Day five of work

Today we finished up the last pieces of the pews, sanded the edges and  lacquered them with two coats. This was a long multi-step process.

Pastor Daniel's wife, Erika, made us some amazing lemonade with the lemons from the lemon tree in the garden. It was by far the best lemonade I have ever had! 

Lisa H. made some filler paste with sawdust and glue to fill in little crevices here and there. 

Sylvia showed the sewing ladies how to make pew cushions and they made the very first one! 

Doesn't it look great! 

As we left the construction site/church on our last day of labor we were all a bit sentimental. We will be back there Sunday for worship, but we couldn't believe how the week flew by!  We were also amazed at all the friends we made and the progress we made on their building goals for the summer. We will miss the dust and fumes and mountain scenery backdrop! 

2014 Day four of work

We sanded the first finished pew so no fingers will get splintered. 

We touched up the green paint on the fence and sometimes had some shifty positions for the ladder. 

We laughed a lot during the tedium! 

The other pews needed to be completed so we got our glue and screw drivers and made an assembly line.

Patricia pretended to take a nap on it and  I hopped on it and told her we have to sit up straight, open our bibles and listen! No sleeping in the pew. We all had a good laugh! 

After all their children had a cut, the ladies of Luz de Vida had their turn this afternoon! The smiles on their faces was priceless. You could tell they felt more confident about themselves. What a gift!

On the wall you will see the final product of the spool holder we made with discarded wood and a dowl rod. By we, I mainly mean Lisa Hemmings, Lisa LaFosse and Jerome. :)

This evening we went over to Wilson and Nora's House and had a meal together. Antonio joined us and we got to catch up with him and how his life and studies are progressing. We were also celebrating Pastor Daniel completing a theological exam this morning. 

At the conclusion of the evening we all gave prayers of thanksgiving for our life and ministry together. It was a moment where all of us were keenly aware that God was right there in the middle of our circle. 

We give you thanks, God, for the privilege to serve you and know you in this way. Amen.

2014 Day three of work

This morning we began painting the first of two coatas of green paint on the gates into the church property. Last year we sanded any rust off and coated them with red rustoleum. I have to say, the green looks great! The ladies from Luz de Vida always come to join in the work! They are a lot of fun!

We had to find firm ground for our handmade ladders to stand on so that we could reach the top of the gate. Marian was a trooper!

Wilson cheered us on and held ladders when needed. 

Lisa got a chance to create a new hairstyle on a little girl named Rosemary. She had fabulous short hair.

She named it the Bolivian Stack!!

Then she topped it off with a fancy rubberband headband braid thingy. They loved it!

We had a mirror set up and it was a real source of entertainment for the children. Who would have imagined? It was also a joy to see their confidence go sky high when they saw their new hairdo in the mirror. Priceless.

Pastor Daniel is a busy man but he always makes time for the children, giving them extra attention. 

Little Daniel loved his new haircut!!!

The children loved the beanie babies we brought and were using their imagination playing with them!

We all took a break and ate some amazingly sweet tangerines! Yum.

This evening we visited the sewing ministry at Emmanual and heard some of these lady's amazing stories. Many of them are single mothers who have overcome a lot through their faith family's support. Through this sewing ministry they are able to have financial security, secure better futures for their children and give back to the church. What a beautiful picture of what church should be! Oh, and did I mention that we got to hold a bambina that is 2 months old, and a doll!

We are very blessed and thank you so much for your continued prayers.

2014 Day Two of work

On our second workday, we seemed to be getting into the routine of our schedule for the week. Our bodies are slowly adjusting to the altitude and our hearts are definitely falling in love.

Isn't the mountain scape behind the church breathtaking!!!

After completing the shelves yesterday, we bought some organizational containers and started creating a functional workspace for the sewing ladies of Luz de Vida. I wish I had a picture of the looks on the faces of the ladies from the sewing ministry when they walked in to see their new workspace. Priceless!

Lisa H. had the idea to make a panel of dowel rods to hang spools of thread. This required drilling and sawing of course. You can tell they are very excited. You will see the finished product soon! 

Lisa started sanding the spool holder.

Diana worked on a second coat of paint from our half-wall we started yesterday.

And Lisa performed the inaugural haircut on the grounds of Luz de Vida on Wilson Boots!

By the end of the day she had cut several children's hair. They all felt very guapo or bonita when Lisa finished. 

Some of the 6th graders from the school came by to meet us and practice their English. They were very good! Wilson went over the days and months and numbers with them. It was a beautiful sight!

Here are a few of the sewing ministry ladies with Sylvia and Marian.

Jerome, Amanda and Daniel worked all day on the first pew that will be our template.! It held all four of us! Yay!! Now we will start building more. 

Buenas Noches!

2014 Day One of work

We arrived at Luz de Vida to see so much progress that has been made since we were last here. It was also a joy to see the garden we planted in 2012 in such full bloom. The growth is evident!

Here you can see fruit on this lemon tree we planted two years ago! What a metaphor for what is happening all around it! 

We got our marching orders from Pastor Daniel and went right to work. Some of us hung shelves for the new sewing workroom which required a lot of measuring!!

Lisa H. touched up their sign so that it will be bright and clean when it is hung. 

Lisa L. went to work putting lacquer on the Chancel hanging.

She was so good that they gave her the challenge of doing the ceiling, Michaelangelo style.

Lisa H. also had to get in creative positions to do the details!

Adan busily plastered the half wall on the walkway.

The shelves are really coming along!!!

We painted the upstairs hallway with glossy paint on the bottom that can be easily wiped off when sweet children's hands give it love!

And we did it all with a big smile! It was a great day and we were all really amazed that we finished the whole list of things he gave us that morning. Many hands makes light work!

We ended the day with a special treat from our awesome cook, Delia. She made Silpancho which is a traditional Cochabamban dish. It is layered in this order from bottom to top, rice, fried potatoes, tenderized beef, fried egg, tomato and onion salad! Delicioso! We look forward to it every year!!

And when we thought it couldn't get any better, we were visited by Pastor Daniel who shared a part of his story with us. This was a special time of fellowship and celebration of the birth of Luz de Vida and his call to serve as their leader. He is so gifted and clearly called and empowered by God. We are privileged to be in partnership with him in this mission. 

We are going to bed filled with love and appreciation for what God is doing!

2014 Arrival

After a long, but hitch-free journey, we arrived in Cochabamba at 8:30 am this Sunday morning. We were greeted by our friends from Cochabamba with a warm welcome, fresh flowers, hugs and prayers. The fresh flowers were picked from the garden at Luz de Vida that our team helped to plant along with folks from St. Paul UMC, Houston in 2012. What a thoughtful and meaningful gesture of hospitality!

We went directly to the home where we will be staying all week, which is the vacant parsonage of El Salvador Church. Delia and her daughters had breakfast waiting for us. There we gathered around what will be our table of fellowship for the whole week. What a blessing those mealtime talks will be as we dine on food cooked with love especially for us. 

After Breakfast we went to worship at Emmanual Methodist and received more warm welcomes as we celebrated Pentecost in fellowship with the church across the world! We were thinking and praying for our Trinity family back home, knowing they were gathered for worship too! Pastor Theresa reminded us  of the unity we have in the church as we are united for one mission by the power of the Holy Spirit. This could not be a more appropriate reminder as we gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ on another continent.

This is the praise team that led the music. You will see below, "How Great Thou Art" in Spanish.

We are so grateful to God for the community of faith at Trinity who sent us here and holds us in prayer. Please continue to pray for the team and we will pray for you! 

Sincerely,

Katy Ware, Lisa LaFosse, Diana Seamon, Lisa Hemmings, Marian Pekar, and Sylvia Ensley