This is Asher at his 3rd Bday party! He is the son of one the missionary couples here. Amy is American, David is Peruvian and Asher is from Ethiopia. He is so so so precious! In Latin America, the 1st Bday is HUGE and the parents have a big celebration for their child. This is the first year Asher has been with his family since being adopted so although he is 3 now, they threw him a big birthday party to celebrate Asher's life! It was wonderful!
Last weekend, we had an Ayoreo kid's camp at a missionary's house. These kids are WILD and usually do not mind anyone. They were waiting all day to swim and finally when given the oppurtunity, they stripped down (literally-a lot of the kids did not have bathing suits, but that did not stop them-they went naked) and dove in!
Tomorrow morning we head for Managua, Nicaragua (although we fly from Bolivia through Miami to get to Nicaragua...and there is a Starbucks in the Miami terminal!!!) to lead a group of college kids from UVa , JMU, VA Tech, and William and Mary. College kids are coming down during their Spring Break to serve orphans in 3 orphanages and 1 refugee camp. During the week, we take the orphans to waterparks, markets, have soccer tournaments, cookouts, etc to make them feel loved. For a lot of the college kids, this is their first time to experience poverty. It is a very powerful week for them in aspect. Joe has led these trips in the past and kids go back to the States changed. It is not a a "Christian" trip but we, as the leaders, have talks with the students at night about poverty, injustice, and loving these people and changing our worldview after seeing first hand how it is to live in poverty as orphans. We are praying that kids meet the Lord this week and that the orphans feel the love of Jesus. This is definetely a trip to love on kiddos in orphanages but it's also about changing college kids lives forever and sharing Christ with them. I guess we use a "backdoor effect" to share Jesus with them. Please pray for us as we travel and lead these kids next week. Pray that hearts will be sensitive and ready to accept the Truth.
After we lead the trip, we are heading an hour away back to Granada, Nicaragua to visit everyone from our trip last year. We are so pumped to see everyone and see what is new in their lives. Yenner, one of Joe's English students, had a baby over Christmas so we are pumped to meet her! We hope to visit Juan and Rosita, our friends from the hosptial, sweet little Natalie (our tortilla vendor), and the missionaries who are still there. when we return to Bolivia we only have 2 weeks left which is crazy! We are still planning on planting a garden for an Ayore village right in the city when we return as well as work with a group of surgeons from Charlottesville, VA at Mission of Hope. We are really pupmped about going and coming back!
Thanks for your prayers and support!
Julie and Joe
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