busted.

My laptop is busted. Well, it's fixable, but because I live in Bolivia instead of the US the fixing process is taking weeks instead of hours. I'm really trying to not be grumpy about it. I'm not a big fan of internet cafes, and so I've not been getting online too often. I've checked my email 3 times from internet cafes. Once, the guy next to me was looking at porn, and the other two times I was surrounded by loud teenagers playing video games and cursing. I'm currently sitting next to a guy who is smoking and stinking up the whole room.

So a week ago, my pup Lily got stung by a scorpion and almost died. It's been crazy, but she should be fine.

I also found out that my landlord needs her fridge back, so I have to go buy one. Not something I've wanted to do, but one has to eat, and food has to be refridgerated. I'm on my way into the market to check out my options. I'm hoping for something old, cheap, and colorful.

I have lots of ministry updates, but they'll have to wait until I have more time, patience, and grace for internet cafe-goers.

close to the bottom.

The only way to live in any true security is to live so close to the bottom that when you fall you do not have far to drop, you do not have much to lose.

- Dorothy Day

dr. feelgood

Trying to blog more frequently about regular, daily activities...

I took a 14 year old boy to the doctor yesterday because he had had blood coming out of his ear for 3 days and a lot of pain. He went by himself down to the clinic in the market that treats kids from the streets for free, and they gave him a shot and some medication that really didn't help him at all. So when I ran into him yesterday and saw that he wasn't any better, I took him up to a doctor I know not too far from the bridge.

This doctor is a great find... I know I could take the kids down to the free clinic, but it takes half a day to get a check-up and the care is lousy. So, thanks to faithful financial supporters, I've been taking the kids to a doctor who has an office just about 4 blocks from the bridge. He's stitched up the kids, treated them (and me) for scabies, pulled splinters out of their eyes, cut open puss-filled and infected lips (twice), and cared for any number of colds and infections. He's good because he's not the least bit put-off by the kids from the street, and he treats them with respect. He chats with them about basic hygiene and the dangers of street life, and we've never had to wait more than 5 minutes! (That's priceless in Bolivia!)

I try to approach everything I do with the kids in a way that will give them back their dignity and boost their self-esteem. And so not taking them places where they're going to be lumped into a group and labeled "street kid" seems worthwhile, even if it means forking out a little cash.

The boy I brought yesterday ended up needing drops and more medication for his ear, but hopefully he'll be fine in a few days. The whole thing cost about $10. Not too shabby.

As for the title of this post, well, I've been listening to lots of 80s rock at the gym...

christmas...?

I'm planning a trip home for Christmas this year. By then, it will have been a year and a half since I was last home, and I'm really excited about. Christmas in Bolivia is actually kind of fun and different... It's hot and rainy. The palm trees are wrapped up in singing lights that make the plazas sound like they've been invaded by locusts. And there are fireworks, of course.

Last Christmas, I had a lovely Christmas plant in lieu of a Christmas tree.

Had some friends over... Big pancake breakfast, huge Mexican food lunch, Bing Crosby, and Christmas movies.

And it rained. A lot. And my roof leaked. A lot. So we had a special Christmas waterfall on the staircase.

Good times.

But this year, I'm going to be in Ohio with the family and Josh and Oki. And I'm already dreaming of a white Christmas.... in September.

sunny sunday morning.

Sitting on the median of America Ave. bright and early on a Sunday morning

we could use some creative ideas.

I took the couple who lost their baby back in June out to lunch today to catch up. They live at a park on the other side of town, so I don't see them everyday like I see the kids from the bridge. This time, almost 3 weeks had passed between visits, and when we met up at the park, I was greeted with big, bear hugs from both him and her. :)

It's hard to know how to help these two. She's from a very poor, very dysfunctional family, and he grew up on the streets with his family. They've been together for 8 years, and have had 4 babies... One's been adopted out of a home, and the other 3 are buried in the cemetery.

She told me today that she thinks she's pregnant again, but she got a pregnancy test at a clinic which came back negative. We had a chat about the dangers of having another baby on the streets, and I offered to take her to get the shot, but she won't do it. She's afraid of needles and (ironically) doesn't want to be all drugged up on the pills. So I tried to talk to them about condoms, but they just giggled... It's an incredibly frustrating situation, and even more so because there just aren't very many options for them. They're adults, over 20 years old, and they've been in and out of homes too many times... The home for couples won't take them back, and they won't split up. In their eyes, they're married.

new guy.

After several unsuccessful attempts with 4 boys from the bridge, we have a new kid working at the shop, and it seems like it's gonna work out this time. He has a girlfriend with a son, and they have a baby on the way. They've been on and off the streets for years, but have been doing really well for a long time (with the exception of January, when they were living at the bridge).

With the help of Javier's SUV, we got them set up in a nice, little room not too far from the shop. The boy started work first thing Monday morning, and he actually got to the shop before Nate!

I've been thinking and praying about bringing him to work there for a while, and when it finally came down to it, everything just fell into place. Up until Friday, he had been working at a garden center where he was making very little money and getting treated pretty badly. And so I'm really excited to have him working with Nate and Javier, where he won't just make some money and learn a trade in a good environment... He'll also hear about the Lord on a daily basis and learn from Javier and Nate's examples how to live as a godly man.

Here are some photos:

Friday - packing up the truck

The little fella

At the new house. Their room is one of the two upstairs.

Prayer & devotions at the shop

Hard at work on Monday.