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Our current intern in Ixiamas, Bolivia, is 2008 Practicum graduate Becky Forrest. Becky served on short-term mission trips in 2007 and 2008 in Ixiamas. She is now in her second year as an intern.
The last few weeks have gone by so fast it is hard to believe. God blessed me again with a companion to travel with on the bus down the “BIG HILL†because I am still uncomfortable traveling alone. The first few days I spent unpacking and getting adjusted to being back in Bolivia. Life is so very different here, and it is the rainy season so the heat and humidity take a while to get adjusted to. It was so good to see the students from last year and meet the new ones. We have 10 girls, 5 returning from last year and 9 boys, 3 from last year so far this year. I have finally learned the names of all the new students, and for the most part, I have the pronunciation correct. We also have a new staff member this year working with the animals and agriculture on the campus. Delia previously worked at the internado in Sapecho as a cook when the internado there was open and caretaker after it closed. She has a son who is now one of our students. We are very blessed to have her here, and I look forward to getting to know her.
Week 2 started out with a bang, English and computer classes with the students, staff and 8 people from town. Some of the new students have no computer experience, but they really seem to be fast learners. I was pleased to find out that many of last year’s students remembered a lot of the English they learned last year. My biggest challenge right now is the classes for the people from town. They are a group of people forming a tourist association and want to prepare by learning to speak English. It is very different from the kids because they have a greater desire to learn, but share some of the same problems in pronunciation that I have with Spanish. We will both learn a lot from each other. I have also started back with my Spanish lessons, and fortunately, I did not forget all I had learned while home for 2 months. I thank God I am much better at communicating than a year ago. The rice is now ready to harvest, and we had two afternoons working in the chaco. I was asked to stay and help cook so our cook could go harvest rice. She was the champion and harvested more than anyone else, so I guess that means I will be in charge of cooking on the afternoons of working at the chaco since my harvesting skills are lacking. I made the bad mistake of bringing a room thermometer with me this year. Yesterday at 6 p.m. it was 98 degrees in my room. Thank God for cold showers and my fan. The rainy season is starting to change, and we have not had rain for five days with hardly a cloud in the sky. The heat has been on. I have a hard time getting the students to drink enough water. They are like the kids at home; they want soda all the time and spend their own money for it. At our meals, we usually have fresh fruit juices and herbal teas, which are very refreshing. As I finish this post, I see clouds moving in so maybe today will be the day the heat breaks. Until next time, please remember all of us here at the internado in your prayers as we try to teach God’s way to the students here. Grace, love and peace, Tom and Trey made it back safely late Wednesday night. We will have more details about their trip and some photos posted next week – so keep checking for updates and news about future plans in Haiti. Thanks for your support and prayers! Since our last post, Tom and Trey have witnessed two aftershocks in Jimani. They are safe, and the clinic and orphanage didn’t suffer any damage. However, the Haitian patients and refugees are frightened. They moved from sleeping inside the building to outside. During the first aftershock, many jumped from second story windows because they were scared the builiding would collapse on them. Tom and Trey had not been able to travel into Haiti yet, but they were exactly where they needed to be. Saturday morning around 2 a.m., the entire facility’s water system shut down. With close to 1,000 people relying on this water system, this was a huge problem. Tom and Trey worked for several hours, and were able to reestablish water at Jimani. Check www.haitifooddrive.blogspot.com to find out more about the Jimani project and how Tom and Trey helped. Yesterday (Sunday), they finally made it in to Port-au-prince, where they set up one water purification system at one of Harvest Field Ministries’ facilities. They are returning today to set up another system. Most of the roads into outlying communities are impassable, but Tom said the main roads are cleared and aid is starting to be distributed more easily. Here are some excerpts from emails Tom sent last week: “So far we are holding up, and we feel good that there is so much for us to do here while we wait to get into Haiti. We are staying busy. I think Trey will agree that this is the most extreme mission ever, and we are not to ground zero yet…Thank you for praying for us.” Â
Tom and Trey arrived in the Dominican Republic yesterday (Thursday) afternoon. They traveled to Jimani, which is near the Haitian border, to a hospital sponsored by The Jimani Project, one of HERO’s partners. They were unable to purchase the car batteries for the water filtration systems because yesterday was a national holiday. Today, they should be able to buy the batteries and cross the border into Haiti to begin setting up the systems. We will update when we hear more! Thanks for your prayers and generous contributions. To donate to SIFAT online, click here. Please follow the directions for designating contributions. You can also donate by check – 2944 County Road 113, Lineville, AL 36266. Plans have changed so many times during the past few days as we plan how SIFAT is getting involved with the Haiti relief effort. We told you our first plan on Monday. We always tell mission teams to remember to be flexible – and flexibility has been key this week. However, God is opening doors for SIFAT to take water purifiers that will give clean water for up to 10,000 people per system per day. Ten water purifiers are on a plane. They were supposed to get into the country yesterday, but didn’t. We hope they make it today. Tomorrow, our executive director Tom Corson and SIFAT graduate Trey Reed will fly commercially to the Dominican Republic and travel into Haiti. SIFAT is partnering with several organizations to make this happen. To get an idea of some of what Tom and Trey will see and people with whom they may work, visit this blog. Recent news articles about SIFAT and partnering organizations: Blog from al.com with information about partnering ministries The Randolph Leader’s article about SIFAT’s response |
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