Here are a couple of pics of an Ayore girl from Pozo Verde.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Out There with the Beams -- April 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
I would like to relate an experience I had while out drilling a water well yesterday in a community of Ayoreo Indians a couple of hours from Santa Cruz. This tale is a bit longer that what I usually share, but please take the time to read this. We want our supporters and ministry partners to understand the reality of life in Bolivia so they will know how to pray for the people of Bolivia.
This week we are working alongside, Charles and Hannah, friends and fellow missionaries from SAM (South American Mission) who have a ministry with the Ayoreo Indians in the community of Pozo Verde. We are drilling a water well for a national missionary couple, Cesar and Myrtha, who live in the village and who and pastor the local evangelical church. This was my first time in an Ayore village. While I was at first shocked by the humble and filthy living conditions (mud and stick huts with tin roofs and dirt yards full of trash), what truly disturbed me was the story of cultural bankruptcy—I don’t know what else to call it— that Hannah shared with me later.
Although not many tourists end up in Pozo Verde, which is quite a ways down a dusty bumpy dirt road, the local women and girls quickly find any visitors and offer to sell them hand woven bags made from the fiber of cactus plants. Although they all dress in Western style clothes, the Ayore have distinct facial features that set them apart from their Quechua and German Mennonite neighbors. The children are extremely cute with big round faces and sparkling eyes. They chat excitedly among each other in their own language, of which I do not understand a word. The kids practically mobbed Hannah as she taught them a Bible story and let them color a hand-out depicting the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den. Because of the hard life in the hot scrub country where they live, the adults, especially the women, age quickly. Women in their thirties and forties are already grandmothers, and they look like they are in their fifties and sixties. I noticed that several of the community elders had fingers twisted and curled with arthritis. One of the older men in the community, and an elder in the church, was permanently crippled from a jaguar attack. Yes, there are jaguars here in the bushes.
There used to be about thirty-five families living in the Pozo Verde, but now there are only twenty-two. Yesterday most of the men were absent from the village because they were out cutting sugar cane on the large plantations several hours to the east. They will probably be gone several weeks, just long enough to get a little money in their pocket. The women and older men stay at home in the village to take care of the kids.
I read that there are currently about five thousand Ayore Indians in Bolivia. They have traditionally occupied the Gran Chaco area of southern Bolivia and Paraguay. This is a hot dry scrub brush country that is sparsely uninhabited because of its inaccessibility. The best lands of the Ayore have been settled Bolivian and German immigrants over the past fifty years. Large tracts of Ayore land have been designated for German Mennonite farmers and as well for highland Quechua Indians who are leaving poor soils of the Altiplano and coming to Eastern Bolivia to start a new life. Before these settlement schemes began, the traditional territory of the Ayoreo in this area covered hundreds of thousands of acres. Now the Ayore of Pozo Verde are confined to an reserve of only about 3000 acres. They have been living in Pozo Verde for about forty years now. Traditionally the Ayore were nomadic hunters and gatherers who moved their villages depending on the seasons and the abundance of game. Evangelical missionaries first attempted to contact the Ayore in the early 1940s when a group of five missionary men went deep into their territory near Robore, Bolivia. They attempted to befriend the Indians by leaving gifts for them in their camps. The missionaries never came back out of the forest. Their families finally learned in 1950 that all the men had been murdered because one particular Ayore didn’t like his gift.
Over the past fifty years the Ayore have either come to live in settlements on the periphery of Bolivian society or they have moved deeper into the bush to avoid all contact with the outside world. As recently as 2004 a group of seventeen previously uncontacted Ayore came out of the bush. They said they could no longer survive in their traditional way because ranchers have encroached on their territory and taken control of all of the water sources for their cattle. It is probably a safe assumption that these were the last of the “wild and free” Ayore Indians.
Although the Ayore in Pozo Verde appear “poor but happy” on the surface, a darker sadder reality surfaces as you begin to understand more about their culture. The men continue to hunt and fish—this is a big part of their identity. They also raise some livestock and farm a bit. Although farming is not an activity they particularly excel at or put much effort into. Most men only work enough to earn a little money to buy food for the day or week and do not think about a better or more secure future. As Hannah explains it, the women are the dominant leaders in the family. They control the men, the children, and the finances. Women sit around for many hours each day weaving the rough fiber hand bags they sell at the tourist shops in Santa Cruz. After sending a month working on one bag, they might be able to sell it for about 50 bolivianos (equivalent to $7.00 US). Because this is not enough to live on, the women have begun going into the regional town of Pailon to sell their services as prostitutes. Hannah estimates that 90% of the women in Pozo Verde work as prostitutes. Mothers even take their daughters to town when they are 13 or 14 and introduce them to the business. Women continue in the sex trade well into their fifties. Working as prostitutes, women can earn as much in one hour as they might earn in a month or more weaving baskets. I assume the men tolerate this practice because the women bring home a fist full of cash. Hannah said that if the husbands complained the women would abandon them. Although the practice is not discussed in the village, everyone knows what is going on. It is like the big white elephant standing in the middle of the room that no one wants to talk about. Hannah said the girls will often get their clients drunk and then steal their wallets. Several weeks ago a Mennonite boy came into the village looking for his wallet. The men and boys of the village came out of their houses and beat the living-day-lights out of him. He went home empty handed.
Needless to say, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, abortion, and child abuse are all rampant in the community. So is drug and alcohol abuse. On my walk around the community I saw discarded plastic bottles of rubbing alcohol and cans of rubber cement. Yes, they drink rubbing alcohol and sniff glue.
So now I think you understand why I used the term “cultural bankruptcy” to describe the Ayoreo Indians. It is hard to point a finger at any one thing and say “this caused their problems.” Certainly the loss of their traditional lands and the loss of their cultural identity has a lot to do with who they are today. But they have to take some of the blame well. If you don’t count the emotional scaring across generations, prostitution is certainly an easy way out of a bad situation. Then again, you cannot blame children who are forced into prostitution by their parents. The cycle of abuse and depravation perpetuates itself. The only hope I see is though grace and truth of Christ. Although there is an evangelical church in Pozo Verde and many Ayore claim to believe in the truth of the Bible, they continue in the same patterns of sinful behavior.
Pray for true spiritual transformation in the lives of the Ayore in this community. Pray that Cesar and Myrtha can lead the church towards renewal and spiritual growth.
We hope to continue drilling water wells and sharing our faith in this community. After we finish the well at the missionaries home we plan on drilling some other wells with several of the Ayore men who have shown an interest in putting in some wells for their livestock and garden plots. Pray that we can make a positive spiritual, social and material impact in Pozo Verde.
Thanks so much for your partnership with our ministry in Bolivia. We appreciate your faithfulness in praying for and supporting this work. We love hearing from you, so please write when you get a chance.
Blessings,
Danny
P.S. If you would like to see some pictures of Pozo Verde, please visit our photo gallery at: http://www.pbase.com/beamsclan/sanjulian. I have a couple of pictures up already, and I will have a few more in the coming days.
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 would like to relate an experience I had while out drilling a water well yesterday in a community of Ayoreo Indians a couple of hours from Santa Cruz. This tale is a bit longer that what I usually share, but please take the time to read this. We want our supporters and ministry partners to understand the reality of life in Bolivia so they will know how to pray for the people of Bolivia.
This week we are working alongside, Charles and Hannah, friends and fellow missionaries from SAM (South American Mission) who have a ministry with the Ayoreo Indians in the community of Pozo Verde. We are drilling a water well for a national missionary couple, Cesar and Myrtha, who live in the village and who and pastor the local evangelical church. This was my first time in an Ayore village. While I was at first shocked by the humble and filthy living conditions (mud and stick huts with tin roofs and dirt yards full of trash), what truly disturbed me was the story of cultural bankruptcy—I don’t know what else to call it— that Hannah shared with me later.
Although not many tourists end up in Pozo Verde, which is quite a ways down a dusty bumpy dirt road, the local women and girls quickly find any visitors and offer to sell them hand woven bags made from the fiber of cactus plants. Although they all dress in Western style clothes, the Ayore have distinct facial features that set them apart from their Quechua and German Mennonite neighbors. The children are extremely cute with big round faces and sparkling eyes. They chat excitedly among each other in their own language, of which I do not understand a word. The kids practically mobbed Hannah as she taught them a Bible story and let them color a hand-out depicting the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den. Because of the hard life in the hot scrub country where they live, the adults, especially the women, age quickly. Women in their thirties and forties are already grandmothers, and they look like they are in their fifties and sixties. I noticed that several of the community elders had fingers twisted and curled with arthritis. One of the older men in the community, and an elder in the church, was permanently crippled from a jaguar attack. Yes, there are jaguars here in the bushes.
There used to be about thirty-five families living in the Pozo Verde, but now there are only twenty-two. Yesterday most of the men were absent from the village because they were out cutting sugar cane on the large plantations several hours to the east. They will probably be gone several weeks, just long enough to get a little money in their pocket. The women and older men stay at home in the village to take care of the kids.
I read that there are currently about five thousand Ayore Indians in Bolivia. They have traditionally occupied the Gran Chaco area of southern Bolivia and Paraguay. This is a hot dry scrub brush country that is sparsely uninhabited because of its inaccessibility. The best lands of the Ayore have been settled Bolivian and German immigrants over the past fifty years. Large tracts of Ayore land have been designated for German Mennonite farmers and as well for highland Quechua Indians who are leaving poor soils of the Altiplano and coming to Eastern Bolivia to start a new life. Before these settlement schemes began, the traditional territory of the Ayoreo in this area covered hundreds of thousands of acres. Now the Ayore of Pozo Verde are confined to an reserve of only about 3000 acres. They have been living in Pozo Verde for about forty years now. Traditionally the Ayore were nomadic hunters and gatherers who moved their villages depending on the seasons and the abundance of game. Evangelical missionaries first attempted to contact the Ayore in the early 1940s when a group of five missionary men went deep into their territory near Robore, Bolivia. They attempted to befriend the Indians by leaving gifts for them in their camps. The missionaries never came back out of the forest. Their families finally learned in 1950 that all the men had been murdered because one particular Ayore didn’t like his gift.
Over the past fifty years the Ayore have either come to live in settlements on the periphery of Bolivian society or they have moved deeper into the bush to avoid all contact with the outside world. As recently as 2004 a group of seventeen previously uncontacted Ayore came out of the bush. They said they could no longer survive in their traditional way because ranchers have encroached on their territory and taken control of all of the water sources for their cattle. It is probably a safe assumption that these were the last of the “wild and free” Ayore Indians.
Although the Ayore in Pozo Verde appear “poor but happy” on the surface, a darker sadder reality surfaces as you begin to understand more about their culture. The men continue to hunt and fish—this is a big part of their identity. They also raise some livestock and farm a bit. Although farming is not an activity they particularly excel at or put much effort into. Most men only work enough to earn a little money to buy food for the day or week and do not think about a better or more secure future. As Hannah explains it, the women are the dominant leaders in the family. They control the men, the children, and the finances. Women sit around for many hours each day weaving the rough fiber hand bags they sell at the tourist shops in Santa Cruz. After sending a month working on one bag, they might be able to sell it for about 50 bolivianos (equivalent to $7.00 US). Because this is not enough to live on, the women have begun going into the regional town of Pailon to sell their services as prostitutes. Hannah estimates that 90% of the women in Pozo Verde work as prostitutes. Mothers even take their daughters to town when they are 13 or 14 and introduce them to the business. Women continue in the sex trade well into their fifties. Working as prostitutes, women can earn as much in one hour as they might earn in a month or more weaving baskets. I assume the men tolerate this practice because the women bring home a fist full of cash. Hannah said that if the husbands complained the women would abandon them. Although the practice is not discussed in the village, everyone knows what is going on. It is like the big white elephant standing in the middle of the room that no one wants to talk about. Hannah said the girls will often get their clients drunk and then steal their wallets. Several weeks ago a Mennonite boy came into the village looking for his wallet. The men and boys of the village came out of their houses and beat the living-day-lights out of him. He went home empty handed.
Needless to say, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, abortion, and child abuse are all rampant in the community. So is drug and alcohol abuse. On my walk around the community I saw discarded plastic bottles of rubbing alcohol and cans of rubber cement. Yes, they drink rubbing alcohol and sniff glue.
So now I think you understand why I used the term “cultural bankruptcy” to describe the Ayoreo Indians. It is hard to point a finger at any one thing and say “this caused their problems.” Certainly the loss of their traditional lands and the loss of their cultural identity has a lot to do with who they are today. But they have to take some of the blame well. If you don’t count the emotional scaring across generations, prostitution is certainly an easy way out of a bad situation. Then again, you cannot blame children who are forced into prostitution by their parents. The cycle of abuse and depravation perpetuates itself. The only hope I see is though grace and truth of Christ. Although there is an evangelical church in Pozo Verde and many Ayore claim to believe in the truth of the Bible, they continue in the same patterns of sinful behavior.
Pray for true spiritual transformation in the lives of the Ayore in this community. Pray that Cesar and Myrtha can lead the church towards renewal and spiritual growth.
We hope to continue drilling water wells and sharing our faith in this community. After we finish the well at the missionaries home we plan on drilling some other wells with several of the Ayore men who have shown an interest in putting in some wells for their livestock and garden plots. Pray that we can make a positive spiritual, social and material impact in Pozo Verde.
Thanks so much for your partnership with our ministry in Bolivia. We appreciate your faithfulness in praying for and supporting this work. We love hearing from you, so please write when you get a chance.
Blessings,
Danny
P.S. If you would like to see some pictures of Pozo Verde, please visit our photo gallery at: http://www.pbase.com/beamsclan/sanjulian. I have a couple of pictures up already, and I will have a few more in the coming days.
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
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Barrio Nueva Esperanza
Click on this link -- Barrio Nueva Esperanza -- to see a gallery of pictures from our recent work in this refugee community near the town of Cuatro Canadas, about 3 hours from Santa Cruz.
Mennonites in the Market
I went out with Rudy Friessen yesterday to take picture of Mennonites in the Los Pozos market here in Santa Cruz. Click on the title to see a few more pics. Rudy and Erna wanted some pictures of the Mennonites in the market to take back with them on furlough to Canada. I was a little concerned that they might get upset with me taking candid pictures. But I didn't have any trouble and we had some good conversations with several of them.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Out There with the Beams -- March 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Hello from Santa Cruz-Bolivia. This is a special letter because Danny is dictating to Vanessa due to a broken hand which happened last Thursday at a well site. Praise the Lord he is fine and does not need surgery at the moment although he is not able to type, drive, write, ride his bike, tie his shoes, button his shirts or spank our kids for the next six weeks. He needs me and I love it!
We have enjoyed working in the community of Nueva Esperanza this last month where we have drilled three water wells and are helping get a church started. Nueva Esperanza is a community of about 120 families of flood victims from flooding in 2006. They all come from nine different rural communities along the Rio Grande River where they were all peasant farmers. The flood waters took away their homes, animals, crops, schools and churches. The town of Cuartro Canadas gave them some land to build a new community, but these are only small lots so they cannot continue to farm for a living. Each family has been given a small garden plot, but these are not nearly big enough to support a family. Several have tried to return to their flooded farms to begin planting again but the old communities flooded again this year. Most men are now having to spend weeks or months away from their families looking for wage labor jobs on big farms or in the cities. They first lived in tents but soon built one room wooden structures. Now through the help of a Spanish charity they are building small brick homes. They hope to soon have electricity and water in each house. Nueva Esperanza is now overflowing with kids. The new elementary school has 180 students. They do have a nice health post (where the nurse took care of my broken hand). And now an older gentleman named Juan, is meeting with a group of believers in his house. They will soon begin construction on a church on the plot of land we bought with a donation from a Bible study group of some faithful supporters in Texas. We were also able to pay for the wells with several designated gifts from supporters in Canada. This is truly a team effort. If you would like to see some pictures from the community and the work please visit our photo galleries at http://www.pbase.com/beamsclan/nueva_esperanza. I will continue to add to the gallery as the work continues.
Prayer Concerns
Our EFCCM mission family is meeting this week in a conference (April 9-12) with a team of directors and staff from the home office in Canada. Pray for a great time of sharing, planning and spiritual renewal.
Two volunteers are in Santa Cruz this month learning to drill water wells using the manual percussion method. Jake is well driller from Canada, and Mario is a mission volunteer from Sonora, Mexico. Pray that these men can use these skills to provide water and spiritual enlightenment for thirsty people around the world.
Continue to pray for the girls that Vanessa is working closely with, especially Fernanda, Shirley, and Lily who are all leaving the shelter of the Cristo Viene home and beginning to live on their own and to make critical decisions about the direction of their future.
Danny’s grandmother, Margaret Beams, passed away last week in Texas. Pray for his family as they grieve this lose. His grandfather, Blackie, passed away a little over a year ago. Both Margaret and Blackie were wonderful grandparents and were such an encouragement to me through their examples of Christian commitment, love, and courage. I am so glad they have now been reunited in heaven, but I will miss them dearly here on this planet.
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
Hello from Santa Cruz-Bolivia. This is a special letter because Danny is dictating to Vanessa due to a broken hand which happened last Thursday at a well site. Praise the Lord he is fine and does not need surgery at the moment although he is not able to type, drive, write, ride his bike, tie his shoes, button his shirts or spank our kids for the next six weeks. He needs me and I love it!
We have enjoyed working in the community of Nueva Esperanza this last month where we have drilled three water wells and are helping get a church started. Nueva Esperanza is a community of about 120 families of flood victims from flooding in 2006. They all come from nine different rural communities along the Rio Grande River where they were all peasant farmers. The flood waters took away their homes, animals, crops, schools and churches. The town of Cuartro Canadas gave them some land to build a new community, but these are only small lots so they cannot continue to farm for a living. Each family has been given a small garden plot, but these are not nearly big enough to support a family. Several have tried to return to their flooded farms to begin planting again but the old communities flooded again this year. Most men are now having to spend weeks or months away from their families looking for wage labor jobs on big farms or in the cities. They first lived in tents but soon built one room wooden structures. Now through the help of a Spanish charity they are building small brick homes. They hope to soon have electricity and water in each house. Nueva Esperanza is now overflowing with kids. The new elementary school has 180 students. They do have a nice health post (where the nurse took care of my broken hand). And now an older gentleman named Juan, is meeting with a group of believers in his house. They will soon begin construction on a church on the plot of land we bought with a donation from a Bible study group of some faithful supporters in Texas. We were also able to pay for the wells with several designated gifts from supporters in Canada. This is truly a team effort. If you would like to see some pictures from the community and the work please visit our photo galleries at http://www.pbase.com/beamsclan/nueva_esperanza. I will continue to add to the gallery as the work continues.
Prayer Concerns
Our EFCCM mission family is meeting this week in a conference (April 9-12) with a team of directors and staff from the home office in Canada. Pray for a great time of sharing, planning and spiritual renewal.
Two volunteers are in Santa Cruz this month learning to drill water wells using the manual percussion method. Jake is well driller from Canada, and Mario is a mission volunteer from Sonora, Mexico. Pray that these men can use these skills to provide water and spiritual enlightenment for thirsty people around the world.
Continue to pray for the girls that Vanessa is working closely with, especially Fernanda, Shirley, and Lily who are all leaving the shelter of the Cristo Viene home and beginning to live on their own and to make critical decisions about the direction of their future.
Danny’s grandmother, Margaret Beams, passed away last week in Texas. Pray for his family as they grieve this lose. His grandfather, Blackie, passed away a little over a year ago. Both Margaret and Blackie were wonderful grandparents and were such an encouragement to me through their examples of Christian commitment, love, and courage. I am so glad they have now been reunited in heaven, but I will miss them dearly here on this planet.
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
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Out There with the Beams -- February 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
How is everybody? This is Vanessa writing this month. We miss you a lot! I want to start this letter by thanking the Lord Jesus Christ for his awesome faithfulness and love. And also by thanking you all for your prayers and support. Thank you for letting God use you by helping us.
We have been really busy lately. Our water well project is growing very fast. Please pray for Danny and his team (Carlos and now Pedro) as they will be traveling to a community called Cuatro Canadas to drill wells. It is about three hours away (not very far) but our roads do tend to get in really bad condition due to rain and sometimes even disappear! As I just mentioned, Pedro, is the new member of our water team. He is a 19 year old boy who used to be a little boy when we met him. He is making his transition out of the Talita Cumi Home. So please pray for this transition to be smooth and successful.
Something else that is super exciting and recent is the Monday morning Spanish Bible study for men that Danny and friends from our mission have started. These are the names of the men attending so you can lift them up in prayer: Pedro, Marcos, Carlos, Warren, Rudy, and Danny.
As for me, I will be doing something new and fun this time. I will be helping at the Centro de Vida (the Life Center) to create (painting, organizing and decorating) a boutique for moms! I know it sounds very superficial but it is not! Moms who seek help at the center will be given points for attending church, reading their Bible, going to Bible studies, etc… those points will then allow them to purchase baby items as well as mommy items and clothes! As you can tell I am very excited and ready to start. The Centro de Vida is a wonderful ministry and I love working with them.
Our kids are doing great both at home and at school. Isaiah will be starting Tae Kwon Do classes. We attended one and he did great. He is very excited about the white suit!
Luciana has the lead role in a school. This is huge! So please pray for her.
And Nathaniel is getting very tall and handsome! At 6’2” he is taller than Danny now. He and his daddy are racing bicycles on a local Bolivian team. Praise the Lord for our children. I am grateful to have such wonderful kids and plan on enjoying them every minute we have them at home.
We will be having lots of teams this spring and summer. If you are planning on coming here please know that the Beams are praying for you. And also that we are ready to work and have fun together! We are already discussing all the possibilities and there are so many!
Another praise is that we have started the process of sending two of the oldest girls from Cristo Viene Home to technical school thanks to a gift we received from one of you! Here are the names three ladies with whom I have been sharing Jesus and could really use some prayer:
Lucy, Angie and Susi.
Please know that we love you and cherish every moment we have spent together. Our prayer for you and your family is that the Lord will give you ten times more for every blessing you give us and that his Spirit will go with you wherever you go!
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.comPhoto Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
How is everybody? This is Vanessa writing this month. We miss you a lot! I want to start this letter by thanking the Lord Jesus Christ for his awesome faithfulness and love. And also by thanking you all for your prayers and support. Thank you for letting God use you by helping us.
We have been really busy lately. Our water well project is growing very fast. Please pray for Danny and his team (Carlos and now Pedro) as they will be traveling to a community called Cuatro Canadas to drill wells. It is about three hours away (not very far) but our roads do tend to get in really bad condition due to rain and sometimes even disappear! As I just mentioned, Pedro, is the new member of our water team. He is a 19 year old boy who used to be a little boy when we met him. He is making his transition out of the Talita Cumi Home. So please pray for this transition to be smooth and successful.
Something else that is super exciting and recent is the Monday morning Spanish Bible study for men that Danny and friends from our mission have started. These are the names of the men attending so you can lift them up in prayer: Pedro, Marcos, Carlos, Warren, Rudy, and Danny.
As for me, I will be doing something new and fun this time. I will be helping at the Centro de Vida (the Life Center) to create (painting, organizing and decorating) a boutique for moms! I know it sounds very superficial but it is not! Moms who seek help at the center will be given points for attending church, reading their Bible, going to Bible studies, etc… those points will then allow them to purchase baby items as well as mommy items and clothes! As you can tell I am very excited and ready to start. The Centro de Vida is a wonderful ministry and I love working with them.
Our kids are doing great both at home and at school. Isaiah will be starting Tae Kwon Do classes. We attended one and he did great. He is very excited about the white suit!
Luciana has the lead role in a school. This is huge! So please pray for her.
And Nathaniel is getting very tall and handsome! At 6’2” he is taller than Danny now. He and his daddy are racing bicycles on a local Bolivian team. Praise the Lord for our children. I am grateful to have such wonderful kids and plan on enjoying them every minute we have them at home.
We will be having lots of teams this spring and summer. If you are planning on coming here please know that the Beams are praying for you. And also that we are ready to work and have fun together! We are already discussing all the possibilities and there are so many!
Another praise is that we have started the process of sending two of the oldest girls from Cristo Viene Home to technical school thanks to a gift we received from one of you! Here are the names three ladies with whom I have been sharing Jesus and could really use some prayer:
Lucy, Angie and Susi.
Please know that we love you and cherish every moment we have spent together. Our prayer for you and your family is that the Lord will give you ten times more for every blessing you give us and that his Spirit will go with you wherever you go!
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.comPhoto Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Carnival in Santa Cruz -- Deadly Fun
We just finished the week of Carnival here in Santa Cruz. This is a holiday much like Marti Gras in New Orleans. This is the first year we have actually stayed in Santa Cruz. The majority of Bolivians love this holiday, but most ex-pats have advised us to either get out of town or stay locked up in our house for the four-day-long party. The festivities started out mildly enough with a parade on Saturday, and people throwing water balloons, buckets of water, shooting squirt guns, etc. But the party degenerates fast, with the majority of people getting stumbling drunk on Sunday through Tuesday. They say Tuesday is the day that God leaves earth and forgets about his people, so we (they) are free to do whatever they want. On Ash Wednesday, Catholics go to church to confession. I don't want to stereotype Catholics, but I think this is really their holiday. The Evangelical Christians I spoke with said they do not participate in any aspect of Carnival. As the days progress, people begin throwing mud, oil and paint. Many of the taxis and busses actually smear their entire vehicles with mud so that the other nasty stuff that people throw will not mess up their paint.
To escape the madness on Monday, we rented a cabin near the Lomas de Arena (sand dunes), half an hour out of town. It was a great time of hiking, swimming, horseback riding, and (for me) photography—truly a relaxing couple of days. I didn't try to get any pictures of the maddness that is Carnival, but here are couple of pictures from our tranquil little get-away.
To escape the madness on Monday, we rented a cabin near the Lomas de Arena (sand dunes), half an hour out of town. It was a great time of hiking, swimming, horseback riding, and (for me) photography—truly a relaxing couple of days. I didn't try to get any pictures of the maddness that is Carnival, but here are couple of pictures from our tranquil little get-away.
As we drove back into town on Tuesday evening, the roads were full of drunk drivers swerving from side to side, and drunk people stumbling down the middle of the road. I have never in my life seen such a large percentage of the population drunk in the street like that. At the time I thought that it must be an extremely dangerous time to be out and about, but I didn’t know exactly how dangerous until I heard the next day that 30 people had been killed on the streets of Santa Cruz over the holiday weekend (and that was just in our city).When I talked to Carlos the next day I found out that one of our neighbors out at the workshop had become a statistic as well. The son of the neighbor lady who washes Carlos’ clothes was killed on the highway on Tuesday night. Coming home drunk at 10:00 that evening, he stepped out in front of a car as he tried to cross the highway. The car sped away without stopping, leaving him dead on the side of the road. He was only 22 years old.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Out There with the Beams – January 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Hi everyone. This is Danny writing this month. We trust you are surviving well through a cold winter up north. Here in Bolivia it is summer and the rains will not let up long enough for anything to dry out. Although we have not flooded here in our house, several of our friends homes have flooded and even Talita Cumi, the orphanage we work with that is a couple of blocks away, flooded and the girls all had to move into the upstairs portion of the boys home next door. Please especially pray for the flooded farm areas around the Rio Grande and Yapacani rivers several hours east and south of Santa Cruz. These areas get hit year after year with flooding and this year is no different. We have several well projects planned in these areas but right now travel is too difficult to begin drilling.
Thanks to all of your prayers and financial support, our water well drilling ministry is poised to begin making a great impact on the lives of people in rural communities around Santa Cruz in 2008. Many of you have made specific donations to this ministry and this has allowed us to rent a farm and workshop where we are building drilling equipment, experimenting with new drilling techniques, and training people to go out into the communities to teach them how to drill their own well. We normally use manual labor to drill wells, but this takes teams of 8 to 12 people, so we recently built a small motorized drilling rig that enables us to drill wells with only three people helping. With a little more innovation we hope to build a combination percussion/rotary rig that will be better equiped to drill through harder clay and rock. So many areas of Bolivia could be farmed, but for lack of water during the dry season, these areas are not being utilized productively. If we can help poor farmers drill water wells and gain access to water year round they will be able to improve farm and livestock project and ensure their families a brighter future. And of course most importantly, we want to share the love of Christ with them and help them get plugged in to a healthy growing churches in their communities. You can see a video of our new drilling rig in action at www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.com.
We have a great start with this ministry, but there are so many needs in Bolivia we cannot even begin to meet the demand. If you would like to help us expand our water well ministry, we hope you would consider a special designated gift. Just to give you an idea, each well costs an average of $250 to drill and to install a hand-pump. Thanks also to everyone who has followed through on your monthly pledges to support our regular budget . Aside from special project funds, we also need to raise about $5000 month to support our family and ministry here in Bolivia. Just so you know, we are at about 75% of what we need for our regular budget. It would be such a blessing if you would make a commitment to help us reach our buget this year. We are including a attachment to this email that explains how to make contributions if you are not already doing so.
I hope you don’t think we only write these monthly updates to ask for financial support. We really want to share with you how God is working in and through our family here in Bolivia. We are super excited about the individuals and mission teams that are coming to Bolivia this year to participate with us in God’s work. It is so much fun to share our home and our lives with friends who are experiencing Bolivia with fresh eyes.
Vanessa’s work with the orphanages is going well. She is teaching aerobics, arts & crafts, has a summer reading club, and is working through the book, “The Healing of Memories” with a group of older teen girls. And of course she hosts big birthday bashes for the Talita Cumi kids every other month. Also through a special gift from a supporter, we have started a scholarship fund for kids who graduate from high school and want to go on to study in college or a trade school. We have been looking for a way to help the kids make an easier transition from orphanage to independent living as adults in the workplace. Through this fund we are offering to pay tuition and to give them a small living stipend as they leave the homes and seek to make their own way in the world. We will certainly keep you updated as this new ministry progresses and will ask you up hold up these kids in prayer.
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
Hi everyone. This is Danny writing this month. We trust you are surviving well through a cold winter up north. Here in Bolivia it is summer and the rains will not let up long enough for anything to dry out. Although we have not flooded here in our house, several of our friends homes have flooded and even Talita Cumi, the orphanage we work with that is a couple of blocks away, flooded and the girls all had to move into the upstairs portion of the boys home next door. Please especially pray for the flooded farm areas around the Rio Grande and Yapacani rivers several hours east and south of Santa Cruz. These areas get hit year after year with flooding and this year is no different. We have several well projects planned in these areas but right now travel is too difficult to begin drilling.
Thanks to all of your prayers and financial support, our water well drilling ministry is poised to begin making a great impact on the lives of people in rural communities around Santa Cruz in 2008. Many of you have made specific donations to this ministry and this has allowed us to rent a farm and workshop where we are building drilling equipment, experimenting with new drilling techniques, and training people to go out into the communities to teach them how to drill their own well. We normally use manual labor to drill wells, but this takes teams of 8 to 12 people, so we recently built a small motorized drilling rig that enables us to drill wells with only three people helping. With a little more innovation we hope to build a combination percussion/rotary rig that will be better equiped to drill through harder clay and rock. So many areas of Bolivia could be farmed, but for lack of water during the dry season, these areas are not being utilized productively. If we can help poor farmers drill water wells and gain access to water year round they will be able to improve farm and livestock project and ensure their families a brighter future. And of course most importantly, we want to share the love of Christ with them and help them get plugged in to a healthy growing churches in their communities. You can see a video of our new drilling rig in action at www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.com.
We have a great start with this ministry, but there are so many needs in Bolivia we cannot even begin to meet the demand. If you would like to help us expand our water well ministry, we hope you would consider a special designated gift. Just to give you an idea, each well costs an average of $250 to drill and to install a hand-pump. Thanks also to everyone who has followed through on your monthly pledges to support our regular budget . Aside from special project funds, we also need to raise about $5000 month to support our family and ministry here in Bolivia. Just so you know, we are at about 75% of what we need for our regular budget. It would be such a blessing if you would make a commitment to help us reach our buget this year. We are including a attachment to this email that explains how to make contributions if you are not already doing so.
I hope you don’t think we only write these monthly updates to ask for financial support. We really want to share with you how God is working in and through our family here in Bolivia. We are super excited about the individuals and mission teams that are coming to Bolivia this year to participate with us in God’s work. It is so much fun to share our home and our lives with friends who are experiencing Bolivia with fresh eyes.
Vanessa’s work with the orphanages is going well. She is teaching aerobics, arts & crafts, has a summer reading club, and is working through the book, “The Healing of Memories” with a group of older teen girls. And of course she hosts big birthday bashes for the Talita Cumi kids every other month. Also through a special gift from a supporter, we have started a scholarship fund for kids who graduate from high school and want to go on to study in college or a trade school. We have been looking for a way to help the kids make an easier transition from orphanage to independent living as adults in the workplace. Through this fund we are offering to pay tuition and to give them a small living stipend as they leave the homes and seek to make their own way in the world. We will certainly keep you updated as this new ministry progresses and will ask you up hold up these kids in prayer.
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
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Raining Frogs and Worms
It has been raining non-stop in Santa Cruz since last Friday. The Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center (our kids school) is flooding and they have called off school for the rest of the week. All of the grassy areas and sidewalks are under water and Isaiah's classroom has several inches of water in it. The kids said there are frogs and worms everywhere. They even found a three foot eel and a one foot catfish. There aren't even any rivers or lakes near the school so who knows where these came from. Thankfully our home has not flooded, but we have friends who are having to leave their homes. Even in Talita Cumi the girls are having to leave their home and move in upstairs in the boys home next door. Both major highways to Cochabamba and La Paz are closed do to washed out bridges and mud slides. It is a good thing we got back from Sucre before the highways were completely closed.
Photos from Our Trip to Sucre
Click on the title of this post to see pictures from our recent trip to Sucre, Bolivia. Sucre is the old capital of Bolivia, in the mountains of the Chuquisaca department. It was about 14 hour drive from Santa Cruz. About half of the drive was on gravel and dirt roads. We had a great week with our friends the Wilkes, who are also missionaries in Santa Cruz. We also got to meet the Emmons, new friends in language school in Sucre. If everything works out they will be here in Santa Cruz next year teaching at the Santa Cruz Christian learning Center.Monday, December 31, 2007
Out There with the Beams – December 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
Merry Christmas! I know everybody says this, but we truly mean it. I can’t believe Christmas is here! We are having fun decorating our house and trying to guide our kids in having the right spirit during this time; although it has been pretty hot in Santa Cruz.
For me, this is the hardest time of the year. It makes me feel homesick—missing family, friends, places, food...snow... Anyway we just want to tell all of you that we miss you horribly and think and pray for you a lot. And most of all thank you for all of your support, thank you for your prayers, your thoughts, thank you for being our friend even though thousands of miles and almost another year separate us.
Please keep sending us your e-mails and cards. We love them. If you have changed your email address, or are not getting our email updates, please drop us an email so we can add you to our contact list. Thank you so much for your confidence and support of our ministry both economically and through prayers. We hope that during this season of giving you will remember Bolivia and our ministry with the orphanages and water well drilling. We know the Lord will multiply his blessings on you, so we want to encourage you to keep supporting us. If you have not done so already, please consider making a monthly pledge of support for the coming year.
This Christmas we will have three celebrations. One with our family and our friend and worker Carlos (before Nathaniel goes to KY). The next one will be with the kids and staff of the home Talita Cumi and the last one will be with our EFCCM mission family. We hope and pray you will also be surrounded by loved ones and mostly by the Spirit of our Lord himself; that this special time will be a reminder of God’s unexplainable and limitless love for you. If I could hug you right now, I would. Times like this just get all my emotions going! We love you very much. If possible please send us a photograph of you and your family so that our children know who we are talking about and so that we can continue praying for you. We just would love having you on our fridge!
With lots of love,
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
Merry Christmas! I know everybody says this, but we truly mean it. I can’t believe Christmas is here! We are having fun decorating our house and trying to guide our kids in having the right spirit during this time; although it has been pretty hot in Santa Cruz.
For me, this is the hardest time of the year. It makes me feel homesick—missing family, friends, places, food...snow... Anyway we just want to tell all of you that we miss you horribly and think and pray for you a lot. And most of all thank you for all of your support, thank you for your prayers, your thoughts, thank you for being our friend even though thousands of miles and almost another year separate us.
Please keep sending us your e-mails and cards. We love them. If you have changed your email address, or are not getting our email updates, please drop us an email so we can add you to our contact list. Thank you so much for your confidence and support of our ministry both economically and through prayers. We hope that during this season of giving you will remember Bolivia and our ministry with the orphanages and water well drilling. We know the Lord will multiply his blessings on you, so we want to encourage you to keep supporting us. If you have not done so already, please consider making a monthly pledge of support for the coming year.
This Christmas we will have three celebrations. One with our family and our friend and worker Carlos (before Nathaniel goes to KY). The next one will be with the kids and staff of the home Talita Cumi and the last one will be with our EFCCM mission family. We hope and pray you will also be surrounded by loved ones and mostly by the Spirit of our Lord himself; that this special time will be a reminder of God’s unexplainable and limitless love for you. If I could hug you right now, I would. Times like this just get all my emotions going! We love you very much. If possible please send us a photograph of you and your family so that our children know who we are talking about and so that we can continue praying for you. We just would love having you on our fridge!
With lots of love,
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, December 18, 2007
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Out There with the Beams -- November 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
We trust that you had a fun filled Thanksgiving holiday. We enjoyed swimming on Thanksgiving morning and then shared a turkey dinner with several other missionary families in our neighborhood. We plan on traveling to Cusco, Peru right after Christmas to spend some time with Vanessa’s cousin who lives in Lima.
The last couple of weeks have been chaotic in Bolivia. In general, missionaries are cautioned to stay out of politics in their host countries, but even still it is sometimes hard to avoid the affects of political and civil unrest around you. I just wanted to share a little bit of what is going on so you can be praying for peace and prosperity in Bolivia. We live in the department of Santa Cruz. It is the largest department in Bolivia, taking up the eastern third of the country. Santa Cruz has been seeking economic and political autonomy within the country. They would like to keep more of the tax revenue from oil and gas, and agriculture within our department rather than share it with La Paz, the seat of the national government. The current president, Evo Morales and his MAS party are socialist and are closely aligned with Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Morales is the first indigenous president ever elected in Bolivia. He has promised many reforms that will address the disparity between rich and poor, and the discrimination against the indigenous population (75%) of Bolivia. While he appears to have some good ideas and the ambition to make change for the betterment of the country, he is attempting to ramrod his changes through a stalemated legislature and is threatening the democratic process in Bolivia. For example, last week the delegates rewriting the constitution met and voted to approve the new constitution. The problem is only the MAS party delegates were present to vote on the Constitution (155 out of 258 total delegates). Of course everyone opposed to the MAS party is calling foul. In general there is a culture of resistance among minority political parties and groups who block and confound any attempt to govern the country.
Most of the opposition to the MAS party is centered in Santa Cruz; and actually 6 of the 9 departments are governed by groups opposed to the Morales government. They are continually calling for civil resistance against the government. That often means they call strikes of various kinds and will block major highways for weeks at a time. A “paro civico” is a general strike where everything and everyone comes to a halt for 24 hours. All businesses and schools close and no one is allowed to drive their cars on the road. If you do so without special permission you risk having your windows broken by an agree mob of protesters. The kids have missed a number of school days in the last couple of weeks due to the “paro civicos.” Road blocks often mean you cannot travel to other cities around the country without the risk of either not being able to get there or not being able to get back home. There are so few highways in Bolivia, that a simple road block at a key bridge can paralyze the economy of millions of people.
So how have we been effected? Our SUV runs on diesel and diesel has been scarce in Santa Cruz for over two months now. Santa Cruz is only receiving about 1/3 of the diesel they need for the city and for the current agricultural campaign. The result is super long lines at gas stations. To fill our tank with diesel I have to drive all over town asking at gas stations when the next delivery of diesel will occur. Then I have to get to the station several hours before the tanker arrives and wait in line. The problem is, trucks wait in line 12 or 24 hours for the diesel to arrive and then the get it all before anyone else has a chance at it. Gas stations are only receiving 5,000 to 10,000 liters of diesel several times a week. This means once they start pumping, the supply only lasts for 2 or 3 hours. For example, two nights ago I got in line at 7:00 in the evening waiting for diesel that was supposed to arrive at 9:00. I was the 47th vehicle in line. I finally got to the pump at 11:15, but they were rationing how much they sold each customer and would only sell me about six gallons. I think I need to buy a gasoline powered vehicle. The scarcity of diesel is affecting all aspects of life in the city. There are only about half the number of busses running as normal. The majority of the city population does not own private cars and moves around on city buses. This means that most buses are too crowded to board and passengers often have to change buses lines many more times than before. So for a person who previously paid 3 bolivianos a day for bus fare may now have to change buses three times and pay up to 9 bolivianos a day for bus fare. An average wage in Santa Cruz is about 40 bolivianos ($5 US), so fully ¼ of a daily earnings goes to commuting. There are also shortages of fresh vegetables and other staples in the markets, and the cost of all food items is rising rapidly. People are really beginning to worry about the affects of seemingly out of control inflation.
I hope I haven’t depressed or confused you with the details of politics and economy in Bolivia. It really is too confusing to convey in a short letter. Just remember to continue praying for Bolivia as a country, and pray that we can have an impact on the folks we are working with.
Thank you so much for your continued support of our work here. As you think about giving this holiday season, we hope that you will think outside of the box, and consider giving to the people of Bolivia through our ministry. If you would like to make a special designation to the water well drilling project or to one of the children’s homes that we work with, please indicate that with your special gift or monthly pledge. We also hope that if you have not already made a monthly pledge to our ministry, that you will consider doing so for 2008. I am confident that God is completely capable of supplying the financial needs for our family and ministry. Please pray about what part God would have you play in our ministry.
Vanessa also asks that you pray especially for her brother Paul and his family who live in Cajamarca, Peru. Pray that he God will be honored through the decisions he is making about his life and family.
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
We trust that you had a fun filled Thanksgiving holiday. We enjoyed swimming on Thanksgiving morning and then shared a turkey dinner with several other missionary families in our neighborhood. We plan on traveling to Cusco, Peru right after Christmas to spend some time with Vanessa’s cousin who lives in Lima.
The last couple of weeks have been chaotic in Bolivia. In general, missionaries are cautioned to stay out of politics in their host countries, but even still it is sometimes hard to avoid the affects of political and civil unrest around you. I just wanted to share a little bit of what is going on so you can be praying for peace and prosperity in Bolivia. We live in the department of Santa Cruz. It is the largest department in Bolivia, taking up the eastern third of the country. Santa Cruz has been seeking economic and political autonomy within the country. They would like to keep more of the tax revenue from oil and gas, and agriculture within our department rather than share it with La Paz, the seat of the national government. The current president, Evo Morales and his MAS party are socialist and are closely aligned with Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Morales is the first indigenous president ever elected in Bolivia. He has promised many reforms that will address the disparity between rich and poor, and the discrimination against the indigenous population (75%) of Bolivia. While he appears to have some good ideas and the ambition to make change for the betterment of the country, he is attempting to ramrod his changes through a stalemated legislature and is threatening the democratic process in Bolivia. For example, last week the delegates rewriting the constitution met and voted to approve the new constitution. The problem is only the MAS party delegates were present to vote on the Constitution (155 out of 258 total delegates). Of course everyone opposed to the MAS party is calling foul. In general there is a culture of resistance among minority political parties and groups who block and confound any attempt to govern the country.
Most of the opposition to the MAS party is centered in Santa Cruz; and actually 6 of the 9 departments are governed by groups opposed to the Morales government. They are continually calling for civil resistance against the government. That often means they call strikes of various kinds and will block major highways for weeks at a time. A “paro civico” is a general strike where everything and everyone comes to a halt for 24 hours. All businesses and schools close and no one is allowed to drive their cars on the road. If you do so without special permission you risk having your windows broken by an agree mob of protesters. The kids have missed a number of school days in the last couple of weeks due to the “paro civicos.” Road blocks often mean you cannot travel to other cities around the country without the risk of either not being able to get there or not being able to get back home. There are so few highways in Bolivia, that a simple road block at a key bridge can paralyze the economy of millions of people.
So how have we been effected? Our SUV runs on diesel and diesel has been scarce in Santa Cruz for over two months now. Santa Cruz is only receiving about 1/3 of the diesel they need for the city and for the current agricultural campaign. The result is super long lines at gas stations. To fill our tank with diesel I have to drive all over town asking at gas stations when the next delivery of diesel will occur. Then I have to get to the station several hours before the tanker arrives and wait in line. The problem is, trucks wait in line 12 or 24 hours for the diesel to arrive and then the get it all before anyone else has a chance at it. Gas stations are only receiving 5,000 to 10,000 liters of diesel several times a week. This means once they start pumping, the supply only lasts for 2 or 3 hours. For example, two nights ago I got in line at 7:00 in the evening waiting for diesel that was supposed to arrive at 9:00. I was the 47th vehicle in line. I finally got to the pump at 11:15, but they were rationing how much they sold each customer and would only sell me about six gallons. I think I need to buy a gasoline powered vehicle. The scarcity of diesel is affecting all aspects of life in the city. There are only about half the number of busses running as normal. The majority of the city population does not own private cars and moves around on city buses. This means that most buses are too crowded to board and passengers often have to change buses lines many more times than before. So for a person who previously paid 3 bolivianos a day for bus fare may now have to change buses three times and pay up to 9 bolivianos a day for bus fare. An average wage in Santa Cruz is about 40 bolivianos ($5 US), so fully ¼ of a daily earnings goes to commuting. There are also shortages of fresh vegetables and other staples in the markets, and the cost of all food items is rising rapidly. People are really beginning to worry about the affects of seemingly out of control inflation.
I hope I haven’t depressed or confused you with the details of politics and economy in Bolivia. It really is too confusing to convey in a short letter. Just remember to continue praying for Bolivia as a country, and pray that we can have an impact on the folks we are working with.
Thank you so much for your continued support of our work here. As you think about giving this holiday season, we hope that you will think outside of the box, and consider giving to the people of Bolivia through our ministry. If you would like to make a special designation to the water well drilling project or to one of the children’s homes that we work with, please indicate that with your special gift or monthly pledge. We also hope that if you have not already made a monthly pledge to our ministry, that you will consider doing so for 2008. I am confident that God is completely capable of supplying the financial needs for our family and ministry. Please pray about what part God would have you play in our ministry.
Vanessa also asks that you pray especially for her brother Paul and his family who live in Cajamarca, Peru. Pray that he God will be honored through the decisions he is making about his life and family.
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
Sunday, November 04, 2007
October Newsletter
Hi Partners,
We trust you are having a great Fall. The rains have finally started falling in Bolivia and the trees are turning Spring green. It is such a relief to have the smoke filled skies of the dry season behind us. October was a busy month as we prepared for and hosted a mission work team from Crossroads Christian Church. Eight people ventured south to Bolivia to help us with a water well project at Talita Cumi children’s home. This home already has city water, but by putting in a private well and a water tank we can help the home save about $50 a month in water bills. The team had a great time getting dirty and drilling the water well, but I think they had an even better time getting to know the 30 or so kids at the home. Unfortunately we didn’t finish the well while they were here. We hit a hard layer of rock at about 50 feet and could not get through it before they had to leave. We will keep working on it. If you would like to see pictures from the week, they are available at http://www.pbase.com/beamsclan/cccoct2007.
The well drilling project is beginning to pick up steam. Carlos, is working full time for the project now and we are installing our workshop/training center on a rented farm about 20 minutes out of town. It is a beautiful piece of property with fruit orchards, forest, pasture, and a river. A number of people and institutions are showing interest in supporting the project, but we are still financing the project with a shoestring budget almost completely out of our own salary. There are so many doors opening up to work in rural communities and to provide water well drilling training to other institutions. Pray that our resources will expand to meet the need for water in Bolivia. I visited, Nueva Esperanza, a community of flood refuges near Cuarto Canadas several weeks ago where 130 families are getting water from a single well. These families have had to leave their farms and communities because of severe flooding. They established a new community on higher ground, but now they are now living on small house lots and only have enough space for a house and a small vegetable garden. In the mornings and evenings they have to stand in line to fill their water jugs to carry back to their homes. We have promised the community leaders we will come back soon and drill two new wells at each end of the community so people will not have to stand in line or have to carry their water so far. We would also like to help the community build a water tank and an irrigation system for the vegetable gardens. This would really help them increase their productivity. There is not yet a church in Nueva Esperanza, but there is a group of Christians meeting in a home each Sunday. They have asked us to help them purchase a lot and build a church building. The land they would like to purchase will cost about $400.
Thanks so much for you continued support of our work here. We could not be working here without your prayer and financial backing. Bolivia is sometimes a hard place to live. Violent demonstrations, strikes, road blocks, and fuel shortages are daily worries. Two days before our team arrived, the Santa Cruz airport was the scene of cancelled flights, protests, a military take over, and then more protests that kicked out the military. The scenes on the television on Thursday night looked like an all out war. I didn’t think our team would be able to come in, but by Sunday morning when they arrived everything was back to normal. Despite all the poverty, and political and social turmoil, God is working here in the hearts of many people. It is encouraging to see the positive spirit and hard work of so many Christians working to share the gospel and to help those in need. You are all a part of this work as well. We are excited about a number of teams that will be coming down next year. If you would like to come and help out a while, you have an open invitation.
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
We trust you are having a great Fall. The rains have finally started falling in Bolivia and the trees are turning Spring green. It is such a relief to have the smoke filled skies of the dry season behind us. October was a busy month as we prepared for and hosted a mission work team from Crossroads Christian Church. Eight people ventured south to Bolivia to help us with a water well project at Talita Cumi children’s home. This home already has city water, but by putting in a private well and a water tank we can help the home save about $50 a month in water bills. The team had a great time getting dirty and drilling the water well, but I think they had an even better time getting to know the 30 or so kids at the home. Unfortunately we didn’t finish the well while they were here. We hit a hard layer of rock at about 50 feet and could not get through it before they had to leave. We will keep working on it. If you would like to see pictures from the week, they are available at http://www.pbase.com/beamsclan/cccoct2007.
The well drilling project is beginning to pick up steam. Carlos, is working full time for the project now and we are installing our workshop/training center on a rented farm about 20 minutes out of town. It is a beautiful piece of property with fruit orchards, forest, pasture, and a river. A number of people and institutions are showing interest in supporting the project, but we are still financing the project with a shoestring budget almost completely out of our own salary. There are so many doors opening up to work in rural communities and to provide water well drilling training to other institutions. Pray that our resources will expand to meet the need for water in Bolivia. I visited, Nueva Esperanza, a community of flood refuges near Cuarto Canadas several weeks ago where 130 families are getting water from a single well. These families have had to leave their farms and communities because of severe flooding. They established a new community on higher ground, but now they are now living on small house lots and only have enough space for a house and a small vegetable garden. In the mornings and evenings they have to stand in line to fill their water jugs to carry back to their homes. We have promised the community leaders we will come back soon and drill two new wells at each end of the community so people will not have to stand in line or have to carry their water so far. We would also like to help the community build a water tank and an irrigation system for the vegetable gardens. This would really help them increase their productivity. There is not yet a church in Nueva Esperanza, but there is a group of Christians meeting in a home each Sunday. They have asked us to help them purchase a lot and build a church building. The land they would like to purchase will cost about $400.
Thanks so much for you continued support of our work here. We could not be working here without your prayer and financial backing. Bolivia is sometimes a hard place to live. Violent demonstrations, strikes, road blocks, and fuel shortages are daily worries. Two days before our team arrived, the Santa Cruz airport was the scene of cancelled flights, protests, a military take over, and then more protests that kicked out the military. The scenes on the television on Thursday night looked like an all out war. I didn’t think our team would be able to come in, but by Sunday morning when they arrived everything was back to normal. Despite all the poverty, and political and social turmoil, God is working here in the hearts of many people. It is encouraging to see the positive spirit and hard work of so many Christians working to share the gospel and to help those in need. You are all a part of this work as well. We are excited about a number of teams that will be coming down next year. If you would like to come and help out a while, you have an open invitation.
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
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