Dear friends and family,
Despite some of the struggles we’ve had – and we can only imagine that there will be much tougher ones ahead – sometimes it’s hard to believe that we have the privilege of doing what we do. I (Adam) recently decided to walk to work. It took about a half hour, it was cold, blindingly bright, the trucks were pumping diesel exhaust into my lungs, I was walking over and around dirty, smelly puddles… and I caught myself smiling. The whole way, I was thinking of La Casa de Esperanza (House of Hope): the obligatory (yet sincere) right-cheek kiss and greeting of every last person you see, settling in at the administration office (the one with my bird calendar) that overlooks the airport field and the busy six-lane highway, watching the women of Suti Sana, bundled up and sewing, steadily increasing the mountain of purses they are ready to sell. When I come up for lunch on Wednesdays & Fridays and see our 3rd floor brimming with smiling children, hot soup, worship music, and dozens of smiling faces, I nearly get overwhelmed. Women that are looked down upon and abused all week here can know their identity as daughters of God. I can’t help but feel that Jesus is sitting in the corner, sipping coca tea, smiling.
I suppose I could describe to you what I actually do as an administrator, but I thought that describing direct vs. indirect cost analyses and servant team budget spreadsheets would cause your eyes to glaze over, not lead you to prayer. Anyway, it is the relationships of Word Made Flesh that make my work much more than just an office job.
Every month or two, we have a “community day” and just spend time together. I prepared my first devotional in Spanish. Based on the idea of friendship, I read from Luke 14:12-14, where Jesus instructs his Pharisee host how to hold a dinner party – bold! Don’t invite all the people who will pay you back, He says, whose friendship is socially strategic, but invite the unstrategic: the poor, the crippled, the blind… and you will be blessed. I imagine these words will never lose their potency.
We then sung some worship songs, played board games, ate, and walked over to the plaza to play futsol – soccer on a mini cement court. The afternoon ended, of course, with an impromptu dance session, and we shared moves for tinku and chacarera, traditional Bolivian dances. My living room is still dusty from all the stomping and the integrity of the floorboards might have been compromised… but we had fun!
Thoughts for Prayer:
*Suti Sana purses are coming to the U.S. soon! Please pray for logistics (customs, shipping, distribution).
*Looking for a church family to call home.
Blessed,
– Adam (and Becky) Thada