Vol. 8

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=17.5% BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="267a2a22dduajq.png"> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="047842b0.png" border=0 width="132" height="43" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="may___dec__2000.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vol. 1"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Vol. 1</B></U></A></div> <div> May - Dec, 2000</div> <div> <A HREF="1st_quarter_2001.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vol. 2"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Vol. 2</B></U></A></div> <div> 1st Quarter 2001</div> <div> <A HREF="2nd_quarter_2001.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vol. 3"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Vol. 3</B></U></A></div> <div> 2nd Quarter 2001</div> <div> <A HREF="3rd_quarter_2001.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vol. 4"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Vol. 4</B></U></A></div> <div> 3rd Quarter 2001</div> <div> <A HREF="4th_quarter_2001.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vol. 5"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Vol. 5</B></U></A></div> <div> 4th Quarter 2001</div> <div> <A HREF="1st_quarter_2002.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vol. 6"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Vol. 6</B></U></A></div> <div> 1st Quarter 2002</div> <div> <A HREF="2nd_quarter_2002.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vol 7"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Vol 7</B></U></A></div> <div> 2nd Quarter 2002</div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Vol. 8</B></div> <div> 3rd Quarter 2002</div> <div> <A HREF="4th_quarter_2002.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vol. 9"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Vol. 9</B></U></A></div> <div> 4th Quarter 2002</div> <div> <A HREF="1st_quarter_2003.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vol.10"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Vol.10</B></U></A></div> <div> 1st Quarter 2003</div> <div> <A HREF="2nd_quarter_2003.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vol.11"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Vol.11</B></U></A></div> <div> 2nd Quarter 2003</div> <div> <A HREF="3rd_quarter_2003.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vol.12"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Vol.12</B></U></A></div> <div> 3rd Quarter 2003</div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000"> <div>     |   <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="home"><U>home</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="newsletter."><U>newsletter.</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id97.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="photos"><U>photos</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="updates / prayers."><U>updates / prayers.</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="contact us. "><U>contact us. </U></A>   |   <A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lost in the Andes"><U>Lost in the Andes</U></A></div> <div> <IMG SRC="15c02110.jpg" border=0 width="770" height="17" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="43a08540.png" border=0 width="264" height="84" ALT="Micrografx Windows Draw 6.0 Drawing" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>  <A NAME="__july__august___sept___"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>~<A HREF="#no_24_july_2002" TITLE="Vol. 8"><U> </U></A><A HREF="#no_24_july_2002" TITLE="Vol. 8"><U>July</U></A>~ <A HREF="#no_25_august_2002_1" TITLE="Vol. 8"><U>August</U></A> ~ <A HREF="#no_26_september_2002" TITLE="Vol. 8"><U>Sept.</U></A><A HREF="#no_26_september_2002" TITLE="Vol. 8"><U> </U></A>~</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="25" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="628" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 752 WIDTH="570"><div> Lost in the Andes </div> <div> <U> <A NAME="no_24_july_2002"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U><U>No.</U><B>24</B><I><B> July</B></I> 2002</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>celebration</U></B> The Sunday school kids finally saw the party that they have been waiting for the past half-year.   Six months ago we began to take attendance each Sunday and told the kids that at the end of six months we would give out prizes to the regular attenders.   They began memorizing verses each month and were told that prizes would also be given for the verses that they knew.   This past Sunday the day that they had been waiting for came and it was a joyous occasion for them all.   A T-shirt was given to each child and prizes were given to reward those who had memorized their verses and who were regular attenders.   All of their parents were invited to come and see what their kids had learned.   The kids were able to share the verses they had memorized and the songs that they had learned that went with the themes that had been studied.   I thank God for each child that has been coming to Sunday school each week and I pray that the Lord will bring more in the months to come.   I also pray that through these kids, the Lord would also touch the parents and bring them to a personal relationship with Himself. </div> <bR> <div> <B><U>second chance</U></B> Last week, a woman came to our door telling Pete to come with her because her husband, Mario had swallowed "papa jampey", potato medicine or what we call insecticide.   Pete grabbed the small bottle of Ipecac syrup, which would cause vomiting to rid the body of the poison.   He ran to Mario's home, 45 minutes up the mountain and gave him a dose of the Ipecac.   Mario's family had already been giving him different drinks to make him vomit which seemed to have worked.   Pete found out that the night before Mario had drunk some insecticide with the purpose of killing himself.   He wanted to escape the life that he knew here on earth.   Pete stayed with him for an hour to make sure that he was going to be all right physically.   Throughout the day as Pete thought about Mario and what he had tried to do, he became angry at the man.  How could he take his own life and leave his wife to care for five little kids, the animals, and their land?   It was pure selfishness on Mario's part.   But on the other hand, the man did not have hope.   Many people here do not have hope and a few have tried killing themselves as a way of escape.   We believe that the only hope that these people or any person can have is found in Jesus Christ and Him alone.   He is the only one who can fill a person with hope, joy, love, and peace.   We began to pray for Mario, that he would find life and hope in Jesus.   This past week Pete had the opportunity to go and visit Mario again with our friend René and together they shared with Mario the hope found in Jesus.   It was obvious that the Lord had been preparing Mario's heart for that moment and as he listened and asked questions, he truly understood what Jesus did for him on the cross and he decided to make Him Lord of his life.   Mario's problems will not magically go away now that he is a follower of Jesus, but he now has hope for this life and the life to come.   We thank the Lord for having mercy on Mario and giving him another chance to live.   Praise God!  </div> <bR> <div> Thank you for your continued support and prayers.</div> <bR> <div> God's blessings</div> <bR> <div> Pete & Lori </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#__july__august___sept___" TITLE="Vol. 8"><U>TOP</U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="25" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="628" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 927 WIDTH="570"><div> Lost in the Andes </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="no_25_august_2002_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT><U>No.</U><B>25</B><I><B> August</B></I> 2002</div> <bR> <div> August 24<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> will mark our two-year anniversary in Bolivia.  Such a time causes us to reflect on our experiences so we decided to use this newsletter to share what we have learned since being here.  </div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Lori's Thoughts</U></B>  As I think back on these past two years I am amazed at how the Lord has grown me, taught me, and broken my heart more for the poor in this world.   I have grown more in my relationship with God because He is all I have here, next to Pete.  He has shown me that He is all I need and my trust in Him has grown.  In the States I have family and friends with whom I can talk and share my struggles, but here I have learned to rely more on my Father in heaven to comfort and guide me.  Pete and I have also grown more in our marriage in the last two years than we could have in 5 to 10 years in the States.   We have been forced to learn more of each other's needs and how we can meet those needs.   We have learned more of each other's gifts from the Lord and how we can serve the Lord together with these gifts.  I have learned that hospitality is not about a nicely decorated, clean house and good food, but more about an open heart to those who come to our door each day.   It's about them feeling loved and accepted when they walk into our home.  The Lord has also taught me more about His power through prayer and I have been blessed to see Him work through my prayers and through the prayers of others.   My eyes have been opened more than ever to the pain and suffering that comes to the less fortunate.   I have been reminded that the only true hope and joy that can be found in this life is through Jesus Christ.    As I recently was back in the States to visit my family in Texas, I was struck again at the stark contrast between our lives in the States and the lives of my neighbors here in Sorocoto.   These people work to survive, they live on the bare necessities, and they hope and pray that their crops will get them through another year.   Living here in Sorocoto and sharing in the lives of the people has taught me more of what is truly important in life and where my focus should be here on earth.   I am thankful for the privilege the Lord has given to us to live and work in Bolivia.   I am forever changed. </div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Pete's Thoughts  </U></B>Recently I passed a mile marker in my own personal growth.  I realized how familiar I had become with the Bolivian way of doing things, from traffic to shopping, to language and cultural norms for meetings and other gatherings. The remarkable thing is that rather than struggling against Bolivian ways, I am beginning to enjoy some of them.    Two years have passed since coming to Bolivia and it has been a wild ride through emotional and spiritual highs and lows. Before coming to Bolivia, Lori and I participated in the High Road program at Honey Rock Camp.  It involves 2-weeks of intense trekking and minimalist camping in the Northern Woods of Wisconsin and Michigan with a group of total strangers.  Often we found ourselves lost, hungry, tired, soaked, sore and ready to quit, dreaming of a warm cozy home surrounded by a buffet of delicious foods.  One morning after a grueling 24-hr. hike through the night, our group stumbled out of the tangled mosquito infested woods to see the sunrise on the expanse of Lake Superior. As I lay exhausted on the jagged rocks feasting my eyes on the horizon, I remember relishing the effort it had taken to get to the Lake. Bolivia has become our extended High Road, providing plenty of similar experiences of trials and frustrations mixed with beautiful revelations that make it all worth it.   Throughout this last year I have felt very much like I did back in the woods, lost, tired, sore, and dreaming of home. But God has a way of subtly transforming us more into the image of His Son through difficult experiences that we never expected.   These last two years have been filled with transforming experiences that have profoundly affected my character and spiritual growth.  As Lori has stated, it has been an amazing time for us, that has truly refined our love for one another, our faith in our loving Father and it has been a huge reality check on our lives.  I am thankful for the time here, how God has used and transformed us and I look forward to another year serving our community of Sorocoto.   </div> <bR> <div> Thank you for your continued support and prayers.</div> <bR> <div> God's blessings</div> <bR> <div> Pete & Lori </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#__july__august___sept___" TITLE="Vol. 8"><U>TOP</U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="25" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="628" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 846 WIDTH="570"><div> Lost in the Andes </div> <div> <U> <A NAME="no_26_september_2002"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U><U>No.</U><B>26</B><I><B> September</B></I> 2002</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Explosion</U></B>.   An explosion happened in our living room three weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon.   No, it was not dangerous or caused any damage.   Instead, it was an explosion of the Sunday school that has continued through the month.   More kids have been coming regularly and the last Sunday that we were able to meet in our living room we had 75 kids!  The Lord made our living room which measures 9' x 14 ' (about the size of your walk in closet) big enough to hold that many children, although most of the kids were sitting on each other.  It <IMG SRC="47febb90.png" border=0 width="235" height="185" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">is incredible how many children are coming and how many families are represented.   After we had 75 kids in our house we decided to change the location of the class and for the past three Sundays we have met in the church which has worked out great.   One of the church leaders, Francisco has been helping with the translation from Spanish to Quechua as well as the crafts with the younger kids.   This past month we learned about different children and youth that are found in the Bible, such as young Samuel and David, Naaman's wife's servant girl, and the boy who offered his lunch to Jesus to feed the 5,000.  Looking at these characters we saw how even kids can do great things for God.   Each week I picked a different student to play the part of the Bible character being studied.   The kids took their parts very seriously and all of the kids enjoyed seeing their peers come alive as a Bible character.  With this explosion of growth comes more needs and our biggest prayer need right now is more help from the church.   It is time to start training some people to help us and one day take over the program.     We are excited about the growth that is happening, but at the same we are overwhelmed and it is only by God's grace that we can teach so many kids at one time, in one room about His love for them.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Run for the border.</U></B>  Most of you do not know about the quick two-week trip that Lori made in July to Texas.  The first treat that Lori experienced was seeing Jessica and Joe Honneger in Austin.  Jessica worked here in Bolivia with us during our first months and she has continued to be a great friend and encouragement to us. Lori spent the majority of her time in Temple, Texas where she was with her wonderful grandmother, Dorothy Moore, a.k.a. Dottie.   They were able to spend good times talking, laughing, going to church, playing games, eating Tex-Mex food, watching old movies, eating popcorn and drinking Dr. Pepper.  Lori's mom, B.J. came down to be with them during that time, and she was also able to visit her aunt and uncle who live in Temple.   From there she traveled to College Station, Texas where her brother Ron, his wife Katie and their three kids Jordan, Evan, and Olivia live.   It was great to hang out with them, especially her nephew and nieces.  The weekend before Lori came back to Bolivia she went to Houston for her cousin Casey Fox's wedding.   Her dad came down for the wedding and Lori was able to see all of her family on her dad's side at the wedding.   It was wonderful for Lori to be with so many family members during those two weeks and she feels blessed by God by the opportunity she had to travel to Texas.   Pete managed to stay alive while Lori was gone, but was quite relieved to get her back.  </div> <bR> <div> We thank you for your continued prayers and support in our work here in Sorocoto.</div> <bR> <div> God's blessings</div> <bR> <div> Pete & Lori </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#__july__august___sept___" TITLE="Vol. 8"><U>TOP</U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>