I hope that all of you had a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The children at Talita Cumi are in full vacation mode at the moment. All 27 of the children were able to spend Christmas with a family. My parents and I hosted six children at my house for three days and three nights. We shared meals together, took the children to the park to set off fire crackers (a Bolivian Christmas tradition), and also spent time in the 90+ degree heat at the pool.

Talita Cumi put on a big Christmas celebration. The children look forward to this evening all year long: they sing, dance, read Scripture, put on a Christmas play about Jesus’ birth, and of course there is a lot of food. They did an amazing job. That night I asked a few of the children what they like most about Christmas and all of them replied similarly: they enjoy getting together to celebrate the holiday as a big family.

In a couple of weeks Ruth’s House, the transition house for the girls aging out of Talita Cumi, will officially launch. Nicol will be the first girl to participate in the ministry and she will be moving out of Talita Cumi around January 15. This will be an immense transition for her since she has lived at Talita Cumi since she was 10 years old. Please keep her in your prayers. The following is a picture of her at the Christmas celebration.

Thank you for all of your prayer and financial support through 2021. I’m so thankful for all of you supporting Talita Cumi and Ruth’s House, and giving me the opportunity to serve the Lord in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I look forward to another year of fruitful work in the Lord.

¡Feliz Navidad! I’d like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas coming up soon! May you have a blessed time celebrating our Lord’s birth. November was a pretty hectic month for the Talita Cumi kids as they wrapped up their school year. Luckily, with all of the busyness, we were able to squeeze in a group shot of the children.

When the boys would finish with their homework, I would take them to the park to play soccer, basketball, and climb trees. The boys could burn off energy while the tías “aunties” who work at the home could have a couple of hours of quiet time to relax and prepare dinner.

The women and girls at the home threw a little celebration for the men and boys for International Men’s Day which falls on November 19. The aunties and some of the girls baked bread and had some very kind words to say about the men who serve and work at the home. It was a pleasure to receive their encouragement.

While most of the children’s education is done virtually at Talita Cumi, a number of kids are able to take workshops and educational courses outside the home. At the local Christian university some of the children graduated from a workshop called “Strengthening Social Skills.” The kids were so thrilled with their achievement and we’re quite happy for them too.

Please keep the children of Talita Cumi in your prayers in the coming weeks, that they can enjoy their time off from school and have a special time celebrating Christmas. Please keep Nicol in your prayers as well. She will be moving into Ruth’s House, the transition house for the young women of Talita Cumi, in mid-January. I’ll have much more to share in the next update. Things will be quite festive and lively over the next few weeks. May you have a blessed Christmas.