The Parable of the Lost... Kitty?

 Shalom

A couple weeks ago, I was hanging out with a good friend of mine, playing chinese checkers, when I realized Shalom had disappeared.  My apartment is small enough that I quickly determined that she wasn't in my apartment.  I felt cold all over when I realized the only way out of my apartment was my bedroom window that was left slightly open, and that the only way off the narrow windowsill right outside was straight down three floors to the cement stairs below.  With a sinking heart, I got up the courage to look down, fully expecting to see her crumpled body below.  I was both relieved and worried when I saw nothing.  It was after 10pm, so I got my headlamp and searched for her until midnight, calling her name and straining my eyes to see into the shadows of the vacant lot next door.

where Shalom fell

my 3rd floor window barely visible at top

I gave up when I realized it was too dark for me to see anything well.  The next morning I woke at 5am and searched again in the early morning light.  I looked in the most absurd places, lifting lids to empty containers and searching in tiny crevices.  I was just about to give up when I saw a tiny patch of grey behind a flowerpot.  Shalom had spent the whole night huddled behind the flowerpot, completely hidden from sight.  As I scooped her up in my arms, I was overcome with emotion and wept for joy at finding my dear kitty who I thought was lost.

Shalom after the vet

As I carried Shalom back upstairs, I thought about the passage in Luke 15 I had just read the night before.  I was desperate to find my cat, looking everywhere and doing whatever it took to find her.  When I finally found her, I felt incredible joy.  It gave me a deeper understanding of how persistent Jesus is in looking for His lost sheep, and what inexplicable joy He feels and shares with all of Heaven when He finds just one.  It gave me a lot of hope for my friend, who was still sleeping upstairs, who is definitely a lost sheep.  She's been wandering around in the dark, choosing paths that are only taking her father away from her Shepherd, but how much more is our Father beating the bushes, looking for her and calling her name!  What a powerful illustration of how our Father loves us and what He's willing to do to find us.

 

 P.S. I took Shalom straight to the vet and she just had a small fracture in one of her front paws.  Miraculous!

Luke 15

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’  I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Watermelon Pumpkins and T'antawawas

We're headed into our last week of raising $ through Navidad En Bolivia to buy a Christmas gift for each kid at The Center.  Because we have to move by the 6th, the 4th is our Christmas party with the kids.  If you are interested in sponsoring a Christmas gift for a child at The Center, please visit:

http://www.navidadenbolivia.info/  A gift is $18/per child and you can go on the website to see the faces of each of the kids at The Center.  We only have 12 of the 60 kids sponsored so far.  Help us reach our goal of giving each kid a special gift for Christmas!

Laura & Reyna

two girls who need sponsors for Christmas

Fall and the holidays, traditions and customs that normally go with it in the States usually go by the wayside in Bolivia.  As a way of coping with the homesickness, I've looked for ways to celebrate some of the traditions as normal.  I've made homemade apple cider and applesauce, and figured out how to get the ingredients for the recipe of pumpkin bread that my mom always makes.  Plus, I've enjoyed the gifts of dried fall leaves that I received in a care package from my Gramma:)

my watermelon jack-o-lantern

Halloween, though, happens to coincide with its equally pagan equivalent, Todos Santos, in Bolivia.  Todos Santos is celebrated on the 2nd of November, and is a national holiday.  Halloween was never a big deal in my family, but some of my favorite memories growing up come from carving the family pumpkin out on our porch.  So, this year I decided to carve a watermelon as a way to remember all the special family times together.  Pumpkins in Bolivia are about the size of a stove top and are green, so that was hardly a practical choice for me to carve:)  I will say that carving a watermelon was quite the undertaking...  I ended up making watermelon juice, watermelon cubes and putting watermelon in everything I made that week.  Even my tiny little watermelon had a LOT of watermelon fruit!!

me w/ my watermelon jack-o-lantern 

Todos Santos ended up being another treat.  Completely on their own, my friends initiated a get-together with all our old group of friends.  The last time we all hung out was when my parents were here in January!  I've seen them all individually, but some are in college and others have tricky work schedules, so it wasn't until last Tuesday that we all finally were together again.  The boys prepared the meal (pollo al horno, a traditional Bolivian dish of oven-roasted chicken, plantains, potatoes, sweet potatoes and salad) and the girls helped with the details:)

 cooking pollo al horno

After eating a wonderful meal on the roof of my apartment building, we sat around the table telling stories, catching up, and talking about all that we missed.  Then we went back to the kitchen to make t'antawawas (bread babies, in quechua).  T'antawawas are a traditional sweet treat during Todos Santos.  Normally they're made as a crispy, flat cookie in the shape of a person, but we got creative and made just about every shape there is!  I was so grateful for the chance to spend time with all my friends all together, grateful for God's provision through their initiation and intentionality, not mine, and for the fullness I felt seeing my house full of people.

some of my favorite people
Alejandro, Daniel (little brothers of Briseyda and Reynaldo)
Briseyda, Andreina, Reynaldo, Humberto & Rosalia

Thank you for your continued prayers for The Center.  We still don't have a place lined up, but are waiting on the Lord and trying to put Philippians 4:6 into practice.  I'll keep you posted!

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 

Philippians 4:6

Big changes at The Center

Center kiddos

A few weeks ago, The Center staff found out that on December 6th, we need to move out of the building the Center is currently in.  Our prayer is to find a building or property in the same neighborhood so that we can continue working with the same kids, but after weeks of looking, we haven't found anything yet.  After 7 years of working in the same neighborhood with the same kids, we are just now beginning to gain the kids' trust and see transformations in the lives of the kids.  I'm convinced that Satan is capitalizing on the situation and he'll do everything he can to keep The Center from staying in the same neighborhood.  We have until November 12th to find a place in the same neighborhood before we'll have to look elsewhere.

Please pray that God will provide the right spot so we can continue His work with the same kids and build on the foundation we already have.  Also pray that He will provide the financial means to purchase a building if we find one.  If you are interested in giving to The Center, go to www.iteams.org/give and give to Katie Stewart with a note that the money is for The Center.  If you have any more questions, please contact me.

Here's a little snapshot of what the current Center looks like.  Our hope is to find something with enough space to continue to provide for the kids in the same way.

grassy play area

downstairs classrooms
(the same amount upstairs as well)

Thanks for your prayers!

Katie

P.S. If you're interested in making Christmas special at The Center, check out Navidad En Bolivia at: www.navidadenbolivia.info