Out There with the Beams -- June 2017

Beloved friends and family,

This is Vanessa writing this one.  I am sorry I haven’t been able to write in a long time.  I first prayed this morning so the Lord would help me in communicated what He thinks should be communicated.  If it was up to me I would spill my guts and give you every detail about everything, good and bad.

I will start with news about our family this time.  Danny, Isaiah and I still are in Santa Cruz.  Isaiah just turned 15 this past May.  He is extremely smart, tall and handsome and as for now wants to be a magician (please, please pray about this!)  I try not to freak out and smile, but the Lord has been soothing my heart.  Isaiah went to help at a church plant-children center of our local church called San Isidro, and performed his magic for the kids there, he also played his guitar and helped with food and moving furniture around.  So, praise Him! He went to serve.  Of course we do not make a big deal out of it, because, I don’t know if you know this or not, but in the mind of a 15 year old, anything that comes out of the mouth of parents is a bad idea.  Isaiah asks very difficult questions about God, life and the Bible.  We try to answer the ones we can, we pray about the ones we cannot.  Please helps us pray that Isaiah (Ishi) will see the Lord revealed in his own life, and will embrace His love. 

Separation from our two oldest kids is still very difficult for me.  They are both living, working and studying back in the US.  I really miss the days when all five of us would pile up in our old truck and go places.  Please pray I will learn how to relate to adult children and still be a mother who speaks with wisdom when needed.  I miss Luciana and Nat a ton! And I miss Luciana, Nat and Isaiah being little children.  I’ve spent so much time and effort learning and trying to be a good mom and now they are leaving! What now?

Luciana just visited us a little while ago! It feels like such a huge gift to be able to hold her hand, or kiss her cheek.  To actually watch her as she talks to me.  I am very thankful to the Lord and to her for her visit.  I think Penny our dog is also very glad she came.  Lucy will graduate this December, please pray for what is next for her, may the Lord continue to hold her hand and guide her. 

Here in Santa Cruz, I am still part of a wonderful team of women working with women at CAFA and Chance and Ruth and Noemi.  Ruth and Noemi will again open its doors at the end of July and we will start a new training for volunteers in July and new users support group at the beginning of August. 

For health reasons, I will not be in the front line this time, meaning doing counseling or mentoring.  But I will continue to support the team, making sure they have all the resources they need to do the job and also making sure they get rest and fun.  Fun? Yes, indeed.  It’s a prescription extremely necessary for teams to bond and re charge.

We have several women on a waiting list to start the program in August and also have been containing two cases of inner family violence.  One them is a girl that will probably have to come stay at Ruth and Noemi for a while with her three children.  Remember, Ruth and Noemi is now reserved for cases of vital risk only.  So when I tell you this family might be coming soon, that means, please, please pray for their protection and ours. Pray that the aggressor will see the Lord! Will receive forgiveness, will feel loved and valued.  Pray the aggressor will seek help.  Pray the children and mom will not receive any blows at their bodies or their hearts.

My friend Monica and I went to visit the main local police station.  Met with sergeant Mamani Condori, and he was very polite and kind.  When I asked if we could call him directly when/if we had a case he said: “I might not be here anymore, I have been here two years already.   It is very difficult to see people’s pain day in and day out”.  That brought be back to the harsh reality in this country.  Where women are the most vulnerable group.  But it also gave me hope, to hear vulnerability from a man, from a police man.

Here in South America, most of us have been touched by violence one way or another.  Most of us when we were children, learning inappropriate ways to “solve” problems.  These ways have entangled us in despair, bringing pain and confusion with our loved ones and our Father. Yet, our Redeemer will come! He loves us! There is no shame! So, as for now, I make a pact to stay with the Lord, to live, to serve and wait for my healing, and enjoy life being surrounded by His grace and beauty, with the full conviction that it is not in my strength or energy that good things will happen.  But in Jesus.