Rosi's Story

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Published: Sunday, 04 September 2016 14:00

Written by Heidi Gladman

Rosali is one of our single moms, raising 4 daughters (Isamara(17), Tamara (14), Lizandra (11), and Luciana (2))… She works hard and is learning so much about what it is to live a life honoring to God… In the past, Rosi would go to men seeking comfort, help, love and anything else she felt needing in her life… but after 4 daughters and years of feeling used/discarded she is learning that God is her heavenly father who hears all and the great God of comfort… trusting in Jesus, knowing His promises are the only things that are true in life…

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The Birthday Present

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Published: Wednesday, 24 August 2016 14:30

Written by Corina Clements Soria

In Bolivia, the 15th birthday for girls competes with a wedding in its style, cake and dresses… for boys, they don´t celebrate on the same level… but it is still SPECIAL…

Today at the workshops, I was asked to talk with Everth… Today was his 15th birthday… At the shops they celebrated with a special cake and Coca Cola… and were making him a special chicken dinner… but no one had been able to evoke even the smallest smile from him…

We sat on bricks out back… I acknowledged that his deepest and maybe only desire for his birthday was something no one had the power to fulfill but that we wanted to encourage him… that we couldn´t replace “family”… but we wanted to be like “uncles and aunts” who looked out for him… who in his 15 years had probably carried more burdens than people double his age…

Was there anything that he needed?  …wanted?  …shoes? …books for school? …clothes?

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God's Love On the Streets

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Published: Sunday, 24 July 2016 14:30

Written by Corina Clements Soria

PART ONE:  (I started writing this over a week ago… “Friendship on the Streets” was from July 11 to 15)

We just came out of our week-long “trial” of “Friendship on the Streets”… overall, it went well… and it was neat to see it all come together… and witness, once again, God´s hand in big and small things… like someone returning my purse (with El Jordán´s money and my documents) after I lost it on an early morning shopping trip to the vegetable market… and in finding the right place to buy the hygiene products for our gifts… and more…

When I priced the hygiene products for our gifts, vendor after vendor would turn away, ignore me, say “no” or say they´d tell me when I came back with money when they realized I wasn´t actually buying!!! At the last stall, I was bracing myself for the same reaction when the lady offered me a chair… and the best prices…  In the end, on top of great prices, the lady gave boxes of stuff to give away to our girls or other centers that needed them!  On Saturday, she gave me a call to see how “Friendship on the Streets” had gone… So, it worked out that it was good that I ran into so many rude people that first day!

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Two Petitions

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Published: Sunday, 03 July 2016 14:30

Written by Corina Clements Soria

What makes YOU get a lump in your throat?

Seeing the underdog or the oppressed NOT.GIVE.UP does it for me.  That person who, when everyone else has long completed the race, keeps on running, limping, or stumbling to cross that finish line. Wow.  I´m getting a lump in my throat just thinking about it!

Another thing that “does it for me”, are those people who come alongside of that faltering figure… encouraging them, spurring them on…  when the majority are already celebrating "the winner" ...

Maybe that is why one of my favourite all time books is “Good News about Injustice: a Witness of Courage in a Hurting World” by Gary A. Haugen.  The book walks you through verse after verse in the Bible pointing the reader to the God of Justice and what our response should be.  Phillip Yancey´s comment on this book is, “A book of prophetic and vital significance.  Gary Haugen has pioneered in a field where Christians should be at the forefront.”   Read it!

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