| The Adjei Bimonthly(ish) August 2004 We've been back in the UK for a couple of months now and it's been great to catch up with our friends and family, and it's been great to spend time with so many of the people who support us (although the time we've had with many people has been too short for our liking). So what's been happening since we last wrote....? El Alfarero The girls' home reopened on the 4th of May with our new staff team of Yany, Salustio, their daughter Kenia, Jimena and Liz (who has been with YWAM Bolivia on a year team since last August). Gladys was the first girl to go back into the home on the day it opened. Gladys's hope was that by staying in the home she would be able to get her daughter Jasmin back from the children’s home where she  was taken by Social Services earlier this year. Because the process of recovering Jasmin was going very slowly - at one point even our team social worker was denied permission to visit Jasmin - Gladys was becoming  increasingly desperate to get her back. Finally Gladys was allowed to visit Jasmin on her birthday on the 4th of July, but a day or two later she left El Alfarero because a girl who had only been in the home for less than a week convinced her to leave with her saying that she knew a priest who could get Jasmin back for her. So now Gladys is back on the street again, still without her daughter, and now with even less hope of getting her back. Please pray for Gladys that she'll learn from what has happened and that instead of burying herself in the drugs and street life, that she'll truly turn and seek God and what he wants for her. The other girls who are in the home at the moment are Miguelina (17), who now has a newborn baby,  José David - the first born to a girl in El Alfarero! - Isabel (18, I think!) who also had a child taken from her earlier this year by Social Services, and Heidi (15). Please pray for them that they'll continue to learn a new way of life in the home, and that God will heal them of all the damage that has been caused in their lives. Please also pray for the staff, for someone who'll be able to replace Liz now that she is on her way back to England. And also for financial support for Yany, Salustio and Jimena who like all YWAMers are volunteers. We would love to see them supported by people with whom they could build up a relationship through newsletters and mutual prayer support.
Big GabyGaby finished her time working in the Boys' home, El Camino, and at the moment is looking after our house for us while we are here. In  September she is hoping to go to Argentina to study on a Biblical Counselling school for a few months. This is the same course that Sarah and I studied on a few years ago and with it's emphasis on wholeness for the counsellors first so that they can then help bring others to wholeness, we think it will be a great time for her. Please pray that God will establish her even more firmly in himself and also her son Naty and the practical difficulties of studying as a single parent family and his adaptation yet again to a new home and a new set of faces.
Church Our dream is still to see a vibrant church where street kids and kids coming out of the homes will be welcomed, cared for, and discipled. At the moment we are still in the very early stages with a very small group who have continued to meet while we have been in the uk. Please pray for another couple with the same vision who can work alongside us and for God’s provision in the face of the huge needs of most of those who come along each Sunday.
Family News We are really enjoying our time back here and we have had such a great welcome from so many people. Our only regret is not being able to spend more time with friends and family and also not having been able to see some of the friends we wanted to, and now with only one week to go before we head back to Bolivia, time is running out. We didn't manage to move house before we left Bolivia, so we are now hoping to when we get back in September. We'll be looking for somewhere nearby to the school where we'd like Jasmine and Gaby to go, which is also on the same side of town as the girls' home (though not as far out) and is near to the main YWAM base. The school is an English speaking school which we feel is important for them so that they get a good grounding in English because the Spanish they will learn anyway living in Bolivia. Since being in England Jasmine has almost entirely abandoned her Spanish, which is her language of choice in Bolivia. We are guessing that it's because speaking Spanish doesn't seem to be the done thing here! Gaby is starting to show some progress in her talking (lots of sounds, not too many recognisable words though), and both of them are completely loving being around their grandparents. Well, that’s all till next time, Thank you so much for your support. With our love, David, Sarah, Jasmine & Gaby xxx
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