Moulding Chronicles March 2014

Dear Friends,

Over the last two years we have been steadily working through a leadership coaching course, part of which has involved looking at our passions and calling. As mentioned previously, over this last year, I (Ed) have also been working with a Bolivian colleague developing orientation, discipleship and evaluation processes. 

Back in February this work and my newly identified passions and calling began to merge as Oscar did some reorganizing of jobs and roles within the office, which has meant that I am now taking the lead of staff development instead of just being an assistant. This is an exciting step forward as I had wanted something more to get my teeth into rather than the little bits here and there. It is also a positive move in that it enables me to begin working more directly in my area of passion and calling in coming alongside people to show them value and worth and encourage them in their faith. 

As part of this new role I will also be working with Oscar and another colleague to help create a pilot discipleship system, which will first be tried out in Bolivia and then hopefully used throughout FH. The aim of this system is to enable staff to gain a better understanding of how our organizational Vision, Mission and Values fit into our day to day operations and to increase our staff’s biblical understanding.

On a slightly different theme, in March I (Ed) accompanied a team from Messiah College in the USA, who were visiting Torotoro for the week as part of a team that comes to work with FH each year. It was a great time of enjoying Gods amazing creation and  building relationships with the students, listening to them throughout the week as they were challenged by what they saw and how it had impacted them.  

Whilst in Torotoro I was also finally able to visit the experimental plot for foundations for farming and listen to the staff’s experiences. I came away from it feeling excited and encouraged having seen how the plants had grown and also how the staff had been challenged and were enjoying the learning experience, even if the birds did eat most of the seeds that they planted the first time. The staff are keen to continue with the trials as well as starting up some vegetable gardens which they then want to begin sharing with some of the families in the communities.

Much to praise and thank God for over these last two months with much to look forward to in the future.

Thank God for: 

• Positive, encouraging time with the students.
• The crops on the FfF plot and the interest of the staff to move forward.

Ask God for:

• God’s favor as FH begins renewing its legal status to continue to work in Bolivia.
• The Messiah College students as they evaluate their experience in Bolivia and consider the impact on their own lives.

Ed, Sarah, Alana, Isaiah and Lucas

The Birthday boy

Learning about wheels and axels in our car project

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.  make level paths for your feet and take ways only that are firm.  Do not swerve to the right or to the left; keep your foot from evil. 

Proverbs 4:25-27