January Goodbyes

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This month we have had to say some sad goodbyes!  Both of our doctores, Esther and Elisabeth are moving on to new ventures.  Their absence will be sorely felt and we will miss them very much!!  Elisabeth and her family arrived safely yesterday to their home in Norway and Esther will be departing for her home in Montería, Córdoba in just a few days.  We wish them all a blessed journey as they embark on new adventures and challenges!  We owe them many thanks for their loving and sacrificial service in Bocachica and all their hard work at getting the clinic open and in operation.  We must never doubt or forget this precious promise that God has given us in His Word:

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (AMP)

…thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [as conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].

Jorge with Bekah and Hannah.
Elisabeth
Marley
Erika
Gonzalez Family departing for Norway.
Esther
Girl’s night out at Mila’s.

We love you and thank God for you!!

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Opportunities to Serve!

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Do you want to serve God by serving the poor? 

Here’s where the rubber meets the road!  

Our mission plan for 2018 is to focus on hosting medical outreaches.  However, we need more BEHIND-THE-SCENES MISSION STAFF to make it possible!!

URGENT STAFF NEEDS:

HOSPITALITY: Involves hosting, cleaning toilets, dusting furniture, making beds, making welcome cards, preparing snacks, helping in the kitchen, grocery shopping, washing dishes, doing laundry, sorting, organizing, socializing, loving, serving!

Breaktime!
Learning to make empanadas.
Helping in the kitchen.
Peeling tamarindo for juice.
Cleaning out the water tank.
Muffin anyone?
Meeting with local church leaders.
Helping with lunch prep.
Unloading groceries
Teamwork.

MAINTENANCE: Involves, painting, repairing, fixing, unclogging, cleaning, hauling, heavy lifting, unloading, gardening, scraping, carpentry, construction, supply shopping,  loving, serving!

ADMINISTRATION: Involves bookkeeping, communications, photography, graphic design, paying bills, shopping, errand running, coordinating, organizing, loving, serving!

IN ADDITION TO HOSTING MEDICAL TEAMS WE WANT TO BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT MINISTERING TO THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH OF BOCACHICA!

YOUTH MINISTRIES:  Involves befriending, pastoring, teaching and discipling unchurched children and youth, organizing activities, sports events, home visits, and more.  We have kids all around us at the mission who are hungry for loving attention and guidance!  Spanish is required.

TRANSLATION:  In addition to all of the above, we will also need bilingual people who can help translate for the medical brigades.  The most common languages used are Spanish and English but sometimes we need translators for other European languages as well, depending on the team coming to serve.  This would not be a full-time position so you would need to be willing to fill other positions as well (see above).

Here at the mission we are mostly “Jacks-of-all-trades”!  We all pitch in where we are most needed at the moment.  So, for example, even if your official job is in bookkeeping or youth ministries, there will be times when you will be needed to help clean or cook or paint, etc… so the main skills needed are flexibility, a positive attitude and a desire to serve.

If you are interested in joining us, please write for more information.

 

Shifting Focus: Medical Brigades

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By the grace of God, we have been able to keep the clinic in operation the past 1 1/2 years!  It has been challenging and stretching.  It has been a true learning experience on many different levels!  It’s been hard and fun, frustrating and exhilarating, discouraging and fulfilling!  We have experienced highs and lows but overall we can truly say, it has been a blessing!!

However, this month both of our medical doctors are leaving.  Elisabeth and her family are returning to her home country of Norway for an extended stay.  Esther has completed her 2 year commitment and plans to pursue furthering her education and studying a specialty, possibly in Ophthalmology.  Sadly, we came to the conclusion that we will have to close the clinic this month because we do not have any missionary doctors available to us nor do we have the funds available to hire.

Our initial plan is to close the clinic on a temporary basis, until the Fall of 2018, at which time we will re-evaluate whether we are able to re-open or not.

In the meantime we plan to shift our focus to hosting medical outreaches throughout the year.  In spite of the disappointment over closing, we are hopeful about this new direction!  We hope that this will actually give us the opportunity to have a bigger impact on the community by offering more specialized attention!  We also believe that this approach will also be more self-sustainable for us to manage with our limited resources.

We would love to have General Doctors, Pediatricians, Geriatricians, Internists, Gynecologists, Physical Therapists, Nurses, etc… join us for 5-12 day outreaches.  We have the infrastructure needed and one of our specialties has always been hosting teams, so we believe this will be a good fit to put our strengths and resources to work!

If you or someone you know might be interested in organizing a medical mission’s outreach for 2018 please contact us for more information!

We can adapt the outreach to fit the size and the skills of each team so even if you are just one person interested in serving short term, contact us and we can explore the possibilities!

First Visitor of 2018

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Today we welcomed our first visitor of the year!  Johan, from Varsovia, Sucre, a town about 2 1/2 hours from Cartagena, has joined us for a couple of weeks to help us get ready for this new year.  Johan has felt the Lord calling him into full-time missions for several years now and after he fulfills a commitment back home, he hopes to join us, possibly in February, for about 6 months, before doing his Discipleship Training School (DTS) to embark on this new journey and direction for his life.  johan-desayuno.jpg

Navidad

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We had a simple but special dinner to celebrate Christmas and the end of the year with our Mission and Clinic staff.  Everyone took turns standing up and sharing a personal word about their year.  We were blessed to hear how after some very difficult circumstances (deaths of close family members, financial burdens, etc…) each person  was able to testify to God’s goodness and faithfulness in the midst of difficult circumstances.  That testimony and sharing time turned out to be one of the highlights of our Christmas!

Family Additions

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Back in April our mission kitty, Leo, died.  Not too long after, this little lady showed up one day in the middle of a rainstorm.  We took her in and named her MISI.  We were waiting for her to get old enough to be spayed but one of her admirers beat us to it!  A couple of months later we had three more baby kitties join the family.  Unfortunately it was only temporary though, until we found homes for them.  Misi has since been spayed and is officially on duty as our cuddler and mission mice catcher!

Misi wandered up to the clinic one day during a rainstorm and found a new home.
Nap time for brother and sister.

A Bocachica Wedding

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We were thrilled to participate in the wedding of Katrina and Jorge this past weekend. We have had the joy of watching Katrina grow up and become a beautiful (inside and out) woman! She graduated from our sponsorship program and then studied to become a Dental Hygienist. She now works with us at the clinic and in January will begin studying Health Administration at the University of Cartagena. The wedding was quite the event with a total wedding party of 141 people, including the Bride and Groom!!!!!!!!

Erika was one of the special witnesses.

Boyaca

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Last week we traveled together to the department (state) of Boyaca to attend our Regional YWAM Conference.  Our keynote speaker was John Dawson, one of YWAM’s pioneering fathers.  It was such a blessing to get to know him a little better and be inspired by his stories and teachings!  After the conference was over, we went sightseeing to nearby Villa de Leyva, a beautiful and quaint colonial historical town in Boyaca.

YWAM Regional Conference.
With friends at the YWAM Conference.
Sightseeing in Moniquira.
Sightseeing in Moniquira.
Visiting Villa de Leyva.
Celebrating Esther’s birthday at a Peruvian restaurant.
En el Museo Paleontólogico
Visiting Antonio Nariño’s home/museum and place of death. He helped fight for the Colombia’s independence from Spain.
Enjoying the local tamales for breakfast.
Villa de Leyva is a historical colonial town founded in 1572.
“One of the most beautiful colonial villages in Colombia, Villa de Leyva is a city frozen in time. Declared a national monument in 1954, the photogenic village has been preserved in its entirety with cobblestone roads and whitewashed buildings.” -Lonely Planet

Girl’s Summer Outreach

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During the months of June and July we had several different volunteers who organized a short-term summer outreach with a group of young girls in our neighborhood.  They came to the mission for activities that taught them about God’s love for them through bible lessons, arts & crafts, music and choreography.  At the end of the program they presented a dance they had learned at our Thursday night cell group meeting.

An island mercy ministry of YWAM Cartagena