december/january update

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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!

  • 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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    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.