Update on Ana Karen and Marco´s defense…
Heidi wrote an update the other day on Ana Karen… Every day there is a little improvement… She has been working hard on being able to breathe “solo”… and now the doctor said the tracheotomy might come out in the next 5 days!!!!
Ana Karen had a special treat the other day… One of the nurses facilitated a video call to her kids… It was the first time in almost 3 weeks that Matias and Leyla were able to “see” their mom… and vice versa…
It amazes me how Ana Karen, Gabriel and Brenda (Ana´s husband and mom) have such great attitudes and outlook in all of this… I know that it is God answering your prayers by sustaining and strengthening them…
We have seen amazing answers to prayer for God´s provision!! In less than 2 days, there was enough money promised for one whole set of immunoglobulin treatment (and we were able to get a “good” price)… Ana Karen’s family made food a couple weeks ago to raise money for medicines… Gabriel has been able to make that stretch by going to a group of ladies downtown that help with [medicines… giving them at almost a third of the price… you just have to go and be willing to wait in a long line to receive that help… Gabriel also has talked to the social worker at the hospital and they gave Ana Karen an official discount of 70% on all the tests… and hospital stay… I´m sure the hospital bill will add up… but 70% off will definitely help when the time comes! There are also ladies in the market who give El Jordán vegetables every Wednesday… so a big bag of vegetables gets passed along to both Gabriel and Brenda for their families… Thank you, Jehovah Jireh. God the Provider…
Please continue to pray for Ana Karen´s recovery… as days go by, her muscle tone weakens… pray that movement continues “come back” more each day… that Ana Karen and family will continue to be joy filled at each improvement… THANK YOU FOR PRAYING AND GIVING!!!! This has been such an encouragement to them all…
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Thank you to for praying for Marco and his defense!!!! For him to finish his law degree is SWEET… His father wanted to a lawyer… and life just didn’t allow that… but he would sit Marco in front of political debates on TV from the time he was young… trying to nurture in him a love for law!!! Marco did study law after high school… but he abandoned it in his last year… which is when he made some really bad choices in his life which started a downward spiral in his life which continued (along with its consequences) for the next 25 years…
After we got married, Marco decided to go back to law school… for several reasons…
- One, after all the shame and sorrow he caused his parents, he wanted to give them the joy of being “proud” of him for finishing up his degree…
- Two, it was something that felt “not complete”… a stone in his shoe… He wanted to finish what he had abandoned so many years ago…
- Three, it was for our children… one day when they hear his story, for them to be able to see how God has restored him in all different ways…
- Four, our families in El Jordan always need a lawyer… but never have money to pay for one… and it is very hard to find a lawyer that doesn’t take advantage of difficult situations…
- And five, Marco is a firm believer that our teaching cannot be all talk… that our life example is so important… and if he is working with boys who are already making bad choices and he is encouraging them to study… that he needed to be the first to give them that example…
With El Jordan… kids… life in general… it wasn’t easy to keep on studying… It took him 8 years… of taking courses on weekends and some evenings… but he did it!!!! And we are proud of him!!!
Quite a few of you have asked how his defense went… It was nerve wracking for me to be there… his presentation lasted for about 45 minutes… and then the “judges” started asking a bunch of questions - not so much about Marco´s work but rather running down their own “pet” rabbit trails… One of the judges had worked as a prosecutor within the legal system dealing with children… (Marco´s thesis pointed out weaknesses in the Bolivian Law that has to do with Children and Adolescence)… and one of the other judges has a reputation of being very critical and tough…
Anyhow… it is done!!! …and he received a good grade… “passed… with congratulations”… so now we are waiting for paperwork to be complete… and he will have his title as a lawyer…
Thank you for asking… it is an encouragement to Marco to know that people care about him as well… THANKS!
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Yesterday was our second “open house” for the year… where our girls have the opportunity to make things to sell… and churches, neighbors and friends come out to enjoy lunch or an afternoon of games, coffee and lots of goodies to eat…
On Friday it RAINED like crazy… and the weather forecast said that is was going to rain on Saturday and Sunday… but… the sun was out… and not a drop of rain…
Our girls, kids and volunteers did a great job… there were lots of people who showed up to help… and it was a good day… We brought a little pig from our property as the “prize”… so that created excitement (especially when he escaped from his little cage and had to be chased down and captured!!!! LOL)…
Some of our girls didn´t sell very well… The heat might have discouraged some people from coming out… reducing our sales… or making certain items more popular than others (like frappuccinos!) but… we pray that God will be encouraging and providing for those that might be a little discouraged…
Thank you for praying for us!!!
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The year is flying by! Our little pigs and chicks are already growing for Christmas on the Streets… you can pray any plagues or thieves away!!!! The government has confirmed that there will be the second Christmas bonus wage in December so that is in the back of our minds as well… Please continue to pray for El Jordan and our team… to finish the year well…
Also… we´ve had a couple more answers to prayer… Rocio, one of our “ex-students” who now lives in Argentina with her family, contacted us to ask us to pray… Her 12-year-old daughter had disappeared… she got on the bus after school that takes her home… but never arrived home… Jennifer showed up 6 days later… but doesn’t want to talk about what happened… Please pray for Rocio and Jennifer…
Another student, Sonia, asked for prayer for her son who got his fingers crushed in a cement maker at work… Doctors thought that one finger might be too crushed to save… but today the doctors found a “pulse” at the end of that finger… there is hope for the finger!!! Please pray for Sonia and her son, Manuel…
Another prayer request is for several of our volunteers and their families… that are going through very difficult times in their lives… pray for God´s strength… and hope for them… That God will bring to light what needs to be brought to light… and that those in the midst of brokenness and struggles would find their courage and refuge in HIM…
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God bless you all! …and we will continue to update you on Ana Karen as there are changes…
God is Good… even during the shadowy times…
Love, Corina for us all…