Praying

February 16, 2012

This is Becky, Katie's mother.

Jose', Daisy, and the two oldest of their four children spent two days in San Fernando this week.  They are enthused about going back!  They have returned to Santa Cruz to raise their support.  Praise the Lord!

Please pray for them as they work toward the goal of returning to San Fernando to live and minister.
We need to lift up their entire family for the Lord's direction and protection.  

This is Katie's mother, Becky.

The South America Mission Annual Field Conference, for which Katie went to the city of Santa Cruz in January, was a blessed time of soul-searching and prayer, she said.  She also made good contacts with people, both in person and via telephone, while she was in the city.  There is necessary business to conduct which cannot be done when you live in an isolated village with a two-way radio as your only connection to the rest of the world.
While in the city, she attended an exciting conference called CIMA 2012. She also had some wonderful times with friends in the city, and good phone or Skype conversations with several people in the States!

Where is Katie?

 Katie flew back to her quiet village of San Fernando today.  (No loud music. No telephone calls to take or make. No hurrying. No traffic.  Simply early to bed, early to rise and drink mate' and enjoy milk fresh from a cow on her breakfast cereal. Fernando James Kitty will sure be glad to see her, too!)

She returns to her village with the joy that she has been introduced to a married couple whom the Lord MAY be preparing to minister in San Fernando!  She attended their church in Santa Cruz and met their family.   'Joe and Daisy'  have been praying and preparing for the past year to minister "somewhere in the campo" (country).  Please be in prayer about whether this is the couple the Lord wants to live and minister in San Fernando after Katie leaves there in June.

Thank you for your faithful prayers for her and for the people of San Fernando, that more of them might come to know our Lord and walk with Him.

Katie said she feels as if she is "walking in blessing".

Thankful

November 10^th 2011 

It’s around 7pm Thursday night here in San Fernando. Today the temperature must have reached the high 90’s but then big clouds rolled in that brought some slight showers and a lovely cool breeze, which brought  the overall temperature down. Right now, I am so thankful for many things.

Thursdays have been my school morning. First I teach 7^th and 8^th grade English, then I teach the 9^th graders English, then I get to teach the 4^th grade class a little bit of everything. It has been a joy to see the 4^th graders once a week. They don’t all come to church, so it is such a joy to teach about Salvation. In past classes we’ve spent a long time on “The Wordless Book”. They even made their own. Today I used Sunday School material written by C&MA Missionaries David and Betty Constance to teach Luke 5:1-11.  At 11.30am the school bell rings and all the kids and teachers go home for lunch. Classes are only in the morning.   From being on my feet all morning teaching in the heat I walked “home”, back to the church, melting. I just wanted to lay down, and not think about cooking or anything.

Praise God for Julia. She is the girl staying with me who is from a neighboring community.  She’s here in San Fernando this school year to study because her community school only goes up to 6^th grade. Dina was unable to come back to San Fernando with me this past month. So here in the church, it’s just Julia and me. Today, we came “home” and I laid down.  Julia made lunch, bless her heart. After lunch I rested a little more, then around three o'clock I walked up to Candelaria’s house. Thursday afternoon is our set time for me to visit her. Before I went to Santa Cruz this most recent time, Candelaria and about six other ladies met in her house and we studied the Bible together. Today just Candelaria, her daughter and I studied Romans 8. Then we had Mate together. After a little while I walked to another house to visit with a lady who has come to the church many times, and often who has studied the Bible at Candelarias house. It was nice to visit with her.  I had photographs to give her as well. She said the inside of her heels hurt. Poor lady. I’m sure it’s something to do with her bones and old age. The only foot-wear here is flip flops. 


Then a military pickup truck passed by.  Finally “Juancinto Pinto” had arrived. That is the Bolivian government program that once a year gives each student in the school system 200 Bolivianos in cash, which is equivalent to about 30$, to encourage them to stay in school. It is meant to help their parents to buy what the children need for school.  So all of the school kids, their parents and I headed to the school.  I am the guardian of Julia, so I had to be with her for her to receive her 200 Bolivianos.

Now, Julia and I are sitting in the kitchen. She’s at the kitchen table doing homework and I am using this lovely little computer, with the fan blowing on us, lights on and some soft 1940’s classic blues/ jazz music playing in the back ground.  So peaceful. (I thank God for solar power and the SAMAIR CREW who makes all these conveniences possible!!)   Then we got four little visitors:  three little boys and 14 year old Elena, our neighbor kids.  The boys are playing with some little cards, a memory game. Now Elena is watching me use the computer, as I explain to her what I’m writing, and how to use the computer.

In my bedroom I have a white kitchen towel which has never been used.  It's laying on a shelf, with the tag still on it. I just like to look at it.  It’s under a picture of my Mom.  I brought the towel to San Fernando from Santa Cruz. It was in storage at the SAM guest house with my things for I-don’t -know-how-long. This little white  towel has a turkey and 2 little pumpkins on it, all warm fall colors.  It not only makes me think of Thanksgiving and the United States, it makes me think of how thankful I am. 


God has truly blessed me here in this awesome ministry in San Fernando. There have been serious challenges:  physical, spiritual and emotional. Yet over all, when I stand back and look at the big picture, souls are being effected for eternity here. The God of the universe uses me to explain the Bible to people who desire to learn, nearly every day. People are crossing over from the darkness to the light. What an honor.  What an awesome privilege. Yet I still feel my frailty, my weakness, my limitations. Miraculously God has chosen me to glorify Himself.  As I seek God, He is revealing himself to me. Lately through reading “Abide in Christ” by Andrew Murray, listening to MP3 recorded messages from Pastors Rob Gates and John Piper and my personal study of 1 John and Romans 8, as well as “Hasta que todos llegamos” God has been revealing to me what it is to be constantly led by the Holy Spirit.

Emotionally… If someone were to ask me what I would like to be doing this time next year, to be completely honest I would have to say, “Getting married”. As I think about my future, and all the possibilities: continuing with SAM in this region, joining another mission, working in the United States, going back to school for my Masters, or becoming a wife and mother, the latter sounds the best. Please pray that I would live a Holy Spirit led life and not be led by my emotions.  God knows the desires of my heart, and now so do you. So, whatever doors God opens, through your prayers you are part of it. I so appreciate this great network of support I have.


 Sitting here, now in my kitchen alone, all the neighbor kids long gone, and Julia gone to bed a while ago, it’s easy to feel quite alone, but I know I am not.  

Happy Halloween

Oct.31, 2011

San Fernando

Bolivia

Just kidding, not a single soul here has any idea about Halloween, and just as well.  A few days ago while sharing a cup of Mate with some ladies I shared with them what Halloween was. It sounded so strange and GODLESS, as it is, as I explained it to ladies who had never heard of it. It was just as strange as it felt last year trying to explain to the same ladies about the North American tradition of the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs… It’s nice to be so removed from the rest of the world at times.

For the majority of this month I was in the big city of Santa Cruz. I had only been back in Santa Cruz a full day, after four months straight in San Fernando, before I had gone to Hypermaxi, one of the big grocery stores (Walmart-wannabe). As I walked through, I looked up to see large strips of orange and black fabric decorating the ceiling, and thought that was such a strange choice of colors to decorate their store with. But it did make me think of Halloween… then I kept walking and saw their collection of witch hats and ghoulish masks, and I remembered Santa Cruz takes pride in how North American it can be.

San Fernando is a different world. It feels like a different country from Santa Cruz. In the last year and a half I’ve been back and forth from the big city to San Fernando five times. Every time it takes me a day or so to get adjusted to one or the other world. I’ve now been back to San Fernando a week, and I’ll be here until January, before I get to visit Santa Cruz again. This time when I stood at the air strip and saw Dina, Greg and Pastor Felix fly off, I couldn’t control the tears that streamed down my face as I stood alone watching them fly off. Dina couldn’t stay… She needs to finish her university thesis that she started nine months ago. 

I radioed in to Tom at the hanger this morning to check in. He said Dina will radio-call me in to me this afternoon. By the time you read this, she very well might already be back with me in San Fernando.

Let me fill you in a little on my life. Thursday morning I was at the school all morning, teaching English for the first two classes, then 4^th grade the last class of the morning. I had made wordless books with the 4^th grade class before my recent trip to Santa

Cruz, with all the colors to represent Salvation (black, red, white, blue, green and yellow) and we went over it together and I clearly presented the Salvation message to all 28 of them. God knows their hearts. In the afternoon I headed to Candelaria’s house, to start up our Bible study again. We visited, but no other ladies came. More ladies will come this week.  It always takes a few weeks of me being faithfully at her house for them to come. Then I went to another house to paint  two little wooden crosses.  I will paint the names of the babies who have died. The family will then put them in the cemetery. This afternoon I will go with another lady to the cemetery and paint another cross for her family member. It will be my 10^th cross to paint in their cemetery.  I paint the crosses for free, of course. It’s a way to serve them, and honor the memory of their loved ones. November 2nd is their yearly remembrance day of all who have died. There are some interesting local beliefs surrounding November 2nd that I do not agree with, and about which I have tried to sensitively but clearly share my unbelief with those around me.

This past Sunday was amazing. In the morning 3 men, 2 women and 4 kids came to church. We studied Luke 13:22-30, in a very systematic way, using previous text from Luke 12 to understand the context and meaning of Luke 13:22-30. What did Jesus mean when he taught  “do every thing possible to go through the narrow door”? 

In the evening, I was amazed at the amount of people who came to the church service. Our 10 brand new church pews were full, plus the two in back that are still make-shift benches. More youth and men stood outside. I showed a few pictures of my time in Santa Cruz and La Paz. Then I finished showing the video called “Something to Sing about”, that we started the night previous. It has a beautiful evangelistic message.  Then I shared the ninth message from the book, “Hasta que todos llegamos” for new Christians. The message was all about what we mean by the “Good News”.  It tells why and how to share it.  You can be forgiven and your sin debts paid if you surrender to Jesus, and decide to follow Him alone. God is sure moving in this place. The church was silent, and all the youth and children were sitting still as they listened to THE GOOD NEWS. It is so true that the Holy Spirit will come on you when you share about Him. God was moving last night;  breaking chains of bondage and  bringing light into the darkness. This church is a light house. I am so humbled that God would work through me:  such a weak person. I am frail, just to be honest.  But something amazing happens when I am surrendered to the Creator of the Universe.  He speaks through me.  If you prayed for me Sunday night October 30^th, THANK YOU! And every time we have a church service here… GOD IS HEARING YOUR PRAYERS.  I am walking in your answered prayers.

Oh, and I want to share about Friday night October 21, when I was still in Santa Cruz. If you prayed for me that night late THANK YOU! YOUR PRAYER JUST MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE ONE THAT SAVED MY LIFE.   Another missionary who was dropping me off at the gate of the SAM missionary guest house was looking at me while I was talking right before I was going to get out of the car, when we were assaulted by a very angry man who hit the driver's side window with a piece of steel with all of this might.  He wanted to smash the glass of the driver's side window.  Maybe he wanted to hurt the driver.  Instantly after the first strike on the glass we peeled out of there and drove around the block. The man was yelling and we saw him run the other way, and get into a taxi and peel out the other way.  Praise God the windows were up and God kept that glass from breaking. It takes my breath away just thinking about it again. Thank you for praying for my safety. PRAYER IS POWERFUL!

The Secret to Killing Tarantulas

San Fernando Sept. 2011

The secret to killing tarantulas

 is #1, JUST DO IT, and #2, Do it quickly.

I used to think I needed a long heavy stick to “squash them all flat”, and some where in the process it always used to made me scream.  I also felt moral support was necessary. But now it seems like such a way of life. Just a quick hard whack with your flipflop, and they are done for. No sticks, screaming, or by-standers are necessary. I don’t know how they get in our kitchen. We don’t have a dirt floor anymore, and our adobe brick walls are now covered with cement (no helpful little holes for them to crawl through), and we have doors that close flush to the floor, so what could it be? There are openings between our screen wall and the tin roof. Do they climb up high to get in? And when I catch them in the kitchen, why are they ALWAYS MAKING a “B LINE” FOR MY BEDROOM? A little guy got in the other day. While I was standing in the kitchen, his fuzzy black body and legs just caught my eye as he slipped under my bedroom door. I instantly opened my door and found him on my little bamboo mat behind the door, and squashed him. I then decided I needed to keep a rolled up blanket on the floor in front of my door. Better yet, I need to radio the guys at the hangar in Santa Cruz, and they can buy a rubber piece to attach to my door.

VIVA SANTA CRUZ, 24TH of September

It is Independence Day of the department/State of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Whenever there is any special date, Bolivian schools have an “Acto Civio”, which is like a little assembly, where the different classes present special numbers. In this past year I’ve been here, I’ve never participated. But this time my English students sang a song in English and later I sang “Viva Santa Cruz”, which was fun. At the end we marched… all for the handful of parents who come to watch. In the afternoon there was a soccer tournament. It seemed like the whole town came out to watch the guys play. When they were done, a girls' game started, and I was recruited. I was completely unprepared… so… I played in jeans, barefoot and with no glasses or contacts. I told the girls I was blind so they would have to yell at me if they wanted the ball. It was fun. Since it was Saturday, we had our Youth church service in the evening, which Dina lead, and that went great… but more older women and children, and then youth came. Sunday evening service was my turn to teach. I was prepared to teach the 8th lesson from a book I’ve been using every Sunday night, on basic doctrines for new believers to understand. But since--surprisingly--there were more youth than adults or children, I modified the whole service to cater to them. Using songs from CD’s and my projector to show a music video and part of "The Purpose Driven Life" in Spanish to illustrate part of the lesson, “Senor de Todo”, the lesson was on how God is worthy of our everything.



If you were to ask me “how it’s going” ministry-wise here in San Fernando right now, I could not give you two thumbs up… nor down.  They would have to be sideways.

August in the Village

SAN FERNANDO UPDATE.

Breathing in the thick air down by the river, everything felt and smelled so different. We had walked for nearly an hour or so to arrive at the desired location for the day's outing with nearly all the school kids and teachers. A “day by the river” makes me think of hours I spent down by the water at Northwestern College; or days I spent on “The Island” after my senior year, the summer before I did my student teaching there in Minnesota. There were large expanses of well-kept soft grass. Occasionally another student would quietly wander past as I read, or as I just looked out to enjoy the water…. This is such is different world.

There were many low palm trees, short and wide...and no grass.  Kids scurried around to cut palm braches down to make their day's hut.  I learned to weave palms together to make a wall.

I shared the day with a sweet group of 10 and 11 year-old girls.

That evening the church was packed out.  It was Wednesday night, PRAYER SERVICE… also I was going to show all the pictures I took that day on our outing. I did start with the pictures…. Then said I would show them again at the end.  My prayer focus that evening was Romans 10:1, that they would be saved. I stepped through the steps of understanding and receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior. God knows who responded to that prayer. 

Pray that their eyes be opened to the TRUTH, and they would seek it.

Pray for a National couple to appear out of the wood-work who can lead the church.  It has to be a couple from outside the village.  No couple here is nearly spiritually ready to lead a church.   PRAY FOR A TRAINED PASTOR WITH A MISSIONARY HEART. My commitment here is for two years.  I have one year left. 

DINA JUST FLEW IN TODAY!  PRAISE GOD. She will be here with me until December.

JULIA has been staying with me for this past month. She is a 17 year old girl from another small town.  She is going to school here, and it is  working out wonderfully! Pray for her too.  She is not a Christian YET.

Julia and I made cake in my mud oven for our guests! I have to admit, it is WAY better than any cake I’ve eaten in the States! I just had another piece as I’m writing this blog entery late Thursday night, Aug. 11.  Greg, Dina and Ken and Bonnie Lake arrived today and they will leave tomorrow.  DINA STAYS.

Have you memorized a Scripture verse today?

Have you shared the joy and reason you live with anyone this week?

Rest in God, in his Grace, hear His voice, seek His face,

But run as to win the prize too, with the wind in your hair,

and your eyes alone on Him who called you! 

Your fellow servant of Christ Jesus our only reason,

Katie Wells    

Time in Santa Cruz

Hello friends,


Well, this time in Santa Cruz has been great. Paola and I have been in the city for almost 2 weeks.  We are flying out tomorrow morning (back to San Fernando) I hope to come back into the city in late October for the wedding of one of my missionary friends, who came to Bolivia when I did in 2004.

This is Lauren from ICM, she was

a wonderful encouragement to Paola and me.

Paola saw so many things for the first time.

So even if we can't get her paper work corrected--for her to get her Carnet (personal identification)--it will be ok. God is in control and we've had a good time.

I just read two encouraging emails.... STRAIGHT FROM THE INTERNET.  It's been really great, actually, to be in the city. Paola and I have been very cold since we've been here. It's in the 50's most of the time, which is rather chilly when you don't have heat in your house. Praise God there are hot showers at the South America Mission guest house where we stay.  It's been truely a joy to be able to buy Paola some nice things. She has had a hard life.  God has spoken to me through my church Iglesia Cristiana Misionara. I have gotten a nice break from leading the San Fernando church. It's been nice to sit in the pew and listen. In San Fernando I had begun to feel so inadequate. But God has reached me.  

Yesterday we stood in lines for different paper work for 8 hours... and Paola is waiting again today.  When they told us it would be at least an hour, I came to the cafe' to write this blog. Time is now tight. Thank you for your thoughts...

Let's seek God and change the world one life at a time.