Tutoring Center

A tutor who tooted the flute
Tried to teach two young tooters to toot.
Said the two to the tutor,
"Is it tougher to toot
Or to tutor to two tooters to toot?"


We won't be teaching any young tooters to toot but we are making preparations to open the Santa Cruz Tutoring Center in February. One of the great needs in the neighborhoods where we have churches is someone who can help school kids with their homework and give them a safe place that they can go. In many homes the children are left alone to fend for themselves when not in school because their parents (or in too many cases just their parent, usually the mother) are working. There is little or no time to help with school work and, in some cases, parents perhaps are unable to do so because of their own lack of education. And so we are working to offer help to school children in the neighborhood starting in February when the Bolivian school year begins again.

The project is under the direction of Bryan and Molly Canny and is a working out of a dream that Molly has had for some time.

The first concrete step toward making the dream a reality came this last summer when the Fort Valley GracePointe church sent a work team here to pour concrete. (Yes, the bad pun was intended!) An earlier post shared about their work here and what a blessing they were. With them, and with the finances they provided, the basic physical structure is being put into place. We now have a tinglado (covered space),

bathrooms (almost completed)

and a room for a security person to live in.

While they are sparse by US standards, they will provide a good beginning for the tutoring center. As finances are available we will continue to build and eventually have classrooms as well.

The vision for the center is to offer homework help each afternoon Monday - Friday along with a snack and a Bible lesson. Also two mornings a week English classes will be offered to high school students.

The planning for this program has been a combination of input from missionaries and Bolivian brothers and sisters.

Oscar, a school teacher, is giving of his time and knowledge.

Elías has been invaluable in getting the physical site ready.

Snack time at a recent organizing committee meeting.

 
We are now in the stage of announcing and planning a general meeting for all those who might be interested in volunteering time for the center. Without a lot of volunteer help the center will not be able to function. we are trusting that God will call and the right people will respond to this invitation to show love to the children of this particular neighborhood and to their families.

She's a little young, still, but cute as can be!

 You can be of help too. While I generally resist the idea of turning Ch'airo into an opportunity for fund raising I am going to give in this time. If you would like to help sponsor one day's snacks for the children, a gift of $10 would cover much of that expense. Also the hope is that one time a month the families of the children can be invited to a meal. A gift of $50 would go a long way in providing food and an opportunity to meet the parents of the children. There are other needs as well. Between now and February chairs and tables will need to be purchased, partitions made and other supplies purchased. Any gifts can be sent to:

Evangelical Church Missions
9421 West River Road
Minneapolis, MN 55444

Checks should be made out to Evangelical Church Missions and it should be indicated that the gift is for Bolivia Tutoring Center.

Above all, do pray for this new ministry. In a sense it is like walking in the dark because we have never done anything like this before but we are trusting that God will give us, and especially Bryan and Molly, wisdom that only he can give.

Good Things Come In Three's

When thinking what to write about it came to me that three good things happened this last week. Maybe none of them in themselves are terribly exciting but put together they helped make one good week.

1. My birthday. September 24 was my 55th birthday. Niki fixed all my favorite foods for supper - fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, carrots, biscuits and salad. For dessert she fixed a really great cherry pie and black bottom pie as well. So what could have been better. Maybe pie for an appetizer? Wait, that's exactly what happened. About an hour before dinner time I got a phone call. "Pastor can I come visit for a little bit?" Now I knew it was getting close to dinner and I kind of thought that there was company coming (although I didn't know exactly who) so at first I tried to discourage him a bit but soon decided that this was a visit to bring birthday greetings. And sure enough. Just a few minutes before dinner time the doorbell rang and there were seven hermanos at the door with a lemon pie, bottle of juice and a whole lot of birthday wishes. So we ate lemon pie and drank juice. Quite a good appetizer I'd say. I wonder how I could get that again tonight . . .

2. 24 de Septiembre. Every department in Bolivia has its own anniversary which are usually celebrated with as much gusto or more than Bolivian independence day. Santa Cruz Day is, that's right, September 24 which just happens to also be my birthday. I tell the hermanos that I am a real cruzeño. The day is celebrated with a lot of things (some things not too positive - lots of booze) but among other things many of the schools have special activities to mark the day. I was doing something earlier in the week in the house when I thought I heard drums. I went out into the street to see what was happening and sure enough there was a parade practice going on. Around the corner from our house is a guardaría (day care). They were out practicing for their Santa Cruz Day March. The day of the march was on Thursday and the kids were all decked out in special dress in honor of Santa Cruz.

The guaradía had borrowed a band from a nearby school.

The kids marched behind the band.

Then a short ceremony was performed. The Santa Cruz hymn was played.

A little guy read a poem in honor of Santa Cruz. A young girl sang part of the song Viva Santa Cruz.

All in all it was quite fun and heartening to see that even little children can be taught to be grateful for their country.

3. District junta. On Sunday was the third quarter district junta for the churches in Santa Cruz. It was held at a church with no bathroom and a building that only holds 40 or so people. I wondered why they were doing this. I was asked to teach the children, something I have not done for quite a long time. So I put together the story of Nebuchadnezzar and how he had to learn that God is supreme over nations, gods and people. The kids were fairly attentive (there were over 70 of them) and the helpers helped. And I learned a new Bolivian game. It was a hot day and not nearly enough shade but we had water for everyone.

When all was said and done it was a very good junta in spite of the limited facilities. Maybe someday I will finally learn that those things are not nearly as important as I tend to think them to be.

Good things come in three's. Thank God that they do and did. (I suppose that I could mention other things as well like winning three games of Settlers of Catan but that's another story.)