Three cheers for legalism! and other stuff

I know that legalism gets a bum rap. Nobody wants to be legalistic. But I have decided that what the church in both Bolivia and the US needs, perhaps, is a good dose of legalism. Let me try to explain. We have so individualized Christianity that we don't want anyone or anything telling us what to do. Also we decide what is right for us and how to apply (or not apply) our faith. So, I can be in bed on Saturday night with my girl friend and in church singing and praising God on Sunday morning and see no problem there. My bride can be pregnant at the wedding but no big deal. No shame, no concern. After all I choose what and how my faith gets applied. So I can merrily go my way living in fornication, cheating on my taxes, being deceptive in my business practices and still have a good conscience on Sunday because my faith doesn't have to impact how I live. We have turned ourselves into virtual atheists, or worse yet, we simply have made God irrelevant to our lives. At least the legalistic person understands that God and faith ought to impact how I live. It should make a difference in my business, my taxes, my relationships with neighbors and so on. While I am not pushing here for a return to the days of giant checklists when we determined a person's spirituality by how many things he didn't do, I am calling for a return to recognizing that faith and God are relevant to how I live, whether in Bolivia or the States.

An exciting event is taking place here in Santa Cruz. Our tutoring center (Centro Integral de Apoyo Estudiantil "Nueva Esperanza" -New Hope Tutoring Center) is now in full swing. The first week there were between 50 and 75 kids each day. The theory is that it is a safe place where kids can come and be loved and receive help with their homework. Also each day's program includes a devotional time to learn abut Jesus. Bryan and Molly Canny, along with their volunteer staff of church people (I have even got involved), are heading up this very important ministry. Please pray for them to have wisdom in meeting the challenges that this type of program brings. Also pray that the children will not only get better grades but also get better acquainted with Jesus.

Molly looking over the schedule or something.

Registering students on the first day.  Oscar, a teacher, has given invaluable help.

Bryan, in charge of games and other things, gives instructions.

Niki recently took a trip to Orlando to attend the National Institute for Learning Development conference. There she attended workshops and training sessions to keep up to date on her educational therapy skills. The trip was fine until the plane had a major breakdown in La Paz as it was taxiing to return to Santa Cruz. But that is another story. She did make it home but not in time for Mark's 15th birthday party. We had to move that back a day. But she is home and happily applying her new found information to her students.