Sucre Bolivia for Christ

Praising you in the storm

2010-12-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

Thirty one days ago I was diagnosed cancer.

On day 1, we got on our knees and threw ourselves into our Fathers arms.

On day 3, we praised God for plane tickets that were given to us.

On day 5, we praised God as we were embraced by all the ones who have come to Christ in His body in Sucre Bolivia during these years of work.

On day 7, we praised God as we boarded a plane to seek medical care in the States on day 6 and were received in the airport by 30 loved ones.

On day 8, we praised God for Dr. Stanley as he established our diagnosis here in the States and arranged for the Mayo Clinic to see my case.

On day 11, we praised God for results of our CT scan that showed us that the cancer had not spread to my lungs.

On day 14, we praised God for Dr. Fleming, my surgeon, who agreed to doing his services for free, and who worked hard to help us in finding others who would donate their services. We praised God that the cancer was contained inside of one muscle and would be easily removed, and I would be able to walk and run again!

On day 16, we praised God for letting us be with family on such a special Thanksgiving day.

On day 19, we praised God for receiving money to pay our CT scan.

On day 20, we praised God for the car the church purchased for us to use during this time.

On day 21, we praised God for a place called the Harvest Home, that the church would let us live in during these months in the States. It had everything we would need, completely furnished.

On day 22, we praised God for receiving one more check that completed the money we would need to pay for the surgery that would take place day after tomorrow.

On day 24, we praised God for Dr. Fleming and the surgery team along with the anesthesiologist team that were donating their services for the surgery. Zion's prayer today was. "Thank Lord for mom's big owee, and thank you that she is going to get better." The surgery went great!

On day 26, we praised God for the League house we would stay at for only $15 a night two blocks from the hospital.

On day 30, we praised God for getting to go with family for a good weekend and continue healing

Day 31, we continue to praise God for His continual care and providence.

Reyes 7 year anniversary

2010-08-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary Erik!! I love you! ( July 1st, 2010)

Erik doing one handed hand stand

Mia Yaretzi.. getting more and more beautiful...

Anita´s Quinceañera

2010-07-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

Anita had a wonderful 15th Birthday party.. they call it a Quinceañera here. She spent it with the kids on the team. We did a Twilight theme, and had a scavenger hunt and pijama party... she was very happy.
Anita turning 15! Angela made her a very fun cake for the Twilight theme. We put glitter on her hair and around her eyes.

Erik giving Anita a purity ring...

Anita found me, (Jenny) in the scavenger hunt.. I was a spy outside of the movie theatre.

Anita wore a cape during the scavenger hunt.. Carla and I made her a cape like the ones from the Twilight books..

Intimacy

2010-06-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

Let the little ones come to me

2010-05-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

We are excited to share some pictures of the children here in the church. The picture of the newborn twins belong to Vicky and Jhonny. Their names are Samuel and Carolina. We are blessed to have them as a family in the church. Praise God for these little ones that will grow up knowing Him and the way He has changed their lives.

A special team

2010-05-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

Mia falling asleep on Pancho´s arm What a special team.. Continue to pray for Sucre Bolivia and for us as a team, that we may continue to do the work that God has called us to do for His glory.

March Reports

2010-04-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

Brothers and Sisters in Jesus,
Receive a kind greeting: that the blessings of the Lord will always fill your lives.
I went on an emergency trip from Sucre to Ecuador and the house of my grandparents because my grandmother was sick. I read to her from the Word of God before she died. It was a strengthening for her and for everyone. I had the opportunity to tell the Words of Life a couple of times and although most of the family and friends are Catholic, I had the honor of sharing the Bible. Thursday my grandmother went to sleep and Saturday we buried her. I will be with my family for 24 more days and then travel to Sucre.
This situation was difficult, but it is the end of all humanity in this earth. The good news is that my grandmother obeyed the Gospel a couple of years before. The confidence in Christ gives hope; the strength comes from the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ.
May God continue to bless you powerfully. Thank you for all your help and for sowing in my life for the kingdom of God.
Juan C. Cabrera

Friends and Family,
March was in a lot of ways a calm month for us. We had a university lunch with about 10 visitors besides our members. Besides that everyone´s schedule has been pretty normal. My ladies´ class continues to go well along with my one-on-one studies. On one of the Saturdays I took the youth to hand out church and El Camino fliers at one of the main parks. They did really well and stopped to talk to a lot of the people they gave fliers to and when we had passed out more than 100 fliers we went and played pool.
Luis has preached a couple times this month and continues to teach the youth group. It´s been wonderful to see the youth growing and maturing. A lot of them are really finding their foundation in Christ and continue to encourage one another.
The weather has been changing as we enter into fall and we´ve had a lot of cold days already which has caused a lot of people to be sick including the Torres. Hopefully the weather will stop fluctuating so drastically soon.
Thank you for all your prayers and support. Your prayers strengthen us and give us peace through God.
God bless,Angela Myers

The Reyes Family
Friends and Family,
We have been blessed to have seen some of your during the past couple of months during our time here in the States. We have been blessed to witness our little Mia recover dramatically. We praise God for the health that she has experienced during this time and for the friends and family that have been with us in prayer during this time. She has seen a very good doctor here in the States.. and has been parasite free for 2 months now.. She is bright eyed, full of energy and 5 pounds heavier than when we came to the States. What a blessing. We have her currently on natural essential oils and probiotics to continue building up her immune system with all hope that she does great when we return to Bolivia in 3 weeks.
The kids have done great with all the traveling.. I have been so proud of them. We have received so much spiritual encouragement, that we often hunger for when we are in Sucre. It makes us so greatful to experience the family in Christ here in the States.. Don't take for granted what you have in your home congregations.. having elders and wonderful preachers and people that have served Christ for so long, is a priceless gift from God.
Thank you all for your prayers and the love we witness.
Love the Reyes family

Feb. 26th

2010-02-26T09:56:00.000-08:00

Here is our Torres family. They are a huge part of the team and work here. They conitually bless our lives.

Juan took some of the guys to the country during the last couple of days of Carnaval. Their retreat encouraged them all and gave them some time to focus on God without all the distractions of the normal day.

Beautiful Mia Yaretzi (9months old)

2009-06-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

2009-05-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

(a note from me ~Jenny~)

This morning I was sharing with a few of the Christian university gals up at El Camino. It was shocking to step back for a moment and imagine where they were at a year or two ago. God has brought them so far. I expressed to them how thankful I am to be here and to be doing what I feel to be the most privaledged thing in the world, to share this "Message of Life." This fire is contagious, and I can see it in their lives and in what God is doing here. We are eye witnesses of God doing amazing things in the University age group. There is no greater joy to imagine the rest of their future now with Christ at their side. Thanks to all of you who are making it possible for us to be here. Thank you for looking past what may be our shortcomings and weaknesses, and still trusting in that God wanted to do something great in Sucre Bolivia. We are blessed with truly great supporters, and with a wonderful team that would do anything for the One they've chosen to love first. Till the next time.. hugs and kisses and we miss you all. ~love the Reyes family

Just some pics

2009-03-04T13:43:00.000-08:00

Zion is becoming such a little man.He is 2 and a half now.

Naomi Torres is growing up to be the cutest little model. She does great in school and is pure sweetness.

Mia Yaretzi is such a cutie. Wish you could all squeez her. She's so loveable.

Greatest Blessings

2009-03-04T12:19:00.001-08:00

So sorry that we have encountered some problems with the blog in the past few months... but it seems like it is letting us update again. I'm glad to get to post some pictures and send this out again.

During the past few months we've been encouraged to see the value in things that others might not understand. The work is very challenging at times, but so WORTH the rewards. Living in a country like Bolivia really helps teach us a lot of things, and we begin to appreciate the things that really matter. We continue to reach out using El Camino (the contact center) as one of our main tools. In the past few months, 8 that have come through those doors have given their lives to Christ and this excites us very much. Isabel, Norma, Anita, Rudy, Jose Moises, Nidia, Nela, and Judith are now part of the Camino family. Six of those that I just mentioned are university students here in Sucre. We are excited about the impact we are able to make with University students and that their hearts are open to the gospel. Here is a picture of one of Zion's best friends (Flor) She is really great and Zion loves to play with her. Thank you all for your support and constant prayers.

Mia Yaretzi Reyes

2008-09-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

Mia Yaretzi Reyes has arrived. She showed up at 9:39 on Saturday morning, September 6th

We are doing good.. working on paperwork here in Mexico to be able to get back to Sucre pronto.

Thank you for your prayers and love. We are so thankful!!

We'll post some more pictures soon.

Love, Erik Jenny Zion and Mia

The soccer team in Sucre

2008-09-09T14:15:00.001-07:00

This is a special group of people that have chosen to meet every Wednesday to study the Bible. Ivan is attending this Bible study. These are some of the Sucre soccer players and their wives and friends. Please pray for Ivan that he will be bold in proclaiming the truth and helping them in their search for Christ.

Sunday Worship

2008-06-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

Pictures of the church on Sunday. The second is us praying over the new Christians.

The Soliz Family

2008-06-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

The Soliz family. Left to right: Miguel*, Anna Gabriela, Maxima (the mom), Marta*, Luis*, Mary* and Mery. (All the ones with a * by their names are Christians.) The father has come to church a coupld of times and they have started to bring a cousin too. This is a great family and they play a huge part in the church and work here.

Baptisms

2008-06-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

Pictures of the four baptisms we had last week. Erik, Janinna, Flor and Marta. Needless to say it was an exciting weekend. We had three of the baptisms at a pool on Saturday. Marta got the cold water at the church on Sunday but she didn’t seem to mind.

University Group

2008-06-11T16:41:00.001-07:00

Pictures from the university small group. This group is going strong and an encouragement to everyone. The Torres, Luis Soliz, Sintia Santos and I are planning a youth rally for a weekend in July during their winter break. We are very excited about this and will start the sign up for it this week. We are hopping for about 25 youth between the ages of 16 and 25. Just with the youth at the church we have over 15, so I know this is possible.

The Reyes went to Cochabamba

2008-05-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

We were able to visit Cochabamba this past weekend. Erik is taking a course that Josh is teaching to the church leaders here in Bolivia. We were so happy to meet Jana Faith, a new cousin for Zion

Fruits of His Hands

2008-05-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

This month has been encouraging. We continue to see God move and work in so many lives. God is working in the lives of the new Christians here and we enjoy seeing the fruits of his changing hand. I will share a few highlights with you. Luis Soliz continues to be active in teaching the youth and leading a small group in Angela’s home. Carla continues to serve by helping us with the cleaning of the church building. Dr. Ernesto has given a great course to reach out to the public using the church building to give his First Aid classes. Mary and Syntia are now involved in helping teach the children’s class.
We continue to try ways to contact people who are seeking God. We have a 45 minute spot on the Christian radio every day.. along with thousands of flyers we’ve passed out.. newspaper adds.. and so on. God is bringing many to the Contact Center, and we are truly enjoying being used to share His word. The Contact Center is open for 10 hours each day Monday through Friday. It has been such a great blessing and tool.
Thank you for your prayers and e’mails.

March 2008

2008-04-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

Team Report
This month has flown by… keeping all of us on the go. The work is flourishing and we are growing and learning a lot. I think we´ve been spread a little too thin lately because of trying to have too many ministries. It´s great to see God work inspite of our mistakes,and it´s been a good learning lesson. Almost everyone on the team has had a tough month as far as our health goes and it´s caused us to take a time to reconsider all the ministries we´re involved in and try separate them a little better and not to cross paths so often when it´s unnecessary. I hope this next month will be better.
We are now on the Christian radio daily for 30 minutes, from 11:15-11:45. This seems like it will be a great reach out to the community. We will see how this next month goes and if we start receiving contacts from being on the air daily. We do know that many are listening to the lessons, and have called the radio and commented on how much they are enjoying them. Right now Ivan has been giving a series on Faith.
The ¨Building a Home Course¨ that Erik Reyes has been giving has been a blessing and brought more contacts with families in the community. As well as the ¨First Aid ¨ course that Dr. Ernesto is giving at the church building Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights. The series Erik gave, called Baggage Claim also seemed to interest people and we received an average of 5 visitors each Sunday.
Our University lunches every other Friday bring a wave of new interested students that begin to take courses and seek God.
We have a lot of new contacts and we are trying our best to follow up with them. Please pray for their lives, and for us as we try to do our best as Gods instruments.

Maria's Baptism

2008-03-18T06:07:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we had five visitors show up which was very encouraging, but even better was that Maria decided to be baptized into Christ. She is the sister of Miguel and Luis who were baptized last year. Luis is already a leader in the church and leads the small group study at my house every Saturday. Marta and Maria have been studying with Jenny and have become more involved with other activities and the university group. Marta continues to study and their other sisters also have been coming to church. Their mom showed up Sunday and said she would try to come more often too. God is good.

Pictures- Top: Sunday worship time. Middle: Maria about to be baptized. Bottom: Luis hugging his sister with Erik.

Spiritual Growth

2008-02-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

Team News (Jan. 2008)
Well, I have the joy again of informing you of the month and how it´s gone. It has been a good, but slow month. I think that some of the highlights that I have enjoyed seeing God at work would be the following.
The men of the church have expressed their desire to be more involved and so they starting meeting all together. It´s very encouraging to see our brother Dr. Ernesto desiring to help out and serve. He is going to start a first aid course at the church with an open invitation to the public to sign up, and we will use this oportunity for sharing the gospel also. Our brother Juan Sandoval, wants to be more involved as a prayer warrior. Luis is actively sharing the gospel and teaching his own small group. This shows us that this works is God´s, becuase God is moving faster than we expected.
Another highlight is for me to see Carla Duran, also a sister in Christ, trying so hard to learn to read and write. She is reading the Bible outloud to her boys every night and after they finish a chapter, she says that she takes the boys to the table and they all write a verse they liked from what they read. This is so exciting to me because when I first started studying with Carla 8 months ago she could barely read a verse with me. Praise God. He even teaches to read and write by changing lives for his glory. Carla also showed up every Saturday this past month to help Erik and I clean the church building.
We have continued with our prayer times as a church, every Monday and Thursday at 8 in the morning.. and Sundays at 9:30. I am glad that we have set this as a priority in the ministry.
I would like to say a little something about my teammate Juan Carlos Cabrera. I feel that this has been a true highlight also. In the past months, Erik and I have truly seen a spiritual growth going on in his life. I don´t know how to descibe it, but Juan Carlos has been a big blessing to the work here, and his love for God has influenced his dedication and passion towards the work.
The Sucre Team (Jan. 2008)

CARNAVAL

2008-02-02T12:49:00.000-08:00

The Rains

We´ve been receiving constant rain the last few weeks. Things here have been very wet to say the least, and to add to all the water, we have been experiencing Carnaval. Carnaval here is very different from what I grew up with in Ecuador, they don´t just wet everyone with buckets of water and baloons, but they have about a week long of dancing in the streets, and getting horribly drunk, while they walk down the street with their licor, and have a marching band behing them. We`ve had many of these marching bands and drunk people go by our house, in the past two days. I would say one every 30 minutes or so. It is not attractive at all. Well, Zion and I figure that at least the drunk men staggering on the street deserve to get wet, so we go upstairs when we hear the bands coming with all the drunks and we throw water down on them from our bathroom window. It`s what everyone does here. We`ll be glad when Wednesday rolls around and these five days are over.. Erik and I are thinking about maybe leaving the city for a couple of nights, since we will have the contact center closed Monday and Tuesday. We`ll see if we feel up to it. But things are insane around here.... Windows have been broken twice at the Contact Center by water balloons. Just thought I would fill you in on our Carnaval experience so far. - The Reyes

Inauguration

2008-01-27T05:57:00.000-08:00

More pictures of the inauguration: Top: The guys from San Angelo with some Christians from Santa Cruz. Middle: David with Naomi Torres (who loved all the attention she got). Bottom: Two weeks after the inauguration Miguel Angel was baptized!

The Inauguration

2008-01-27T05:02:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the inauguration Sunday. Top to bottom: Full house (top 2 pics), the kids did a song, Paul preaching and a picture of those who had been baptized.

Waiting on the Lord

2008-01-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

FOR THE RACE IS NOT GIVEN TO THE SWIFT NOR THE BATTLE TO THE STRONG BUT TO THE ONE THAT ENDURES TO THE END

THEY THAT WAIT UPON THE LORD SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH, THEY SHALL MOUNT UP ON THE WINGS OF AN EAGLE THEY SHALL RUN AND NOT GROW WEARY THEY SHALL WALK AND NOT GROW FAINT

This year has been one BIG MIRACLE of God. We were in awe to look back to just a year ago and see where God has brought us. From being a team without a sponsoring congregation... all the way here to Sucre Bolivia. Now a year later.. God has done so much to bless our lives and allow us to see His Glory. God has done so much more than what we had previously considered. We pray that He will always take us beyond what we can see, and that we would never limit God in any way.

The month of December has a been a little different in that many from the church left to visit family for the Holidays, but it gave us great time to make new contacts and do some much needed visitation. It was a good month.. We send all our love to you and wish you the very best in this upcoming year.

Some news from Sucre

2007-11-29T12:48:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I'm unable to post pictures at this time, but I will as soon as possible of the inauguration and the work this month. We were happy to have 120-130 visitors at the inauguration.. (abolut 100 were from Sucre). God is moving and doing great things. We also rejoiced with 5 that gave their lives to Jesus this month.. Their names are Ernesto, Jhaqueline, Cynthia, Ines, and Miguel. I will post pictures as soon as possible.

I'm sure that many of you have been praying and have been watching news or checking online the crisis Sucre, Bolivia encountered this past weekend. Things have seemed to calm down instead of escalate and we are thankful to God for that and to you for your prayers.. I know that many of you are part of our prayer chain that we began Tuesday at midnight... it has continued for three days now.. totalling 65 hours of constant prayer for the souls of Sucre, the church, the crisis at hand, and the leaders, especially David Sanchez who is the governer of the state of Chuquisaca. Thank you so much for your love and willingness to join with us in this prayer time.. We know the best thing we can do, is place it in God's hands. I have copied a news article below in English so you can read a little about the crisis that escalated this past weekend.. and be familiar with what is at hand. Please pray for this country,and that many hearts will open up to the Gospel because of this.

Citizens on patrol as police desert Sucre's streets
From correspondents in Sucre, Bolivia

WORLD powers urged Bolivia to maintain calm as citizens patrolled the city of Sucre deserted by police, inmates took over running their prison, and the death toll from a weekend of political violence rose to four.
Calls for calm came from the United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United States, as residents removed barricades erected during the clashes that sent the regional governor and the police force fleeing Sucre, a colonial city of 350,000.
Violent protests broke out here at the weekend over leftist President Evo Morales' planned constitutional reforms, which were being reviewed by pro-government delegates inside a military academy in this southern-central city.
In the absence of police, citizen groups patrolled the streets, and 70 of 120 prisoners who had fled from a Sucre prison returned voluntarily, according to prison services director Daysy Aguilar.
With officers out of town, inmates were running the prison, Ms Aguilar said.
The protests took a violent turn late Saturday when a 29-year-old protester died of a gunshot wound. Another demonstrator and a police officer also were killed in the violence.
A fourth person, a protestor, died early Monday after being injured in clashes with police, local officials said.
UN urges calm
In New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged all sides to refrain from violence.
"In order to strengthen democracy and respect for human rights in Bolivia, the secretary general urges all political and social actors to remain calm, to abstain from using violence and to seek a consensus on the pressing issues affecting the Bolivian people," his press office said in a statement.
OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza stressed the need end the violence and the confrontations and that "the parties, given the democratic legitimacy of the Bolivian government, reinstate talks to reach a constitutional decision that harmonizes the interests of all".
"The confrontations reveal a worrying division of Bolivian society which seriously affects the environment that should reign during the drafting of a Constitutional Charter," Mr Insulza said in a statement.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the US government deplored the violence and urged the Morales' administration and the opposition "to show restraint and tolerance during this critical period".
"An environment that encourages inclusion and open debate is vital to the success of any democratic reform process," McCormack said.
Also from Washington, Brazil's foreign minister Celso Amorim urged opposing sides to cool off.
"The likely problem is the lack of dialogue," he said.
Boycotts
Opposition lawmakers have boycotted the assembly reviewing the new proposed constitution, accusing Morales of trying to grab more power.
The reforms would allow the president to seek reelection as often as he wishes.
The protesters also want the government's legislative and executive branches to be moved from La Paz to Sucre, the country's capital in the 19th century.
Morales has said he would put the draft constitution to a referendum, but did not set a date for the vote.
The Chuquisaca department Governor David Sanchez said protesters had looted his house and set fire to his belongings on Sunday.

A little of everything

2007-10-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

Zion celebrated his first birthday on the 24th of Sept. and had monkeys painted on his bedroom wall .

God has blessed us with a place to worship on Sundays that is big enough so that we can continue to grow. The week before our first Sunday there we had a cleaning day.

A group of the university students come to my (Angela's) house every Saturday to hang out. One picture shows them all in the kitchen cooking and the other is when we made smores over a very small grill on my patio.

Baptisms

2007-10-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

There have been four new baptisms in the last months. Jenny goes to the university and works at an internet café below the Torres’ apartment. Juan Sandoval is ex-military and is now a handy man (Top picture). Luis is one of our faithful university students that come to everything and is studying medicine (2nd picture). And Nelsi is also studying medicine (3rd picture).

Francisca will be baptized this Saturday. She wanted to do it today but everything is closed. She has been studying with Mary, cleans El Camino and baby sits Zion sometimes. The last two weeks have been a rough time for her and her family. She got together with Jenny Reyes and Carla (our first sister in Christ) yesterday to pray and Carla shared her testimony and the Gospel and Francisca was convicted and made the decision. Carla was on cloud nine when she left and what an encouragement to the rest of us.

And Heaven Celebrated

2007-08-29T06:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday the 26th was a great day here in Sucre. We had lots of visitors for seveces and nine kids in the kid's class. But besides having a full house, Lety and Jamil wanted to dedicated their daughter to God and Carla was baptized!!! We all have a new sister in Christ and as Ivan said, "If we celebrate this much, how much more does God and His angels celebrate".

Please pray for Carla and her husband and family. This time is very exciting for a new Christian, but Satan will try everything to attack and take her back. Monday the team, Carla and her husband, Javier, got together to have dinner and to encourage Carla in her new walk with God. Also continue to pray for Lety and Jamil as they continue to move closer to God and changing their lives to honor Him.

As I mentioned, the Contact Center was pretty packed Sunday. We have been searching for another place to rent for a church building, but have had no luck so far. We really need a bigger place to worship on Sundays, so please really pray that we find one soon.

2007-08-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

Poor Zion had a pretty rough week. First he had a head first fall and got a goose egg on his head and a bloody nose which later swelled a little and had a bruise across. Then about four days later scratched his face. All in all he's doing good, but walking does have it's drawbacks.

Happy Birthday Erik

2007-08-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the 18th Erik celebrated his birthday. We had a party at the contact center and a lot of people the the Reyes' have meet here in Sucre came. Being a Mexican, we served tacos and even rented a special... barbecue, I guess would be the closest word, to cook the meet on. Jenny had found a group of Mariachi singers to come and sing as a surprise.

Sunday, August 5th

2007-08-06T11:23:00.000-07:00

We had about 15 visiters on Sunday the 5th. One Bolivian family who works at the children's home in Ecuador, a member from the Santa Cruz church and the rest from Sucre. After church we all went out to eat to get to know each other better.

2007-08-06T10:58:00.000-07:00

The kid's table during lunch on Sunday.

Contact Center

2007-07-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

Open house/ inauguration of the contact center.

About 15 people showed up to see the contact center and to hear what we have planned as far as the purpose of the place and what types of studies will be offered in the next few months.

Everyone worked really hard to get it the way it is now and ready for the open house. We'll try to put some "before" and "in progress" pictures on later to give you a better idea of the past few weeks.

Continuing in His plan

2007-06-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

Where to begin..?? Everything has been so wonderful, just being here has continued to be a dream come true.. Yes there are difficult days.. and frustrating times, but overall we are consumed with thankfulness. We continue to work on visas and wait for paperwork from Mexico and Ecuador (an everyday headache due to the local bureaucracy). We hope to be done with it by the end of the month, (especially since Erik and I are paying a daily fine because our second visa for 30 days has expired again.)
The Contact Center
Other than visa work, the work here is progressing. We have found a place to set up our contact center, and we were able to start fixing it up this week. We have been praying about the Contact Center for a long time now, and to actually have it is so exciting. The location is great.. the conditions are bad, but we are fixing it up. We've beeen putting in cabinets and a sink in the kitchen, changing broken windows from all the dinamite blasts from the protests, scraping the walls down from the humidity in the paint, and changing out the bathroom also. As for the location we are a block down from one of the major universities, a block from the main drive through town and two blocks from the black market. We are so excited about opening it as soon as possible. Already so many people stop and ask us what we're going to do with the place and many are interested in studying the Bible.
Seekers of Christ
We've started with groups and studies in our home. It has been very exciting to see that there are so many seeking to know Christ and His word. There is no greater joy than sharing with someone who is just ready and desiring with all their heart to know Christ and make Him Lord of their lives. This Wednesday in my time with Carla (a woman that sweeps the street in front of my house) she said, "I understand now that Baptism is really important to God... but how do I prepare myself for baptism?" She is so in love with God, I look forward to my times with her, she comes in for coffee 2 or 3 times a week. I really enjoy my times with her because of the evident hunger she has to change and know Christ. Hopefully soon we'll be writing with news of her decision to give her life to Christ.
Swimming upstream
I am a very bad swimmer.. at the most, I know how to doggy paddle. Lately I have felt that I have been doggy-paddleing up a stream. I have never seen as much Public Pornography as I have seen here in Sucre. It's all over Bolivia, in every store you walk in, in public offices, banks, immigration, and police and government offices. Posters and Calenders of naked women are plastered all over the place. I've started my "sorry swimming" against the current. I make an effort to say something to the owners of the stores, or the managers. They usually think I'm a crazy gringa and usually say something like, "That's not pornography..." or "That's what you see all over Bolivia." And I usually say something like, "If a poster of a naked woman isn't pornography, than what is?" or "I have bigger dreams for Bolivia, than for my son to grow up immune towards pornography." So Zion and I have cut out paper clothes and we carry them in his diaper bag with a glue stick, and I am now on a mission to dress the women in the posters. People usually get a pretty good kick out of it, when I tell them that I would like to dress the women on their posters.. but they haven't said "no." Usually they won't look at me in the eye after I've glued cothes to their posters. I'm thinking of getting the Christian women in Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, and La Paz started on the same mission. At least I will have some company as I doggy-paddle up stream.
Thank you for your love, your prayers, and your support. If you want to know how you can get involved in the work here, or help with some of the unexpected one-time costs for the Contact Center please drop us a note. God is faithful.
jenny_laguera@yahoo.com ~ my e'mail
all_i_can@hotmail.com ~ Erik's e'mail

Pictures of the team

2007-06-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

Pancho meeting with the church in Cochabamba

Naomi in her new home.

2007-06-04T06:52:00.000-07:00

This past month has truly been a blessing.. We've had the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with Sucre and with Bolivia. We've visited the work in Cochabamba, and the men on the team took a trip to Santa Cruz to meet the church there and receive their blessing. It was so encouraging to see what God is doing to Bolivia and the way His Kingdom is growing. Erik and I started a small group study in our home for friends we've made along the way. It is exciting to see the work getting it's start and seeking God's dream for the church here in Sucre. We are currently still working on visas.. and will be thankful when this process is done. We are looking for a strategic place for a contact center. We would like something close to the Peatonal, the street is called (Junin) Thousands of people walk up and down that street daily.. so if we could find a contact center in that area, it would be great. For this next month our goal is to continue with groups in homes and find a place for the contact center and get the furniture made. As we've said before, Sucre is interesting in that it doesn't have good furniture and you have to go to cities 12-13 hours away to order your furniture and have it made. Erik and I ordered a living room set a month ago and still haven't received them... but we will be extra thankful when we get them. So we know that we need to get going on the furniture for the contact center pretty soon. On Sundays we are meeting in homes and having our celebration and worship times.. It has been a very special month. On Tuesday mornings the women on the team and the men get together separately for some intimate prayer times. These have been very special times, especially since so many things are out of our hands and we know that only God is able. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Thank you for your prayers and your love. Please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing. ~Jenny Reyes~

The team in Sucre

2007-05-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

The team together in Sucre!!!

We are here and halfway sane

2007-05-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize for the length of time that has passed since our last update.. Things have been pretty crazy.. and finding a wireless network that worked has taken a little bit of time. Here we are though, and I am so excited to let you know how things are going. The whole team is now in Sucre and with homes.. we are running the local rat race now with Visas, and we feel like every two steps we take we take a step and a half backwards.. but we will succeed. This is a great trial for our patience. We just have to laugh sometimes, so that we can keep our sanity. Here is a list of ways you know that you are living in Sucre, Bolivia. Maybe you will get a kick out of these.
1. You have to visit the immigration office at least 5 times a day, and wait in an endless line to ask what is the next crazy thing you need to do in the visa process.
2. To receive needed forms from immigration or the local police office, they always give you the original form and have you walk across the street to make the copies you need and then return their original form.
3. You have to wait in line for 2 hours to pay a 3 dollar fee for the parperwork tat they took too long to fill out.
4. You visit the movies and during the movies you feel something cuddling your feet, you look down and you see a big furry cat sleeping at your feet.
5. On the night bus rides back and forth from La Paz and Santa Cruz, they stop for a midnight bathroom stop. All you can do is try to think "Happy Thoughts" so you can survive the traumatizing experience of using the local restroom.
6. You finally find a house to rent. You move in only to find that the land lord has decided to stay for a couple weeks with you in the house. You kindly have to ask them to leave because you are now paying rent for a supposedly "independent home." This comes as a surprise to them, because they also need a place to live.
7. It takes all afternoon to find someone who sells a can opener. (or other needed specific needs)
8. To buy furniture you have to find someone to make it for you..

Really we are so thankful to be here and that God is truly taking care of us. We all have found homes.. the Torrez family has found a good school for their kids. We are all so excited about God's plans and dreams for Sucre.
This Friday we will be taking the day off from visas and we are going to fast and pray as a team for the city.. We want to prayer walk the city and just ask God to take total control... that he would deliver Sucre and take it as His own. Please join us in prayer for the city of Sucre.
Thank you for your prayers and your love.
We will be in touch more often now that I've found a wireless connection.
~ Jenny Reyes

Are we there yet??

2007-04-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your prayers and e'mails. Erik and I arrived in La Paz, Monday morning. As soon as we stepped off the plane Zion and Erik were sick. They've both been in bed the past two days... We decided we better head on to Sucre so they can fight whatever this is at a lower altitude than 13,000 feet. So we are catching a bus to Sucre tonight and should arrive in the morning around 7 am. The rest of the team are either preparing to leave and some are on their way. Continue to pray for us during this big transition. We are so thankful to be in Bolivia. It was about time I think. Last night I was walking to the farmacy with Zion strapped on my side. The streets were crowded with people on the sidewalks, hurrying home from work or from school. You don't know crowded streets till you walk in La Paz in after work hours. Vendors are lined up along the side of the road and mini-buses crowd the streets taking people here and there. I noticed a lady sitting by her sales stand. She was dressed very simply, with braids and a top hat. I could tell that she was straining to read the Bible in the dim lights of the city, and although the crowds streamed by her sales stand without stopping to buy.. I knew she was content. I stopped to greet her and ask how her day had been. She said that it had been another good day, and that she was blessed among many to have hope. She told me that she was reading Acts and that she always reads when she sits by her sales stand. We talked for a while and she was a perfect example of someone who had made hope the anchor of her soul. Her name was Prima (which means Cousin in English.) Prima reminded me why it was that we had decided to come to Bolivia. I rememeber seeing a woman just like her on the streets of Sucre two years ago, also reading her Bible and hanging on to hope.

Everybody loves Zion

2007-04-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

The Reyes in Los Angeles California

Zion wants to be a hunter like his Daddy

Zion and his first girlfriend (Rachel Stanley)

Angela Ward with Zion

The Journey

2007-04-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

This month will be a month of many transitions. Already we are experiencing the hardship of saying good-bye, but we know that God is anxious to begin things in Sucre. For that reason we are so excited to begin this journey.

Erik and I had a wonderful time with Southgate during the three months we spent with them.. they made us feel like such a big part of the family. We praise God for blessing our lives with so many there in San Angelo, and with such a great church home. We have such great memories from our time in San Angelo and we've made some great friendships. The picture of Erik is with Steve Stanley on their last day together. Steve took Erik hunting the day before we flew out. It was a great experience for them both. Erik had never been hunting before but he was able to shoot his first turkey. I must admit that I was pretty impressed. The best part was that they had such a great time their last day together.

Erik and I are currently in LA and spending a week with family. His mom and sister also flew up from Mexico to say spend a few days with us before we fly to Bolivia. God has blessed us with such a great family. On the 14th we will leave for Sucre and arrive the morning of the 15th. Thank you for praying for us as a family and also for the team as we are going through these transitions.

Answered Prayers

2007-03-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

Family and Friends,
Great news!
Erik and I feel so grateful to God for bringing us to this time in our lives. God has answered our prayers and supplied the support needed for our team and the work in Bolivia. The Center Street Church of Christ has agreed to partner in the Sucre work with the Southgate congregation here in San Angelo, TX. We are now another huge step closer to the dream that God has placed on our hearts. We are so excited to share this news with you because many of you have stuck by our side through this period of waiting.
This time here in San Angelo has been priceless. We have been embraced by such a loving congregation, and sincere friendship. The congregation has been equally excited with us. On the 24th of March forty-six members prayed for 24 hours in a prayer chain, for the country of Bolivia and for our team. We have been blessed by God with their love.
Please stay in touch with us and write often. Thank you for your love and prayers,
the Reyes

A time of waiting

2007-03-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, we are experiencing a time of waiting. Erik and I travelled up to Fayatville Arkansas to meet with the Center St. church of Christ. We had waited for this meeting for a couple of months and we were very hopeful that they might partner with Southgate in sending our team. It was great to meet them and present to them the dream that God has placed on our hearts. Erik and I, and the team, now wait anxiously for their answer, and pray that we'll soon be setting foot in Sucre, Bolivia. Please pray that God will show us if the Center St. church is to partner with Southgate in sending us. Thanks for your letters, your love and your encouragement. ~ Jenny

Witnessing the dream come true

2007-03-02T10:21:00.000-08:00

We praise God for His plan, His purpose, and His perfect timing. We have been blessed to witness His guiding hand and providence these past few years as He has drawn us to His dream for Bolivia. What a joy to have the honor of serving Him in this way and share in His call. This is the beginning of a blog that will be filled with pages of His working hand in the lives of those in Sucre Bolivia. Thank you for your prayers and the envolvement you have with this work. God has been good and we are witnesses of this dream come true.