Opportunity Strikes Again

We are super excited to let you all know that a great opportunity to go on mission has presented itself once again! Our new church, Lifepoint, has had its sights set on Costa Rica for some time now. They have prayed and waited for an open door and a perfect opportunity to go on mission there. Not long after we returned from Bolivia, a family from Lifepoint, The Dawsons, whom we've known for almost 15 years, was praying and preparing to journey to Costa Rica on a vision trip. They'd known for a while that God was calling them, nudging them, pushing them to go. All of the cards fell into place and doors swung open wide. They left in July 2013 for Tamarindo, Costa Rica, to explore what ministry opportunities might lie waiting for them there. The original plan was to stay for about 2-3 months to get a good "feel" for the country, culture, language, and needs there. Thankfully, Scott was able to work from there, so their flexibility was definitely in their favor. After more than 8 months, they are still there and loving it! The Lord has connected them with a local church, Iglesia Casa Vida, that has already planted two new churches in neighboring villages, one of which is Playa Azul. 

Lifepoint has planned to take a team of 12 down to Tamarindo and Playa Azul this summer, July 3-12, to help with various projects that Iglesia Casa Vida has planned, including a VBS for the kids and beachfront ministry outreaches. Lowell is leading this group, and I (Shay) am very excited that Aidan and I will be able to join him and be a part of the team! Why not the whole family, you ask? Unfortunately, this is not a family mission trip, but a church sponsored one and is only open to 12 adults (although we do have three mature teens going with us). We have agreed to let Aidan go, but he is well aware that he must raise his own money in order to go. As the leader of the team, Lowell's way is paid which is a huge blessing. I must raise a total of $1,500 to pay my way - which includes airfare, food, and lodging.

I'd love to once again involve each of you in being a part of God's great mission! All of you have so generously supported us as a family in the past and I am humbly asking that you consider financially supporting me as I prepare to go once again to foreign soil to minister to latinos. I knew coming home from Bolivia was not the "end", but only a beginning of new and different opportunities that the Lord has for me and our entire family! I am so happy that He has chosen to use us once again so soon after returning from Bolivia.

Would you prayerfully consider giving a one time gift, a monthly gift for the next four months, or simply lifting myself, Lowell, Aidan, and the other 9 team members from our church up in prayer? Please pray for all of us as we raise our funds, prepare ourselves spiritually and mentally, and grow to know one another better as a team. Also, please pray for the The Dawson family as they prepare for us to come and for the people that we will encounter while in Costa Rica. We all thank you in advance for your continued support of us as a family and for the incredible ways God chooses to use us for His glory. Please send in any financial donation to the address below and be sure to write: "Costa Rica Mission Trip/Shay Ballew" on the memo line. All contributions are tax deductible. I'd love to hear from you - please let me know that you will be praying by commenting here, or writing a quick personal email or private message on facebook.

For God's Glory -

Shay

Mail donations to:
LIFEPOINT CHURCH
2450 E. MAIN ST. #H
LEAGUE CITY, TX 77573

MEMO: "Costa Rica Mission Trip/Shay Ballew" 

For more info about Lifepoint Church and the Costa Rica mission trip, you can visit our website at www.cometolifepoint.org
cometolifepoint.org

Ballew Mission Supporters' Reception!

We want to say thank you and share some photos, videos, and stories of our time in Bolivia with all of our awesome supporters, prayer warriors, and friends! Please join us next Saturday night, June 22, from 7:00pm-10:00pm (come and go) at Panera Bread - I45 and Bay Area Blvd. location. We will have coffee and dessert and share how you can continue praying for Bolivia and be a part of what God is doing there! This is our small way of showing everyone our appreciation for loving us and supporting us and making this amazing experience possible! Please let us know via email, text, or facebook pm if you plan to attend. We also have a small gift from Bolivia for each of our financial supporters.

Shay: 832-803-6080  sballew72@gmail.com
Lowell: 832-803-4041   lballew73@gmail.com

HOPE TO SEE EACH OF YOU THERE!

On a hiking trail in an old, ancient Incan ruins site called "Incachaca"

Home Again, Home Again...

Goodness gracious me! I can't believe I haven't written an update since April 7! What a whirlwind the past (almost) 2 months have been...as you can imagine! I suppose I'll just begin by saying, "We made it "home"! I seriously wondered there for a while if it would really all happen and come to pass. Things became quite stressful and challenging trying to get out of our house in Bolivia, but thanks to my amazing husband, it happened. We spent our last 3 weeks in Coch staying in a missionary guest house that some other missionaries had just opened up. We got to "break it in" and test the comfort level :o)! Let me tell you, if any of you ever get the opportunity to go to Cochabamba, Bolivia on mission, it's THE place to stay! It truly is a wonderful ministry and so very needed in the city. They are putting all the funds raised right back into other ministries and to help Bolivians in need. Find them on facebook at "The Harvest Guesthouse".

Lowell with Rick, one of his best friends here in Bolivia

We had an incredible despedida (going away party) hosted by some of our best friends, TJ and Tammy Mitchell. We felt very blessed by the presence of so many dear friends we made in Bolivia. It was overwhelming! We enjoyed sweet fellowship, amazing FOOD, and a prayer time led by TJ. We brought along our journal that friends had signed for us at our going away party here in League City back in March 2011 so that now, on the flip side, our missionary and Bolivian friends could sign it. I actually just grabbed it out of a suitcase the other day and read all of the words of gold that folks wrote for the first time! What a treasure for ages to come!

Shay with some of her friends - both other missionary wives and Bolivian beauties!

Our travel back was fairly uneventful, which is exactly what you want when you are traveling internationally with a family of 6! This certainly doesn't mean it wasn't hard or challenging, but no major bumps or serious issues along the way. We flew directly into Orlando to stay for a week at a vacation home some fellow missionaries in Bolivia just bought - to use as their home base when they are home on furlough, and as an investment when they are in Bolivia. We were able to "do Disney" and made it to the beach one day, which was absolutely splendid after being in a landlocked country for over 2 years! Ahhh...the coastline! It was pretty crazy going from 3rd world, developing, poverty stricken country, to Orlando! Vacation capitol of the world, where everything is super new and shiny and RICH!!! Whew. But, we had a great time and just felt so blessed beyond belief to even be there and get to do that!

The boys with a few of their best buds (all MK's...a special breed!)

As you can imagine, we had some pretty sweet reunions with family and friends once we returned to Texas. We spent time with my parents, my brother and his family, and my oldest sister in Brenham, Lowell's parents, sister, and nieces in Frost, my other sister and her family in Denton, and were able to see some old friends along the way. It was great to see how everyone had changed (kids) and how they reacted to one another after more than 2 years. Funny. Teenagers are just funny :o) After more than 2 weeks of traveling around and going from place to place and living out of suitcases, the kids started begging to get "home" to League City. So, we cut our travel time short and arrived to LC on May 22. Some of you may remember me asking for prayer for a place to stay until July. We had an old friend from our days at CCCC offer for us to stay with her in her large house, so...we are settled, but not really! We still have suitcases everywhere, still digging around looking for stuff, still anxious to be really home and settled. We will be here in her home until the end of June, although one week we will get to attend a family camp at Mo Ranch with other families from our new church.

A few of our faithful Bolivian students from youth group

God was so good to bring Jake Beaty along to take over the youth ministry! You guys are in good hands!

Speaking of our new church. Lowell officially began his new position as Worship Pastor yesterday and led his first service this morning!! It was LifePoint's 5 year anniversary big celebration service - so, it was doubly special! I'm not sure if there is any way at this point to feel more blessed, but we have already had our hearts just blessed beyond measure by our new church family! WOW. I could just keep saying wow all day long over the incredible things God has done and how he has used folks from LifePoint to take care of us in huge ways. This church has a big passion for missions and ministry and taking care of others' needs, let me tell you! This has been so evident even before we arrived. We received a donation of a CAR from a family, and many folks have offered up furniture and help.

Good friends from the married couples' group Lowell and I were a part of

I just don't even know how to put into words the thanks and gratitude we feel for all of you who have gone alongside of us on this journey that God called us into. YOU made it possible, through the Lord's prompting and provision. We are humbled and indebted to you. We do not feel like this journey is ending, but rather opening a new chapter and starting a new season! Please, if you'd like to walk it with us still, we'd love to have you! I plan on continuing the blog (I rather enjoy writing) and keeping everyone up to date with what miracles God is working in our lives and in the world around us. We  plan to continue being a big part of what's going on in Bolivia and support our friends who remain there, on the front lines. We might occasionally share what is happening in their ministries or share needs they have so that you can pray and give if God leads.

Miriam was our amazing, hard-working maid...but a much better friend. She was the most difficult person for me (Shay) to leave :o( Pray for this sweet soul. 

 

 

Olivia loved Miriam, and Miriam loved Olivia :o)

We will soon be hosting a "Post Bolivia Missions Journey" night for all of you locally who would like to come and hear more about our time there. We will share photos, videos, and most of all, what God did and is doing in Bolivia! Look for an evite and/or online invitation soon!

Here we are with Edwin Almanza and his two children, Isabel and Nate. Edwin played a HUGE role in us coming to Bolivia in the first place. God used this man to lead us to Bolivia.

Lowell with some of his favorite musicians from the worship team - je je je

Much love and blessings to you all! God is so GOOD! He is FAITHFUL, LOVING, and TRUSTWORTHY!

In Christ -

Lowell, Shay, Aidan, Liam, Jude, and Olivia

*On a financial note: Our Ripe For Harvest acct. is currently still open and active, but will be closed shortly. If you'd still like to make a one time donation to us and receive the tax deduction, please send it to our RFH acct. asap! All info is here on the blog - address, auto draft, etc...However, if you would still like to make a donation to us to help us get re-settled back here in the states and are not concerned with a tax deduction, please send to Lowell's parents as we are not yet back at our old address: Lowell Ballew; c/o Robert Ballew; P.O. Box 293; Frost, Tx 76641 OR, hand deliver locally to Lowell and I over a cup of coffee or some good Tex-Mex!!!!!

The clock is ticking

This will likely be the last post we make from Bolivian soil. From south of the equator. The countdown is on - we leave Bolivia exactly 3 weeks from Tuesday on April 30. Our flight out of Santa Cruz technically leaves on the first of May, but it's at 2 in the morning. We leave Coch in the evening on the 30th. Our Despedida has been planned (going away party), the invites sent out, 2 garage sales down, one more to go. Pick up day is scheduled for those who have bought furniture and other large items. The suitcases have begun to make their way out of storage. This is such a grueling, tiring process. We are NOT looking forward to leaving Bolivia, but we are so ready for this part of the transition to be over. We are heartbroken at the thought of saying goodbye, but we are overjoyed at the thought of saying hello to family and dear friends back home for the first time in over 2 years!! We already have a packed schedule upon immediate return. I'm not sure when life will slow down for us! We are so blessed to be able to spend a week in Florida as soon as we get back, just chillin', relaxing, regrouping as a family, and having some fun in the sun on the beach. We plan to spend the month of May traveling throughout Texas visiting family and some friends. Once we arrive back to League City, we hit the ground running! Lowell begins his new ministry position at Lifepoint Church on Sunday, June 2.

We have been praying for a place to stay for our first month back, since our current tenants in our house will not be moving out until the end of June. We have a strong possibility at this point, but nothing set in stone. Please pray that God would provide a place we can be comfortable but yet not be a burden on anyone else. We are looking forward to moving back into our old home and neighborhood come July! Not sure how many of you remember several years ago when we were trying to leave to come to Bolivia. The main thing holding us back was the fact that our house just would not sell! After 10 months of waiting and wondering if God really did want us to go, we were able to lease it, which in turn released us to be able to come. What an incredible blessing that we can now look back on - God didn't allow our house to sell for a good reason. He knew we'd be coming back. He had HIS plans, and we had ours :o)

We covet your prayers as we prepare these last 3 weeks to leave. It is so overwhelming but yet we know in the end, it will all get done! Pray that we can have some sweet closure time and that all loose ends would be tied within our ministries at the church, our home, with the sell of items, and travel plans. Pray for all of the relationships that we were able to build and cultivate to continue after we leave and that God would send others behind us, as he had sent others ahead of us! God is doing some very, very cool things here in the city of Cochabamba, and we look forward to sharing with all of you what we were allowed to experience and be a part of. And hope to continue being a part of.....

We will be holding an Open House of sorts for all of our friends, family, and supporters in the Clear Lake area once we return and get "settled". Be on the lookout for that invite and information.

Chau...one last time, from Cochabamba, Bolivia -

Lowell, Shay, Aidan, Liam, Jude, and Olivia

Eating breakfast at the coffee shop "Alexandar's" in La Paz, Bolivia

Some precious tiny girls from the region of Potosi were left alone to dance and make money. Lowell and I both were grabbed by them to come dance! 

At the Valley of the Moon outside of La Paz

On the shores of Lago Titicaca in Copacabana

Deja Vu

Didn't we JUST do this? Didn't I just get through the process of going through papers, throwing things away, selling all (Ok, like 90%) of our belongings, packing, saying goodbyes, showing our house to strangers at a moment's notice, and hi-tailing it to another country? Surely it must have been only months ago. I know it's not possible that this journey started 4 1/2 years ago, and that I went through this same process on the other side of the equator over 2 years ago. It can't be.

Olivia w/2 of her beautiful Bolivian friends who are being adopted by another missionary family

Alas, yes, it has. And our time here in Bolivia is very quickly coming to a close. It is a very strange and awkward and emotional season for me - for us. We are faced daily with the battle of choosing to "be" here and make the best of our last weeks or choosing to do one or many of the thousand little things that need to be done in order to leave on April 30. We want to make these last days count, to have fun, to enjoy Bolivia, to be used by God, to be productive and make an impact, to "leave our mark" so to speak. We want to seize the last little bits of opportunity we have to help, to serve, to travel and see parts of this beautiful country yet unseen by us. However, we can't do it all. I've just come to this conclusion. There is no way we can accomplish all we'd love to in the next 7 weeks! We simply have to give our time to God, to ask for his guidance daily, and trust that He will allow those things to happen that HE wants to happen and that He knows need to happen.

2 of our precious Bolivian students from youth group

So, we are deep in the throngs of preparing to leave. It's unbelievable what we have accumulated in just 2 years here! The word is definitely out that we are leaving, so folks have been asking to look at and buy all of our stuff. We will be having official "sales" towards the end and are quite confident that we will not have difficulty getting rid of everything. This process is hard and sometimes grueling (for me, Shay) and more emotional than I expected. It is sad to be leaving a place that has become very dear to our hearts, but we know God still has great plans to use us for Bolivia's sake! Of course, the hardest part is the thought of leaving the people. We have made some incredible, amazing friends here - both Bolivian and other missionaries - and it will be heartbreaking to say goodbye.

Jude loving on one of the sweet orphan babies at Casa de Amor (just 1 of 1,000's in Cochabamba alone)

As we prepare to leave, we continue on with the youth ministry and music ministry at CIC. We are preparing to leave well and are seeking ways to transition the leadership of these ministries to new leaders and volunteers. Please pray that it will be a smooth and flawless transition for both and that the folks who have already committed to help will be faithful and blessed by God to do what needs to be done.

A man from the small village of Tarabuco in their traditional native dress

We have heard that "re-entry" can be hard, even after a short time, so please pray that God would prepare our hearts and minds and attitudes for the change. Our lives are forever changed, our perspectives new, we have seen much and felt much during this journey. We hope that these experiences will cause us to love more, serve more, hope more, and help move others to action. There is so much pain, hurt, poverty, sickness, and perverseness in this world. We cannot be simply content to sit in our comfortable suburban homes and live our busy activity-filled consumer minded lives while there are 80 year old women living on the streets, newborn babies found in riverbeds and dumpsters and cornfields, pre-teen boys washing windshields to earn pennies to buy glue to sniff, 1,000's dying every day without Jesus. We. just. can't.

Lord, show us what to do and how to live.

With much love, blessing, and hope -

Shay, Lowell, Aidan, Liam, Jude, & Olivia

A despedida (going away party) we hosted for our dear friends, The Gordons, who are moving on to ministry opportunities in Colombia

P.S.!!!!! TO OUR FINANCIAL SUPPORTERS:
We want to humbly remind you that we are living on full support through May 31! Our account with Ripe For Harvest will be open and active until then. Lowell will not begin receiving a paycheck until June with Lifepointe Church in League City. If you would like to give a one time financial gift to help with our transition back into life in the states (we will need to purchase 2 cars, clothing, and an entire house full of furniture :O!!!) please feel free to send a check to Ripe For Harvest (w/tax deduction) or to Robert Ballew (w/out tax deduction).

Ripe For Harvest World Outreach                        Lowell Ballew
P.O. Box 487                                                         c/o Robert Ballew
Monument, CO 80132                                          P.O. Box 293
Acct. #304                                                            Frost, TX 76641

Aidan learning all about Bolivian history at Casa de Libertad in Sucre, Bolivia

More change & transition

In case you haven't heard the news flash...we are moving back to the states in May. Yes, you are correct in thinking that we were just going to go home for a "visit" and then return to Bolivia to continue serving. Well, that's what we thought too. We were perfectly prepared to stay here in Bolivia for as long as we felt we needed to be. Apparently that time is shorter than we thought. Our original minimum commitment was 2 years. That 2 year mark will be March 31. Lowell and I began praying about what God would have us do once our minimum commitment was up. He felt a very strong pull to move back to the states for some reason. I wasn't surprised or shocked or angry. I came here with a very open mind to stay long term or return once our time was done. However, once we really began thinking about it and praying about it and talking it over, the thought of leaving this place we've called home for almost 2 years, the thought of moving back to the states, the thought that our "time here might be over"....was very overwhelming for me. I prayed, I cried, I journaled, I read God's word. It started to become clear to me, too, in my heart of hearts, that we were being asked to go "home".

And then Lowell was offered a job. Wow. Just like that?! Yes, we really felt like that was the deal that sealed it. The confirmation, if you will, that we were indeed to move back. It all seems so crazy to me. That we did all this for only 2 years!? And boy, has it flown. I mean, I know we still have the last 4 months and I so do not want to discount those, but man...when a journey like this enters a new season/stage, where you see the end in sight, you just start having thoughts like this: "What have we accomplished while here?"; "Did we do any good?"; "What did we learn/what did our kids learn?" "Did we spend our time well and were we good stewards of the money our supporters gave us?"; "How's my spanish after 2 years...??", etc, etc, etc...!!!! You know, for some of those questions rolling around in my head, only God knows the answer. And I just have to accept that. I have to trust that those seeds that he allowed us to plant (and are GOING to plant in the next 4 months!!!) will grow into fruition and that He was gracious enough to use us for His glory and to further His kingdom here.

Please be clear that we were in NO WAY looking for an "out" in this journey. We have loved every crazy, wild, hard, rough and tough moment. We love being here and we love Bolivia, especially the people. Oh, the people. Ok. I can't go there. Tears welling up. Yes, it has been a challenging journey, but isn't life hard no matter where you are on this planet? I will honestly say that it has been the most difficult on our kids. They are mighty troopers. They are my heroes. We chose to do this crazy mission right smack dab in the middle of the boys' pre-teen/teen years. I won't lie and say that their hearts and emotional state didn't have some significant influence on our decision. It was very hard on Olivia more in the very beginning, but now I really think she loves it here and will be very sad to go. Her age (4 when we left) was a better time to go if you're going to go, although I think much older than that and it gets really tough.

Another thought I'd like to share is that Lowell and I both feel very strongly that just because this phase or stage of our mission journey is ending soon, that does not mean that we are "done". We plan to forever be involved in missions, whatever that may look like. We look forward to being able to pray for and support our local church here, the many missionaries that have become dear friends to us, and possibly plan and lead short term teams down!

Anyway, we had a great visit with Lowell's parents while they were here! We were able to travel to a city named Sucre which is my favorite city in Bolivia (so far!). We took tons of photos! I am working on putting them all into my flickr account, so I will link to that from here.

Shay

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                MERRY CHRISTMAS! FELIZ NAVIDAD!

 Whenever it comes time each year to write an “end-of–year” update on our family’s adventures,   I always spend a fair amount of time just sitting and staring blankly at the screen. I mean, really, how on earth can one possibly condense one entire year of a family’s life onto one, blank, white sheet of paper? It is always so very difficult for me to summarize and pick out the few significant moments to write about. At first, I had the brilliant {ridiculous} idea that I would just do a photo album of our year for you – here, on paper! Ha, ha, ha!!! Three full pages later of tiny, squished-to-fit photos with captions I came to the wise conclusion that not one of you (ok, two…mom and MIL!) would appreciate receiving a 3 page Christmas newsletter and would promptly throw it in the trash, and that if anyone REALLY wants to see that many photos of our year, we will kindly direct you to visit our facebook pages :o)http://www.facebook.com/shay.ballew/photos

  December marks our 1 year, 9 month anniversary of being in Bolivia. Just a few short months from now we will celebrate 2 years. Some of you who know that our minimum commitment here was 2 years may be wondering what our next step is.  For now, we continue to do the work that we feel God led us here to do, which is leading the worship and student ministries of Cochabamba Intl. Church. We are continually praying that the Lord will lead us and guide us into what HE has for us. We are open and willing to do whatever He calls us to do, whether that be to stay or leave. At this point, we do not feel a strong, clarifying pull either way, so our tentative plan is to come home for a 3 month visit next summer, and return to Bolivia, for as long as God has planned. There is much work to be done here, that much is evident. There are also many effective ministries, projects, foundations, and opportunities in place for one to serve, volunteer, or devote their time to. In addition to serving at the church, we try to help out in several of these various ministries or projects as well, as much as we can.

  We went back to homeschooling the kids this year so they no longer attend the MK school, Carachipampa. There are positives and negatives to this choice, as with any. We must make more of an effort to get out and get “into” the culture and use our Spanish. It does afford us the opportunity to get involved in more projects during the week and obviously guide the kids’ learning more. There are several other missionary families that homeschool so we get together frequently for good social time (not to mention support and encourage each other!)

  How can we possibly express our gratitude to each and every one of you that have loved us, prayed for us, supported us, and given to us financially to make this journey possible? There just will never be words enough to say how humbled and thankful we are for your sacrifice and gifts. We do not ever want to forget that we are here because of your generosity! That we “get” to live this journey and adventure that God has us on with your help. And no other way! We love to pray for our supporters and thank God for you. We humbly ask that you continue to support us in this mission, and that if you feel led to give a one-time end of year gift, please do so using the information below or click on the "give" button above.

  We look so forward to keeping you updated on what God is doing here in Coch and in our lives!

Feliz Navidad y Bendiciones  por el año Nuevo!                 

The Ballew Family - Lowell, Shay, Aidan, Liam, Jude, & Olivia

Stateside address (non tax deductible gifts):           Mission address (tax deductible gifts):

Ballew Family                                                           Ripe For Harvest

P.O. Box 293                                                            P.O. Box 487

Frost,TX 76641                                                        Monument, CO 80132

                                                                                 *NOTE acct. #304 Lowell Ballew on check*

Field address (notes, cards, packages only)

La Familia Ballew

Casilla #6505

Cochabamba, Bolivia

South America

www.theballews.org

www.ripeforharvest.org

www.cicbolivia.org

Happy Bolivian Babies

Howdy, all. It's October already. Smack in the middle of springtime here in Bo. As long as we are here, I will never get used to the backwards seasons. Oh, how I miss fall. You know, REAL Autumn? Like you all are experiencing back home. Orange, and brown, and gold, and deep dark hues of red. Pumpkins, and squash, and gourds, and hay. Scarecrows, and costumes, and candy corn...not to mention caramel apples. Cool breezes, a nip in the air, chilly nights, and sweaters. Spiced tea, pumpkin spice lattes, carrot cake muffins, and cinnamon candles. Oh, gosh, I really, really miss this time of year back home. Enjoy it all for me, friends! It will be a very long while until I can experience it again. Springtime in Coch means heavy winds, warmer weather, bright sunshine, and the impending, coming rainy season. Yes! This is all good. How can I ever complain about the amazing weather here? The climate is incomparable. So lovely to be cool in the shade, and warm in the sun. And when the rains come, all of the dust and dirt will be washed away and the air will be clear!

I hope I never grow tired of the amazing sunsets we get to enjoy this time of year from our dining room window!

We have been in the throngs of school now for just over 6 weeks and of course it has not been without it's challenges. The boys are doing a good job of taking more responsibility getting their schoolwork done in their "PACES" (Ace Homeschool Curriculum....a new path for us), and really only need us to help when they get stuck or don't understand instructions. Olivia is in need of one on one attention right now since she is learning to read and cannot read any of the instructions in her workbooks. She is learning how to take instruction from Mommy and Daddy as her teachers and working really hard on sitting still and staying focused!

It's nice to be able to have "homeschooling lessons" like this with Olivia. She helped me put together some "bags of blessings" to hand out to street kids who beg for money on the streets.

We have been able to help out with a ministry here called "Baby Washing" in the main plaza a couple of times this past month. This takes place every Sat. and tents are set up along with many bins of water to wash, rinse, dry, and clothe babies, ages newborn to 5, with a new set of clothes. Most of the folks who take advantage of this amazing ministry are indigenous peoples who likely have no home or at least no running water in their "home". I have a feeling that most of these moms who come are single and desperate, with no jobs or skills, including reading or writing. They come to have their babies washed once a week. I mostly helped out with dressing the children and Livi helped me with that. Lowell and the boys help with set up and tear down and playing with some of the older kids who have their hair washed. Please pray for these mamas, not only for their physical needs, but of course that the love of Jesus would be so evident in the volunteers that it change lives!

Here Olivia and I are helping transfer the babies back to their mamas after they bathe and dress them.

Last week we took a fun day trip along with two other families to a part of the Chapare jungle region called Inca Chaca (which means bridge of the Incans). It is a beautiful place with typical jungle vegetation, rivers, waterfalls, and swimming holes. It was life-giving to get out of the city and get into nature and enjoy God's amazing creation! The kids had a blast swimming and hiking and exploring and I had a blast watching them come alive in their element! We are trying to regularly get together with some of the other missionary families that homeschool for our kids to have social time and build friendships here.

We made some exciting changes in the auditorium at our church, at Lowell's leading and suggestion. The direction of the stage and seating arrangement was reconfigured and it looks awesome! This may sound trivial, but simple things like this really do make a huge difference in how a service is conducted, how things are perceived by newcomers, how the music sounds, how easy (or not) it is for people to find seats when they walk in, etc...Lowell was given the permission to make these changes and to invest in some lighting and possible new sound equipment for the music ministry. These are all wonderful advances in this growing ministry and I believe God is using Lowell and his knowledge to do some exciting things for the Music and Worship Ministry of CIC! I was also able to do my very first stage design, which was fun and brought back great memories of serving in that area at CCCC. I look forward to doing more of that and discovering creative people in the congregation that can help.

This is the new set up, although now the projector screen is centered. Here is Shay teaching the students at youth group.

Lowell and I have been able to get back involved with the young couple's bible study now that we are homeschooling again. Right now we are doing a book study of the book Powerful Promises for Every Couple by Jim and Elizabeth George. Each week one couple hosts and leads the discussion of a chapter. Well, Lowell and I are hosting and leading this Monday night!!! THIS GROUP IS ENTIRELY IN SPANISH! Please pray for us as this will be our first time leading anything in Spanish. We feel very inadequate to do this, but we also know that this is a very loving, forgiving group and it's a great place to start and practice! I have been working on translating the chapter into English first, so I can understand it well before leading a discussion on it!

Shay at a retreat for the wives of the young couple's bible study

We are looking forward to another visit from Lowell's parents in December! Our year end newsletter will be coming out via their snail mail before they head down to visit us again for Christmas. We truly do hope that until then you will be blessed and thoroughly enjoy all that this season has to offer. Again, we are so humbled by your support, love, and encouragement of all that we are doing here. God is so good!!

Shay, for the family!

Prayer and Praise:
1} We have our two year visas and our passports back in our possession!! This feels so great! Also, we were able to begin the process to obtain our new carnets, which are Bolivian i.d. cards, and should have them within 30-45 days. After we get them, we can renew our Bolivian driver's licenses!

2} Continue to lift us up concerning homeschooling. It is not the easy road, but is what we feel God led us to do this year. Pray that the kids would be highly motivated, independent learners and would be cooperative and diligent and maintain positive attitudes (not only about school, but Bolivia in general)

3} Pray for private Spanish tutors for us all, or at least good Bolivian friends to practice with :o)

4} Growth for the music and youth ministries that we lead. Ministry opportunities for us to serve in as a family.

Praise Report!

Just a quick note to say thanks to all who prayed for our visas/passports to be ready soon! We received them from our lawyer on Monday - at almost 3 months after we applied for the 2 year visa! We are so thankful to have our passports back in our possession and to be legal for another 2 years. This means we can leave the country for under 90 days and come back in and not have to re-apply for new visas within these next 2 years. Our future plan is to come home for a 89 day visit (;o) next summer (June/July/August) and then return to Bolivia to continue the work God has for us to do here until He tells us to come "home" or move on to something different. Once the 2 year visa is up, we then apply for a 5 year visa. We don't know at this point if we will be here that long or not. Solo Dios sabe....

I might as well give a report on our first full week of school here. So far, so good. However, it was not without tears, whining, and the normal frustrations of homeschooling. The curriculum we ordered for Jude arrived today! Our friends who were in the states graciously lugged them all here for us. Ironically...the books were ordered from a place in Lewisville, TX (just hours from our home, 1 hour away from my in-laws, and less than 30 min. away from my sister's home), were sent to Arkansas to the place our friends were staying, then with them went from there to Florida, from Florida to Panama, and finally from Panama to Bolivia. Believe it or not, it's much cheaper to do it that way than have someone mail the books to us straight from TX.

Tonight we have organized a Back To School Bash for our youth group in which we will have a scavenger hunt, food, drinks, and ice cream sundaes!! Pray that we have a great turnout, much fun will be had, and that the students start coming back on a regular basis. I'm planning on presenting our idea for a student leadership team next Fri. at group and praying that God will raise up the student leader's He wants to be a part of it.

Muchisimos Gracias por todo -

Shay

Summer (Winter) Break 2012

Wowzers! It has been too long since our last update. Sorry, folks. I guess the laziness of this break really got to me. We have enjoyed the time to just "be" after a really hard year. We really took it easy and just chilled at home most of the summer (ok, I can't call it summer because it just flat isn't!). We tried to do some fun things around town with the kids so they wouldn't be cooped up the entire time. I had to come up with a daily schedule for us to follow so that they wouldn't be glued to the xbox for hours on end! This included daily chores, much to their chagrin. A few opportunities we had this break were: 1. Visiting several parks in the city where the boys could ride their skateboards and Livi could ride her bike and scooter. Cochabamba really does have some great public parks for which we are thankful.  2. Checking out the local Museum of Natural History. It was quite small but really very interesting. The coolest part was seeing a stuffed condor, the national bird of The Andes. 3. Since we were unable to travel outside of the city (our passports are still in La Paz at the immigration office, awaiting our 2 yr. visa stamp) we decided to stay a couple of nights at a local hotel as our mini-vacation. It was a beautiful place and we had a great time relaxing and letting the kids swim in the heated indoor pool (winter in Coch = freezing outdoor pool water!). 4. Helping a short term missions team build a house for a Quechuan Pastor, his family, and his brother's family. Lowell posted some photos of this project on facebook at this link: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151172601217189.509467.637202188&type=1

Arriving at our in-town mini vacation - the kids were so excited to pose for the pic

Lowell and a missionary friend, Rick, laying bricks to build one wall of the Pastor's house

We have continued to meet with the youth group at church throughout the break, even though many, many of the students left for the summer, or graduated and left for good. Our numbers have been few, but we have enjoyed meeting every other week to discuss "What the Bible Has to Say About....." certain topics that the group chose, including Sex, Drugs/Drinking, Dancing, Love/Marriage/Dating, Music and Money. On the off weeks, we planned fun events for the kids to participate in. We are looking forward to a new semester with the group and having our numbers increase again. We will be starting a new series of discussions on Christian living with the students and hopefully will see our goal of a student leadership team realized. Please continue praying along with us for this multi-national (Bolivians, Canadians, U.S.A.ians) group of young people that God has put us in leadership over.

Honoring a great group of Seniors - a huge loss to our group, but an awesome gain for the world!

Lowell had an increased role with the music leadership at church this summer as well since one of the three leaders is on furlough (home assignment) in the states for 6 months. The third was also visiting the states for 2 weeks so he didn't get a break for awhile! He has been trying to recruit some new band members and build relationships within the music ministry so he's excited about possibilities for growth. He's had meetings with the Senior Pastor and the elders to present some ideas he has about doing church/ministry more effectively - all things he learned so well at CCCC.

Of course we celebrated Jude and Livi this summer! Jude turned 11 on July 22 and we had a family style party at the house. Livi turned 6 on Aug. 3 and we had the most pinkeriffic slumber party ever! I had a blast planning and decorating for her party. 

Jude really did turn 11...I just only had 7 candles in the house! 

Olivia and her pals...all dressed in pink for her pinkalicious party!

So...as you all are in the "back to school" mode in the states, we are here as well. As stated in my last update, we will be homeschooling the kids again (yes, ALL of the kids - Jude had a change of heart). As this will be our first experience homeschooling in another country, I am just a little on the nervous side. There is no such thing as homeschooling in Bolivia, so it is very difficult to explain or for a lot of people here to understand. And although we do know a few other missionary families that homeschool, the support and resources are basically nil. However, I am excited about the possibility of being able to find more ministry opportunities to be involved in as a family or for the kids to do. We will be looking to get out of the house quite a bit so we do not fall into the trap of living in a nice little bubble. We must still seek out relationships with Bolivians, work on our Spanish, and get to know this culture better. So far, Olivia is enrolled in dance classes 3 times per week, which gives her a great opportunity to make Bolivian friends and build her Spanish skills. It also is a perfect opportunity for me to build relationships with the moms and practice my language skills as well. The boys just haven't gotten into soccer (which is like baseball here...extremely intense and they start at age 3), so we are looking for a possible sport or other activity to get them involved in for relationship building and language learning. I've heard a rumor of a baseball league and Lowell and the boys did meet a man that has a really cool "ministry" (don't think it's Christian based and he's not a missionary, per se) to street kids here. He is from New Mexico and he and his wife help get kids off the streets by providing a place for them to come hang out, skateboard, learn skills such as playing an instrument or recording music, or entertaining, such as juggling or clowning. Sounds like a perfect fit, so we shall see.

Much love and blessings to all. We appreciate your prayers and financial support more than you will ever know.

The Ballew Family

Prayer Requests:
1) Homeschool - beginning Monday, Aug. 13. Grade levels are 8th, 6th, 5th, and Kinder. Pray for the kids to be motivated to learn and to ease into the new schedule well. Pray that Lowell and I will be good "teachers" for them and love them well, above all else.
2) For our 2 year visas to be granted and our passports to be sent back to us A.S.A.P.
3) Growth for the student group (ThE MiX) - in numbers and spiritually. That the Leadership Team would be realized soon!
4) Language. Our Spanish is just not nearly as good as it should be. We need more practice and formal instruction, but cannot afford to return to the school we used to attend. Pray for language helpers for us all.

No Left Turn

I do plan to write a June/July update soon, but this isn't it. This is a story. Quite often (pretty much daily!), I think to myself, "Wow, I really should share that story on the blog." But, life happens and I don't take the time. Something happened to me (Shay) yesterday however, that I really wanted to share. I had my first - well, technically second - run in with a Bolivian police officer. Here's the whole story in a nutshell:

Aidan and I had gone down to La Cancha to get haircuts from our favorite stylist in the afternoon. You don't realize it, but this simple "errand" takes a lot of planning here. First, you must think about the right time to go (after 3 pm when siesta time is over), next you must think about how to get there - in a taxi? a trufi? a micro? or...drive your own car? Well, my first thought was to take a trufi. Trufis are like taxis, only slightly larger vehicles (typically a mini van) and have a fixed route - meaning they only go certain directions/ways/streets/locations, etc... We have a trufi line that goes right by our house and goes down to La Cancha, so it's quite convenient. Plus, they are really cheap. However, any time I think about taking a trufi, honestly, I groan and whine inside. They are usually slow, jam packed, dirty, and stinky. On the other hand, taking our own car was risky because it is extremely difficult to find a parking spot anywhere downtown or in La Cancha. Well, after deciding to take the car, we made our way down and ended up finding a decent spot that was only a few blocks away from the hair salon. We got our haircuts and left the scene. Here's where the story really begins. You really can't understand this unless you've lived here and know the area that we were in, but it is a very, very busy, crazy, chaotic, area where the streets are all either one way or you are forbidden to make left turns, etc. I have actually only personally driven down there once before. I have ridden with Lowell a couple of times and been in a taxi or trufi once or twice. All that to say, I really (really!) don't know all the traffic rules down there or which way the streets go or where you can turn and not turn. It's all so crazy...and much like a lot of stuff here, doesn't make any sense to me. The first main street we came to,  I couldn't turn left on, second main street, I wasn't sure...didn't see a no turn left sign so I thought I'd go for it because no cars were coming. BAD IDEA. Problem was, if I kept going straight, I'd go deeper and deeper into La Cancha. Believe me, you do not want to get stuck in the depths of LC in your car. So, I made a lightening fast decision to turn when I had the chance. Whoa. Two police officers started blowing their whistles at me and yelling something at me and pointing over to the right. Of course, I had no idea what they were saying except for, "you can't turn left here!". So, I stop and try to back up into the lane to go straight. Another bad idea. I was so flustered and I had no idea what he was saying, so I just went ahead and went straight (for Cbba residents, what I did was turn left onto San Martin from Aroma - f.y.i = don't ever do it!!!). So...I drive along for several blocks, not thinking there was any problem when a po-po comes up beside me on his moto telling me to pull over. Oh, STINK. I immediately started praying for God to intervene and help me! I was scared to death. I acted totally dumb and asked him what the problem was. It would be impossible to tell you how our "conversation" went from that point, but basically it was very hard and stressful to try and communicate with him. I was almost in tears. When he saw that my license was expired, I tried to explain to him that I couldn't renew it until I received my new 2 year visa and that we had payed for those already and they were in process. I showed him my receipt for that, as my lawyer had advised us to do in case of any trouble like this, but he wasn't accepting it. He wanted to take me to transito (the police station, basically) right then. You see, the Bolivian process of paying fines for traffic violations is completely different than what we are used to in the states! They do not issue a ticket, then you go pay it on your own time. No, they take you in right then and there and you pay the fines at the office. Well, this scared me to no end and I argued with him that I could not go to transito right then and eventually told him I would go, but not without my husband. So, he asked where my husband was, where our house was, and said, "Ok, let's go to your house and get him!!!" What?!! I was like, um...ok, that is so freakin' weird, but Ok!! At that point, I just needed Lowell with me, so I was willing to drive all the way to my house with the guy following me to get him. I called Lowell once we start
'/0ed off and was a complete basket case! I explained to him through tears what had happened and that I needed him to help me and that we were coming to the house to pick him up! He immediately called our lawyer once I hung up the phone with him to ask for advice.

  PART 2:
After driving for a while (we live a far distance from LC), the officer pulled up beside me again and asked again where my house was. When I told him again (this time, my brain worked a little better and I told him the name of our neighborhood and he finally realized how far it was!), he asked me to pull over again. I did so, and we had another agonizing "discussion". He told me that he could not go all the way to our house and that we needed to go to transito immediately. I told him that my lawyer could speak to him and explain to him the reason for my expired license. See, he was going to make me pay a fine for turning left where I wasn't supposed to (totally was my fault, I did it. But, I totally really didn't know I couldn't. However, I was prepared to pay that fine) AND for my expired license. Wasn't going to pay that fine, because my lawyer had clearly told us that as long as we showed our receipt for our 2 yr. visas, that there would be no problems. Ugh. He talked to my lawyer on the phone, and after that long conversation, she said something to me that I didn't understand at all. She asked if I had copies of my passport and carnet with me (um...no! I'm a resident here, not a tourist). I said, I have some at home, Lowell can bring them to me or I can go home and get them for the guy. I was guessing she had made some arrangement with him, but I was clueless. What I understood, was that I was to wait there while he called his boss to "explain" things and see what he suggested. In the meantime, I called Lowell again and told him I had no idea what I was really supposed to do. He said, "Babe, just go to transito with him and pay the fines. I'm sure it will be fine." I said, ok...but you have to come meet me there! After getting off the phone with Lowell, I told the police officer that I could go with him to transito and pay the fine. I could tell he was extremely exasperated and frustrated with me at his point at not understanding anything that was being said or arranged!! He said, "NO! It's all ok. You can go home. I am going to explain the situation to my boss. I will explain to him that you are a foreigner and did not understand the rules or anything I said (or something of that nature)!!"

I was relieved to say the least. I honestly believe that it was whatever my AWESOME lawyer said to him on the phone that made him change his mind! She probably told him to have pity on that dumb, ignorant gringa who was clueless. Not sure, but either way, I am extremely thankful for her and thankful that the Lord was watching out for me. I honestly can't stop thinking about the whole situation - it really shook me up. I have a hard time knowing that I did something wrong, was caught, and didn't have to pay for it. I feel like I really want that guy to know that I was willing to pay the fine I owed, but that I was freakin' scared to death to go to transito with him!! He was being a very good officer, because he refused to take my money personally (which I had offered him at least 3 times). And, he in no way was being mean or rude to me, either. He really was simply a good Bolivian police officer trying to do his job well. For that, I credit him greatly.

All in all...just another crazy day here in Coch. I'll try to post more "daily life" stories here more often.

We Love you all!!

Shay

April/May 2012

  The month of April and May (so far) have found us very, very busy! We are winding down the school year, which ends June 6 with a closing program and graduation. We are all ready for the break, of course! Every April, Carachi has its annual "Field Days" and it was a total blast to get to participate this year. The entire school is divided up into 3 teams - Red, Yellow, and Green (the colors of the Bolivian flag) - and for the remainder of the time that you are at the school, you are a part of that team. Each student is required to compete in several events and points are earned for each place they finish in. Our boys loved the entire experience and proved themselves to be excellent athletes and fierce competitors! Many ribbons, medals, and trophies were won, and Jude broke a school record in the running long jump for his age category!  The best history making news of all - RED team won after 16 long years!!! What's the big deal, you ask? WE are on the red team! This proud Mama can't help but believe that her boys had something to do with it. It was a very emotional time for those students who have been on the red team their entire school career at Carachi and never experienced the blessed taste of Victory!!

The purple ribbon is for his record break! He also won 2nd overall in his age group - his best buddy beat him for 1st by ONE point!!

Aidan proved himself to be a great sprinter and long jumper (long legs DO come in handy!)

 

Awards ceremony - Liam tied for 3rd place overall in his age group

  Bolivia celebrates its Labor Day in May so we had a couple of days off of school, which made for a 4 day weekend. We took the opportunity to go on an adventurous road trip with some great friends - The Discua Family - to the Salar de Uyuni. This is an area of Bolivia in the altiplano (the high plains) region, in the department of Potosi. The salar is the largest salt flats in the world and we feel so blessed to have gotten to see this amazing, awe-inspiring creation of God. We took some incredible photos - if you are interested in viewing all of them, you can click on one of the following links to see my albums.http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3971296160758.176722.1231111516&type=3&l=86e18bc0d9
OR here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3980272185153.176857.1231111516&type=3&l=75a47d7006
OR HERE!!:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4013673300160.177388.1231111516&type=3&l=f35357ffa7

  It was a blast to have this one last Hoo-Rah with our friends before they returned to the States to do ministry in California. They served here in Bolivia for 8 years but felt the Lord's call to return stateside. We will miss them tremendously. Ask any missionary and they will tell you that one of the hardest things about being one is having to say "goodbye" so often to dear friends and family.

The Discua and Ballew boys = TROUBLE

Lowell giving me a smooch on the head

I've got Liam on the tip of my foot!

  Since the last update, Aidan has celebrated his 14th bday - as you can see, he is about to surpass Lowell in height. Every birthday, I find it harder and harder to believe that my babies are becoming young men!
  After much prayer and thought, and listening to our kids voices (I mean, listening to their hearts, with our hearts), Lowell and I decided to give them the choice of how they are educated next year. If you've kept up with our ministry updates, then you know what an extreme challenge it's been for our boys (and our whole family) to transition from a homeschooling family into private christian MK schooling. And that was only one of the many transitions we had to deal with. So...after TELLING the kids what they were going to do for the past 3 years or so, we felt convicted to allow them to choose their own path for education for the next school year. At this point, Aidan, Liam, and Olivia have chosen homeschool, but Jude chose to return to Carchipampa. We are hoping and praying that this will open up more opportunities for us to serve in ministry areas as a family and get out and about in the city and country more. Pray for us as we prepare ourselves for this journey again!!

PRAYER REQUESTS:
1) Unfortunately, Lowell was the victim of pickpocketing the other day. This is common here, and you always have to be on your guard - especially when going to certain parts of town. His entire wallet was stolen out of his front pocket. All important i.d. cards, driver's licenses, credit cards, insurance cards....everything was in there. No cash was taken. The day before this happened, his debit card was "eaten" by an ATM. Mine was eaten also about a month ago. The urgency of this? Our debit cards are what we live on here! It is almost strictly a cash society so we depend on getting cash to pay for everything with our cards. We cannot use our debit cards here to pay for things because our bank is still in the U.S. We can use our credit cards for certain things - the large grocery stores or nice restaurants - but of course we try not to use them except for emergencies. Thankfully, my new ATM card will be here on Tuesday, delivered by a good friend of ours who is a missionary here, but is from Texas and was there for two weeks sorting out visa issues.

2) Speaking of visa issues! Our 1 year visa has expired and we have applied for our 2 year (which is the next step in the visa process). So, we are without our passports while they process our request in immigration. Please pray it would be quick and that we would have our passports back asap with the visa! It's slightly nerve-wracking being without our passports and a current, valid visa. Along with an expired visa, we now have an expired driver's license and expired carnet (a Bolivian i.d.). (and yes....all of this was in Lowell's wallet that was stolen). We do have a "voucher" to show in case the need arises that we have paid for our 2 yr. visa and that it is in process.

3) Pray that we would be prepared to do homeschooling again - in every way. Academically, emotionally, spiritually.

4) Please continue to pray for the youth group that we lead at church. Pray for growth - both in numbers and spiritually. We feel like we haven't been able to put as much time and energy into this ministry with the pressures of school, so we look forward to the break so we can devote more time to it. We had a large group of Bolivian students come for the first time this past week and we were so very pleased! Pray that at least some of them will begin attending weekly and that the "regulars" would make them feel welcome and at home.

We love and miss you all! Blessings!!

Shay, Lowell, Aidan, Liam, Jude, and Olivia