Believers Fellowship Bolivia Mission

Hola!  We had a full day today.  Our work project for this mission trip was constructing for the local church.  Specifically we poured a concrete floor in the new meeting room.  But first we had to lay a rock base, which entailed placing the rocks as close together as possible, filling the gaps with smaller rocks.  Our maestro, the Bolivian in charge of the project, was truly a master at doing this but he patiently showed us his art.  Of course in order to place the rocks in the floor space, we first had to move them to the floor area.  Once the base was placed, we mixed concrete and poured it over the rock. 

Our group has been blessed to work beside the people living and working in Ushpa Ushpa.  The Food for the Hungry staff are tireless in their dedicated service to the children and families and the community members step forward whenever the need arises.  Today was no different.  The church ladies were there in force to help with the rock moving and making sure the water buckets were full for the cement mixing.  They also stepped in to help carry buckets of sand to the mixing machine, frequently pairing up with the BF team member.  The men mixed and poured the cement with seemingly effortless ease, but I know for certain that it was very strenuous work.  Peter and Mitchell worked alongside the men and at the end of the afternoon the project was complete!  We do have interpreters but frequently we find we can communicate with gestures, laughter and love.

We ended the day by visiting more of the children sponsored by our BF families, delivering personal letters and gifts along with the Food for the Hungry present -- shoes, socks and a backpack.  These visits are both heartwarming as we see the interaction between the children and their FH coordinators and the reaction of the children to the gifts, and sobering as we hear the life stories of these families.  We are also convicted by how much letters from sponsors mean to these children.  They save each and every letter, card and picture sent and take them out frequently to reread and pray for their sponsors.  We have the privilege to see personally how important sponsors are in the lives of these children, bringing them hope and love in the knowledge that someone miles away cares about them and prays for them.  Each of us who sponsor children have been able to visit with our children and interact with them personally, truly a rewarding experience.

We will post pictures tomorrow.  We need to prepare for our presentations tomorrow at the local church.  Three of our group are feeling under the weather so we ask for your prayers that they recover quickly.

Thank you to all who are supporting our trip -- those who contributed and those who are praying for us.  We all feel so incredibly blessed to be here and representing our church body.  Our church commitment to Food for the Hungry strengthens the staff here and impacts the lives of the families with whom they work in ways we may never realize. 
Buenos noches, Barb Turecky