Dear friends and family,
We have arrived in El Alto and have found an apartment. We were so excited to have found one so quickly and one with lots of sunlight. Adam has been spending his mornings and evenings checking the high and low temperatures inside and outside. Monday morning, Adam’s shirt that we hung out to dry the night before was frozen stiff on the line, but in our bedroom it was a toasty 56 degrees. We thankfully brought an electric blanket, but are still looking for a converter to make it work here. I have been enjoying having my own kitchen again, although cooking in the altitude takes some adjusting.
Our first lunch with the women in the Casa de Esperanza (House of Hope) was memorable for me. The Casa hosts lunches Wednesdays and Fridays for the women with whom we are building friendships or with those who have known the directors from the beginning. It’s offered at a price that the women themselves have chosen and it’s a way for staff to share a meal and have conversation with them. It takes a little bit of adjusting for me to understand the Spanish here in El Alto, but I really enjoy sitting with the women, listening and chatting.
Some of you may remember from our first visit to El Alto in 2008 that I asked for prayer for a girl whose name started with “T.” As we were returning to the States, she was expressing the desire to leave prostitution. The last night that we went to the brothels, she told us that it was her last night there. I hoped very much for this to be true and asked for prayer for her, for the strength to leave and to study, as she had dreamed. I found out our first lunch here that she has left the profession and has not returned to it! I cannot express the joy that I felt when I heard this news. Thank you, all of you who prayed, even just once for T.
So I was reunited with an old friend and I also had a great conversation with a woman I had not met before. We were discussing situations of abandoned children and orphanages and a couple of women were commenting on how sad life can be. One of them responded with the following (hopefully my translation does justice to it): “Yes, life is sad, but in my life, it has made me stronger. And God doesn’t test us more than we can bear. I don’t trust in anyone, but God. Forgive me for saying this, but I think it’s better to be alone. I have confronted everything alone in my life and God is always with me. He is my father, my mother, and my brother; he’s everything in my life. He will never leave me.” I was moved by her conviction, especially knowing that she truly spoke out of experience. I would guess she’s had her share of struggles in her life. Her words gave me reason to rejoice and reason to lament. I grieve for her lack of trustworthy people in her life. I hope and pray that we can be trustworthy people in her life so that even though she knows God will not leave her, she will see God working through individuals, as well. Perhaps you can join me in praying this.
Thoughts for Prayer:
*T.’s continued freedom from prostitution and pursuit of further education.
*For the woman of whom I wrote, that God would provide her with trustworthy individuals.
*Pray that we could create new bonds and renew old ones with supporters and churches as we share the story of our community throughout the Midwest this July and August
With humility and joy,
– Becky (and Adam) Thada
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