Dear Friends and Family,
We hope and pray this finds you well. It was great to see so many of you over the holidays. We are very aware of how blessed we are with the relationships the Lord has given us. So thanks so much for staying in touch with us and for being a part of our lives and ministry. (To those of you we missed, our apologies, it was a very quick visit!)
We kicked off 2002 with our bi-annual Word Made Flesh staff retreat in Atlanta. All of our missionaries from around the world returned home for some much appreciated rest and reconnecting. It was an amazing 10 days and a great precursor to our return to Bolivia. On January 16th we arrived in our new home and began the transition into life here. We’re on the 3rd floor and have a wonderful view of the Andes Mountains, which has been such a gift to us! It daily reminds us of God’s beauty amidst a land so plagued with poverty and darkness.
We’ve spent most of our time here following up on contacts, exploring and researching the cities of El Alto and La Paz. While the Lord is doing good things here, we have felt burdened by needs that are still going unmet. Just this past weekend we walked through the streets of El Alto and were stunned by the number of prostitutes we found. Alcoholism also seems to plague almost every home and street corner. While we have found several ministries for street children, few of them have their foundation in Christ, which we feel is essential for full transformation.
Also, since we returned, we’ve been spending good quality time with Bolivians themselves. Andy has actually been asked to be the spiritual “padrino,” or godfather for some friends here. (They are the first family we first stayed with when we arrived to Bolivia 6 months ago). Usually the role of padrino is mostly a financial obligation, but Abraham and Alicia expressed their desire to have someone assist them in raising their son in a godly fashion – what an honor. After reading some scripture and praying together, Andy gave little Alex his first ceremonial haircut. Following Alex was a badly needed trim for Andy!
As always, we covet your prayers for our lives and ministry here in Bolivia. The following are some specifics we ask you to pray for:
- Guidance and direction for the ministry of WMF in Bolivia. The possibilities can be overwhelming.
- Those who will join our staff here and for those who will volunteer for servant teams in August, that they would fall into the Lord’s perfect will for them here as well.
- Our continued grasp of the language, culture and poverty of those here in El Alto
- The uplifting of the spiritual darkness/oppression that is so evident.
Again, thank you for being a part of the ministry here in Bolivia. So many of you have joined us in our venture, and we long to keep you a part of what the Lord is doing here. Please keep us updated on your life and how we can lift you up in our prayers. It is so awesome to be serving the same Savior.
Blessings from Bolivia,
Andy and Andrea