24.11.10
Greetings after a long break!
Would you believe I can access this blog to add a new POST! They (whoever that is!) haven't let me on here for years. Always insisted I didn't have a Blog! I have mostly used Facebook, but I may just share an update here since I have the opportunity.
I am in the US for my yearly visit - spent all day today (with help from some great young fellows from Cafe 41:11) toading a huge truck two times with hospital equipment donated by a hospital that closed. The truck was from our Shipper ARK TRANSPORTATION . We hope to be able to ship a container full of needed construction material and hospital equipment in December. Pray with us that the needed funds will be available for that.
The hospital construction is comming right along! The roof is all on, the septic and sewer systems are ready and installed. The sidewalk around the hospital is being poured while I am gone. An encouraging thing happened before I left the end of October. The big cement company in Bolivia (SOBOCE) is donating cement to us for the floors of the hospital. My garage is piled high with 200 bags of cement. PTL! In January Dave Ballantyne and his son are comming down to help install ceramic tile on the floors and the walls. Their help will be a wonderful thing to have! Between August and October two nurses came to visit and help. Julia Bell from Seattle and Rachel Pearson from England are interestingly both boat-dwellers in their respective continents. I like boat-people! It is so encouraging to have such people come to help. If God ever lays on your heart a desire to help out with Bethel Hospital - you are more than welcome.
I feel like I am pushing my luck here so I'll say bye for now. You all have a Blessed Thanksgiving. Above all lets be thankful for the GIVER who thankfully is neither unemployed nor downsizing! Lots of Love, Judy
12.3.09
A Special Thanks to donors
The construction of Hospital Bethel has never had any planned financing upon which we could depend. Our help has come from unusual donations that I should write a book about: A few rentals I have in the US that seem to stay rented despite the recession; A young couple that saved and sent the extra bandages when their new-born needed surgery; A group of VBS kids that gave 50 cents for each roof tile they bought for the hospital (they sent $1,300!); A nursing student from England who may give her life working here because God spoke to her about Bolivia as she prayed when she was 8 years old; A friend of mine whose Mother died and left her an inheritance which she gave to build our guard-house; Bolivian friends who donated a guard dog to stop a string of robberies here; a man and his wife who just anonymously donated a brand new computer; The Alcaldia of El Alto that has given us water and let us use some construction equipment; A fellow Vietnam Vet who helps with my excess baggage and expenses; a group of women in my church in Ohio who have formed the BBBB group - they hand knit Boots and Bonnets for Babies in Bolivia; A US Dr. that pays each month for the salary for a full-time Doc for the clinic in my house; an elderly saint who requested before he died that his expensive tool collection be given to missions; etc,etc,etc.
Just because we have no planned financing, does not mean that we have no one upon Whom to depend from month to month (day to day actually). I hear the voice of the Eternal Whisperer in each of the above situations. I only stand in awe of the access He has to human hearts. A special thanks to each reader who has followed "His Promptings" in regard to Bethel Hospital. Judy
Check out Job 26; 1, 4a and 14 " What a help You have been to one without resource! What deliverence You have brought to the powerless. Who has prompted you? ............these are but the fringes of His power, and how faint the Whisper that we hear of Him! Who could comprehend the thunder of His might? "
PRAYER REQUEST!!! Our Dr. Roberto has felt God´s leading in an opportunity to finish his OB - GYN specialty and learn Chiropractic tecnique. His wife, at the same time, will finish her liscence in Physical Therapy. They may be gone up to three years but plan to return to Bethel. Please pray that God will bring another of His Docs to fill this essential slot.
Just because we have no planned financing, does not mean that we have no one upon Whom to depend from month to month (day to day actually). I hear the voice of the Eternal Whisperer in each of the above situations. I only stand in awe of the access He has to human hearts. A special thanks to each reader who has followed "His Promptings" in regard to Bethel Hospital. Judy
Check out Job 26; 1, 4a and 14 " What a help You have been to one without resource! What deliverence You have brought to the powerless. Who has prompted you? ............these are but the fringes of His power, and how faint the Whisper that we hear of Him! Who could comprehend the thunder of His might? "
PRAYER REQUEST!!! Our Dr. Roberto has felt God´s leading in an opportunity to finish his OB - GYN specialty and learn Chiropractic tecnique. His wife, at the same time, will finish her liscence in Physical Therapy. They may be gone up to three years but plan to return to Bethel. Please pray that God will bring another of His Docs to fill this essential slot.
3.1.09
Ramp to "loza" level and retaining wall
This will be a ramp leading up to the second level over the OR area. Plans for this upper level are threefold at this point.1. It will be a storage area for medical equipment or furniture that is not being used,
2. provide space for three tanks of hot water that come from three solar panels and provide hot water for three or four main areas, and 3. provide men's and women's areas to sleep when short-term teams come.
To the right of the ramp will be a transparently covered patio for the laundry. It can be hard to dry cloths in rainy season.
Bethel Hospital Construction from back-Dec 2008
The section to the right will be the OR, patient rooms, cafeteria and kitchen, sterilization and storage . Part of this section will have a second story and a separate roof (loza). All efforts at present are concentrated in the Loza. The building in the foreground (tin roof) is our "little hospital" while the interior of the rest gets finished. Pray that we can find needed Electrical and Plumbing advice.
My SS kids in Amachuma-day B4 I left for US
When much of their life is exposure to the darker side of abuse, drunkenness, corruption, hunger, TV, poverty, fear, and animistic beliefs - an hour and a half on Sunday morning seems so little time to draw the curtain and show them ONE who has created the natural beauty around them and who has paid the ultimate price to love and forgive them. Pray for the 8 who have chosen to follow HIM this past year.
HS girls in Amachuma-from Wed. night B.S.
Before I came to US in Dec., these girls brought food and cooked a farewell meal. Most graduated from H.S. in mid December. Pray for them as they face future decisions and often have to choose between honoring culture and custom, honoring family, and honoring God.
17.12.08
Merry Christmas!
Dear Old and New Friends,
Here we are at the end of 2008! Where did it go? My goals for the hospital for 2009 come from Isaiah 55. I pray that all associated with Bethel will
- come to God when thirsty
- listen to His word
- inquire of the Lord
- call upon Him
- abandon wicked ways and evil thoughts
- return to the Lord
BECAUSE
if
we
do
so
- we will be satisfied
- we will have LIFE
- God will covenant with us to faithfully
love us
- we will attract and witness to all races
- God will actually glorify us
- God will pity us
- We will be freely forgiven
- We will go out with joy and be led forth
in peace
- All nature will rejoice -
ALL THIS WILL WIN THE LORD A GREAT NAME, IMPERISHABLE, A SIGN FOR ALL TIME.
For 2009 I will pray for you and you pray for me and Bethel Hospital that our lives can truely "win the Lord a great name".
Personal Note: I am in the US for Christmas. My trip this time was unusual because I came with my bags full, full, full of calendars! The hospital board in Bolivia had this idea because the world-wide financial situation has affected us too and the construction funds are down to zero. So, they had me get 1000 calendars printed up with pics of Amachuma and the Hospital construction. Total they weighed 200lbs! Every allowable ounce and then some was taken up by calendars. I had no place to put my clothing so I went to the airport in El Alto with five sets of clothing on me! I figured I was the only thing they weren't going to weigh. The calendars are to be special gifts to donors ($20 suggested). I wasn't going to mention this online, but if you send help for the construction(check made out to Bethel Foundation) to our treasurer Melody at
385 Smith Drive
Tallmadge, Ohio 44278 I will personally mail you a calendar as long as I am in the
US (until Jan 20th) and have access to Melody and the internet.
I have a few pics I will try to get on here soon. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Judy Yund
Here we are at the end of 2008! Where did it go? My goals for the hospital for 2009 come from Isaiah 55. I pray that all associated with Bethel will
- come to God when thirsty
- listen to His word
- inquire of the Lord
- call upon Him
- abandon wicked ways and evil thoughts
- return to the Lord
BECAUSE
if
we
do
so
- we will be satisfied
- we will have LIFE
- God will covenant with us to faithfully
love us
- we will attract and witness to all races
- God will actually glorify us
- God will pity us
- We will be freely forgiven
- We will go out with joy and be led forth
in peace
- All nature will rejoice -
ALL THIS WILL WIN THE LORD A GREAT NAME, IMPERISHABLE, A SIGN FOR ALL TIME.
For 2009 I will pray for you and you pray for me and Bethel Hospital that our lives can truely "win the Lord a great name".
Personal Note: I am in the US for Christmas. My trip this time was unusual because I came with my bags full, full, full of calendars! The hospital board in Bolivia had this idea because the world-wide financial situation has affected us too and the construction funds are down to zero. So, they had me get 1000 calendars printed up with pics of Amachuma and the Hospital construction. Total they weighed 200lbs! Every allowable ounce and then some was taken up by calendars. I had no place to put my clothing so I went to the airport in El Alto with five sets of clothing on me! I figured I was the only thing they weren't going to weigh. The calendars are to be special gifts to donors ($20 suggested). I wasn't going to mention this online, but if you send help for the construction(check made out to Bethel Foundation) to our treasurer Melody at
385 Smith Drive
Tallmadge, Ohio 44278 I will personally mail you a calendar as long as I am in the
US (until Jan 20th) and have access to Melody and the internet.
I have a few pics I will try to get on here soon. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Judy Yund
21.8.08
Update for August 2008
Greetings to anyone willing to read this after so many months!!!
So much happens in Amachuma and with the Bethel Hospital construction - it truly is hard to get into La Paz and have time to access the Internet and get info on this Blog. Today my 1973 Jeep has a hole in the radiator and something with it's carburetor that takes away all it's energy. So, while it is being worked on, I actually have some time to kill.
It has been a long COLD winter here. The nights still go down below zero (C) but the sky is beginning to cloud up occasionally so one of these months we should get some rain instead of just frost and hail and snow. An interesting thing happens here in the mountains before it snows. Up from the warmer valleys come swarms (hundreds) of little yellow birds. The people here call them Canaries and say they are sent to let us know it is going to snow. They only stay for a day and then return to their valleys. Sure enough, within the next couple of days it snows!
Within a month it will be time to plant crops again. Next Monday I have to go sell the last of my extra potatoes and chuños. Also, I have to sell some rabbits. Last Sept. I bought two of them and although many of the descendants have died or gotten eaten by dogs, there are still 30 or so and not enough food around to feed them. I suppose I will eat a few too.
The hospital construction has really come along but a lot of finish work remains to be done. In the dormitory wing the floors, windows , doors, and even doorknobs are in place. Beginning tomorrow we plan to move the clinic over from my house. The dorm wing will serve as a small hospital for the next year or so as the rest of the hospital is finished.
PRESENT PROJECTS:
1. Dentist set-up in one of the rooms of the temporary Hosp. Includes compressor.
2. Water system - there seems to be lots of water in the well, but the windmill has trouble getting it from the well to the huge storage tank.
3. Plumbing - septic and rainwater tubes , showers and toilets and sinks! By the way, we need help with plumbing plans (I have guys who can install if told what to do). Anybody out there like to come for a week or two to help with this? You'd have to pay the travel but I can put you up and feed you once you get here.
4. Electricity installation. Again, this is an area where we could really use some help with the plans. The local electrical company is trying to "urbanize" Amachuma and will be installing some electric lines that will provide Triphasic lines which we can use for the hospital. I am also very excited that they are willing to let us use a two-way electric meter which will let us run electricity from the turbine out onto their network and use from theirs when we need it. This will be a big step since I do believe that our Bergey Turbine is the only one of its kind in the Western part of Bolivia if not in the whole country.
5. Roofing. All of the roof has steel rafters and the price of steel has doubled recently so this is a real challenge. Nicolas is our roofer and we couldn't do without him and his sons. He can solder anything so once in a while we have to get him off the roof for other jobs.
Oh well, that list is long enough. We still have Dr. Roberto full - time and a lot of sick people come. The Aymara folks have so many beliefs surrounding birth, I didn't think I would ever be asked to one of their homes for a birth. But, after 6 years here, last week I was asked to attend an Amachuma birth. Bethel Hospital has had it's first home birth!!! Mom and little boy are doing great. I hope the time will come when they use our birthing center too.
Cinthia and I still have 10 - 20 teen girls coming every Wed. evening for a Bible Study and I teach Sunday School in the little local Baptist church on Sundays. Last month I had the privilege of praying with three girls who had decided they wanted to follow Jesus.
Politics here never cease to be interesting. I don't suppose I should put much on line but your prayers are always in order.
I need to get to the bank before I pick up my car. Some one of you has been so good as to donate $1,000 and I must go pick that up. It will pay for the workers this month. I experience over and over the truth of the promise in Philippians, "My God will supply all your needs". All I can do is to say Thanks and make it stretch as far as possible! One other thing I find is that God never has someone send money ahead of time at all!
Bye for now. I think someone has stolen my digital camera so I will have to get some new pictures taken somehow and put them on this Blog next time. Love in Christ, Judy
So much happens in Amachuma and with the Bethel Hospital construction - it truly is hard to get into La Paz and have time to access the Internet and get info on this Blog. Today my 1973 Jeep has a hole in the radiator and something with it's carburetor that takes away all it's energy. So, while it is being worked on, I actually have some time to kill.
It has been a long COLD winter here. The nights still go down below zero (C) but the sky is beginning to cloud up occasionally so one of these months we should get some rain instead of just frost and hail and snow. An interesting thing happens here in the mountains before it snows. Up from the warmer valleys come swarms (hundreds) of little yellow birds. The people here call them Canaries and say they are sent to let us know it is going to snow. They only stay for a day and then return to their valleys. Sure enough, within the next couple of days it snows!
Within a month it will be time to plant crops again. Next Monday I have to go sell the last of my extra potatoes and chuños. Also, I have to sell some rabbits. Last Sept. I bought two of them and although many of the descendants have died or gotten eaten by dogs, there are still 30 or so and not enough food around to feed them. I suppose I will eat a few too.
The hospital construction has really come along but a lot of finish work remains to be done. In the dormitory wing the floors, windows , doors, and even doorknobs are in place. Beginning tomorrow we plan to move the clinic over from my house. The dorm wing will serve as a small hospital for the next year or so as the rest of the hospital is finished.
PRESENT PROJECTS:
1. Dentist set-up in one of the rooms of the temporary Hosp. Includes compressor.
2. Water system - there seems to be lots of water in the well, but the windmill has trouble getting it from the well to the huge storage tank.
3. Plumbing - septic and rainwater tubes , showers and toilets and sinks! By the way, we need help with plumbing plans (I have guys who can install if told what to do). Anybody out there like to come for a week or two to help with this? You'd have to pay the travel but I can put you up and feed you once you get here.
4. Electricity installation. Again, this is an area where we could really use some help with the plans. The local electrical company is trying to "urbanize" Amachuma and will be installing some electric lines that will provide Triphasic lines which we can use for the hospital. I am also very excited that they are willing to let us use a two-way electric meter which will let us run electricity from the turbine out onto their network and use from theirs when we need it. This will be a big step since I do believe that our Bergey Turbine is the only one of its kind in the Western part of Bolivia if not in the whole country.
5. Roofing. All of the roof has steel rafters and the price of steel has doubled recently so this is a real challenge. Nicolas is our roofer and we couldn't do without him and his sons. He can solder anything so once in a while we have to get him off the roof for other jobs.
Oh well, that list is long enough. We still have Dr. Roberto full - time and a lot of sick people come. The Aymara folks have so many beliefs surrounding birth, I didn't think I would ever be asked to one of their homes for a birth. But, after 6 years here, last week I was asked to attend an Amachuma birth. Bethel Hospital has had it's first home birth!!! Mom and little boy are doing great. I hope the time will come when they use our birthing center too.
Cinthia and I still have 10 - 20 teen girls coming every Wed. evening for a Bible Study and I teach Sunday School in the little local Baptist church on Sundays. Last month I had the privilege of praying with three girls who had decided they wanted to follow Jesus.
Politics here never cease to be interesting. I don't suppose I should put much on line but your prayers are always in order.
I need to get to the bank before I pick up my car. Some one of you has been so good as to donate $1,000 and I must go pick that up. It will pay for the workers this month. I experience over and over the truth of the promise in Philippians, "My God will supply all your needs". All I can do is to say Thanks and make it stretch as far as possible! One other thing I find is that God never has someone send money ahead of time at all!
Bye for now. I think someone has stolen my digital camera so I will have to get some new pictures taken somehow and put them on this Blog next time. Love in Christ, Judy
16.4.08
April 2008 Judy's Journal
Hi everybody! Greetings from 13,000 Ft. up and wintertime. I still haven't gotten all my potatoes , habas, and peas harvested but the new potatoes are delicious and not too many worms. Two of my dogs had pups in March. Cricket, the Golden, had seven lovely pups but they all died of lung problems. (I have a friend who lives a few thousand feet lower who has offered to let Cricket have pups at her place next time). My other dog Chispa is a tiny dog who looks just like a Tibetan Spaniel. She only had two pups but they are the healthiest chubbiest pups you ever hope to see. Why can't Goldens survive the altitude??? I had hoped to sell her pups and have a few badly-needed $'s to buy cement and gravel. Oh well, the good Lord must have other plans. We prayed so hard for those seven little pups. "When you can't see His hand - trust His Heart".
Let me tell you about an OB patient I had this past month. Of course this all happened on a weekend when our Dr. wasn't there! Eva, not her real name, had come to us when she was 17 weeks pregnant with her 11th child - after all the local witch doctors etc. had been unable to cause an abortion. Despite the odds, the baby seemed to be growing well. One day, (in her 30th week), around 1 PM one of her boys came to my door, "please come to my house - my Mom is really bad." Because he could give us few details, Cinthia and I quickly gathered everything from Pit and IVs to a water bottle and blankets to warm a premature baby. Without a 4WD Jeep we couldn't have made it thru all the mud to Eva's house. Eva had her head hanging off the foot of her bed; pale, sweating, barely breathing, unable to speak and baby still attached. The baby had been born at 5 AM and died shortly after. The problem was her placenta which they had been unable to deliver and she had been bleeding for about 7 hours. (Why can't they call us earlier?) Sometimes one really senses God's presence and assistance. This was one of those times! With Pit IM (didn't figure I could get an IV started), and massage and pressure to a worn-out uterus that no longer wanted to contract - the placenta slowly came, the IV catheter went right into the least-impossible vein, and a wire was laying on the dirt floor which was just the right length to drape the IV from the rafters. Two hours later, the bleeding was stopped, she was cleaned up, and best of all was smiling, talking to us and her children and sipping warm broth. We had no blood to give her, but good food, antibiotics, and Vits with Iron have slowly gotten her back on her feet.
That first night when I drove back out to Eva's house to check on her IV, I had the seven little ones living at home gather around her. I explained that their Mom had nearly died and that we must thank God who loved them all enough to give their Mom back. So we did, and I ask you dear reader to do the same!
I don't have access to a computer right now to send pictures and I have to buy roofing steel peices (in spanish Cerchas and correas) and 200 bricks on my way home. So, I'd better go. I'll get some pics to you soon. So much is going on, but the progress is exciting. Pray for funds, experienced workers, and for whoever stole my best saw and the glue for wooden flooring and the wood shaver to fess-up and bring them back.
Trying to "lay hold of that for which Christ once laid hold of me" , Judy
Let me tell you about an OB patient I had this past month. Of course this all happened on a weekend when our Dr. wasn't there! Eva, not her real name, had come to us when she was 17 weeks pregnant with her 11th child - after all the local witch doctors etc. had been unable to cause an abortion. Despite the odds, the baby seemed to be growing well. One day, (in her 30th week), around 1 PM one of her boys came to my door, "please come to my house - my Mom is really bad." Because he could give us few details, Cinthia and I quickly gathered everything from Pit and IVs to a water bottle and blankets to warm a premature baby. Without a 4WD Jeep we couldn't have made it thru all the mud to Eva's house. Eva had her head hanging off the foot of her bed; pale, sweating, barely breathing, unable to speak and baby still attached. The baby had been born at 5 AM and died shortly after. The problem was her placenta which they had been unable to deliver and she had been bleeding for about 7 hours. (Why can't they call us earlier?) Sometimes one really senses God's presence and assistance. This was one of those times! With Pit IM (didn't figure I could get an IV started), and massage and pressure to a worn-out uterus that no longer wanted to contract - the placenta slowly came, the IV catheter went right into the least-impossible vein, and a wire was laying on the dirt floor which was just the right length to drape the IV from the rafters. Two hours later, the bleeding was stopped, she was cleaned up, and best of all was smiling, talking to us and her children and sipping warm broth. We had no blood to give her, but good food, antibiotics, and Vits with Iron have slowly gotten her back on her feet.
That first night when I drove back out to Eva's house to check on her IV, I had the seven little ones living at home gather around her. I explained that their Mom had nearly died and that we must thank God who loved them all enough to give their Mom back. So we did, and I ask you dear reader to do the same!
I don't have access to a computer right now to send pictures and I have to buy roofing steel peices (in spanish Cerchas and correas) and 200 bricks on my way home. So, I'd better go. I'll get some pics to you soon. So much is going on, but the progress is exciting. Pray for funds, experienced workers, and for whoever stole my best saw and the glue for wooden flooring and the wood shaver to fess-up and bring them back.
Trying to "lay hold of that for which Christ once laid hold of me" , Judy
6.2.08
In US for one month-February 2008
Hello Friends!
Can you imagine someone who forgets how to get into their own blogspot? Well, that is me! I think Google finally let me in here just out of pity. To make use of the oportunity, let me wish you Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Valentines Day
Every once in a while I have to come to this continent to see my three girls, 2 sons-in-law, and above all, my 4 grandchildren.
Construction at the Hospital back in Amachuma continues fast and furious. Eugenio is heading up a crew building the Treatment wing which includes the ER, lab, x-ray, room for 2 dentists, 3 consultation and treatment rooms, the main entry, the ER entry, Waiting room and admitting and administration. Tomorrow they will pour the cement wall for x-ray that goes inside the brick and adobe wall - can't let that radiation out! Then that wing will be ready for a roof. Nicolas and sons are all prepared for this with all their steel trusses welded together and ready to go. Meanwhile Miguel and crew are working on laying plumbing pipes for rain water and the septic system. They are just finishing the septic cistern . Today I was able to get through on the phone to Ruben who , together with Dr. Roberto, supervises everything when I am gone. Miguel needs more pipes than we have money to buy right now and Gabriel and his paint crew didn't pass inspection so his salary will have to be decided when I get back. Always something!!!
Please pray for all these workers - for their safety and that they will be aware that they are working on something that has a BOSS above me or my Boards. I'll try and send some pics while I am here. God bless you all! Judy
Girls in the Bethel Bible Study. Today's lesson included discovering marsh- mallows.
Dr. Roberto, Sandra, and family. (my dog Cricket is helping with the photo) Note the hospital dorm construction in the background.
Can you imagine someone who forgets how to get into their own blogspot? Well, that is me! I think Google finally let me in here just out of pity. To make use of the oportunity, let me wish you Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Valentines Day
Every once in a while I have to come to this continent to see my three girls, 2 sons-in-law, and above all, my 4 grandchildren.
Construction at the Hospital back in Amachuma continues fast and furious. Eugenio is heading up a crew building the Treatment wing which includes the ER, lab, x-ray, room for 2 dentists, 3 consultation and treatment rooms, the main entry, the ER entry, Waiting room and admitting and administration. Tomorrow they will pour the cement wall for x-ray that goes inside the brick and adobe wall - can't let that radiation out! Then that wing will be ready for a roof. Nicolas and sons are all prepared for this with all their steel trusses welded together and ready to go. Meanwhile Miguel and crew are working on laying plumbing pipes for rain water and the septic system. They are just finishing the septic cistern . Today I was able to get through on the phone to Ruben who , together with Dr. Roberto, supervises everything when I am gone. Miguel needs more pipes than we have money to buy right now and Gabriel and his paint crew didn't pass inspection so his salary will have to be decided when I get back. Always something!!!
Please pray for all these workers - for their safety and that they will be aware that they are working on something that has a BOSS above me or my Boards. I'll try and send some pics while I am here. God bless you all! Judy
Girls in the Bethel Bible Study. Today's lesson included discovering marsh- mallows.
Dr. Roberto, Sandra, and family. (my dog Cricket is helping with the photo) Note the hospital dorm construction in the background.
30.8.07
Construction update and prayer requests
Latest construction efforts have centered around the installation of ceramic tile in the Birthing and Dormitory blocks. Also, it has been a major challenge to plan for plumbing and electrical installation. Right now the biggies are finding out how to construct small boilers for hot-water radiators and floor heat and how to build solar panels. It just plain costs too much to buy these made or to import them. Just ask the Lord to send the right people our way.
It is close to the end of dry season and Amachuma is a desert. We are buying water by the barrel from a tank truck. The well has water but the windmill isn´t quite fixed yet. Two guys are working hard on that today.
It was a blessing to have Gina and Allena visit. From sorting and labeling all the boxes of medical equipment we have, to singing with their beautiful voices for a dying patient in her home ---it was great to have them!!!
Pray for our president here and all the unrest in Bolivia. Specifically pray that a civil war can be avoided.
Many have asked how Mary is doing. PTL she is much better! She is driving again and back to work in Ohio.
Thanks to you who are part of this whole project thru your contributions and prayers. I´ve got to get home to pay my workers. Love, Judy
It is close to the end of dry season and Amachuma is a desert. We are buying water by the barrel from a tank truck. The well has water but the windmill isn´t quite fixed yet. Two guys are working hard on that today.
It was a blessing to have Gina and Allena visit. From sorting and labeling all the boxes of medical equipment we have, to singing with their beautiful voices for a dying patient in her home ---it was great to have them!!!
Pray for our president here and all the unrest in Bolivia. Specifically pray that a civil war can be avoided.
Many have asked how Mary is doing. PTL she is much better! She is driving again and back to work in Ohio.
Thanks to you who are part of this whole project thru your contributions and prayers. I´ve got to get home to pay my workers. Love, Judy
Picture titles
I don´t know how to put titles on the pics yet so I´d best just tell you what they are about. One is my newest grandbaby, two are of a heavy snowfall in Amachuma, one is of Gina Hearst (she and her sister Allena came to visit and help for three weeks) and Chispa having a "heart to heart" while she helps plant a rose garden, and one is Mother´s day which I had the privilege of spending with my daughter Mary in the US.
Dear blog friends,
I´m ashamed to even write after so long. For what it is worth, I have tried many times. Maybe today is the magic try. I have to drive into the city and find an Internet cafe where there is a "system" up and running. It is usually a 3 or 4 hour process and that kind of time is hard to come by these days.
It is winter-time in the Andes and it has been a strange Winter. We have had heavy snows (5O Cm once) and then whole weeks where it has been cold (teens and twentys at night and up to forty in the day) but no wind. Not only is no wind unusual, July was my first month on only the turbine. With a turbine, no wind means no electric!! We have a four-battery storage system (200 amps) and that runs out quickly. As soon as we can find the sulfuric acid (hard to come by because it is an ingredient in the process of making cocaine) to fill them, we will add four more that will bring the amperage up to 1000 or more so we should be able to go longer without wind. It is a wonderful system as long as it keeps whirling! All the construction workers have learned to keep their eyes on the turbine up on the hill. If it is whirling, they can plug the cement-mixer, the ceramic cutters, the drills, etc. into that system. If the blades are still, out comes the generator. Pray for us to use this wonderful gift correctly! Judy
I´m ashamed to even write after so long. For what it is worth, I have tried many times. Maybe today is the magic try. I have to drive into the city and find an Internet cafe where there is a "system" up and running. It is usually a 3 or 4 hour process and that kind of time is hard to come by these days.
It is winter-time in the Andes and it has been a strange Winter. We have had heavy snows (5O Cm once) and then whole weeks where it has been cold (teens and twentys at night and up to forty in the day) but no wind. Not only is no wind unusual, July was my first month on only the turbine. With a turbine, no wind means no electric!! We have a four-battery storage system (200 amps) and that runs out quickly. As soon as we can find the sulfuric acid (hard to come by because it is an ingredient in the process of making cocaine) to fill them, we will add four more that will bring the amperage up to 1000 or more so we should be able to go longer without wind. It is a wonderful system as long as it keeps whirling! All the construction workers have learned to keep their eyes on the turbine up on the hill. If it is whirling, they can plug the cement-mixer, the ceramic cutters, the drills, etc. into that system. If the blades are still, out comes the generator. Pray for us to use this wonderful gift correctly! Judy
13.6.07
Bethel Hospital Update
Hi everyone! So good to get your comments. Wish I had better access to this Blog myself. A couple of updates and prayer requests on the hospital construction. First, the Gatti Turbine is up and running, providing me with electricity. I am learning how to walk into the power house and push the right buttons without being afraid.
However, wouldn´t you know, even in the dead of Winter we are haveing the best weather I have ever seen in Amachuma. It is calm, sunny, and around 50 degrees all day every day for the past 2 weeks. At night it goes below freezing but it is still calm as can be and God´s star display is absolutely incredible!!! The drawback to all this is that a Wind Turbine can´t run without wind. So, I am back to candles and not even being able to recharge my cell phone. One of these days we will be back to normal and I will miss the perfect weather.
When I paid my ten workers the end of May, they all told me they wanted to stay and have a meeting with me. They wanted to take off two weeks but to be paid for them, to be paid for all holidays, to have me provide them with insurrance and Bolivian social security benifits. In today´s political atmosphere here, I can´t ignore such requests. So, I have spent hours with our lawyer and the Asociacion Bethel Amachuma board here. I´m not sure of the outcome, but we will have to become much more organized and it will cost plenty. The lawyer assures me it is better to "be prepared" ahead of time and not risk problems with labor disputes.
So, let´s pray together for
1. ´The Turbine . We need to arrange the battery bank in such a way that more power will be available.
2. Our labor hassles. We need wisdom to meet the demands of Bolivian labor laws and still be just and bring honor and glory to God in the process. Pray for us to also find the right workers for new finish work that needs to be done now.
3. The 15 to 20 Amachuma girls that come to a Wednesday night Bible Study are coming for an overnight next week. Just remember us!!!
Goodbye for now. Thanks for your prayers and gifts. God bless you. Judy
However, wouldn´t you know, even in the dead of Winter we are haveing the best weather I have ever seen in Amachuma. It is calm, sunny, and around 50 degrees all day every day for the past 2 weeks. At night it goes below freezing but it is still calm as can be and God´s star display is absolutely incredible!!! The drawback to all this is that a Wind Turbine can´t run without wind. So, I am back to candles and not even being able to recharge my cell phone. One of these days we will be back to normal and I will miss the perfect weather.
When I paid my ten workers the end of May, they all told me they wanted to stay and have a meeting with me. They wanted to take off two weeks but to be paid for them, to be paid for all holidays, to have me provide them with insurrance and Bolivian social security benifits. In today´s political atmosphere here, I can´t ignore such requests. So, I have spent hours with our lawyer and the Asociacion Bethel Amachuma board here. I´m not sure of the outcome, but we will have to become much more organized and it will cost plenty. The lawyer assures me it is better to "be prepared" ahead of time and not risk problems with labor disputes.
So, let´s pray together for
1. ´The Turbine . We need to arrange the battery bank in such a way that more power will be available.
2. Our labor hassles. We need wisdom to meet the demands of Bolivian labor laws and still be just and bring honor and glory to God in the process. Pray for us to also find the right workers for new finish work that needs to be done now.
3. The 15 to 20 Amachuma girls that come to a Wednesday night Bible Study are coming for an overnight next week. Just remember us!!!
Goodbye for now. Thanks for your prayers and gifts. God bless you. Judy
11.5.07
HIS battle for us!
Dear friends! I have kept you waiting for evidence that this Blog has life. So much has been happening in real life that I haven't even had internet access to update this.
I had six hectic (as normal!) weeks in the US. After one week back in Amachuma, I had to make an emergercy trip back to the US for an illness in the family. It's so good to see my girls and grandbabies so any opportunity for that is welcomed. Tomorrow I turn 60 and all this traveling will take a while to recover from. When I get back to Amachuma (should be May 16), I'll have to update you on the hospital construction. II Chronicles 20 has been a good scripture to review and has been God's voice to me in this time. I once wrote a hymn based on that Bible incident - lets see if I can remember at least one verse to share with you. (goes with the music of "The Son of God goes forth to War").
When faced with overwhelming odds,
and fearing sure defeat;
We must in our alarm resolve,
God's guidance to entreat.
Refrain: "Oh God, our God, we have no strength!"
our cry for help must be. "We know not what we ought to do.
We lift our eyes to Thee".
Stay in touch! Love, Judy
I had six hectic (as normal!) weeks in the US. After one week back in Amachuma, I had to make an emergercy trip back to the US for an illness in the family. It's so good to see my girls and grandbabies so any opportunity for that is welcomed. Tomorrow I turn 60 and all this traveling will take a while to recover from. When I get back to Amachuma (should be May 16), I'll have to update you on the hospital construction. II Chronicles 20 has been a good scripture to review and has been God's voice to me in this time. I once wrote a hymn based on that Bible incident - lets see if I can remember at least one verse to share with you. (goes with the music of "The Son of God goes forth to War").
When faced with overwhelming odds,
and fearing sure defeat;
We must in our alarm resolve,
God's guidance to entreat.
Refrain: "Oh God, our God, we have no strength!"
our cry for help must be. "We know not what we ought to do.
We lift our eyes to Thee".
Stay in touch! Love, Judy
12.4.07
WELCOME!!! To our BLOG!
This is a brand new way we will try to keep you updated on the latest with the construction of Bethel Hospital (Hospital Bethel in Spanish).
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