| The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbour as yourself" Galatians 5 : 14 |
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| Community Visits |
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| Many of the families that we work with live in the local community. Some of them used to live in the prison and are now free and others are families that we have met over the years. These families also form part of the Freedom Kids programme. Visitation in the local community is part of the work and getting to know families and building friendships opens doors to share our faith and invite them along to church with us, and to be a support to them. We also help out with health care and the provision of medicines when the children are ill. Many Bolivian children have no birth certificates and that's an area that we hope to work in, to help parents register their children and get birth certificates for all them. |
| Chicho with the Tamo Guaji family |
| It can often be hard for families to adjust to life outside the prison and we try to include them in all activities even when they leave the prison. The children from the community are encouraged to continue being part of the kids' club and mid-week classes and also to come along to church with us on Sunday. Since we cannot pick them all up, as well as the prison children, they come on motorbike taxis which are paid for when they arrive. Up to 4 children can travel on a taxi with the driver - quite a sight to see, albeit VERY unsafe!! It's quite culturally correct to pile children on motorbikes - it's a different world! |
| The Vasquez Torres family who used to live in the prison and now live in the local community |
| Rodrigo, Daniel and Cristian - 3 of our ex-prison kids |
| When men are released from prison and move into the community, the children are no longer right there and within reach when we visit the prison, but we see it as being very important to keep in contact with them and continue to be there for them and encourage them to come to Sunday School and not forget how much God loves them. How can we teach them that God will never forget them or stop loving them, unless we show them through our actions that they're still just as special to us and that we will look after them and love them no matter where they live? Just because they change address and move out of the prison doesn't mean that God no longer wants to work in their lives. It's exciting to see how these children, who we met in prison, continue to come along and participate in activities long after they leave the prison. Please pray for these ex-prison kids and that they won't follow in their parents footsteps, but decide to live their lives for the Lord! |
| The Tamo Guaji family is one of our local community families. We met 5 years ago when Gabi (the baby in the first photo) was a few weeks old and was ill in hospital and her mum had no money to buy the medicines she needed. After helping out with medical bills for Gabi, we became friends and since then, they have been involved in all the freedom kids activities and are regular enthusiastic members of the kids club and Sunday School. Victoria and her oldest daughter Elisa have recently become a Christians and Elisa is now going to be a leader in the kids' club. As you can see from the second photo - they've grown up a lot in the past 5 years and it's such a privilege that God has given us to become a part of families and to watch them grow up. |
| Not all families are stay in Trinidad when they leave the prison. Many of the families return to their home town when they are released from prison. This often means that we lose contact with the children since very few of them have telephones. Last year we travelled to Riberalta and Guayaramerin (an hour's plane trip away) to visit some of these families who had been in prison a few years ago. It had been three years since the first trip to visit these kids so they'd grown up a lot! Our aim was to see how they were doing, share our faith with them, encourage them and to let them know that we hadn't forgotten them, and that more importantly, God doesn't forget them, even when they move far away. The family on the left used to live in the prison, but the children were taken into the children's home due to mistreatment by their dad. Their mum was allowed to regain custody providing that she didn't take the children back to the prison and that she moved back to Riberalta so her parents could help her with her children. The kids stayed overnight in my house the day before they left town and I hadn't seen them for a year and a half until our trip in November. They are doing well and the girls are now at school. |
| We were able to visit 6 families - 15 children and 5 mothers who used to live in the woman's prison, talk with them, visit their homes and take them out for ice cream. It was a really special time and we hope to be able to visit these border towns once a year to keep in touch with these children and we would ask you to pray that the seeds sown here in Trinidad over many years of bible classes, Sunday School and chats with friends, will bear fruit up on the Brazillan border as these children remember the truths they learned when they were younger and put their trust in Jesus Christ. |
| Rachel and Morena in Guayaramerin in November 2005 |
| Marita, Helen and Kevin when they left the prison in June 2004 |
| Marita, Helen and Kevin in November 2005 in Riberalta |
| September 2001 |
| December 2005 |
| Bolivian Taxi Transport |
| "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God" 1 John 4 : 7 |
