december/january update
TRANSCRIPT
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7/29/2019 December/January Update
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D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y
the
Hancock updateGraduation, Christmas, New Years, and our current trials in Postrervalle
Crocs for ChristmasEvery child at the homes of Nacer
Ministries received a brand new
pair of Crocs this year! The shoes
were donated by Crocs Canada,
who also paid the shipping and
handling of them into Bolivia which
is no small feat. There were a total
of 500 pairs sent down and
Ministerios Nacer was one of two
organizations to receive the shoes
(the other being El Jordan, a ministry
in Santa Cruz that works extensively
in rehabilitating and empowering
people who currently have or have
had a life on the streets). It was a huge
blessing to all of our kids and they
were very excited to receive an early
Christmas present!
This will be a three page update due to the amount of
things that have been going on since we last wrote, in thesethree pages we hope to inform you of as much as possible so
that you can continue to share in our joy and also continue
carrying us through the current hardships in our home in
Postrervalle.
Maribels graduation was a good experience for all of us.
Her father was able to attend and walk her down to receive her
diploma, she was fourth in her class and therefore does not
need to pass an entrance exam for university, and she is
officially the first person from the Postrervalle home to graduate
high school! She also had the added support of her family and
friends from the home as well as multiple workers from
Ministerios Nacer and four gringos; thats quite a lineup! We
were all very excited for her and are praying for her transition
out of the home that she has known for years and into a life of
more independence and a whole new world of experiences.
Just so you know
Kristins Kankle Korner
This is the part of our update letter that will
be dedicated to Kristins pregnancy! Just soeveryone knows from the beginning, Ipresented the title of this section in a
completely kidding manner and Kristinapproved it (ask her yourself if you dont
believe me!). As you read this, she is 25weeks along now and doing very well. The
baby is kicking a good bit (an appropriateamount to be a soccer fan), Kristin is eatingwell and feeling well most of the time, and I
am trying to keep a steady flow of cookiesand good movies coming in order to keephappy (its working). We are unbelievablyexcited and thanking God all the time for
this gift and praying that our experienceshere in Bolivia might help us ever so slightlyto deal with the challenges that lie ahead inthe next few months and the rest of our lives
as parents!
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7/29/2019 December/January Update
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DECEMBER/JANUARYTHE HANCOCK UPDATE
Christmas!!This year each kid in our home received (from the
ministry) a backpack full of clothes, shoes, and other small
items, a stocking full of candy (from Dave and Mindy
Rice), and a small bag with hair care products and gadgets
for the girls and marbles for the boys (from Kristin and I).
We were very excited about the opportunity to share
Christmas with the kids in the home and everything
turned out wonderfully! We had Christmas Eve
service at the church followed by a meal with the
congregation, after that we returned to the home and
set off fireworks and passed out sparklers for a while
before sending all the kids to bed. Kristin and I woke
up early Christmas day and put out all the backpacks
and baggies, hung the stockings and then woke the kids
up. They were very excited at the sight of the gifts and
once they had all gathered I spoke briefly before
allowing them to sit with their respective families and
begin to collect their presents. After opening their
presents they had to find the stocking with their name on
it and I would cut it off the line for them to have. It was
truly a wonderful morning!
Christmas dinner was also an adventure
This was our first time ever preparing a holiday meal,
and it was for 45 people! But we successfully pulled off quinoa
mushroom risotto, garlic and herb potatoes (roasted in the bread
oven), and chicken marinated overnight in a homemade sauce
and then baked in the bread oven.
And for New Years
We had another challenge on our hands! In Bolivia,
New Years dinner is just as important as Christmas dinner. So
just one week after our crowning culinary achievement we
were back at it. This time around we put a large tray at each tablearound 9pm at night (after sending all the kids to their rooms). The
tray was piled high with oven-roasted pork, French fries, cheese
and salad. There was also a table in the middle of the dining room
with jelly-filled muffins, banana bread, and apple cinnamon cake.
The kids lined up and were allowed to pass to their tables and eat
what they wanted (everyone had to eat some salad!), when they
wanted for the rest of the night. And their meal was topped off
with a homemade watermelon Italian ice!! (Thanks to my Mom
for finding us a recipe!)
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7/29/2019 December/January Update
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DECEMBER/JANUARYTHE HANCOCK UPDATE
I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be
afraid. What can mortal man do to me? Psalm 56:3b-4
A quick word on finances
Now, concerning thecurrent situation in the homein Postrervalle. Nacer
Ministries is in our currentlocation in Postrervalle
because the house was givento us to rent by a missionarynamed Arlene who had left toreturn to the U.S. About twoweeks ago, this womans ex-husband returned to Boliviaand walked onto the propertystating that he had returnedto Bolivia to live and was
going to live in his house (thehome) and that we needed toleave. Miguel, Edly, Arlene,and Nacer USA have been
working extensively with alawyer in order to exhaust allpossibilities as far as our
being allowed to stay in thehome and fight against theactions being taken by thisman. As renters we are facingan uphill battle but we areconfident that whatever theend result is, God is involvedin the situation and His willfor the home and its ministrywill be carried out no matterwhat obstacles are placed in
our path.Please be praying
fervently for resolution to thissituation. We are ultimately
not concerned with whetherwe do indeed have to relocateor not; however we are
constantly preoccupied withthe mindset and well-being ofour kids and this situation canonly go on so long beforethere is a negative resultagainst the children and weare praying that that can beavoided, no matter how thecircumstances are ultimatelyresolved.
Continue your love to
those who know you, yourrighteousness to the upright in
heart. May the foot of the proud
not come against me, nor the hand
of the wicked drive me awayPsalm 36:10-11
The lack of funds is still an issue but not in the forefront of our
minds due to the circumstances we are facing in the home. We received moresupport this past month and should have enough monthly to get by for nowdue to the fact that we are administrators and living expenses are lower
because we live on site at the home.A brief explanation on why finances are still a problem yet I just said
we can get by. After taking away personal savings, cost of flights home, andmoney gifted to us specifically for the baby; we have $500 (period, not one-time or monthly, just $500). Money will come in each month so it is not as ifwe have $500 for the rest of our time here; but having the baby here will costover $2000 and be paid for all in cash. So as you can see we have reached apoint of some stability because we have some money and it will continue tocome each month, the issue is that to arrive at this point of stability we havehad to use one-time funds and personal savings so much that we are very
close to not being able to do so anymore. Please help us in praying for Godsprovidence and wisdom!
Thank you again for all of your support of our work here and weappreciate your prayers as we face this situation in Postrervalle, we continue
the work of administrators of 46 kids, and we continue to serve the Lordspurposes for Hogar Esparanza Viva.