This is something that I (Corina Clements) wrote back in August 1999… a reflection on where all this had started. This was written before El Jordán officially came to exist but it gives you a bit of history of the heart behind the place… if you have the patience to wade through it all.
I look around me... the pictures of some of the kids on my bulletin board... the "street kid storage room" - all the shelves of clothes and things for the homes and kids... the stacks of Bible correspondence courses and Bibles to give out to the kids and people in jails... my love and desire to reach these kids...
Where did it all begin?? Back on that night in October, 1995?? When Pajarito with tears in his eyes pleaded with me to pray for him... pray for him??? At that time I was searching in my own life for what God had for me to do... I was willing to do anything or go anywhere... That night on the way home from our Bible study, Luz Marina's car broke down on the edge of the city... we prayed for help... and God sent us drug addicts... Pajarito appeared out of no where by my side... and helped fix the car... It was my first direct contact with drug addicts... and people who live on the streets, under bridges, in the woods or in drainage/sewage canals of the city... It was on that night God opened my eyes and heart to this needy group of people...
No... it all began before that... I was still back in Canada... before I came back to Bolivia to volunteer my time, my parents were still missionaries here in Santa Cruz... working in administration of the mission and among the Guarani people... One day when my dad was walking through the Los Pozos market in the middle of the city, he saw a whole group of young kids, teenagers sniffing glue... He felt such heaviness in his soul as he watched them... and he wanted to talk to them, help them... but how??
As he walked through that alley, he prayed for them... and he asked the Lord to send someone to help them... After that day, when dad walked through that market, he would make a point of walking down that specific street... where all the kids hung out... and he would pray... for the kids... and for the Lord to send someone to work with them... God is answering his prayers...
Back in October '95 was the first time it ever crossed my mind that I could work with drug addicts or street kids... I had previously committed myself to working in the little town of Padilla for 6 months with Merle Hogman... so after just a few months of contact with Pajarito and other drug addicts, I moved away for about 8 months... The desire to work with drug addicts was still strong in my heart... but I didn't know how it all would work out....
At the end of '96, the field mission office asked if I could research the needs of street kids in the city... which I happily accepted... this got me working with the younger kids who live and/or work in the markets, parks and streets of the city... In January '97 I presented the need of the street kids of our city... the field executive committee of the mission couldn't deny this need... but they asked me to prepare and present a strategy of how the mission could possibly be involved in reaching out to the kids...
That's when I started dreaming... If I could do something to help reach these kids, what would I do? Hmmm.... would I ...start a kid's home or rehabilitation center? Nope... I decided against that idea... it would require too many people and too much money to start something like that... right now there was only one person in line for working with street kids with GMU Bolivia... and I wasn't even an "official" missionary yet... I also felt that something like that should grow out of the national church...
I read an article by Latin American Mission... where it talked about the need for networking between ministries to reach street kids more effectively.... people working in coordination... One man's comment was that "In Bolivia there is an army to fight the problem of street children... but it is fragmented into a million bits..." I could see a lot of truth in his statement... there were many Christians struggling all by themselves in their ministries to street kids... often oblivious that there were brothers and sisters in Christ sharing their same passion and concern... The Bolivian church was growing fast but didn't seem to be doing much in reaching out to the rejected of society...
The idea starting forming in my head and heart... I think my secret desire of wanting to have a cozy coffee shop where people could come, sit in comfortable sofas or chairs, enjoy a coffee, read a good book or magazine kind of came to the surface again.... except this time instead of it being a place where I could earn my living... it was an inviting place where kids could come in off the streets, relax, learn, chat... and maybe be directed to other Christian places or services that could help them... This "sitting room/information center" would compile all sorts of information - on drugs, abortion, health related subjects etc... and information on what people were working with kids... where they could turn to for help – the different homes, schools etc... I also wanted it to be a place where people from churches could come to or phone into to say they wanted to volunteer some of their time or abilities... we would then direct them to places that needed their specific gift... It would also be a place where families or concerned people could come to seek counsel or get help for their son/friend/whoever who was getting into drugs or life on the streets... I thought it would be wonderful to have contacts with churches all over the city so as we met people in need from all different neighborhoods we could get them in contact with someone from a local church... I figured if we could be a help and support to the struggling kids homes and rehab centers, and help with follow-up, the kids might have a better chance of staying in those homes....
I started getting REALLY excited about all of this... I could kind of see it... a reception office... a counseling room... a BIG, comfortable sitting room... where the kids could come and "be safe"... talk... watch Christian or educational videos or whatever... there would be rooms for workshops, or rooms where we could teach the kids specific trades or skills... we would have bathrooms, showers, and laundry areas where the kids could come and clean up... wash their clothes... maybe some kids had just run away from home... and kind of wanted to go home... but were too ashamed to go home all dirty... they could come to this "sitting room" to get cleaned up... and maybe go home with a volunteer... This place would also need a storage room to store all the donated clothes and stuff... I figured it would be good to have an apartment attached yet independent from the sitting room... for some people working in the place could live nearby...
I had a friend in architect school... and he helped me put some of my ideas down on paper... in a simple sketch. I presented this idea to the field executive committee... and they seemed happy with it... but it all had to be voted on by the mission field as a whole... That happened in May 1997... the mission in Bolivia opened their doors to begin a ministry to street kids... and I was off to the States and Canada to join the mission officially and to raise my support... I was back in Bolivia by January 1998...
The little sketch was in my files... but it was kind of sketched on my heart too... if someone asked me about it I could have easily drawn it out for them... ...but... I was only one person... maybe some day it would all come true... I started compiling some information about the different Christian kids homes in the city, some information on drugs etc... When I moved into a rented house in April 1998 it was big enough to have an office and a storage room for donations... before I bought my bed and refrigerator I bought my filing cabinet and shelves for my storage room... =) I thought eventually when there were more people involved the office and storage room could be moved out...
Eli started working with me full time... and Sonja came to help me several afternoons a week in the office... We have gotten involved with the Red Viva/Viva Network to facilitate networking/coordination between Christians working with children at risk.
Well... something happened exactly a week ago (oh wow... was it only a week ago??) to add fire to my dream... and make me believe that it could come true... and sooner than what I ever believed possible. My uncle Norman was here visiting...and he's always asked me about where I'm heading with my work here.... how could he help... I've always talked to him about my sitting room idea... well... last Sunday my Uncle Norman bought a paper... and said we should look at some properties that might work...
While he was here he had a supper for the shoe shiners... and saw 15 kids come through my house... LOVING being in a home... asking if they could take a shower to clean up... In a lot of ways my home has become a small version of my dream... and yet I am limited as to what we can do in our home... Well anyhow..... I looked through the paper... and arranged for us to go see a few places... The first place we went to I could barely believe it... we walked through the little gate... and into an office... In my mind I thought... "wow... the reception office!!!!" I told my self sternly not to get carried away... but as we started looking at the rest of the house, my dream sketch kept flashing in my head... "the BIG living room!!!" "the other counseling rooms!!!"... "A room for a library!!!" "Workshops!!!" "laundry area!!" On the bottom floor there are at least 8 rooms... not counting the big kitchen and living room... Then he took us upstairs... its not completed yet... but there are 5 rooms and a little bathroom that were going to be made into an apartment.... "THE APARTMENT!!!!! ... attached... yet independent!!!" Wow...
Anyhow... another really neat is that the owner of this place is a Christian... who helped buy the lot and found the evangelical church next door!!! He has always used his house for putting up Christian people and groups passing through... He has been praying for a year about selling the house... and who would buy it... he was feeling sad that after all the years of Christian people through the house that he had to sell it... Anyhow... I thought that was pretty special... He also has a library of more than 100 Christian and educational videos that he would be more than happy to lend us... regardless if we ever got the house or not...
Anyhow... we've gone to visit other houses and places... but there just hasn't been anything so practical, so what we had in mind... there were some places that would be great houses for living in... but definitely not for offices or having a place for the kids to come... There was one other place that might have worked for the office / workshop / sitting room part of the idea... but it a real junk heap... and there wasn't any place someone could live...
SO... that's something that has just happened... that I wanted to share with you all... so you can be praying about this... that God will direct every decision and step we take... that we will be sensitive to HIS guiding Spirit... Talking to other business people, my Uncle Norman thinks he can come up with half of the purchase price (40,000... the price is 80,000) by mid October... I have money that I can use to finish the apartment, and build up the wall for security reasons...
....so... we'll see... that's what's happening... its still in the process of being okayed by the mission... but everything looks positive so far... The owner has had other people interested in the house... but he would prefer it to be continued to be used for God...
I could see a place like this really facilitating bringing volunteers in... or getting churches involved... If I found a kid (or two or three) that wanted to learn how to read... and a person who would be willing to teach... well... we'd be able to offer a place where they could come and learn... If we find someone that wants to go to a center we would more easily be able to bring him/her to the sitting room/information center to get cleaned up or to make contact with the places he/she could go... The Christian dentist we have contact with says that we can bring anyone that needs help to his office... but it might be wiser and easier if we could arrange an afternoon for a couple kids with teeth to be pulled to come over to the sitting room/office and meet the dentist there... The big living room could be used for meetings or for the kids to watch some videos... or we could use it to set up for a special meal for the kids... The possibilities are just about endless... We were also thinking that we could get young people from near by churches or the local Bible school to "man" Friday evenings for the shoe shiners (or other groups of kids)... make it a regular evening were they know we are going to study the Bible... someone suggested getting a couple old computers... set up a computer lab where some kids that are trying to get off the street and their lives back on track could learn how to use computers... etc. etc. etc...
Anyhow... there it is... if you have questions or ideas... please feel free to ask, question, share your thoughts... and I'll keep you up to date as we know more here...
P.S… yes, we did buy the property… by January 2000 it was “ours”… construction starting in February and finishing in August 2000. we named it El Jordán and dedicated it to the Lord October 1, 2000… but it actually didn’t start functioning until May 2001.