Moving into the Bethany House - Stage 1

Yesterday we started to move into the Bethany house, starting with the house parents. Part of the day was spent dealing with some of the typical frustrations we have here in Bolivia, which is things not getting done.

At the start of December I did a walk through of our house with our contractor and the carpenter who is building the closets. We had a few small things that needed to be taken care of, and they all said it would be done by the 20th of December, which gave them a week to finish about 2 days worth of work. The carpentry was going to be a little bit of a stretch, but given that we ordered the closets in September and they have 30 days to complete the contract, it was time for them to get things finished.

Well... the 20th turned out to be too close to Christmas to get anything done, so when we got back from vacation we found out that essentially nothing had been done since we left. Unfortunately if someone has a question, and we are not here to answer it, that also becomes an excuse to just quit working. So yesterday I spent the day meeting with our contractor, and dealing with the carpenter, who didn't want to work yesterday because his truck was in the shop. Luckily I have a vehicle so I went to his shop and hauled him and all of the materials up to the home. Carpenters in La Paz are notoriously bad. They are known for not finishing jobs, taking money and never doing anything, or taking materials from projects to sell or use for their own projects.

After spending the morning dealing with getting people to do work that should have been done, I was able to help the new house parents move into their new apartment. The house parents (Tuny and Sheila) have an amazing dedication and love for the boys that will be living in their home. Tuny is a professional soccer coach (former professional player) who is giving up an excellent job at a prominent university to become a house parent. The kids love Tuny and Sheila, and their son Jordan. It is heart warming to see them all together - they look like the most natural and loving family one could imagine. It is amazing to consider the progress the Renacer boys have made, and the ways that God has been transforming their lives. In my heart is is nearly impossible to connect the person I know now to the boy we met on the streets and brought to the home. They have grown so much spiritually, phsyically, socially and academically in the past year. We always say that each child is a treasure in God's eyes, and a lost and forgotten treasure for this world. We are excited and proud to see these boys develop and become a family together.

We had just a few things to move yesterday. Fortunately Tuny and Sheila's living area was on the second floor of a house with a balcony, so I just pulled up under the balcony and loaded things directly onto the top of our vehicle. It couldn't have been easier. We made the 45 minute trek from one edge of the city to the other, unloaded and the house parents had started to make their new home. This week will be busy with buying and moving furniture into the new home, getting carpenters to do their jobs, and filled with excitement as the Renacer boys finally get to move into their new home.