Beams Bytes -- December 2005

Dear ones,

This is Vanessa writing this month. Wow! Christmas is here! It is hard to believe this will be our second Christmas in Bolivia. In a way this is a difficult time for us because this is when we used to be close to our family and friends (you all) and of course we start to miss a lot of the things we used to take for granted: such as: snow, oh the snow! The beautiful sky line and cozy times in and out with the people we love. But also this is a very good and alive time in our lives as we get to witness miracles in people’s lives.

I would love to share some of those miracles with you guys. The first one and a big one is that our friend Rob Free has miraculously survived a horrible car accident three weeks ago. Not even the doctors can believe or explain why he is alive! He is now home and getting ready to go to the US with his family for further medical evaluation. To all of those who prayed for Rob thank you very very much.

Another huge miracle is that our friends from Talita Cumi got a house as a gift from one of their supporters and will now be able to start the process of separating the boys from the girls.

One miracle all five of us are very happy about and thankful for is that this year we got to see many people whom we love and hadn’t seen in for ever, like Danny’s parents Ronnie and Carrol, my grandparents Elva and Julio (hadn’t spend time with them in 7 years), our friends Lynn and John from our home church Crossroads Christian, and last but not least we will go pick up Nathaniel from the airport on the 12th!!

Some new things going on. Danny is leaving to go to Peru again tomorrow morning to visit some already existing World Concern development projects in Puno and to start a new one up in Abancay one of the poorest areas of my country.

Also we will have a Christmas presentation on the 22nd for two of the children’s homes. I have a group of 7 very talented and eager young people learning to be puppeteers.

As always I have a long list of prayer requests, but also would like to tell you guys that we really appreciate your prayers. Because the Lord listens to you we are here and we are safe and sound.

Keep praying for our friend Rob Free, he is a pilot with South American Mission. Even though lots of healing and recovery has already taken place his eyes still need another miracle. He has lost control of movement and is having a hard time. Please pray for Rob, Mary Leah and their four kids as they get ready to go back for all the emotional trial that awaits them facing their unknown future and also for financial help as they will need it to travel and for medical bills. Although I remain calm and know the Lord is Lord and Rob was serving Him when he had his accident. Also pray for me as I will be missing Mary Leah a lot while she is gone.

Please pray for all the water drilling and alpaca projects Danny is involved in. Pray that all the people involved will see Jesus’ hand helping them and will feel blessed. Pray for Danny as he travels. Pray for all the airplanes and buses and cities to be safe and for the Lord to give him wisdom in all his actions. Pray for the kids and I that the Lord will protect us, as He has done every minute of our lives already.

Pray for Talita Cumi as they start the renovation process of part of the house they just got and for Christ is Coming Boys home as they start raising financial support to build their own place.

Pray for Bolivia as a country, pray the Lord Himself will choose the next president and that whoever that may be, we and other missionaries still will be free to share our faith and work safely in the name of Jesus.

Pray for Nathaniel and his mom, she will stay in the US while he flies by himself to come here to us. He will have several hours in Panama by himself. Please pray for protection and for safety.

Dear friends again thank you all for all your support and love this year of 2005. We love you and hope you all spend a wonderful Christmas time together with your family and other loved ones and that the Lord Jesus will use you to make his promises come true in people around you today.

Oh yes! And do not, I repeat DO NOT forget to throw some snow balls and make a bunch of snow angels and snowmen, and please think about us when you do, that will make us happy!

Vanessa, for all the Beams


Mailing address:

Daniel and Vanessa Beams
World Concern
Parapeti #146 -- Casilla 3681
Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Office Telephone: 011 591 3336 3664
Home Telephone: 011 591 3352 9156
Email: beamsclan@yahoo.com, danielb@worldconcern.org.bo
Website: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com

Beams Bytes – November 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

Have you ever ridden on a bus for over 100 hours on curvy gravel mountain roads, staying just ahead of washed out bridges and mud slides? I don’t necessarily recommend it. The scenery is beautiful, but the curves begin to get to you after a while.

I (Danny) just returned from an overland trip to Lima, Peru where I went to consult on a project for a SAM (South American Mission) missionary couple beginning a new ministry in Puerto Supe. Cesar and Grace Cubas were missionaries in Santa Cruz for over twenty years, but recently felt called to ministry in Cesar’s home town of Puerto Supe, which is a economically depressed fishing village on the desert coast of Peru, about four hours north of Lima. The Cubas’ feel called to begin a holistic ministry focusing on spiritual as well as physical needs. World Concern will be working closely with them as they develop their own small enterprise development and business training project.

On the way back through Lima, I picked up Vanessa’s grandparents, Julio and Elva (who live in Lima), and we took buses back to La Paz where we visited with Victor (Vanessa’s uncle and Elva’s son), who Elva had not seen in over 12 years. And then it was on to Santa Cruz on another overnight bus. Vanessa is super excited that her grandparens will spend about a month here with us.

Be praying for our plans to expand World Concern projects into new areas of Peru in the coming months. I will be taking another trip to Peru the first two weeks of December. Matthew Zoller, a World Concern collegue, and I will visit a World Concern project in Puno, Peru that helps llama and alpaca herders improve their production and market their products (hides and meat). Then we will be traveling through Cusco, and further north to Abancay, a small highland Peruvian town where we will meet with David and Heidi Coombs, who are Wycliff missionaries, and an association of quechua evangelical churches which is interested in partnering on some economic development projects.

We are also excited about a visit of several friends from our home church in Kentucky, Crossroads Christian, who are flying in tomorrow morning. We look forward to sharing out life and minsitry with them and hope that a larger mission team will be soon to follow.

Vanessa has begun a Bible study with several Bolivian ladies who are working their way through the “Purpose Driven Life” study. Pray that they will all make a commitment to follow Christ. As well, continue to pray for her puppet ministry and her involvement with several orphanages.

Are you asking yourself why I (or anyone in their right mind) would ride on a bus half way across a continent and back for 100 hours when I could have taken a plane from Santa Cruz to Lima in 2 ½ hours? It is because we are really strapped for cash. We are behind in our budget and do not have any funds for ministry expenses. We love you all and appreciate every prayer and every dime that you invest in our ministry. As the Christmas season (the giving season) approaches this year, prayerfully consider giving a special gift to the people of Bolivia and Peru through this ministry. Through World Concern projects, we are ministering to people in both “word and deed,” sharing the gospel message of Christ and attempting to relieve the physical suffering of poverty.

P.S. Those of you who know me well, know that a big reason I took a bus was because I love the adventure of travel and seeing new places and people. You also know that I love photography. I put up quite a few new pictures of La Paz and Puerto Supe on our website at: www.pbase.com/beamsclan.

In His Grace,Danny


Mailing address:

Daniel and Vanessa Beams
World Concern
Parapeti #146 -- Casilla 3681
Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Office Telephone: 011 591 3336 3664
Home Telephone: 011 591 3352 9156
Email: beamsclan@yahoo.com, danielb@worldconcern.org.bo
Website: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com