Kay's life in Bolivia

In Bolivia, the celebration of a baby completing its first year of life is a very big deal. All the family and friends are invited, piñatas are bought, all kids of party favours are prepared. A special cake is ordered and a souvenir t-shirt or hat is designed and printed for each guest to remember the special occasion.

Despite this great celebration, most of the children who come to us do not even know when their birthday is. They don’t remember ever having a party, eating a birthday cake, blowing out candles or receiving a gift.

It has been a great joy for me to see the eyes of the children light up when they celebrate their first birthday with us at Casa Segura. It’s so much fun to buy them presents and make them a birthday cake and just show them how special they are. I love being able to give these wonderful children a First Birthday that they will remember!

“Holy living consists in doing God’s work with a smile”

“I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile” (Job 9:27)

In this life there a chosen few who are called to leave the cares of this world behind… They are not drawn in by the deceitfulness of riches or by the desire for other things... They choose to bless others, even some they will never meet, rather than be blessed themselves... They choose to give rather than to receive… Their roots go deep and they are not easily entangled... They hear God’s word, accept it and produce abundant fruit...More than enough to feed all those around them…

See Mark 4:16-20

Wanda Guttierez has been working with us at Casa Segura for almost 1 year now. This month Wanda was appointed the manager of operations at Casa Segura. In her new role, she will continue to run the Orphanage office, but also be responsible for the operation of the orphanage, training of house mothers, maintenance of the property and management of other support staff.

Wanda brings with her a wealth of ministry experience and a heart for children without a home. Prior to coming to Riberalta she worked in various capacities with her church in La Paz for 20 years and also supported Mik Henzell in his work with the street kids during his time in La Paz.

Please pray for Wanda as she takes on this new and challenging role, that God will give her wisdom and boldness to do the job before her.

PRAYER ALERT!!! Wanda has just come down with Malaria. Please pray for a quick recovery for her

Over the past several months, new doors of blessing have been opening to Casa Segura, both within Bolivia and in Australia. Through the hearts of just a few people great things are being accomplished.

 One lady in Australia has a gift for making clothes, and through a friend of ours she heard of the children at Casa Segura. Her heart was touched and moved to send some of the work of her hands to Bolivia and many children have been blessed.

A church in Bolivia saw an opportunity to bring their staff to our property for a retreat. Through their desire to get close to God, we too were blessed. A few weeks later they brought 200 students from their Christian school out of a day of activities. They brought a day of fun to our school children along with them.

A group of ladies who meet together to fast pray each month had a desire to give food to orphans. After a few months their desire grew to do even more, so they all came to teach the children about God and cook them all lunch.

Imagine the blessings that you could bring to others around the world, if you allowed God to move your heart...

Between two borders…

The process of getting a Bolivian visa is never simple.

Each and every time you set foot in an immigration office, there is a new rule, a new problem, and a new person to talk to. However when it becomes necessary to get a visa for Brazil in order to receive a Bolivian Visa things become infinitely more complicated. As Mik Henzell and I discovered a few weeks ago, when he attempted to renew his Bolivian visa.

We set out , as instructed by the immigration office in Riberalta, to the Brazilian border to  apply for a Bolivian visa with the Bolivian Consulate in Brazil. At the end of the day, after 6 hours of walking between immigration offices and police stations in Bolivia and Brazil, crossing the river 6 times, and speaking to countless officials in Spanish and Portuguese, Mik had was left between two borders. Unable to enter Brazil or return to Bolivia, and with no-one offering any solutions, we contemplated camping on the island in the middle of the river for the night...

So as day 2 began, we entered the Brazilian Consulate in Bolivia and for a  moment wondered if we were going to get bounced from office to office once again. Thankfully the Brazilian Consul was moved with compassion and managed to untangle the web of bureaucracy between Brazil and Bolivia in which Mik was trapped. By lunch time he had entered Brazil, been issued with his Bolivian visa and we were on our way back home to Riberalta. Praise God!

Some of our long term prayers have been answered recently at Casa Segura. Firstly, with the arrival of communication to our jungle home. After many years of going to town to make contact with the rest of the world, the Casa Segura office now has a telephone! This is a great blessing to our work and to us personally as missionaries.

Our second long awaited item is a freezer for the kitchen, making storage of food much easier. The money for this important purchase was donated by Dayboro Christian Family Church.

We give thanks to God for His provision and to all of you who faithfully pray with us. We know that God will continue to meet all our needs day by day.

⁷“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV)

The Casa Segura Office can now be contacted on +591 3857 3545 during Bolivian office hours. Australia time: 10.30pm - 2.00am, 4.30am - 8.00am (AEST).