cake...along with juice) and our guests really liked that.  All of them had seconds.  :)  After lunch, everyone went on a hike to the nearby creek where our water comes from.  It’s a beautiful, stone-filled creek in the jungle at the base of the mountains.  There’s a small waterfall at one point that falls into a small “pool”.  Very picturesque.  We took pictures and enjoyed talking with each other.  By 4:00, we were back for AY service.  Everyone enjoyed that as well.  There were Bible games, a devotional thought and, of course, more songs.  :)  Then, we closed out the Sabbath in a circle, as is our tradition, and went around and greeted everyone.  I wasn’t sure how the soldiers were going to react to everyone holding hands at this part.  But they joined right in, stretching their hands to one another.  More pictures followed.  Then, after sunset, while supper was being prepared, we played volleyball and spent more time talking and getting to know each other.  We laughed so hard today!  :)

We had supper and as soon as we were finished, it was time for us to leave to take them back to the base.  They had to be back by 9:00pm.  So they said their good-byes and loaded in the truck.  Sam drove us in and I rode in the back with the soldiers.  They were somewhat quiet heading back in.  They said they didn’t want to leave.  When we got back to the base, I said, “Well, we hope that you enjoyed your day with us.”  They overwhelmingly assured me that they had.  But a few of them made a comment that will stay with me for a long time.  One said, “I’ll never forget this day!”  Another said, “I loved it!  Everyone there is so happy.”  And the third said, “This was the best day of my life!”  As we left the base, I stayed riding in the back of the truck, reflecting on what these soldiers had just said to me.  I thought back on the activities of the day.  It was just another Sabbath day to all of us at Familia Feliz (with the exception, of course, of having guests).  We had church, ate together, did some activities in the afternoon, closed out the Sabbath, played and ate supper.  Nothing really out of the ordinary.  But it was enough to make a lasting impact on the lives of these young men.  I wondered what their lives were like.  Why were they surprised to see us so happy?  Were they not used to people being happy?  And as I sat there, I realized just how blessed I am.  First of all, my average, normal day was someone else’s BEST day in their life!  That’s BIG!  That means my life is full of best days.  Do I realize that?  Do I thank God enough for that?  But beyond that, I felt extremely blessed to be a part of this day with these men.  I was so glad we were able to provide them with a small “break” from their routine and, in even an insignificant way, show them the love of God and it’s effect in our lives.  Once again, another humbling experience.  Another manna moment.  It was the second time in two days that I left the army base feeling....happy.  :)  In a way, I felt complete...like this is what it’s all about. I am so happy that they had a good time.  But I pray that it goes far beyond that.  I pray that they were drawn closer to God, that they surrendered their life again to Him, that they left with a little deeper understanding of who He is and how much He loves them.  I pray that they left encouraged, refreshed and strengthened in their faith in Christ.  For if not, then everything was in vain.  It was nothing more than another visit...a day off.  I pray that they saw something different in us, something that they want to know more about.  Lord, please use us as instruments.  Please remove self out of the way and allow others to see You in us.  That is what they need.  Thank you, Lord, for all that you have done and continue to do on our behalf!  We do not deserve such love and grace.  Please bless these soldiers, Lord.  Keep them in Your care and draw them ever closer to You I pray in Your Son’s holy Name.  Amen.

God bless! 

Maranatha!

November 10, 2013

Today was my day to stay on campus and watch the boys.  It was another really good day!  After Pathfinders, the other staff that had the day off headed to town and I had to boys go ahead and wash their clothes, clean their rooms and do their other chores.  By lunch, everyone was finished with everything.  We had lunch and then Oriel and I took the boys to the creek where we went yesterday.  There was a little waterfall that ended in a small pool, so we spent a good while there, “swimming”, playing, splashing and sitting under the waterfall.  It was a hot day, so that water really felt good!  It was a lot of fun to play with the boys.  They really enjoyed it and so did I.  Plus, we got to enjoy God’s nature.  

When we got back, the kids watched a family video while we, the staff on duty, made supper.  At suppertime, the other staff returned from their trip to town and we all ate together.  Today was Agustin’s birthday (Happy 19th birthday Agu!!) so we had a little something for him and then, following the tradition here in Bolivia, we picked him up and threw him in the creek.  :)  He didn’t put up any struggle though...I think he was kind of waiting for it.  

Tomorrow, the guys will take him out to eat in town for supper.  Afterwards, some of us stayed around and talked.  That’s one of the things that I really love about Familia Feliz...we truly are a Happy Family.  The staff and children spend a lot of time together, doing all different kinds of activities and enjoying each other’s fellowship.  It is a great feeling to be a part of God’s family!  

Good night and God bless!

Maranatha!

November 11-13, 2013

What a busy and stressful three days!  Sorry for combining three days into one entry, but I truly didn’t have to time to write every day.  For the past three days, Jodi and I have spent almost 30 hours in town, working on school records, grades, attendance reports and student demographic information for the Ministry of Education.  Proper documentation has not been completed and turned in throughout the life of the orphanage and school, so we are having to go back and complete all of the prior years’ information, in addition to this years.  It has definitely been a job, let me tell you!  On top of that, the Minister of Education is quite upset with Familia Feliz because of this problem (of them not having turned in things before....which I can’t say that I blame him.) and is making things a lot of difficult for us now.  We turn in papers, he goes through and finds something that isn’t how he wants it, marks over all the papers and rejects them, stating that we have to redo them and submit them properly.  That has happened several times now.  And it isn’t just one or two papers, but hundreds, because it’s the grade and attendance sheets from 2008-2012.  :(  Very stressful and frustrating, to say the least.  But God is Good and we know that He is control and will work everything out according to His will.  Please pray for the Minister, though...that his heart will be softened and he will be more inclined to work with us, as we are trying our best to correct the “errors” and negligence of previous staff.  We truly are trying our hardest to get things done correctly and timely.  We still have things to turn in later this week.  Hopefully that will go much smoother.

On a positive note, all of the male staff went out to eat for Agustin’s birthday on Monday night (well, all of the other male staff went into town Monday evening...I was still there from that morning!  :) ).  We had a really nice time.  There was good food, great conversations and much laughter.  :)  

God is Good!

God bless you all.  

Maranatha!

November 14, 2013

Today, Jodi, Nickisha and I spent ALL morning and a good portion of the afternoon continuing our work on the school reports for the Ministry.  You know that feeling where you feel like you take two steps back for every step forward you make??  That’s what I’ve felt like with all of this paperwork this week.  :(  But I know that we are making a lot of progress.  And I am very thankful to have such great co-workers to work with.  That is truly a blessing!  Though the hours were long and the workload was heavy, I can honestly say that we had as good of a time as one can possibly have in these circumstances. :)  We talked, joked, laughed and encouraged each other all day long.  It definitely made the time go by much faster.  Tomorrow, Nickisha and I will head back to the Ministry’s office to input more grades and try to correct some registration issues with some of our current students.  Fingers crossed!  :)

Oh!  I meant to mention this before now, but it slipped my mind.   However, I really want to take a moment to do it now.  I recently checked the stats for this blog and found out that it has achieved over 2000 page views by people all over the world since it was started!!  Wow!  That is exciting and humbling!  I mean, people from the U.S., Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Russia, Japan, Australia, Mongolia and a couple of countries in Africa have been visiting and reading about the experiences here in Rurrenabaque.  I am most humbled!  Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to check in with what is going on here.  We truly serve an Amazing God!!  I’d love to hear from my readers!  If you’d like, leave a comment letting us know where you’re from and a little about yourself.  :)

Okay...I’m signing out now.  I’m more than ready to hit the sack.  Blessings to all of you!

Maranatha!

November 15, 2013

I went for a long run this morning (as I have done a few days this week).  It felt really good and proved to be some great “alone time” with God.  I needed that.

When I got back, I had breakfast and then Ori and I headed to buy some coconuts.  With all of this heat, some fresh coconut water was just what the doctor ordered!  :)  Then, while we were out, we went to a nearby creek to get some sand for the cement for some of our building projects.  We quickly loaded up the the bed of the truck and headed back home to unload.  

After unloading the sand, we took Manuel (the only Bolivian teacher here at the school) to his home just down the road.  Ori had also made a wooden sign for the small church just up from Familia Feliz so we dropped that off too.  (He did a great job on the sign, by the way.  Kudos, Ori!!).  On the way, we bought a watermelon a lady was selling on the side of the road(I’m lovin’ all this fresh fruit!).  Then, we passed by an elderly woman who is a member of the SDA church just up the road from Familia Feliz.  She was looking for a ride home, so we gladly loaded up her things and drove her home.  She was very grateful and gave us some sweet potatoes she had just harvested out of her garden, as well as a bunch of those apple bananas that I like so much.  :)  What a blessing!  Not a bad morning indeed!

By this time, it was time to eat lunch.  After eating, I did a few other things on my “to-do” list, took a shower, got dressed and headed into town with a few of the staff members.  Nickisha and I had to put in grades and talk with the Minister.  Then I had the Bible study at the base.

I am extremely grateful that we were able to input 95% of the grades today!!  Praise God!  The only ones we couldn’t input were those that had registration problems.  It didn’t go quite was smoothly as we had hoped, but we were able to finish them nonetheless.  The Minister, however, did put up some roadblocks in regards to us fixing the registration issues.  :(  We’ll have to work on that next week.  Please continue to pray for this situation.  I know God can provide a solution.

We finished with the grades just before Sabbath.  We had already bought food for supper, so we headed to eat really quickly and then headed to the base.  No matter what the day is like on Fridays, it ALWAYS ends in a blessing with the Bible study!!  It truly makes my day.  We still have between 40-50 every week.  Isn’t that great?!  Praise God!  And the soldiers were even more excited tonight because we told them that 10 more of them to come to Familia Feliz tomorrow to spend the Sabbath with us.  There were exactly 10 that will be leaving on Tuesday to go to another army base for two months and then will be leaving the service to go home.  So it worked out well.  I’m looking forward to spending the day with them tomorrow.

Good night all.  God bless!

Maranatha!

November 14, 2013

Happy Sabbath!  I hope all of you had a wonderful day and were able to spend some quality time with God today.

Today started off a little rough.  I woke up and wasn’t feeling very well.  Not sure what was the problem, but I just didn’t feel good.  I had a headache, my body ached and I felt really tired...both mentally and physically.  I had my morning devotion and asked God to help me...I knew that the soldiers would be here today and it would be a full day.  I didn’t need to be sick today.  I finished worship, went to breakfast and then Juan and I went into town to pick up the soldiers.  The were lined up and waiting for us.  :)  Everyone got in the truck and we headed back home.  I was happy to see them and looking forward to the day’s activities...but I still wasn’t feeling 100%.  To be honest, I really just wanted to go back to bed.  I felt very tired.  But I kept praying.  Today was too important of a day to miss.  This will be the last day we see these soldiers...forever, unless the Lord wills is otherwise, as they will be leaving Rurrenabaque for good.  

We got back to Familia Feliz and I got the soldiers to church and settled in.  Then, I ran to my house to get my Bible, hymnals, etc.  When I got back, I was asked to lead the adult Sabbath School class.  Normally that wouldn’t be an issue at all, as I enjoy doing it.  But today I wasn’t sure...I just didn’t feel good.  But I agreed and just kept praying for the Lord to give me the strength and energy to rightly represent Him and to encourage those in attendance.  And He did just that!  As soon as we had prayer in class and I started talking, I immediately felt better!  It was amazing.  No more headache, no more tiredness, no more aches.  Praise God!!  The only uncomfortable thing was the heat.  It was extremely hot and humid today!  We brought two small fans to the church, but even with those, I was drenched in sweat within minutes.  :(  But that didn’t matter...the Lord had heard and answered my prayers and I felt good.

We had a really good service.  The soldiers were there and enjoying themselves.  The members from the small church up the road also came and joined us.  The only thing that was missing was several of our boarding students.  As school end on Tuesday, the parents of many students have already come to get them.  Many travel a great distance, so we went ahead and let them leave if they have completed all of their school work.  So even though the church was full, we still felt a certain emptiness since they were not there.  

After church, we basically went through the same “routine” that we did last Sabbath with the soldiers.  I took them on a tour of the property (the garden was their favorite part!), we had a great lunch and then watched part of a Bible video with them.  Afterwards, we went on a hike to the same creek/waterfall from last week.  The really enjoyed this, as did we.  The water was clear, the trees very green and everyone simply enjoyed the beauty of God’s creation.  But God had a special blessing prepared for us.  Just as we were getting to the creek, clouds formed in the sky, it started to sprinkle a little and a very cool breeze blew through the trees.  That may not seem like a blessing to some, but trust me...after the intense heat from this morning, it was a very welcomed blessing indeed!  We spent about an hour here and then headed back to FF to have worship and close out the Sabbath.  We did a usual circle on the front lawn.  Wanatta was in charge of worship tonight, but she wasn’t feeling well so I filled in for her.  After worship and prayer, we all joined hands and sang our theme song to welcome the new week, then wished each other a happy week.  Once again, the soldiers all eagerly participated.  :)

Then, after Sabbath, we played volleyball and other social games with the kids before eating supper.  After supper, it was time to take the soldiers back to the base.  And once again, they didn’t want to leave.  When we got to the base, they all expressed their gratitude for us having them with us today and said they would never forget today.  I got that warm feeling again.  :)  I gave them my cell number and email address.  I hope we can keep in contact after they leave.  Please keep these young men in your prayers, that they may continue to grow in the Lord and remain faithful to Him at all times and in all situations.  Thank you.

After we dropped them off, I made a couple of phone calls in town and we headed back home.  On the trip back, as I was riding with window down and enjoying the cool breeze of the night, all of the sudden I felt extremely tired.  It was all I could do to stay awake.  I hadn’t really felt tired all day since I started teaching this morning.  And I was reminded again of God’s love and how He had answered my prayer for strength and health today.  It wasn’t until all of the activities of the day were done that I felt tired again...and now I can go to bed and rest in peace.  :)  What a Great God!  

Good night.  May the Lord bless each of you with His peace and love!

Maranatha!

November 17, 2013

Today is my day off.  However, I chose not to go to town.  I really need a down-down...some quiet time to just rest and relax.  And that is exactly what I did.  :)  It felt good to sleep a little bit longer.  

About 10:00, I went in the kitchen to help Vilissa make lunch.  Since there were only a few of us on campus, we took advantage of the time we had and made a special lunch.  Since God is blessing our garden so much, we were able to use fresh eggplant, squash and okra!  We made potato salad, honey-glazed carrots, fresh tortillas, sauteed eggplant and onions and, for a small taste of home, made some fried okra and onion rings.  :)  Boy, was that a great meal!!  The kids really liked it too.  That was the first time any of them had tasted fried okra and onion rings...and also the first time many of them had had eggplant.  It was a nice lunch together.

After lunch, I had to have a stern talk with David.  He was being disobedient again.  Not sure why, but he’s has been getting into more trouble the last week or so.  So we talked for about an hour about the importance of rules and obedience, his attitude, etc.  He knows that, as a result of past problems he has been involved in this year, he is on his last “last opportunity” here.  If his behavior continues like this, he will be asked to leave the school.  I reminded him of all of this and told him that I really, really want him to stay here.  He said he wanted to stay too.  (That made me feel good.)  So I made sure we understood each other and he assured me that he would try to do better.  

Now that that is taken care of, I’m going to do a few odd and end things and then take a nap.  :)  Talk to you all later!

God bless!

Update:  It’s amazing how quickly things can change.  I awoke from my nap because I heard Jodi calling me.  They had just gotten back from their trip to town.  I went over to her house and she told me that Chris and Hunter had just left from talking to her.  It appears that David tried to break into their room this afternoon.  Tools here left on the floor under the lock, where he was trying to pick it.  When she told me this, I was in shock.  I could believe it.  I just talked with him a few hours ago!  Jodi called a staff meeting to inform the others and to talk about what should be done.  I knew what was coming, because we had talked about it at our last meeting when David and Jorge had stolen some things from Melissa’s house.  The decision was made to send David back to his mother in Santa Cruz and not invite him back next school year.  My heart sank!  I really didn’t want that, but we have already spoken to him so many times and extended grace after grace.  I mean, I had just talked to him for an hour today!  I went to talk with him again, before having him go before the staff to receive the “verdict”.  He admitted to trying to break into their room.  He said he wanted an orange and thought there was one in their room.  An orange!  I asked him why he didn’t just ask me or Vilissa for an orange.  We have some in the store room.  He didn’t respond.  I asked him why.  I wanted to know his reasoning...I just couldn’t understand.  But he gave no explanation.  He just sat there silently, with a tear in his eye.  I tried my best to talk with him, to get to the root of the issue, but had no success.  Then, we went into the big house, where the other staff were waiting.  Jodi talked to him, asking the same questions I had just asked.  Again, he admitted to the wrongdoing and said he knew that it was wrong.  He still didn’t say why.  Jodi then told him the decision of the staff and that he would be traveling to Santa Cruz later this week.  After hearing this, he went to his house and went to bed.  

My house is only about 500 feet from the big house.  But it was a really long walk home tonight for me.  So much had just changed.  So many questions are in my mind.  I still wonder why David did what he did, after our long talk today.  He told me that he wanted to stay here, that things are better here for him that in Santa Cruz.  And I knew what he didn’t tell me.  His mom really doesn’t want him.  He went for a visit to her last year and she brought him back after a few days.  So what will become of him now?  Will he end up on the streets?  Will he get into trouble in the city?  Will he have food?  Will he continue to seek God?  So many unanswered questions.  All I can do is pray and trust in God.  I know He will go with Him and will watch over Him.  And if it is His will, He will bring him back.  Please pray for David, though.  Thank you.

Maranatha!

November 18, 2013

Most of the students finished all of their final exams today.  It was a busy day. It was another hot day, too! Jodi and I had to go back into town to work on the Ministry stuff, as well as run some errands.  Juan and Emy are leaving tomorrow morning to go to Santa Cruz for their vacation.  Their family is there.  They will be taking Emiliana, Abigail and David with them, so we had to get travel documents ready for them.  When we got back this evening, the kids that are going home were cleaning their rooms, getting everything ready to leave in the morning for their summer vacation.

I did some things that I needed to get done and then headed home.  I wanted to get to bed a little earlier tonight, because tomorrow is going to be an early morning.  We have to eat breakfast at 6:30 because the truck is leaving at 7:00 to take the kids that are going home into town.  Then, we have to be at the technical school at 8:00 to pick up the people that are going to drill our well.  They start tomorrow.  Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!!  But I couldn’t go to bed just yet.  I had to write a letter to David.  I wanted him to have my cell phone number, just in case he needs me in the future.  I thanked him for all of the memories he had given me, for the good times we’ve shared and tried to encourage him in his walk with Christ.  It was a tough letter to write, knowing that he would be leaving tomorrow.  But again, in God’s time and God’s ways.

Okay, now it’s off to have worship and then to bed.  Good night all.  God bless!

Maranatha!

November 19, 2013

Boy, was this a busy day!  Like I mentioned in last night’s entry, it started early.  We had breakfast and left by 7:15.  We got the kids dropped off at their houses, then picked up the well guys and their equipment.  We were back on campus by 9:30.  We made sure the guys had all they needed for the well and they got started working right away.  By 10:30, I was back in the truck heading to town again.  The male staff went to get some more gravel to build our water tanks for the well and Jodi and I had to go back to the Ministry.  Once there, more bad news.  They came up with yet more that we need to do before this Friday.  :(  Quite frustrating.  But, God’s grace is sufficient!  Amen!  

We got home around 7:00.  Almost twelve hours in town again today.  The well people are still working, manually drilling the well.  I went over and talked with them, made sure they were doing ok.  They said all is going well and they should be done around 2am.  They said they’ve really been enjoying the meals here (we’re feeding them while they are here.).  We got them a place to sleep when they finish.  Then, Jodi and I had supper and worked a little of school stuff.  We’re going to try to finish everything tomorrow, Lord willing.  

Here are some pics of the well being drilled.  Very interesting to watch!

Good night everyone.  I’m tired.  Gonna have my devotion and get some sleep.  God bless each of you!

Maranatha!

November 20, 2013

And I thought yesterday was a busy day??!!  I was awoken by someone calling my name.  It was Jodi.  She said that the parents of one our students had arrived and she needed me to help translate.  I looked at the clock...12:10am.  I got up, got dressed and went over to her house.  These were the parents of a student that had gone home last week.  They came to get a copy of his school documents and pick up some clothes he left.  We told them that we would get everything for them in the morning.  They still wanted to sit there and talk for a while though.  Jodi and I were trying our best to listen attentively and fight off the desire to sleep.  Then they asked if they would spend the night.  We had to figure out where we were going to put them, as the men working on the well were sleeping in our extra house.  We finally got that worked out, got them settled in their room and headed back to our respective houses and back to bed.  It was a little after 1:00 am.  I went to bed, but couldn’t go back to sleep right away.  :(  It was about 1:45 or so before I was able to fall asleep.  I woke up at 6:00 and went ahead and got up.  I had my devotion and saw that Jodi was talking to someone outside her door.  I went over and saw a man sitting in a chair in front of her house, holding a mirror, while Jodi was looking at his head.  It turns out he was in an accident on his motorcycle.  It was still dark outside and an oncoming bus (on which Samuel was traveling back to Familia Feliz on) had his bright lights on and wouldn’t dim them.  This guy was on his motorcycle and blinded for a couple of seconds.  In that time, he hit a mound of dirt on the road (they are working on asphalting the roads here), fell off his bike and down a ravine and the bike landed on his back and shoulders.  This happened just a few hundred meters from our property.  So Sammy helped the guy here and Jodi was treated his wounds.  His face was cut up and he had a pretty decent-sized gash in his head.  It wasn’t very deep, but it was wide and he needed stitches.  We helped get him cleaned up, gave him some Ibuprofen for the pain, went and picked up his motorcycle and gave him some breakfast.  As I was looking at this man and listening to his account of what happened, I couldn’t help but stand amazed at how little injury he had incurred.  God had truly protected this man!  I made sure to point that out, to which the man responded that he understood full well.  

We got the documents the parents from last night needed and then  readied the truck to take them the town.  We offered to take the guy from the accident to the hospital, but he kindly declined, saying that he would go in by himself on his bike.  He tried our best to convince him to let us take him, but he said no.  So he went ahead and left.  

We check with the well people.  They finished drilling the well around 2:00 am and were going to repair and older well on the property so that we could have a manual, back-up well.  They said they would be done by noon.  So Jodi and I headed to town to take this family to the bus station, head back to the ministry and finish a couple of other things.  We were back by 12:30.  I think that might just be a record for us!  :)

We had lunch and then the well technicians showed us their finished work.  What a great sight to see our own well, finished and ready to be used (once our pump gets here and we build the water towers)!  God is Good!!  

They had finished their job and we loaded them up and Oriel drove them back to town.  I stayed here and spent the entire afternoon working on documents and files for the Ministry.  Finally, around 6:30 pm, I finished EVERYTHING they had asked us for!  Praise GOD!!!  We’ll take it in to them tomorrow and hopefully, that will be all until we have to input final grades in the system the end of next week.  Fingers are crossed!  :)

So yeah...it was a busy day.  Visitors arrive in the middle of the night, help treat a motorcycle accident wound in the early morning, taxi people around in the morning, go by the Ministry, inspect a new well, get those people home, then spend several hours working on two new education programs...definitely serves for an interesting and busy day!  But I thank God that He was with all of us throughout it all and that we were able to be used by Him, at least in a small way.  What a Great God we serve!

God bless you, my friends!  He is coming again soon!

Maranatha!