Youth with a Vision

It has been over a month since Bro. Christian Ching arrived to help out in the work here in Bolivia. He has been a great blessing to us and the church here. He has especially been doing a great job with the teenagers in the church. The last two weeks we have had almost 30 in our youth meeting with several new visitors each night. Also this past week they went and had t-shirts made for themselves with their name “youth with a vision”. We ask that you pray for Bro. Christian and the youth of our church. We are praying that from this group the Lord will raise up pastors, missionaries and leaders in the church.

Fixing Teeth

We have many children in our church that come from very difficult home lives. Some are very poor and their parents are almost not involved in their lives. The times we go to visit them, their parents are either not home or too drunk to talk to us. One of the ladies of our church has taken it upon herself to try and do somethings special for these children. There is a dentist school here that offers free or reduced rate treatment for the children that go. Around 15 children have had everything from their teeth cleaned to reconstructive surgery. Our goal though is not only to help them have better teeth but also to reach them and their families with the gospel. Please pray for these children that we can share the love of God with them.

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January Prayer Letter

Years end Activities:

Coming down to the end of another year we had several special activities in the church.  First we had the church’s first ever Christmas banquet the Saturday before. It was truly a wonderful time of fellowship and fun. We had some games like two couples wrapping a gift using only one hand each but having to work together. They actually did better than me with two hands. Along with the games, we had singing and Bro. Christian Ching preached about the importance of union and fellowship in the church. Afterwards, the competition started. Here in Bolivia, there is a dish that is very common during Christmas time. It is called Picana. It is kind of like a soup, but has three types of meat including chicken, pork, and lamb along with vegetables and seasonings. We had a Picana cook off with the ladies in the church, and let me tell you they were all really delicious. This was the first time that I had tried it and I can say I can’t wait for Christmas next year. At the end, we did have to pick the winners but in all everyone had a great time. Also, we had a New Years activity to give the people of the church an alternative to the activities that they might normally participate in. We had a great time playing games, like tying a balloon to everyone’s ankle and then see who could be the last one standing with their balloon in tact. We divided into two groups, women and men. One reason that we did this was to try and keep the ladies from getting hurt. After the two groups faced off, I think it might have actually been to keep the men from getting hurt. The last activity that we did was a year-end testimony service. This is an activity that we have always done at my home church and is always a great blessing. We start with the room completely dark with only one candle lit at the pulpit. Then one by one each person comes to the front, lights their candle, and gives a testimony of what the Lord has done in their lives the previous year. It is always moving to hear the people give thanks for their salvation and families and many other things that the Lord has done.

Missionary Children:

From time to time I like to write about our family and especially our children because what we do here in Bolivia is not just ministry. We do have a family and we are raising children. The part of raising children can have its extra interesting aspects living in another country. Everything from different customs, to learning two languages, at the same time makes you sometimes want to laugh and sometimes almost cry. The humorous part comes mostly from the language. It is hard to comprehend that they in reality are not learning two different languages but one language just with more ways to say the same thing. Many times they can use both Spanish and English in the same phrase switching back and forth several times before completing their thought. They might say something like this “Mommy that persona (person) was mirandome (looking at me) and that makes me enojada (mad)”. You can see how sometimes it takes a few minutes to interpret what they are trying to say. Grace is now 6 , Taylor is 4 and Titus is 9 months and almost walking. As each day passes and I recognize how quickly they grow up I realize the importance of giving them the necessary foundation to be the Christians that God wants. If you would like to see a family picture go to kevinwhite.wordpress.com.

Special Thanks:

Each year at this time we are always overwhelmed with the love and sacrificial giving of so many. As missionaries, it can be difficult being away from family, friends and even the Christmas traditions that are not so common here. The people here and in many Spanish cultures celebrate more on Christmas Eve than on Christmas day. They get together at night with family and have a special meal as it gets close to 12:00 midnight. Then they sometimes exchange gifts and set off fireworks. Then on Christmas day there really isn’t much activity and some even go back to working like normal. While we were able to celebrate Christmas as a family, it makes a big difference with all the cards and even presents that are sent. Many churches sent extra support and one church (Bible Baptist in Brusnwick Ga) sent almost 20 packages of gifts for our children and us. We are greatly thankful for each special offering, card and gift.

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray that this upcoming year the Lord will do even a greater work than the last.
2. Pray for a new class that we are starting called “Christian Growth”.
3. Pray for all the preparations that we are making before our furlough in June.
4. Pray for continued protection for our family and especially our children.

Titus likes Chocolate

The other day TItus was playing but it was really quiet. When there is a long period of silence it usually means that something is wrong. Well that is what happened with Titus and this is how we found him. The funny thing is that the look on his face says it all. He knew he was doing something he was not supposed to but enjoying every minute of it. I guess he takes after his daddy when it comes to chocolate.

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Great Services

We praise the Lord for great services today. The church was packed this morning with 100 in attendance and a great crowd tonight with more than 60. Afterwards we had the second of our new classes that we are starting called Christian Development. This first class prepares people who are interested in Church membership. Since it is the first time we are offering it we invited all those who were interested, even members to participate. In all there we more than 30 in the class. Below is a picture of our service tonight and one of the class.

Merry Christmas

From our family to yours we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas. As one year comes to an end and another starts our prayer is that you would receive many more blessings this year than ever before and that Christ would remain the center of your lives not only during this Christmas time but throughout the entire year.

Christmas and eating Picana

This past Saturday we had our first ever Christmas Banquet at the church. It was truly a wonderful time of fellowship and fun. We had some games like two couples wrapping a gift using only one hand each but having to work together. They actually did better than me with two hands. Along with the games we had singing and Bro. Christian Ching preached about the importance of union and fellowship in the church. Afterwards the competition started. Here in Bolivia there is a dish that is most common during Christmas time. It is called Picana. It is kind of like a soup but has three types of meat including chicken, pork, and lamb along with vegetables and seasonings. We had a Picana cook off witht he ladies in the church and let me tell you they were all really delicious. This was the first time that I had tried it and I can say I can’t wait for Christmas next year. At the end we did have to pick the winners but in all everyone had a great time.

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December Prayer Letter

Lets talk Money:

This past month we had our II annual conference on Finances. As our special speaker for the conference we invited Bro. Jose Zapata from Peru to be with us. He has been in management positions in several different companies including two banks. He has a tremendous knowledge of finances and has been teaching on the subject for many years. Our conference was from Friday to Sunday with a special business breakfast on Saturday morning. We were able to invite many people from businesses, schools, and friends and family to participate. Each service was a tremendous blessing with tons of visitors and decisions. Friday night we had around 70 people for the first service and then close to 80 in the breakfast Saturday morning. Saturday night we thought the attendance would be down because of it being the weekend but we ended up with the highest attendance with more than 80 present. It was truly a special service with 5 people receiving the Lord and many people making decisions to get out of debt. Sunday was the last day of our Financial Conference and the Lord gave us two great services. In the morning we had Sunday School, and then the morning service, and the Lord blessed us with many visitors and 99 in attendance with 5 professions of faith. In the night service, we had a great group with many of the same visitors returning and one lady that was dealt with and trusted the Lord. It was amazing because we had almost as many (94) at night as we did in the morning. Many made comments about how much they enjoyed the conference and how much it helped them with their finances and spiritual lives. We praise the Lord for the opportunity to get to know our speaker Jose Zapata and see how God is using him. We had more than 60 visitors over the three days of the conference and have been doing much follow up since then. We praise the Lord that many of those who visited are still coming to the services.

Whirlwind Tour:

Since we have been here in Bolivia we have wanted to visit many of the cities in the mountainous area of the country. This past month, we took what was truly a whirlwind tour of this area with a group of people from the church. We left one morning at 6:00am and traveled to the city of Oruro. That afternoon we left and took a 8-hour train ride to the city of Uyuni and the next day we visited to salt flats, which are the largest in the world. That night, we left in a small bus for a 7 hour trip via dirt road to the city of Potosi. This city was at one time the largest and most wealthy city in all of South America. From the time of the Spanish Conquest to recent years they have been mining silver and gold. They say that there was enough silver taken out of the mountains by the Spanish to make a bridge both ways from South America to Spain. After a day in this, one of the highest cities in Bolivia, we left for the political capital city of Sucre. It is a colonial city with the largest fossil remains of dinosaur footprints in the world. From there that night we left to return by bus all night to the first city that we visited and then from there to our city. Besides the amazing sites that we saw, the greatest impact was to see so many cities and towns that need a solid gospel preaching church.

Saying Goodbye:

For the past three and a half years we have had the privilege to work with a couple from Peru Jorge and Jenny Montenegro. They have been a great blessing to us and the church and a vital part of our ministry. We spoke with them a while back and they told us that they had been praying and felt like it was the Lord’s will for them to return to Peru and work in the ministry there. They will be greatly missed and we wish the best for them, but the ministry here must go on. We are working hard to prepare many of the leaders in the church to take more of the responsibilities especially those that will be left be Jorge and Jenny. Also this coming month, we have a young man that will be coming to help us during this time named Chrisitan Ching. He is Peruvian but his grandfather came from China to Peru to live and married a Peruvian. We know that he is going to be a great help here also and blessing to the people and church.

Prayer Requests:

1. Praise the Lord our last step of paper work is done and we are permanent residents.
2. Pray for our Christmas banquette and program this month.
3. Pray the Lord will prepare leaders for this upcoming year.
4. Pray for Christian Ching that will be arriving this month the help in the church.

Last Night

Tonight was the last night of our Financial Conference and the Lord gave us two great services. This morning we had Sunday School and then the morning service. The Lord blessed us with many visitors and 99 in attendance with 5 professions of faith. Tonight we had a great group with many of the same visitors returning and one lady that was dealt with and trusted the Lord. It was amazing because we had almost as many (94) at night as we did in the morning. Many made comments about how much they enjoyed the conference and how much it helped them with their finances and spiritual lives. We praise the Lord for the opportunity to get to know our speaker Jose Zapata and see how God is using him. We had probably close to 30 visitors over the three days of the conference so we have much work to do in the upcoming weeks.

II Annual Conference on Finances

Yesterday we started our II annual conference on Finances. As our special speaker for the conference we invited Bro. Jose Zapata from Peru to be with us. He has been in management positions in several different companies including two banks. He has a tremendous knowledge of finances and has been teaching on the subject for many years. Our conference is from Friday to Sunday with a special business breakfast on Saturday morning. We were able to invite many people from businesses,schools, and friends and family to participate. Each service has been a tremendous blessing with tons of visitors and decisions. Friday night we had around 70 people for the first service and then close to 80 in the breakfast this morning. Tonight we thought the attendance would be down because of it being Saturday but we ended up with the highest attendance with more than 80 present. Tonight was a special service with 5 people receiving the Lord and many people making decisions to get out of debt. Tomorrow will be the end of the service and we are expecting a great day in the Lord. Pray for these last three services that many people make decisions for the Lord.

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