Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Three Yuqui Children in Talita Cumi
Today we helped get three Yuqui indian girls into Talita Cumi. Sonia (10), Miriam (9), and Katarin (6), came from Bia Recuate to live at Talita Cumi. Sonia's mother died several years ago, and her father doesn't have the means to take care of his children. Pray also for Sonia's sister Miriam (14), and brother Isaias (6). Miriam and Katarin are sisters. Both of their parents are living, but the father cannot work after a machete injury. They have five kids, but cannot take care of all of them. So, now that they are being cared for at Talita Cumi they will go to school and get three meals a day.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Water Well in Tres Islas
Click on the title above to see a gallery of pictures from our recent water well drilling trip to Tres Islas, a community of Yuracara on the Chimore River in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Out There with the Beams -- January 2009
Dear Friends and Family,
This is Vanessa writing this month. It is a beautiful day here in Bolivia. It is cloudy and windy and we haven’t turned our air conditioning on because it is finally cool enough!! We pray that you too are enjoying a nice day and that you are blessed with loving and healthy family and friends. The Lord is faithful and good. Despite the somewhat complicated political circumstances, we have been able to continue to work and have a very normal life here in Santa Cruz. We would like to ask you to pray for Bolivia and its new Socialist Constitution. We are concerned about the effects this may have in our work as Christian missionaries and in our personal lives; for example, we don’t yet know exactly how the new Constitution will impact the school that our children attend.
We do have a lot to praise the Lord for. The water well project continues to progress and more and more people continue to benefit from the project. Last week, Danny and his “Agua Yaku” team, our Bolivian pastor, and a team from YWAM (Youth with a Mission) went to a Yuracare Indian community in the jungle called Tres Islas and successfully drilled a well for them. The only access to these communities is by river. Danny takes the drilling equipment in on dugout canoes. Because it is impossible to even get the larger truck drilling rigs into these parts of the jungle, these are the first water wells these communities have ever had. The pictures Danny took are absolutely beautiful and you will soon be able to see them on our web page www.pbase.com/beamsclan.
Danny and I have been attending a marriage course. I love it! It is difficult sometimes but it is good stuff and I thank the Lord for providing an opportunity to refresh our relationship, heal our wounds and strengthen our bond together. We have been married for 11 years! And I want to make it public (since Valentine’s is coming) that I love my husband with all my heart! He truly is the man the Lord had for me, and through him God has showed me what it means to love unconditionally and patiently.
Luciana went to Junior High camp last week too. The Lord protected her. When I picked her up she sat next to me in the car, with her little sunburnt face and she talked and talked nonstop until she sat on the floor and I sat on the couch and then all of the sudden she stopped! When I looked I realized she was fast asleep and remained like that for two days!
During Danny’s and Luciana’s trip, Isaiah and I had a lot of fun. We went swimming and had a sleep over, we read a lot together and as a special treat we went to Burger King together with some friends.
Plans for the Transition/Refuge House are still going despite few setbacks. We had a meeting with seven Bolivian friends who are considering being part of the board, so please pray for them as they make a decision. And I would like to thank (I would hug you if I could) to all of those who have already been donating money towards this new project. You guys are part of the confirmation that the Lord has given us to do this. Please continue praying for the girls: Gaby, Teresa, Viviana, Julia, and Betty (pictured above lt. to rt.) to remain in Jesus, for the Lord to protect their bodies and minds, and to show them clearly that He does have a plan for their lives.
We are now looking for a house (that we can afford) where we can begin for the first year. We also need a name for the ministry, so if you think of that perfect name, please let me know.
I praise the Lord that in Him, despite circumstances all around us, we are not hopeless!
As special prayer requests please pray for Danny’s dear uncle Alan who is battling illness and also for my beloved aunt Jacinta who is in the same situation.
Thank you for always being there for us. Thank you for not just being our financial partners but our true and faithful friends and prayer warriors. You mean a lot to us. We love you.
Vanessa for all the Beams
This is Vanessa writing this month. It is a beautiful day here in Bolivia. It is cloudy and windy and we haven’t turned our air conditioning on because it is finally cool enough!! We pray that you too are enjoying a nice day and that you are blessed with loving and healthy family and friends. The Lord is faithful and good. Despite the somewhat complicated political circumstances, we have been able to continue to work and have a very normal life here in Santa Cruz. We would like to ask you to pray for Bolivia and its new Socialist Constitution. We are concerned about the effects this may have in our work as Christian missionaries and in our personal lives; for example, we don’t yet know exactly how the new Constitution will impact the school that our children attend.
We do have a lot to praise the Lord for. The water well project continues to progress and more and more people continue to benefit from the project. Last week, Danny and his “Agua Yaku” team, our Bolivian pastor, and a team from YWAM (Youth with a Mission) went to a Yuracare Indian community in the jungle called Tres Islas and successfully drilled a well for them. The only access to these communities is by river. Danny takes the drilling equipment in on dugout canoes. Because it is impossible to even get the larger truck drilling rigs into these parts of the jungle, these are the first water wells these communities have ever had. The pictures Danny took are absolutely beautiful and you will soon be able to see them on our web page www.pbase.com/beamsclan.
Danny and I have been attending a marriage course. I love it! It is difficult sometimes but it is good stuff and I thank the Lord for providing an opportunity to refresh our relationship, heal our wounds and strengthen our bond together. We have been married for 11 years! And I want to make it public (since Valentine’s is coming) that I love my husband with all my heart! He truly is the man the Lord had for me, and through him God has showed me what it means to love unconditionally and patiently.
Luciana went to Junior High camp last week too. The Lord protected her. When I picked her up she sat next to me in the car, with her little sunburnt face and she talked and talked nonstop until she sat on the floor and I sat on the couch and then all of the sudden she stopped! When I looked I realized she was fast asleep and remained like that for two days!
During Danny’s and Luciana’s trip, Isaiah and I had a lot of fun. We went swimming and had a sleep over, we read a lot together and as a special treat we went to Burger King together with some friends.
Plans for the Transition/Refuge House are still going despite few setbacks. We had a meeting with seven Bolivian friends who are considering being part of the board, so please pray for them as they make a decision. And I would like to thank (I would hug you if I could) to all of those who have already been donating money towards this new project. You guys are part of the confirmation that the Lord has given us to do this. Please continue praying for the girls: Gaby, Teresa, Viviana, Julia, and Betty (pictured above lt. to rt.) to remain in Jesus, for the Lord to protect their bodies and minds, and to show them clearly that He does have a plan for their lives.
We are now looking for a house (that we can afford) where we can begin for the first year. We also need a name for the ministry, so if you think of that perfect name, please let me know.
I praise the Lord that in Him, despite circumstances all around us, we are not hopeless!
As special prayer requests please pray for Danny’s dear uncle Alan who is battling illness and also for my beloved aunt Jacinta who is in the same situation.
Thank you for always being there for us. Thank you for not just being our financial partners but our true and faithful friends and prayer warriors. You mean a lot to us. We love you.
Vanessa for all the Beams
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Out There with the Beams -- December 2008
Dear Friends and Family,
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Wish we could celebrate Christ’s birth with all of you at once. That would be such a great reunion. One of the hardest things about being missionaries is the long stretches of time away from friends and family. It feels even less like Christmas in Santa Cruz in December because this is the hottest month of the year. Rather than throwing snow balls and drinking hot chocolate, we are laying by the pool, working on our tans, and drinking ice cold lemonade.
I know this has been a tough year financially for many of you and that your priority should always be your family’s immediate needs, but we also pray that in the coming year you will renew your commitment to support God’s work here in Bolivia. I have no doubt God will reward your faithfulness and multiply your investment in His Kingdom work. I am not preaching prosperity theology, saying you will be wealthier if you give—I’m just saying a financial sacrifice and a gift to His work in Bolivia can make a huge impact in the individual lives of less fortunate people in Bolivia. We pray that you can continue with a monthly commitment to our ministries, or if you prefer, make a special year end gift. Our two primary ministries are the Agua:Yaku water well project and the Girl’s Transition Home. If you would like more details about these projects please visit our website at: www.aguayaku.org, or write us an email with your questions.
You can donate a water well for a needy family for as little as $300. Agua:Yaku staff train people in rural communities how to drill their own water wells, and build and maintain simple hand pumps. A typical professionally drilled well costs anywhere from $2000 to $10,000. But by using our manual drilling system and local labor we can install a well for as little as $300 (the cost of materials). Additionally, the Agua:Yaku project would like to expand into new areas in the Cochabamba and Beni departments (two other eastern Bolivia departments bordering Santa Cruz) in 2009. It would be great if several people could contribute larger gifts to help us equip additional drilling teams in these areas.
As well, the Girl’s Transition Home needs a good bit of capital so we can get cranked up for 2009. So many missionaries and other people in Santa Cruz are asking us when the home will be up and running. There is a huge need for a place where older girls can transition out of orphanages, but still have a safe place where they can study and work and begin to stand on their own two feet.
So if you feel God is leading you to give a gift to missions this year, we hope you will consider one of these two projects. Also, please don’t forget that we need support as a family as well. We need to raise about $5000 a month to cover our salary, insurance, travel, and administrative costs.
God has blessed us with wonderful partners over the past couple of years. Thank you so much for your prayers, sacrificial giving, and visits. We enjoy hosting mission teams and look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones in the coming year.
Please note that we have recently changed how we accept donations. Because my father, Ronnie Beams, retired as pastor of the Owingsville Baptist Church, we will not be channelling our donations through OBC. Instead, we ask that you begin sending your donations through the EFCA (Evangelical Free Church of America) if you need a U.S. receipt for tax purposes, or if not, please submit donations directly to the EFCCM (Evangelical Free Church of Canada Mission), our primary sending agency. We save a substantial amount on administrative fees when donations go directly to the EFCCM. The details of how to make donations are included in this mailing.
Love and best wishes during this Christmas season,
Danny, Vanessa, Nathaniel, Luciana, and Isaiah
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Out There with the Beams -- November 2008
Dear Friends and Family,
We trust you all are doing well during the holidays. Thank you so much for praying for Isaiah. If you did not hear, he spent about six days in the hospital being treated for a bacterial infection. It was quite serious for a couple of days, but the combination of prayer, good doctors, and medicine saw him through. We are excited about the Christmas break coming up and visits from Nathaniel and several other friends. The volatile political situation has eased a bit in these past weeks and we are so thankful for that, but please continue to pray for Bolivia and for peace between highland departments and the eastern lowland departments.
Sadly, we had to say goodbye to two couples who have been volunteering with the EFCCM the past several months, Steve and Rhonda Bill, and Roberto and Emilie Morano. Pray for them as they head back to Canada and begin making decisions about careers and where God would have them serve.
Just a quick update on our projects: The Agua:Yaku water well project is growing by leaps and bounds. We have three full time staff, Carlos, Fernando, and Marcos, as well as several EFCCM missionaries now working with us or planning to come in the near future. If the weather and politics cooperate, we are planning to drill a lot of wells in the coming months. Please pray for the Yuqui people on the Chimore River and especially for Mariano and Leonarda Ichu (Bolivian missionaries working with the Yuqui). The Yuqui now have good clean water to drink, but they are still facing many obstacles in understanding the love of God and what that love can mean in their lives and for their families. Agua:Yaku and our local church, Trinity International, are helping Mariano plant five acres of cacao (chocolate) as a way to finance their ministry and to teach the Yuqui how to plant and manage cacao themselves. Sadly, violence has recently broken out in the area between Quechua colonists and government forces trying to eradicate illegal coca production (from which cocaine is derived) and it may not be safe for us to go back to this area for while. Pray that we will be able to re-enter this area soon so we can begin drilling wells for the Yuracaré Indians who live in several villages further down the Chimore River. We have a new project website at www.aguayaku.org, so check it out if you have a few minutes.
Vanessa is working hard to get the girls transition home up and running. She is teaming up with another ministry called “El Alfarero,” which will be working closely with university students, providing counselling services, a crisis pregnancy center, a transition home for unwed mothers and girls transitioning out of orphanages. The center will also include a restaurant and conference center. The El Alfarero ministry hopes to purchase a building for the transition home (or albergue in Spanish), but in the mean time we would like to begin renting a place and hire house parents who can look after the girls. We need donations for rent, set-up costs, and for salaries.
We hope you will prayerfully consider making a special year-end donation to either the girl’s transition home or to the water well drilling ministry.
Thank you so much for your on-going support of our work and ministry here in Bolivia. We could not do what we are doing without the prayers and support of fellow believers back home.
Blessings,
Danny
Monday, November 03, 2008
A fresh Jaguar skin from a recent hunt in Bia Recuate. I didn't feel so safe camping out in my tent after knowing that these big cats are roaming the forest at night.
Some kids from Bia Recuate
Out There with the Beams – October 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Hello! Boy have I miss you guys a lot lately. Recently in Bolivia there have been times when I just wanted to run away! It was partly due to the political situation, and partly because I am chicken when it comes to serious situations like that. But, I also want all of you to know that after the worst night or worrying for me I prayed a lot and I think there must been a lot of people praying for us too because the next morning the fear was gone! I decided I had to keep living and making our home a happy place for our kids. Surely this is a miracle because I usually don’t work like that I really believe the Spirit over took me!
Thank you to our dear family and friends who were constantly praying and thinking about us! I want you know that the Lord not only protected us from harm but he also protected our eyes from even seeing anything bad. I know some things happened even here in our own city but the Lord kept us and our children safe and for that we are grateful. Please continue to pray for those here who have lost dear ones, for all those moms and dads and children. Pray that more and more people will come to the Lord, will receive his forgiveness and grace, and that more and more adults will have the courage to live out their faith.
Last week, Danny and a team of men from our mission went back to the Yuqui village to drill another water well. I think you all know Danny, he is tall and handsome and strong. Yet the realities of this country, especially of the Yuqui village tend to break his heart. Lots of children are living in absolute filth and neglect. We meet little girls whose parents sell them into prostitution in order to earn money for medication or food. Praise the Lord that even in some of the world’s saddest situations, He raises his most loving, bravest people to show His love to those who desperately need it—I am talking about a Bolivian couple, Mariano and Leonarda, who have lived among the Yuqui for 28 years. They have 9 children of their own. Their three youngest (11, 18 and 20) live by themselves here in Santa Cruz, so they can go to school. This couple not only takes care of our teams when they go there but have saved the lives of so many children throughout the years by providing food and care for them when their parents practically abandon them. Leonarda, encourages the parents to be good parents and when all her efforts to educate them fail she encourages them to leave the children at the village when they go into town to beg, seek medical help or find some work. In that way, the children are better off, she says, at least they won’t be sold into prostitution if they are here with me.
I don’t know how you feel about this, but there are days when it all just seems so overwhelming to me! Every way we look here in Bolivia there are children being abused, sacrificed and robbed of life. A life that was give by the Almighty Lord! Dear friends, please pray for this country, help us to pray for all of these children, pray for more workers of the Lord to raise and go, for more safe places for them, for forgiveness and healing of relationships!
I am thankful I have the freedom to talk about these things with you and the trust that you guys will all pray with us! I am grateful we have such an amazing support system. I am grateful that the Lord put us in your lives and you in ours! Please don’t think for one second that there is nothing you can do! If you are reading this letter and your thoughts are lifting these people up to God, you are already a warrior of His in action! Thank you.
Danny is leaving on a three week trip with a bunch of other missionary friends. They are going into the most distant and beautiful parts of Bolivia to see them and to discover new places where new projects can be started. Please pray the Lord will protect them and bless them with amazing sights and people they will encounter along the way. Also pray there will be enough fuel for their motorcycles and truck. And last but not least pray for all of us moms and wives who stay behind raising our children!
Some friends and I want to start a halfway house-refuge. There is a wonderful opportunity for us to partner up with some guys who are starting a big ministry called “El Candelero” which will involve a coffee house, a counselling center, a pregnancy crisis center, a conference center and a half way house/ refuge place! They are in the process of raising money and so far I feel like this would be ideal! The thing is, it would take about 2 years to raise all the money for this. Danny and I feel that the need for a half way house is now! So, while he is gone on his trip, I will be meeting with this couple, the Friths (the ones starting El Candelero, which means the light holder), and they are going to help me put the proposal together! Please support us with prayer during this time. So that the Lord will appoint the right people for this ministry, such as: board members and house coordinators. Also pray that we will be able to find someone who will be willing to celebrate birthdays for the Talita Cumi children since I will be pulling out of all the other ministries so that I can continue to be a wife and mom (#1 ministry).
Our children are doing great! We are very excited because Nathaniel is coming here for Christmas and we are all just dying to see him. He has been homeschooling and riding his bicycle all over Lexington, not interested in buying a car at all! Luciana is doing great at school and at home, she is so grown up and beautiful. She has also become a really good soccer player, she is very fast we are trying to convince her to run track but she won’t do it! Isaiah is reading a lot! And he is still very cute! It is so hard to see our children as growing up human beings and not as babies any more. Isaiah is extremely laid back just like his dad!
Danny and I are doing great (doesn’t mean perfect!) We try to keep our time with each other a priority and I am so very much in love with him. I am trying to focus on health rather than worrying so I exercise regularly and rest enough. I recently read “The Shack” and although I found it very difficult to read and understand sometimes. There are lots of things in it that have made me long for time with God alone! I just want to be held by Him!
I miss you so much I pray that we will be able to see you again soon. Until then I pray the Lord will protect your heart and your life. That He will heal you and show you grace!
Lots of love,
Vanessa (for all the Beams)
Daniel and Vanessa Beams
EFCCM -- Casilla 3740 -- Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Email: beamsclan@yahoo.com
Bolivia Telephone: 011-591-3351-1087
Blogs: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com, www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.com
Photo Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
Hello! Boy have I miss you guys a lot lately. Recently in Bolivia there have been times when I just wanted to run away! It was partly due to the political situation, and partly because I am chicken when it comes to serious situations like that. But, I also want all of you to know that after the worst night or worrying for me I prayed a lot and I think there must been a lot of people praying for us too because the next morning the fear was gone! I decided I had to keep living and making our home a happy place for our kids. Surely this is a miracle because I usually don’t work like that I really believe the Spirit over took me!
Thank you to our dear family and friends who were constantly praying and thinking about us! I want you know that the Lord not only protected us from harm but he also protected our eyes from even seeing anything bad. I know some things happened even here in our own city but the Lord kept us and our children safe and for that we are grateful. Please continue to pray for those here who have lost dear ones, for all those moms and dads and children. Pray that more and more people will come to the Lord, will receive his forgiveness and grace, and that more and more adults will have the courage to live out their faith.
Last week, Danny and a team of men from our mission went back to the Yuqui village to drill another water well. I think you all know Danny, he is tall and handsome and strong. Yet the realities of this country, especially of the Yuqui village tend to break his heart. Lots of children are living in absolute filth and neglect. We meet little girls whose parents sell them into prostitution in order to earn money for medication or food. Praise the Lord that even in some of the world’s saddest situations, He raises his most loving, bravest people to show His love to those who desperately need it—I am talking about a Bolivian couple, Mariano and Leonarda, who have lived among the Yuqui for 28 years. They have 9 children of their own. Their three youngest (11, 18 and 20) live by themselves here in Santa Cruz, so they can go to school. This couple not only takes care of our teams when they go there but have saved the lives of so many children throughout the years by providing food and care for them when their parents practically abandon them. Leonarda, encourages the parents to be good parents and when all her efforts to educate them fail she encourages them to leave the children at the village when they go into town to beg, seek medical help or find some work. In that way, the children are better off, she says, at least they won’t be sold into prostitution if they are here with me.
I don’t know how you feel about this, but there are days when it all just seems so overwhelming to me! Every way we look here in Bolivia there are children being abused, sacrificed and robbed of life. A life that was give by the Almighty Lord! Dear friends, please pray for this country, help us to pray for all of these children, pray for more workers of the Lord to raise and go, for more safe places for them, for forgiveness and healing of relationships!
I am thankful I have the freedom to talk about these things with you and the trust that you guys will all pray with us! I am grateful we have such an amazing support system. I am grateful that the Lord put us in your lives and you in ours! Please don’t think for one second that there is nothing you can do! If you are reading this letter and your thoughts are lifting these people up to God, you are already a warrior of His in action! Thank you.
Danny is leaving on a three week trip with a bunch of other missionary friends. They are going into the most distant and beautiful parts of Bolivia to see them and to discover new places where new projects can be started. Please pray the Lord will protect them and bless them with amazing sights and people they will encounter along the way. Also pray there will be enough fuel for their motorcycles and truck. And last but not least pray for all of us moms and wives who stay behind raising our children!
Some friends and I want to start a halfway house-refuge. There is a wonderful opportunity for us to partner up with some guys who are starting a big ministry called “El Candelero” which will involve a coffee house, a counselling center, a pregnancy crisis center, a conference center and a half way house/ refuge place! They are in the process of raising money and so far I feel like this would be ideal! The thing is, it would take about 2 years to raise all the money for this. Danny and I feel that the need for a half way house is now! So, while he is gone on his trip, I will be meeting with this couple, the Friths (the ones starting El Candelero, which means the light holder), and they are going to help me put the proposal together! Please support us with prayer during this time. So that the Lord will appoint the right people for this ministry, such as: board members and house coordinators. Also pray that we will be able to find someone who will be willing to celebrate birthdays for the Talita Cumi children since I will be pulling out of all the other ministries so that I can continue to be a wife and mom (#1 ministry).
Our children are doing great! We are very excited because Nathaniel is coming here for Christmas and we are all just dying to see him. He has been homeschooling and riding his bicycle all over Lexington, not interested in buying a car at all! Luciana is doing great at school and at home, she is so grown up and beautiful. She has also become a really good soccer player, she is very fast we are trying to convince her to run track but she won’t do it! Isaiah is reading a lot! And he is still very cute! It is so hard to see our children as growing up human beings and not as babies any more. Isaiah is extremely laid back just like his dad!
Danny and I are doing great (doesn’t mean perfect!) We try to keep our time with each other a priority and I am so very much in love with him. I am trying to focus on health rather than worrying so I exercise regularly and rest enough. I recently read “The Shack” and although I found it very difficult to read and understand sometimes. There are lots of things in it that have made me long for time with God alone! I just want to be held by Him!
I miss you so much I pray that we will be able to see you again soon. Until then I pray the Lord will protect your heart and your life. That He will heal you and show you grace!
Lots of love,
Vanessa (for all the Beams)
Daniel and Vanessa Beams
EFCCM -- Casilla 3740 -- Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Email: beamsclan@yahoo.com
Bolivia Telephone: 011-591-3351-1087
Blogs: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com, www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.com
Photo Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Out There with the Beams – September 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
I think it has been a tough month for everyone in North and South America. We are closely watching the news about hurricanes and financial crises up north and are praying for all of you that are affected in one way or another. If you have watched the international news lately you may also be aware that Bolivia, and specifically Santa Cruz, has been suffering through a good bit of political tension and turmoil over the past month.
I don’t want to delve too deeply into the details, but for a number of years now the department of Santa Cruz and three other eastern departments have wanted greater autonomy from the central government in La Paz. Since the election of Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia, many non-indigenous Bolivians in eastern Bolivia have rebelled against MAS (Movimiento al Socialismo – Socialist Movement) government reforms and attempts to redistribute wealth in Bolivia through agrarian reforms and nationalization of the oil and gas industry. The politics are not at all transparent, nor is there much honestly or good will on either side. Add to that, strained relations with the U.S. government, and it all adds up to daily tension, turmoil and occasional violence in the streets of Santa Cruz. Several weeks ago the Autonomista provincial government in Santa Cruz took control over several dozen federal institutions in the city of Santa Cruz. A number offices and pro-indigenous institutions were looted and burned. We certainly did not venture down town from a couple of weeks, but from what we saw on the local news it looked like a regular war zone. Pro-government indigenous supporters came down from Cochabamba and La Paz and surrounded the city for several weeks. As many as 20,000 people blocked off all the highways leading into and out of Santa Cruz. They threatened to march on the city if the government offices were not returned. Food prices soared and fuel cars and buses became scarce. Several dozen people were killed in clashes between opposing groups.
To shorten the story, the occupied offices were returned to the government, the blockades have been lifted and life has returned pretty much to normal. The MAS government and the eastern provinces seeking autonomy are now in talks, and are trying to make compromises in the new constitution that will be agreeable to all parties. The president wants to bring the new constitution before the people for a national vote on December 7th. In the mist of all this, Evo Morales accused the U.S. Ambassador of collaborating with the opposition in an attempt to overthrow the government, so he kicked him out of the country. During all of this turmoil, the U.S. embassy and consulates were closed, and international flights cancelled.
While life in Santa Cruz is a bit stressful, and a few mission organizations have decided to pull out their missionaries, we are staying for now and hoping that everyone calms down and thinks about the true devastation that civil war could bring to Bolivia. Our water well drilling project was pretty much shut down during the blockades and protests, but now that the highways are clear again, we are leaving tomorrow morning (Oct 2nd) on a mission trip with our local church, Trinity International, to drill water wells in a Yuqui Indian village on the Chimore River. Please pray for our success and safety on this trip. Pray also for a mission team from Crossroads Christian, our home church in Kentucky, scheduled to come down on a well drilling trip at the end of October. I think everyone involved would be awfully disappointed if we had to cancel this trip. But above all, pray for peace and unity in Bolivia. The racial tension between the indigenous western half (the Collas) and “white” eastern half of Bolivia (the Cambas) is centuries old and deeply entrenched, thus making political conflict extremely difficult to resolve.
Thank you for your continued support of our ministry here in Bolivia. It is so exciting to see how God is working in our lives and in the lives of Bolivians around us. I don’t think spiritual transformation happens to a country overnight, but rather it happens in individuals lives one at a time. We pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to transform people here from the inside out and that we can be a part of that.
As you may have noticed, we are changing how we collect support for our ministry. If you are still sending support through Owingsville Baptist in Kentucky, we are now asking you to please send your support either through the EFCA (Evangelical Free Church of America) or directly through the EFCCM (Evangelical Free Church of Canada Mission). The details of this transition are outlined below. If you would like your gift to go specifically to the water well drilling project or the girl’s halfway house, please let us know.
Blessings,
Danny
Daniel and Vanessa Beams
EFCCM -- Casilla 3740 -- Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Email: beamsclan@yahoo.com
Bolivia Telephone: 011-591-3351-1087
Blogs: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com, www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.com
Photo Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
I think it has been a tough month for everyone in North and South America. We are closely watching the news about hurricanes and financial crises up north and are praying for all of you that are affected in one way or another. If you have watched the international news lately you may also be aware that Bolivia, and specifically Santa Cruz, has been suffering through a good bit of political tension and turmoil over the past month.
I don’t want to delve too deeply into the details, but for a number of years now the department of Santa Cruz and three other eastern departments have wanted greater autonomy from the central government in La Paz. Since the election of Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia, many non-indigenous Bolivians in eastern Bolivia have rebelled against MAS (Movimiento al Socialismo – Socialist Movement) government reforms and attempts to redistribute wealth in Bolivia through agrarian reforms and nationalization of the oil and gas industry. The politics are not at all transparent, nor is there much honestly or good will on either side. Add to that, strained relations with the U.S. government, and it all adds up to daily tension, turmoil and occasional violence in the streets of Santa Cruz. Several weeks ago the Autonomista provincial government in Santa Cruz took control over several dozen federal institutions in the city of Santa Cruz. A number offices and pro-indigenous institutions were looted and burned. We certainly did not venture down town from a couple of weeks, but from what we saw on the local news it looked like a regular war zone. Pro-government indigenous supporters came down from Cochabamba and La Paz and surrounded the city for several weeks. As many as 20,000 people blocked off all the highways leading into and out of Santa Cruz. They threatened to march on the city if the government offices were not returned. Food prices soared and fuel cars and buses became scarce. Several dozen people were killed in clashes between opposing groups.
To shorten the story, the occupied offices were returned to the government, the blockades have been lifted and life has returned pretty much to normal. The MAS government and the eastern provinces seeking autonomy are now in talks, and are trying to make compromises in the new constitution that will be agreeable to all parties. The president wants to bring the new constitution before the people for a national vote on December 7th. In the mist of all this, Evo Morales accused the U.S. Ambassador of collaborating with the opposition in an attempt to overthrow the government, so he kicked him out of the country. During all of this turmoil, the U.S. embassy and consulates were closed, and international flights cancelled.
While life in Santa Cruz is a bit stressful, and a few mission organizations have decided to pull out their missionaries, we are staying for now and hoping that everyone calms down and thinks about the true devastation that civil war could bring to Bolivia. Our water well drilling project was pretty much shut down during the blockades and protests, but now that the highways are clear again, we are leaving tomorrow morning (Oct 2nd) on a mission trip with our local church, Trinity International, to drill water wells in a Yuqui Indian village on the Chimore River. Please pray for our success and safety on this trip. Pray also for a mission team from Crossroads Christian, our home church in Kentucky, scheduled to come down on a well drilling trip at the end of October. I think everyone involved would be awfully disappointed if we had to cancel this trip. But above all, pray for peace and unity in Bolivia. The racial tension between the indigenous western half (the Collas) and “white” eastern half of Bolivia (the Cambas) is centuries old and deeply entrenched, thus making political conflict extremely difficult to resolve.
Thank you for your continued support of our ministry here in Bolivia. It is so exciting to see how God is working in our lives and in the lives of Bolivians around us. I don’t think spiritual transformation happens to a country overnight, but rather it happens in individuals lives one at a time. We pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to transform people here from the inside out and that we can be a part of that.
As you may have noticed, we are changing how we collect support for our ministry. If you are still sending support through Owingsville Baptist in Kentucky, we are now asking you to please send your support either through the EFCA (Evangelical Free Church of America) or directly through the EFCCM (Evangelical Free Church of Canada Mission). The details of this transition are outlined below. If you would like your gift to go specifically to the water well drilling project or the girl’s halfway house, please let us know.
Blessings,
Danny
Daniel and Vanessa Beams
EFCCM -- Casilla 3740 -- Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Email: beamsclan@yahoo.com
Bolivia Telephone: 011-591-3351-1087
Blogs: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com, www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.com
Photo Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
Monday, September 01, 2008
Out There with the Beams – August 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Hi! This is Vanessa writing this month and I want to share with you about our family and kids. Nathaniel is back in KY and he is being homeschooling this year for grade 11th (first time ever!). He is working at a bicycle shop and has been riding his bicycle for at least forty miles a day!! Isn’t that incredible?? I don’t know what that kid is made out of! But I am really proud of him and miss him lots.
Luciana, my baby girl, is now in grade 8! Can you believe it? I keep on thinking and saying she is in 6th or 7th! She also doing wonderful already. She is also more serious about playing soccer and she scored her first goal last week! It was beautiful! And both Danny and I were there to scream and jump up and cry! Lucy is also going to start guitar lessons with a friend from our mission. Isaiah (a.k.a. Ishi) is loving first grade and doing homework. He is getting along much better with all his friends and loves to read and be read to everyday. He has started the year with lots of energy. This is the first time he has to go to school from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. and when he gets home he doesn’t even want to take a nap. Thank you for praying for our kids! That alone is worth so much for us. If you have been praying for them, for the protection of their bodies and souls, please keep doing so. It does make a huge difference.
Danny and I are doing great. He is really busy getting a work team ready to go back to the Yuqui village next week. A lot of men from our church are going. They are going to drill a well for the national missionary family that lives out there. Our goal is to strengthen them and encourage them, so that they can provide a good example of agricultural and spiritual development. Later, they will also drill wells for the Yuqui.
The team will be gone from Sept. 8th to the 13th. Please pray for good weather and also for protection on the road and while at the camp. Also please pray the cars will be safe. Since they will have to park the vehicles and do the last hour of the trip by boat. The boats are these huge dugout canoes! So now that I think about it, please also pray for safety during the river trip.
I know I always get attacked by this terrible fear every time the Lord calls us to something outside our comfort zone! But He has been so good in helping with that by providing me with a husband who looks at everything as a wonderful opportunity for adventure! And I can tell you honestly I have never been let down by Jesus even when circumstances have been overwhelming and scary. He has always given us a way out!
I need prayer for my foot. I am laughing as I write this because it sounds funny! But really I think I have broken a little bone in my foot and it hurts a lot! I think if the doctor says I can’t do aerobics or wear high heels I will be a little depressed but I will find a way to continue to exercise and stay in shape. Other than that I feel great physically. Not so much emotionally. I have recently found out that three really close friends of mine were also sexually abused when they were young. News like that send me back into a dark pit sometimes. Please pray for my old wounds to continue to heal. Pray for the Lord to do a huge miracle and give me amazing grace, courage and forgiveness and please pray for my friends. Although you do not know who they are, God does, right? All three are amazing Christian women, who lead other women to follow Jesus daily. Pray for strength and healing! I have been really busy organizing the children’s ministry at our church here in Bolivia. Also translating our mission’s Child Protection Policies into Spanish so we can train our workers. But guess what, a virus attacked our computer last week! Frustrating!
Danny and I have decided to start the girls half-way house ministry by renting a house so that the girls who need to move in there will have a place soon. But of course it sounds easy to do but is not really that easy in practice. I need your help to pray that the Lord will show us a group of people who could become the board of directors for this new project. That way when we are no longer here the half-way house/coffee house will continue without us! After that, we will need to find a Christian couple who would be willing to live with the girls and just monitor the activity around the house. And as always, please pray for the Holy Spirit to just take over these girl’s hearts! Pray for healing and an unbreakable faith to believe in Jesus when He tells them that He loves them! Abuse can be so tricky, although it could have taken place many years ago, it holds us prisoner at crucial times in our lives, even after we know Jesus. Pray for Jesus to break the cycle in our girls’ lives and in mine! If you have ever gone through something similar. And if you are ready I would love to know, just so I can pray for you and in a weird way be closer to you in Jesus!
Really good news—Fernando (one of our Water project’s workers) received Jesus today! Please pray for him and his new life. Danny and Warren (a fellow missionary from our mission) get together with the project’s workers and have a Spanish Bible study every Monday morning. I will give you their names so you can pray for them whenever you can; Danny, Warren, Marcos, Carlos, Fernando, Steve and Rodrigo.
Here are some names of girls that I think would really benefit from a half way house: Estela, Gabriela, Ana Maria, Gaby, Betty, Viviana, Teresa and Teofila. Please pray for these beautiful sweet girls.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our letters every month. You bless us every time you read them and pray for us! Also, thank you for all your contributions that make our life here in Bolivia possible! And remember that if you need to come hang out in South America our doors are wide open for you!
Lots of love from all the Beams,
Vanessa
Daniel and Vanessa Beams
EFCCM -- Casilla 3740 -- Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Email: beamsclan@yahoo.com
Bolivia Telephone: 011-591-3351-1087
Blogs: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com, www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.com
Photo Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
Hi! This is Vanessa writing this month and I want to share with you about our family and kids. Nathaniel is back in KY and he is being homeschooling this year for grade 11th (first time ever!). He is working at a bicycle shop and has been riding his bicycle for at least forty miles a day!! Isn’t that incredible?? I don’t know what that kid is made out of! But I am really proud of him and miss him lots.
Luciana, my baby girl, is now in grade 8! Can you believe it? I keep on thinking and saying she is in 6th or 7th! She also doing wonderful already. She is also more serious about playing soccer and she scored her first goal last week! It was beautiful! And both Danny and I were there to scream and jump up and cry! Lucy is also going to start guitar lessons with a friend from our mission. Isaiah (a.k.a. Ishi) is loving first grade and doing homework. He is getting along much better with all his friends and loves to read and be read to everyday. He has started the year with lots of energy. This is the first time he has to go to school from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. and when he gets home he doesn’t even want to take a nap. Thank you for praying for our kids! That alone is worth so much for us. If you have been praying for them, for the protection of their bodies and souls, please keep doing so. It does make a huge difference.
Danny and I are doing great. He is really busy getting a work team ready to go back to the Yuqui village next week. A lot of men from our church are going. They are going to drill a well for the national missionary family that lives out there. Our goal is to strengthen them and encourage them, so that they can provide a good example of agricultural and spiritual development. Later, they will also drill wells for the Yuqui.
The team will be gone from Sept. 8th to the 13th. Please pray for good weather and also for protection on the road and while at the camp. Also please pray the cars will be safe. Since they will have to park the vehicles and do the last hour of the trip by boat. The boats are these huge dugout canoes! So now that I think about it, please also pray for safety during the river trip.
I know I always get attacked by this terrible fear every time the Lord calls us to something outside our comfort zone! But He has been so good in helping with that by providing me with a husband who looks at everything as a wonderful opportunity for adventure! And I can tell you honestly I have never been let down by Jesus even when circumstances have been overwhelming and scary. He has always given us a way out!
I need prayer for my foot. I am laughing as I write this because it sounds funny! But really I think I have broken a little bone in my foot and it hurts a lot! I think if the doctor says I can’t do aerobics or wear high heels I will be a little depressed but I will find a way to continue to exercise and stay in shape. Other than that I feel great physically. Not so much emotionally. I have recently found out that three really close friends of mine were also sexually abused when they were young. News like that send me back into a dark pit sometimes. Please pray for my old wounds to continue to heal. Pray for the Lord to do a huge miracle and give me amazing grace, courage and forgiveness and please pray for my friends. Although you do not know who they are, God does, right? All three are amazing Christian women, who lead other women to follow Jesus daily. Pray for strength and healing! I have been really busy organizing the children’s ministry at our church here in Bolivia. Also translating our mission’s Child Protection Policies into Spanish so we can train our workers. But guess what, a virus attacked our computer last week! Frustrating!
Danny and I have decided to start the girls half-way house ministry by renting a house so that the girls who need to move in there will have a place soon. But of course it sounds easy to do but is not really that easy in practice. I need your help to pray that the Lord will show us a group of people who could become the board of directors for this new project. That way when we are no longer here the half-way house/coffee house will continue without us! After that, we will need to find a Christian couple who would be willing to live with the girls and just monitor the activity around the house. And as always, please pray for the Holy Spirit to just take over these girl’s hearts! Pray for healing and an unbreakable faith to believe in Jesus when He tells them that He loves them! Abuse can be so tricky, although it could have taken place many years ago, it holds us prisoner at crucial times in our lives, even after we know Jesus. Pray for Jesus to break the cycle in our girls’ lives and in mine! If you have ever gone through something similar. And if you are ready I would love to know, just so I can pray for you and in a weird way be closer to you in Jesus!
Really good news—Fernando (one of our Water project’s workers) received Jesus today! Please pray for him and his new life. Danny and Warren (a fellow missionary from our mission) get together with the project’s workers and have a Spanish Bible study every Monday morning. I will give you their names so you can pray for them whenever you can; Danny, Warren, Marcos, Carlos, Fernando, Steve and Rodrigo.
Here are some names of girls that I think would really benefit from a half way house: Estela, Gabriela, Ana Maria, Gaby, Betty, Viviana, Teresa and Teofila. Please pray for these beautiful sweet girls.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our letters every month. You bless us every time you read them and pray for us! Also, thank you for all your contributions that make our life here in Bolivia possible! And remember that if you need to come hang out in South America our doors are wide open for you!
Lots of love from all the Beams,
Vanessa
Daniel and Vanessa Beams
EFCCM -- Casilla 3740 -- Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Email: beamsclan@yahoo.com
Bolivia Telephone: 011-591-3351-1087
Blogs: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com, www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.com
Photo Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
Friday, August 15, 2008
Pictures of the Yuqui in Bia Recuate
Here are several images from our recent trip to visit with the Yuqui in Bia Recuate. To see more on my photo gallery click on the above title bar.
Out There with the Beams -- July 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Okay, I know it isn’t July anymore, but this is still our July newsletter. We have been super busy with teams and visitors all summer. Now that our kids have returned to school things are starting to get back to routine. We had a fantastic week with a huge (28 people) Crossroads Christian Church mission team in July. If felt like the whole church had come to help with our ministry here in Bolivia. I just want to thank them again for coming and to thank all of our Crossroads family for supporting us so much in our ministry here. And while I am at it—thanks to everyone who prays for us and supports us. We have been overwhelmed this year with the interest in and support of work by our partners all over North and South America. The Crossroads team worked on three different fronts while they were here. One group finished the interior work on a Bakery/Café at the Cristo Viene girls home here in Santa Cruz, a second group of two doctors and assistants held five days of health clinics in churches and orphanages around Santa Cruz. They attended several hundred patients per day. And finally, a third group built a storage room and some shelving and work benches at our water well drilling workshop here in town. You can see pictures of the team’s visit at: www.pbase.com/beamsclan/ccc0708.
During the medical clinic we met a New Tribes missionary from Santa Cruz, Steve Parker, who came to Bolivia in 1982 to share Christ with the YuquÃ, a group of indigenous hunters and gatherers who lived in the tropical forests of eastern Bolivia and who had had very little contact with the outside world. He shared with us that in 1985 he and two other missionaries attempted to befriend a group of previously uncontacted Yuquà on the Rio VÃbora. He thought things were going well. They spent the night near their jungle camp and where invited to go on a hunting excursion early the next morning. While on the trail, the Yuquà shot a six foot arrow through his back, which punctured his lung and came out the front of his chest. I don’t have the space to recount the whole story, but he did survive the attack and went on to work with the Yuquà Indians for many years afterwards. The man who shot him also came to know the Lord before he died of tuberculosis several years later. Through our conversations with Steve, I found out that all the Yuquà now live in a community founded by the New Tribes mission called BÃa Recuaté.
In BÃa Recuaté, they do not have any clean drinking water. They drink from the river, collect rain water, or drink from a contaminated shallow well. Since we are in the business of drilling wells, I and three friends traveled to BÃa Recuaté to meet, Mariano and Leonarda, Bolivian national missionaries living and working among the YuquÃ, and to see if we could drill a well or two. It would be an understatement to say we were shocked to see the conditions in which the Yuquà are living in BÃa Recuaté. The poverty and their social and political context within larger Bolivia is complicated and difficult to sort out. As well as sharing the Gospel, New Tribes and other Christian and secular organizations have tried for decades to help the Yuquà adjust to living as citizens within a connected Bolivia—to protect them as a culture and people group, to educate them, to address health issues, and to help them earn a living within economic reality of Bolivia today. If you take a look at my photos from the trip (http://www.pbase.com/beamsclan/yuqui), you may question the effectiveness of any contact or intervention over the past 40 years. Many of them live in houses without walls, or just under plastic tarps. They cook fish or an occasionally monkey over wood fires. Their yards are littered with discarded tattered clothes and toys that have been given to them by many well meaning mission teams. With the money they earn from selling bows and arrows, or hand woven bags to tourists, they buy cookies and soda for their kids.
The Yuquis may be on the verge of extinction. In the last two years the number of families has fallen from 70 to 52. There are currently only about 215 people who still speak their language, a dialect of Guarani. In the last year alone 20 people have died from pulmonary mycosis, a fungal lung infection. 115 people are currently receiving treatment for this disease.
We are going back in September to drill a well with a mission team from our Bolivian church, Trinity Union. We hope to establish a working relationship with the local missionaries and with the Yuqui people that will share God’s love and help them overcome their social and economic struggles.
We also visited two other indigenous communities of Yuracaré on the Chimoré River who need clean drinking water as well. So pray for us as we strive to bring clean water and share Christ with these people.
On a technical note, we are changing how our partners make donations to our ministry. My Dad retired as pastor of Owingsville Baptist, so now we are asking that supporters send contributions to the EFCCM through our sister organization in the U.S., the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA). This will insure that our U.S. supporters receive tax receipt. The lower portion of this email has the new address and details. We will also continue receiving donations made through Owingsville Baptist through the end of the year.
Thank you so much for your prayers, support, and encouraging words.
Blessings,
Danny
Daniel and Vanessa Beams
EFCCM -- Casilla 3740 -- Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Email: beamsclan@yahoo.com
Bolivia Telephone: 011-591-3351-1087
Blogs: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com, www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.com
Photo Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
Okay, I know it isn’t July anymore, but this is still our July newsletter. We have been super busy with teams and visitors all summer. Now that our kids have returned to school things are starting to get back to routine. We had a fantastic week with a huge (28 people) Crossroads Christian Church mission team in July. If felt like the whole church had come to help with our ministry here in Bolivia. I just want to thank them again for coming and to thank all of our Crossroads family for supporting us so much in our ministry here. And while I am at it—thanks to everyone who prays for us and supports us. We have been overwhelmed this year with the interest in and support of work by our partners all over North and South America. The Crossroads team worked on three different fronts while they were here. One group finished the interior work on a Bakery/Café at the Cristo Viene girls home here in Santa Cruz, a second group of two doctors and assistants held five days of health clinics in churches and orphanages around Santa Cruz. They attended several hundred patients per day. And finally, a third group built a storage room and some shelving and work benches at our water well drilling workshop here in town. You can see pictures of the team’s visit at: www.pbase.com/beamsclan/ccc0708.
During the medical clinic we met a New Tribes missionary from Santa Cruz, Steve Parker, who came to Bolivia in 1982 to share Christ with the YuquÃ, a group of indigenous hunters and gatherers who lived in the tropical forests of eastern Bolivia and who had had very little contact with the outside world. He shared with us that in 1985 he and two other missionaries attempted to befriend a group of previously uncontacted Yuquà on the Rio VÃbora. He thought things were going well. They spent the night near their jungle camp and where invited to go on a hunting excursion early the next morning. While on the trail, the Yuquà shot a six foot arrow through his back, which punctured his lung and came out the front of his chest. I don’t have the space to recount the whole story, but he did survive the attack and went on to work with the Yuquà Indians for many years afterwards. The man who shot him also came to know the Lord before he died of tuberculosis several years later. Through our conversations with Steve, I found out that all the Yuquà now live in a community founded by the New Tribes mission called BÃa Recuaté.
In BÃa Recuaté, they do not have any clean drinking water. They drink from the river, collect rain water, or drink from a contaminated shallow well. Since we are in the business of drilling wells, I and three friends traveled to BÃa Recuaté to meet, Mariano and Leonarda, Bolivian national missionaries living and working among the YuquÃ, and to see if we could drill a well or two. It would be an understatement to say we were shocked to see the conditions in which the Yuquà are living in BÃa Recuaté. The poverty and their social and political context within larger Bolivia is complicated and difficult to sort out. As well as sharing the Gospel, New Tribes and other Christian and secular organizations have tried for decades to help the Yuquà adjust to living as citizens within a connected Bolivia—to protect them as a culture and people group, to educate them, to address health issues, and to help them earn a living within economic reality of Bolivia today. If you take a look at my photos from the trip (http://www.pbase.com/beamsclan/yuqui), you may question the effectiveness of any contact or intervention over the past 40 years. Many of them live in houses without walls, or just under plastic tarps. They cook fish or an occasionally monkey over wood fires. Their yards are littered with discarded tattered clothes and toys that have been given to them by many well meaning mission teams. With the money they earn from selling bows and arrows, or hand woven bags to tourists, they buy cookies and soda for their kids.
The Yuquis may be on the verge of extinction. In the last two years the number of families has fallen from 70 to 52. There are currently only about 215 people who still speak their language, a dialect of Guarani. In the last year alone 20 people have died from pulmonary mycosis, a fungal lung infection. 115 people are currently receiving treatment for this disease.
We are going back in September to drill a well with a mission team from our Bolivian church, Trinity Union. We hope to establish a working relationship with the local missionaries and with the Yuqui people that will share God’s love and help them overcome their social and economic struggles.
We also visited two other indigenous communities of Yuracaré on the Chimoré River who need clean drinking water as well. So pray for us as we strive to bring clean water and share Christ with these people.
On a technical note, we are changing how our partners make donations to our ministry. My Dad retired as pastor of Owingsville Baptist, so now we are asking that supporters send contributions to the EFCCM through our sister organization in the U.S., the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA). This will insure that our U.S. supporters receive tax receipt. The lower portion of this email has the new address and details. We will also continue receiving donations made through Owingsville Baptist through the end of the year.
Thank you so much for your prayers, support, and encouraging words.
Blessings,
Danny
Daniel and Vanessa Beams
EFCCM -- Casilla 3740 -- Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Email: beamsclan@yahoo.com
Bolivia Telephone: 011-591-3351-1087
Blogs: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com, www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.com
Photo Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Out There with the Beams -- June 2008
Hi Folks, Do higher gas prices have you down this summer? Well you can still buy a gallon of gasoline for about $2 here in Bolivia. Just thought you would like to know.
We trust you are having a wonderful summer. We have had a great time hosting teams and visitors from back home over the past month or so. A team from Brazos Pointe, my brother’s church in Lake Jackson, TX, came down and helped drill water wells in several rural communities near Yapacani. We had a great week and completed three wells. The team even stayed up and worked almost all night to complete the last one. On our return trip to Santa Cruz we were caught behind a political road block that prevented us from driving back to Santa Cruz. At first we attempted to drive “the long way around” through Cochabamba, but all the gas stations were out of gasoline and we could not have made it around the 20 hour detour. We spent an extra night in Buena Vista and the following day we tried to drive our rented bus over some slippery mountain roads that went around the road block. On each climb everyone had to get off the bus and help push it up the slick clay. After about 6 hours of pushing and pulling the bus the 40 miles to Santa Cruz, we finally made to back to civilization. That was one trip we will not soon forget.
At the end of this week we will be hosting a team from our home church, Crossroads Christian, in Lexington, KY. Pray for this team as 28 people are coming to work on three different projects. One group will complete construction and decorating of a bakery/coffee shop at the Cristo Viene girls home here in Santa Cruz. The older girls in this home have learned how to make bagels and other baked goods and will soon be opening this coffee shop to the public. A second team of doctors will host several medical clinics in neighbourhoods around the city. Each clinic will be hosted and assisted by a local church. Church members will invite neighbors to the clinic and it will be a great opportunity to share Christ with those who participate. Finally, a third group will help with several construction projects at our water well drilling workshop and training center.
So pray that this team has a great impact on the people they are serving this next week and that each member of the team carries home with them a greater appreciation for mission and for what God is doing around the world.
Also continue to pray for a number of the older girls who have recently left Talita Cumi and Cristo Viene. Especially for Vilma, Shirley, and Lily. Vanessa is excited about her vision for a halfway house and coffee shop where a number of the older girls can live and work after they leave the orphanages. We are starting to raise funds for this project so if you would like to contribute to this or want to know more about it, please let us know.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support of our work here in Bolivia. We have been here over four years now and we love being the hands and feet of Jesus here in Santa Cruz. We could not do it without you all at home supporting us as well. If you haven’t already done so, please consider making a monthly pledge to support our efforts. I know there are many pressing financial needs at home, but sacrificially giving to God’s work will pay a higher return than any earthly investment.
Blessings,
Danny
Daniel and Vanessa Beams EFCCM -- Casilla 3740 -- Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Email: beamsclan@yahoo.com Bolivia Telephone: 011-591-3351-1087
Blogs: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com, www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.com
Photo Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
Friday, May 23, 2008
Out There with the Beams -- May 2008
Dear Family and Friends, It is so much fun to be able to communicate with all of you. Especially because I know that you guys are always reading our letters and praying for us. We have started a very busy but at the same time very fun time of the year. So far it looks like we will be hosting four missionary teams and several friends are also coming to visit!!! We are all excited and can’t wait to see you, hug you, and take you out for some good Bolivian food! I hope each one of you all is doing great and enjoying the beautiful season! We love hearing from you and praying for you. I always feel like we are covering each other’s backs when you guys let us know how we can pray for you all. As I write this letter, Danny is frantically trying to pack for a mountain trip he and Nathaniel are taking together as a special time before Nathaniel has to go back to the US for a whole school year. Please pray for them, for safety and fun. Also pray for all five of us as we again have to say good bye. Today was also Nathaniel’s and Luciana’s last day of school. Isaiah has officially graduated from Kindergarten. He is not very excited about first grade, instead he wishes to go back to KY. I think this is due to some comment about the new principal being really mean (not true). Thank you so much for praying for our kids. We are very proud of them, we are proud of the people they are in and outside the school. Nathaniel is now a Junior, Luciana is an 8th grader and Isaiah a 1st grader. Wow! Time flies! During the time that Nathaniel and Danny are gone. I will be working as an interpreter for a wonderful lady called Bernadette Todd. She has a very touching testimony about the healing power of God. She is from Jamaica. We will be going to the local jail (men’s and women’s), also to a factory, a couple schools, three churches and several ladies meetings. My two other kids will be home with a sitter. So please pray for them and for me as we pull through this coming ten days. Right after Nathaniel leaves we will be getting our first team and heading for the jungle to drill some wells. I will be cooking because I still don’t know how to drill wells and to be honest with you I don’t really enjoy playing in the mud! My dear friend Erna Friesen and I have a dream. We have felt and seen a huge need for a half way house for girls who are too old to stay in the orphanages but not totally ready to get out into the world on their own. This is the dream: To somehow purchase or rent a building in a good central location where we could use the first floor as a coffee house and a big apartment on the second floor where about three to six girls could live with a couple of house parents. Erna is a wonderful chef. So she would train the girls in culinary arts while I would in managing and dealing with clients. The girls would have to attend a technical school and work at the coffee shop, pay rent and pay for their own food while they have a safe place to come home to. Through this project the Lord would also be providing a really cool and safe place where both Christian and non Christian youth could hang out without having smoke blown in their faces (hard to find here in Santa Cruz). We would have games, books, ping pong, yummy foods and snacks…I even thought of some dancing classes with Christian music of course. And of course we would link all the people who came here to our church that will be by then bilingual. As you can tell I am really excited! That’s it so far. I am sure there is a lot more to it. Erna is going to Canada on furlough for six months so we (us and all of you) have that time to pray, plan and pray again! Two other ladies from our mission have a very successful coffee house in Tarija, another city in Bolivia, that would serve as a model for ours. So the first step would be to visit Tarija as soon as Erna gets back. I better let her know! I know that I can always count on your prayers so here are some requests:Please pray for the safety and protection of all the people who are coming here to work with us.Please pray for Danny and Nathaniel on their trip.Lift up Nathaniel as he readjusts to the USLift Luciana and Isaiah when the miss their big brother.Pray for Lily, Fernanda and Shirley. All three of them have recently made really poor choices which the Lord has used to show me the huge need of a half way house!Pray for Bernadette and I as we share her testimony. And for the Lord to open the hearts of those who are not safe yet who will hear her message.Pray for protection for our family in general ( traffic, robberies, etc)Pray for our friends Lucy and Pedro who are going through really tough times in their lives right now.Pray for the coffee house dream to come true! Thank you so much for your faithful support of our ministry. We could not be hear without you all backing us up. We are still a somewhat short of meeting our budget each month. If you would like to make a monthly pledge or send a one time gift to help support our ministry, please print out the appropriate attachment and send a check to our mission office. Blessings,Vanessa Daniel and Vanessa Beams EFCCM -- Casilla 3740 -- Santa Cruz, BoliviaEmail: beamsclan@yahoo.comBolivia Telephone: 011-591-3351-1087Blogs: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com, www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.comPhoto Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
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