"It is for freedom that Chist has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let
yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery"  Galations 5 : 1
Prayer Update - May/June 2006

“Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”  
2 Corinthians 3 : 17
Hi everyone! We wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you
who made our time in Scotland so enjoyable.  Chicho really
enjoyed his time there and felt very welcome and at home. He
made lots of new friends, saw snow for the first time, sledged down
Cairngorm, learned some English, cycled round Millport on a
tandem bike, and got married wearing a “skirt”, to mention just a
few of the highlights!   It was hard to say goodbye to everyone but
we were also excited to come home to Trinidad and see family and
friends and of course, all the children that we had missed so
much.  Thank you so much for your prayers for us as we adjust to
life back in Bolivia and get back into the work that God has called
us to.
Sledging down Cairngorm!

Firstly, we want to introduce to you the “Freedom Kids”
ministry.  The work in the prison has had the name “Niños
en Libertad” for quite a few years now.  That was the
name used when the children went to the health centre
for check-ups or treatment.  In English that name
translates to “FREEDOM KIDS”.  Galatians 5 says “It is
for freedom that Christ has set us free”.  We believe that
even although most of the children we work with live in
prison or are in a children’s home, and many times
appear to have no freedom at all, they can experience
“real” freedom in Christ, and that doesn’t depend on
where they live or what their family situation is.   Please
pray for our freedom children and that God will free them
from their past and show them the amazing future he has
planned for them when they accept Jesus Christ into their
hearts and start living for him!
The kids after church
We arrived here mid-May and have been trying to re-establish relationships with the children and their families and
also get to know new faces too.  We moved into our temporary accommodation a couple of weeks after arriving,
and although we still have some unpacking to do, we’re getting settled.  At the moment, we have this house until
November, but our plans to build have been put on hold for the moment, due to the fact that the area where we
have our piece of land is still empty and no one has moved out there yet.  For safety reasons, it seems wise to wait
to build for another year until the area isn’t quite so deserted.  This means that we need somewhere to stay, and
somewhere that can be used for the ministry also.  The house we are in just now is great and has a big room at
the front that is perfect for children’s classes.  We are hoping to speak to the owners to see if there is any chance
they could let us have the house here for the next year.  It seems like there is another lady interested and almost
definitely has the house from November onwards, so we’re praying that if this is the right place, then God will work
out the details.  If not, we’re confident he’ll show us where to base the ministry until we can build our home and
children’s centre.  Please pray for us and for guidance at this time.
Since we got back, we’ve been trying to register all the children
that participate in the programmes we run, and we have almost
all of that information now.  We’ll be sending photos and
updates home soon to everyone who has expressed an
interest in praying for a specific child.  We still have children
needing prayer partners, so please write and let us know if you
are interested in supporting one of our little ones in prayer.  It’s
so exciting to think of what God could do in the lives of these
children and the impact they could have on their family and
community.  Please join us in being committed to praying for
these young lives.
Two of the girls in the prayer partners
programme
This week we start health checks with the prison children, which are provided by the Totai health centre.  They
come in small groups to the health centre and receive a full check-up – seeing the doctor, nurse, and dentist and
having hearing and eyesight tests.  Apart from a doctor who occasionally visits the prison, there is no other
healthcare available to these children, so these check-ups are great to see how they’re doing and we can then
make follow up appointments and help with any health problems and medication that they need.
There have been quite a few changes since
we got back to Bolivia.  We are now working
with the Totai Foundation, which works
primarily in the area of health and sports
outreach, but also in community aid, and the
prison ministry comes into that area.  The
healthcare for the children has been provided
by this health centre for the past few years
now.  We are also involved in a new church
plant called "El Jireh" (click here to find out
more about the church) in the area of town
where the health centre is based.  The church
is made up of almost all children, most of
whom have come along through the football
and basketball ministries and other local
children.  With our children added in, there
are more than 60 children every Sunday
morning and it’s a real encouragement to see
these children coming along to church with big
smiles on their faces.  
Sunday School at "'El Jireh" church
Other the past few weeks, we have had the privilege of getting to know an international group of young people from
all over Bolivia, Scotland and Paraguay, who are doing a 5 month evangelism and discipleship course in Santa
Cruz with YWAM.  As part of their course, they do 2 months of mission and visit different areas of Bolivia doing
outreach and evangelism.  Last week, they came to the house to do a special outreach programme with a group of
22 of our kids, using songs, clowns, puppets and dramas to share the gospel message with them. For more photos
of the team's activities, click here  We then went into the prison where the group did a presentation for the adults,
using drama and choreographies to Christian music to share with the folks there the sacrifice that Jesus made to
save us from our sins.  All the children watched the presentation and there was a good turn out of adults as well
and they listened really well.  We are hoping to make this a regular occurrence and do special events inside the
prison every 4-6 weeks, showing Christian films, having the children take part singing songs, and involving the
young folk from church in evangelism also.  Please pray for plans for outreach events such as these, and for
continued cooperation from the prison governor, who has always been very accommodating in letting us into the
prison to share with the prisoners.
Presentation in our house with the prison kids
Drama/Mime in the local neighbourhood
We also had the opportunity of taking the girls out of the children’s home to watch one of the team’s presentations
and they were very enthusiastic about what they had seen.  We have started our bible class again in the children’
s home on Saturday afternoons and the girls are very open to participating, learning songs and a lot of them are
asking when they can come to church with us.
Prayer Points:

•        For God’s guidance as we start working together as a married couple.
•        That we will find somewhere more permanent to live until we start building.
•        For the new church we’re attending - “El Jireh” (which means “The Lord Provides”)
•        For Chicho and I and our (not so outstanding) musical skills and that we will be able
       to contribute to the music at church.
•        For the prison children, the classes and their involvement in church activities.
•        For girls from the children’s home and the bible class on Saturday afternoons with them.
•        For special events inside the prison that we hope to have on a regular basis.
Thank you for your continued prayer support for us, the children and the various ministries that we have the
privilege of being involved in.  We really appreciate your support.  Please keep praying!


Love Rachel and Chicho xx