We are on the final stretch in finishing up the construction of the El Jordán men’s workshops.  (This is the only Christian centre in Bolivia with its infrastructure and methodology: knowledge of God, technical training and sports.)

  

In conjunction with the great advances in the construction/ministry, personally we’ve been going through different difficulties...  I’ll give you just three examples...  

I answer a phone call from the master builder of the construction one Monday at 2:31 p.m. (the call is registered in the telephone).  Later that day, I realized that I had lost my phone...  The next day, my telephone showed up at a place in another part of the city where I bought supplies on Monday at 11 a.m.!!  Can someone tell me how I could answer a call on my phone at 2:31 p.m. having lost it at 11 a.m.?

Corina is 12 weeks pregnant.  During an ultrasound this past Thursday we saw our little one completely formed and moving around...  The doctor also noticed a small tear in the uterus (?).  She gave us two options... one, for Corina to be on complete bed rest with medications for 2 weeks with the hopes the tear heals up... OR continue our lives normally – but be at risk of losing the baby during the whole pregnancy.

Yesterday, on my way to buy materials for the workshops (construction), I was on a main road, fast moving and with lots of traffic when all of a sudden my hood flew open, breaking my windshield and making me lose control.  Thank God I was fine and didn’t hit anyone else, but it was a terrible scare...  My poor old truck (‘95) has gone through a lot... the steering has broken twice and my brakes never seem to work well even when I’ve taken them to get fixed several times...  With this last scare, I think it’s about time for me to look for another vehicle... Its served me well... and carried many, many, many materials for the construction... basically every single supply except the bricks, gravel, sand and longer pieces of wood have been carried by my truck... We wanted the truck to last until the end of the construction but with this last scare, I think it’s met its end.  We’ll have to see how to transport the materials during this last month of construction. 

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

 but against the rulers, against the authorities,

against the powers of this dark world 

and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, 

so that when the day of evil comes, 

you may be able to stand your ground,

and after you have done everything, to stand.”

Ephesians 6:12,13

We would greatly appreciate your prayers and encouragement in these difficult times...

Thank you!

Marco...

Marco just gave three examples of things that have been happening... but there have been more... like both of our trucks have been in and out of the shop a couple times each... and both need to go back in again...  my spare tire was stolen in a few minutes my truck was parked outside our house... the bank machine ate our card... one of the construction workers has a severe infection in his thumb from a puncture wound that he never told anyone about until it was black, disgusting and terribly infected... just the other night someone stole El Jordán’s best ladder from the construction site... Marco got his thumb smashed in the truck door... and other things like that!