success.

I think I have really big dreams and high expectations for the kids, and I can't settle for just helping them survive or making their lives more bearable on the streets.  Granted, there's room and need for every type of ministry to street-dwelling kids, for sure.  But my focus is on individual life transformation, and it's wholly dependent on a heart change and a relationship with the Lord.  So I measure success differently than other people who work with the kids.

Although I stop in at the bridges to visit the kids still living on the streets and to keep up relationships, my time and efforts are mostly focused on the two couples with babies who have recently left the streets behind: Patty and Efrain, Zulma and Gary.

The fact that they're living in rooms out in the country is surely something to be celebrated, especially considering that each of them was on the streets not that long ago.  I'm so proud of them.  But I fully believe that eking out an existence in the campo is not all that God has for them.  He wants the kids to know Him and love Him, and He wants to give them abundant life.  

I think He wants us to dream big and trust Him to transform lives.

When the girls come to my house, Casa Koinonia, several days a week, one of the things I try to do is spend time talking and praying with each of them individually.  And the one thing that most encourages me out of everything that I've seen, experienced, and done in all of my years in Bolivia is seeing small traces and hints of character growth in the girls... living evidence of the Potter shaping their hearts...

Zulma absolutely blesses my heart on a daily basis.  She is so full of goodness and kindness, and she works so hard at being a good mother to her two babies.  The one area of her life where we've been working is her impulsiveness and short temper, especially in her relationship with Gary.  He doesn't always make good choices, and because of that they've had some crazy and violent fights in the past... in front of their 3 year old and 1 year old.  So we do a lot of relationship counseling here, and I try to pour into Zulma's life as a mentor.

(Pray for a guy to come be a mentor to Gary and Efrain!!!)

In the last couple of months, I have seen so much evidence of God working in her heart and life...  She is developing patience and making the effort to show love and handle conflicts in a mature way.  Their fights used to end in one of them escaping to the streets for a night or two.  I'd have to go hunt them down and then pray and talk with them individually and as a couple...  It would take at least a week to get through the initial problem and recover from the fight.  But lately, these kinds of conflicts have not been happening, and I see it as clear evidence that the Holy Spirit is moving in their hearts.

For example, Zulma got really upset with Gary the other day, but instead of yelling and fighting in front of the babies, she chose to handle things differently.  She didn't allow her emotions or temper to control her.  She waited until things calmed down and the babies went to bed, and then she talked with Gary... and he apologized!  The next day, they came over and we worked through the problelm.  No running off to the streets, no relying on drugs to calm their emotions, no screaming and no yelling...

Character growth like that paints a beautiful picture of God working in her heart.  These are the things we should celebrate.  And this is why I'm in Bolivia... and why I'm starting Casa Koinonia.