Dear Friends and Family,
It´s high time for another update from Bolivia, not only because of the time that has elapsed since the last one, but because there is so much to share! The main problem is – where to start. I guess I´ll start close to home, with my own son.
On August 29, 18 of our kids here at Familia Feliz joined the family of God by baptism, including my own son Edgar.
It coincided with the 8th anniversary of the little church in Rurrenabaque, so everyone packed into both trucks, and we attended church in Rurrenabaque, followed by a wonderful fellowship dinner with the church family on the banks of the Rio Beni. Following the meal, we all hiked farther up river, where there was a suitable spot for the baptisms.
It was very special and packed with meaning, and my own heart was about to overflow with gladness as I saw each of these special young people give their hearts to God, the beginning of a road that will be filled with difficulties and trials, but also joy and victory, as we each walk towards the kingdom.
Along those same lines, a week later, on September 6, Familia Feliz started an evangelistic campaign in the nearby community of Nuevo Esperanza, several kilometers up the road. Every night, the truck is loaded with chairs, generator, projector, laptop, etc plus the selected number of children and volunteers who go in turn. All of the children and youth are actively participating and we are having a wonderful experience. It concludes this Sabbath with a special church service and a baptism up there. We ask that you would include this in your prayers as more precious gems are won for Jesus.
Not only are the children involved in the evangelistic campaign, but each Sabbath is filled with opportunity for the children to learn to share their faith. After Sabbath School and Church and a fellowship meal for all of campus and attending members from the community, everyone divides into teams and fans out along the road, visiting nearby neighbors, where they sing songs and have Bible studies with them. The children have a lot of fun, and the people look forward to having them come.
With all of this going on, the devil is not happy. Last Thursday night, 5 days into our campaign, I walked into the house upstairs after returning late from the meetings. The phone rang and I was confused as I picked it up and heard Heidi´s voice on the other end. I had thought she was in bed. “Where are you?” I asked. “We´re in the hospital in Rurrenabaque. Please come and bring some money as well.” she responded. Jonathan, Heidi, and Carola – three of our volunteers were returning home on a motorbike after their town day. They had stayed later than usual and it was dark. Another bike was parked in the road, having trouble with their lights, and Jonathan didn´t see it. They side-swiped them, and as I already mentioned, all three on the bike ended up in the hospital. Heidi and Jonathan were not too bad off, although they got some nasty black eyes and scrapes.
Heidi, Jonathan & Carola 5 days after the crash
Carola was in the middle and got the worst of it, being knocked out for several hours and slow to respond when she did come to. Doru, our director, with several others of our volunteers went into town immediately and transferred them over to the private clinic where we are covered with medical insurance. The clinic is also much cleaner and provides a higher quality of care. We called Daniel Adams – a former volunteer of Familia Feliz who is now running his own flight program based out of Trinidad, Bolivia. He came Friday morning and flew all three to Santa Cruz, where they are receiving medical treatment. Tests reveal that none of them have permanent injuries and Carola has no brain damage – praise the Lord! It so wonderful to know that we can trust in the Lord´s protection and that we are safest being exactly where He wants us to be. We here at Familia Feliz are praising the Lord for the lives of our 3 volunteers.
Carola's badly bruised face
Another sign of the Lord´s blessing is the recent anonymous donation for another house. All during this year, we have been praying that God would enable us to expand our capacity to care for more children. Our specific request was two more houses, which will enable us to accept 16 more children.
This past Monday, construction began on the first house. We have already ordered beds, mattresses, sheets and blankets, to furnish the house when it is finished. We are praying and trusting in God to give us the second house as well, so when the new school year starts in Feb, there will be 16 less children that we will be forced to turn down. There is so much need, and the defensoria (social services) is always begging us to take another child.
An example of the children we care for is Susanna. She comes from an abusive home where her mother is constantly being beaten by her step father. When Susanna first came to us at the age of 9, she was a little terror (in the words of her house mother!) She was extremely traumatized, frightened, and angry and any volunteer who hugged her was likely to get bitten, scratched, pinched, punched, or kicked. Over time, she has made tremendous progress, and turned into a loving, respectful, caring young lady, with a beautiful smile. The problems in her home still continue, and the last time she visited, she very narrowly escaped being raped by her stepfather. She has made the difficult decision never to go home again, and both she and her mother have approached her former house mother - one of our volunteers, asking to be adopted. Please hold her in prayer that God will reveal his plan for her.
Now Susana appreciates loving hugs!
I´ll close for now, as the letter is getting a bit long, and holding my 19 month old son on my lap in an internet café while writing is not the most enjoyable experience! But I want to thank you for your continued interest and support of Familia Feliz, on behalf of the children who benefit from living here, and I want to solicit your prayers, as they are what hold Familia Feliz afloat. We are in a battle for the salvation of these children, and prayer warriors are the ones who will win the battle for them, so I invite you to join us in this battle! Saludos from Bolivia and the jungle! Until next time,
Melissa Harding (Missy)
Founder of Familia Feliz
We finally did manage to pick up the children the following day, making us miss only 1 day of classes. We would like to be able to say we also picked up all the volunteers who were returning, but unfortunately, 3 of our teachers were delayed a week in coming back. God always overrules though, and we received a new volunteer from Guyana – Indira Seegolan, who was able to cover for two of our teachers.
