REACHING OUT 8

EPILOGUE: PAN DE VIDA NEEDS BETTER FACILITIES!

The Sunday service after the VBS was packed out; extra chairs had to be brought and the service spilled out into the dirt road. Parents and relatives of the children came along for the service. Wish it was like this every Sunday!

We do follow- up through home visits and are planning to invite the parents for dinner to re-establish links and to share with them our future plans. The dream of course is to purchase a property and start family enrichment programmes, workshops on personal development and a special tuition programme that will help children who are lagging in their studies. We hope to evangelise and make disciples of children and their families through these activities. The key is of course to train and motivate the leadership as we seek to improve our facilities in a better place. The leadership is praying for new premises. We saw a piece of property that is available for about $US60, 000.

Some of you have been faithfully following this series of 8 postings entitled REACHING OUT diligently. It began with a write up on the beginnings of Pan De Vida and ends with a future projection of the work. My task is to build the leadership, mentor the pastor and to help in the search for new facilities. A Christ centred gospel empowers converts and gives them hope and a future. Time and again we’ve seen the Lord do remarkable things in families, individuals and children. Praise the Lord! Please contact us at raph160157@hotmail.com if you wish to help in the areas of prayer and finances.

REACHING OUT 7

So What's Next?

Cristo Pan De Vida (Christ Bread Of Life) meets in a shed with an improvised roof. And that’s where we held our first Vacation Bible School in the neighbourhood, 2nd of April. In terms of attendance, families reached the programme, the VBS was a success. Close to a 130 children filled the shed; we just could not take any more.
We struggled with the lack of adequate facilities and were grateful that our neighbour allowed us to use her large patio for some of the games. The piping in the kitchen is worn out; roof leaks when it rains; the electricity at times cuts off during Sunday service.



This boy behind the locked gate was probably one of the many children who did not take part in the VBS. He seems interested but can’t get in. Many families and children are bound by the enemy and there are still locked out of the kingdom. Next year, God willing, we hope to do another VBS at 2nd Of April. This will require finances, planning, training and scheduling – its a lot of work; it will be worth it however if children like this boy can get in and hear the gospel!!



Jesus said, "let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these". When he placed his hands on them, he went on from there. Matthew 19:14-15

REACHING OUT 6!
Anointed Leadership At Work In the Vacation Bible School

The Lord uses leadership to move and shake His plan into being. Here are only some of them. There were many others who deserve a mention. My apologies to them. Jack Mcdonald deserves some mention but I could not get a photo of him.

Rosie Bascuñan on the extreme left leads the children's ministry in Cristo Luz Del Mundo. On her left is Christine Frank; she teaches children and is a strict disciplinarian. Belisario Soleto, our deacon, has built a great rapport with the children; for some he is their surrogate father.

On your left is Marlene; She's the one with the white t-shirt helping the children with the craft work. Marlene's children came to our breakfast programme about 5 years ago. She accompanied her children to the breakfast and linked up with the church. She recieved Christ and began to serve the Lord. Marlene now heads the children's ministry at Pan de Vida.

Blanca Ortiz is the one with a black t-shirt. Blanca's ministry is in logistics and food. She, together with an army of helpers, fed the children at the VBS; we're talking about snacks, drinks, and lunch. The kitchen facilities at Bread Of Life are wholly inadecuate to the task of feeding 120 children and adults. We work with what we have; Blanca simply rolled up her sleeves and got the job done!

Mary Mcdonald on Blanca's right and her husband Jack were the ones who put the VBS together together with the leadership of Bread Of Life and Christ Light Of The World. Mary is an evangelist at heart. She evangelises thru the gospel cube and trains people to use the cube.

REACHING OUT 5!
VBS ACTIVIES - THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF MISSION PARTNERSHIP

The children are taught bible stories. Deacon Belisario, the pastor of Pan De Vida tells a story.

The children are seated quietly! Unbelievable but true.

Deacon Belisario is also in charge of the weekly Saturday breakfast programme. The children who attend the programme are called Hijos de Luz (Children of The Light). Through this programme the parents of the children have also been evangelised.



Wow look at the craftwork! They made their own plates. Don't they look like proud owners of what they've just made! The gospel honours Christ and empowers those who believe.




Here are two girls looking very happy after having printed their own t-shirts. This activity was a winner from the start. The recurrent theme of this VBS was that the children got to keep the stuff they made.
Children in Bolivia love t-shirts, especially when its made by them.


Lets not forget the new songs they learned with actions!!


The youth of Cristo Luz Del Mundo were heavily involved in the area of music and teaching songs. Here they are kneeling on the floor.


Under the watchful eye of the members from the short term mission team, the children get down to work on craftwork. Ahh...the diligence and the concentration!

REACHING OUT 4!
YOUTH POWER!

Like never before, the young people were involved in the minstry at the Vacation Bible School
Here are some of the youth dressed in a traditional Bolivian dance costume. Bolivia is a very "young country" in the sense that the youth and the young adults form the largest demographic.

Yup..Bolivians love to dance. Check out the cool costumes! I'm still trying to figure out what these dancers were doing at the VBS.

Here are a bunch of youth from Christ Light Of The World hanging out with 2 young people from the short term mission team. The blonde in the centre is Kelly Grainger - a SAMS USA missionary. She leads the youth ministry and is doing an outstanding job!

from right to left: Olgita (studying to be a physiotherapist), David (a student), Gabriela (a student - She's David's sister), Kelly, two youths from the US short term mission trip.

REACHING OUT 3
- Evangelising Children-

Jesus reached out to children and received them with open arms. Many of us came to Christ because of contact with Christians when we were young. Bread Of Life is an extension centre, from the parish Light Of The World, dedicated to evangelising and discipling children in poor neighbourhood called 2nd of Apri. Together with our mission partners from the US we reached out to about 100 children and their families through a Vacation Bible School

Here's a great photo of all the children in the neighbourhood at the Vacation Bible School. Children are a vulnerable demographic; they are, at times, subject to all sorts of abuse. It has been our priviledge to not only meet some of their basic needs but to also lead them to Christ.

REACHING OUT 2 !

PARTNERSHIP IN MISSIONS

In July a short term mission team from the United States arrived in Santa Cruz to help Bread Of Life (Pan De Vida) put together a Vacation Bible School. The VBS was held in the neighbourhood, 2 De Abril (look out for more details on the VBS in the next post).

Here's a neat photo of the short term mission team. Jack Mcdonald and his wife Mary put the team together and provided on site training. Jack (the guy on the far left in a sea green t shirt) and Mary are missionaries from Truro Episcopal Church. Jack works with World Concern (A Christian NGO) and Mary, a veterinarian, has a finger in just about everything: from running Alpha courses to birthing calves. They have 2 teenage children - Ashby and Jack Jr. The Mcdonald family have been tremendous! God Bless Em!

I'm a firm advocate of multi-lateral missions i.e the whole church reaching the whole world with the whole gospel- Although this is a title of a book, it captures in a nutshell, the Lord's end time missionary enterprise. He is raising a network of fervent Christ centred churches and mission agencies dedicated to the expansion of the gospel and the consummation of His creation.

Many members of this short term mission team came from various churches in the States and we warmly welcome them as our mission partners. This is multilateral mission at work!

REACHING OUT 1!

CHRIST LIGHT OF THE WORLD, a parish under my charge as Archdeacon, started an extension centre named, BREAD OF LIFE (see picture...Pan De Vida means Bread Of Life) about 5 years ago.

Here's the story: We started a breakfast programme with some of the poorer children from the neighbourhoods near the parish. The work began as an initiative by the lay people and grew rapidly.

It was only a matter of time before the parish saw the need to not only feed the children but to also meet their pastoral/spiritual needs. This got us involved with the families of the children; we saw first hand the destructive impact of poverty over families and neighbourhoods. Most of the children come from a neighbourhood called 2nd of April (in Bolivia, some of the streets and neighbourhoods are named after significant dates in the country's history).

2nd of April is a rough neighbourhood; children grow up in the midst of drunkeness, poverty and abandonment. Inspite of this we have seen the Lord move in wonderful ways; Jesus truly does heal the broken hearted; He gives hope to the downtrodden. We've had the priviledge of seeing lives change before our very eyes. Its takes time of course but the miracle of Christ's transforming power is not a gimmick but a reality! "Michael" (not the real name!) is the only male child in the family. He does not enjoy a good relationship with his mother nor does he go to school. He simply drifted in the neighbourhood; did some drugs and makes a buck or two cleaning cars. His sad and lost look used to make us feel impotent. The Lord however began to work in his life: he now attends church every Sunday and youth ministry; his infectious smile together with a changed atitude surprised many. "Michael" continues to struggle but we know that he is on the right path. Without Jesus he would have probably fallen into drug addiction and ruined his life. Praise The Lord!!

This is a first in a series of special posts concerning Bread Of Life (Pan De Vida).