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Bolivia so far....

Well, it surely has been way too long since we posted last. Our lives have changed very much in the last two months. On October 27 we arrived in Cochabamba, Bolivia. We were very warmly greeted by our new team members, the Timmer family. We spent our first two weeks in the Timmers guest home which they call the Hacienda. Our time there was very limited due to the busyness of getting settled. We spent much of our initial time in Bolivia looking for a house and getting Visa stuff situated. The house was found after about two weeks of searching and the Visa stuff is still on-going. We have been in the house now for six weeks and we are starting to feel a little bit more at home. It is such a blessing to be able to set up a home here in South America! God is so faithful.
Although we are not fully immursed in the ministry yet due to adjusting to our new culture, we have had several chances to get a feel for the work God is doing down here. One of our favorite parts of the ministry is the Saturday baby washing. This is an chance for homeless mothers in Cochabamba to come to the Plaza and have their children washed, dressed and fed by a host of volunteers. One of the greatest blessings has been watching our own children embrace this part of their week. Steve and I are amazed at how fast both our children and the bolivian children have opened up to each other even with a massive language barrier. We are truly touched by the smiles and laughter we witness every week. This is a precious time for the bolivian mothers as well. To have their children washed, clothed and fed every week is an awesome opportunity for them as well as for the volunteers. God is touching many lives in that plaza every Saturday!!
The girls are adjusting well to their new school environment. They go to Carachipampa Christian school which is located about 15 minutes from our house. Kendra is in 7th grade, which is High school here. Grace is in 4th grade and Emma is in 2nd. The school staff has been very friendly and helpful with the transition. We feel they are in very good hands during the day. This is an answer to our prayers!
Steven has been able to spend considerable time with Mike Timmer, our team leader since we arrived here. He has even had the chance to spend one night and two days up in the mountains. As part of a team of men, he spent two days clearing standing trees that will be used to build the next two orphanages. It was grueling work (partly due to altitude), but they accomplished a lot. And no one was hurt! Another answer to prayer. We also have both been able to spend some time at the IOU homes visiting with the house parents and the orphans. This is always quite an experience due to the language barrier. But the sense of welcome we get from the house parents is so very comforting. And the kids...we love the kids!
Steve and I are also staying busy with language classes three times a week. This is going as well as expected. It's difficult and frustrating at times, but we can see slow progress. We have to continually remind ourselves that it WILL take time and God will be faithful in this area of our lives as well. What a blessing our tutor is to us!
In the upcoming weeks and months we look forward to getting more involved in the day-to-day operations of IOU. We pray that God will fit us into the roles he has designed for us. We feel certain that he made us the way we are and brought us to this place for a purpose. We can't wait to be used by him now and in the future.

We appreciate all the support we get from friends and family. We covet your prayers for the adjustment to our new surroundings. Please pray that the language barrier becomes less and less of an issue and we can start to feel more at home in Bolivia. We are excited about this minstry and can't wait to contiue to share it with all of you. Thank you!

Steve and Cara

Moving forward....

It has been more then a month since our original departure date was unexpectedly delayed due to a health concern with Cara. She has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder that has needed to be addressed. With the help of International Teams and several experienced professionals, we feel she is getting the help she needs. She is making great progress! Her doctor and International Teams feel that she/we will likely be ready to leave for Bolivia by the end of October. This in no way effects Cara's desire to serve in Bolivia. Her Dr. also has no reservations about her serving there. We as a family are learning to trust Gid through this unplanned event and feel as if it is another way that God is preparing us for the uncertainties of life as missionaries.

We continue to covet your prayers. We thank God for you and look forward to keeping you updated on the path God has us on.

Steve

Not our will, but his will be done....

It is with heavy hearts that we feel we need to let our friends and family know that our plans to leave for Bolivia on Tuesday the 24th of this month will not be happening. Due to some personal issues that need to be dealt with, we will be spending some time with family in Michigan. We are still trying to process this and figure out what God wants us to do for now. Our thoughts at this point are to spend approximently two months in Michigan seeking wise counsel and spending much time seeking our Lord's will for our family. After two months, we will re-evaluate the situation. This is a disappointing and painful time for us, but we do rest assured that our heavenly father has a far more perfect plan for us. It is our hearts desire to serve the Lord in Bolivia, but for now, we know we need to be here, surrounded by our family. We would be greatly comforted to have your prayers regarding this hard situation. We ask for prayers for strength and guidance. More then our desire to serve in Bolivia, we desire, and even long for, our awesome God to be glorified and worshipped in the midst of this storm. He is the love of our hearts and our only true hope in this world. Again, we want to thank all our family and friends for loving us and walking with us on this journey!

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." ~Proverbs 16:9

Cara and Steve

Bolivia Bound!!

Well, the time has finally come for us to pack up our house and head out of town! The Lord has been faithful throughout the last two years of preparation and we are thrilled to start this new phase of the journey he has us on. Purchasing the tickets turned out to be a bigger fiasco then we anticipated, but they were finally issued last week. Our plan is to leave for Michigan on Monday the 16th. We will drive through the night so that we get there on the 17th. This is our normal cross-country routine, it's tough on everyone, but it's so nice to get it over with quickly! We will spend our time in Michigan having some fun with family and of course...saying goodbyes. Our flight leaves on the afternoon of the 24th. We will fly through the night and arrive in Cochabamba on the morning of the 25th. This all seems very surreal yet! We are so excited to get down there and acclimate to our new surroundings. As we adjust, we look forward to our heavenly father drawing us closer to him. He is the reason for all missions and we feel honored to be used in Bolivia.
Thank you to all of our family, friends and supporters. We could never have gotten to this point without all your help. We can't wait to keep you all updated on what God is accomplishing through the IOU ministry. He is so incredibly beautiful and sovereign. Praise Him from whom all blessings flow!

Steve and Cara

Quite a summer!!

As some of you know, we have spent the last seven weeks in Michigan as well as in Illinois. Steve and I spent five weeks attending on-site training at the International Teams training facility in Elgin, IL. While we were busy learning, our girls had the amazing opportunity to spend time with our families in Michigan. Words cannot express how special that has been for them. They will never forget their summer in MIchigan!! Steve and I were able to travel the four (sometimes six) hours back "home" every weekend to see the kids and spend time with family. We are so very grateful that we were able to do that. Five weeks away from our kids would have been unbearable. We have seen God work and provide for us in so many situations over these last seven weeks.
The training in Elgin has prepared us in so many ways for our lives in missions. We have been so impressed with the care and thought put into training International Teams missionaries. The staff there truly loves their Lord and pours out that love on every family/person that comes through their doors. We feel very blessed to be a part of their team.
Our trip back to Wyoming was long and tiring, mostly due to car troubles. Our radiator decided to crack somewhere in the middle of North Dakota! Despite the heat, inconvenience and complete lack of replacement radiators in the area, we made it home safe. Our God is faithful!! It feels so good to be "home" again...for awhile. We got the okay from Iteams to purchase our tickets to Bolivia and we are hoping to set off sometime near the end of August. We can hardly believe this time has arrived already!! And yet...we can. It's been a long process and we are ready. We will head back to Michiagn the second week of August to spend a little more time with family and friends before we fly out. We realize that goodbyes will be hard (they always are), but we have confidence that our God will use that for good and carry us through. He always does!!
We appreciate all the support we have recieved from our family and friends. We look forward to keeping everyone updated on what God is doing in Cochbamba.

Cara

Enough Already!!

With the first day of Spring, we were hoping for an end to the pattern of sickness we've had over the winter...no such luck. Steve and I are slowly recovering from a whopper of a cold. It has really taken it out of us. I feel terrible for Steve, with our deadline of June 5(leaving for five weeks for training in IL) he has a mass of work to complete before then. So, unfortunantly, he did not have the option I did of staying home and resting. He is not one to complain, but as the person who knows him best, I know it has been a drain on him. Our poor, unsuspecting (almost) 12 year old is now showing symptoms of the same nasty bug. We know that this is all part of life, however, it all comes at a very hectic time for us. We could really use prayers for good health and also for strength to get through all we need to do before training in June and leaving for Bolivia (Lord willing) in August. We are so very blessed to have a great support system both here in Wyoming and back home in Michigan! Thank you everyone for your love and encouragement as we embark on this new adventure in South America!!

One step at a Time...

Bolovia is on the horizan!! We can't wait to get ourselves down to Cochabamba. Everyday that goes by we get more excited for the move. In the meantime, we are very busy raising our funds. Steve had a successful whirlwind trip to Michigan. It was exhausting for him but very good. We feel so blessed to have family and friends that support us. Moving to a different country takes us through a range of emotions. At times we feel scared, others times we can hardly wait to pack up and go. Our girls have come a long way in the whole process. At the beginning, they did not want to go, but they are all getting more excited. The unknown is always hard (for everyone.)

We are preparing for our training in Elgin, IL in June. The girls will be spending the 4 weeks with family in MI, which they are thrilled about! Steve and I will visit them on weekends, if time allows. That will be a test for us. We've never been away that much from our kids. But we're looking forward to the training. We're sure it will challenge us and that is usually a great thing! We would love prayers for strength to persevere even through the stresses of life while fundraising and training. It is a full time job right now. Our hearts are already in Bolivia!

Cara