Boy from the Beni Needs our Help

Every year a group of SAM missionaries in Bolivia takes river trips in the Amazon Basin, taking medical attention to river communities as part of our holistic ministry to rural and indigenous peoples.

Just last week a boy from a town called San Lorenzo (see his photo above) came all the way to Santa Cruz where we live (2 DAYS by bus), looking for us because he remembered that "we help people."

This boy was hit in the eye with a rock and needed emergency surgery to save his sight. Drs Placido and Toni Mercado, SAM missionaries in Santa Cruz, found a doctor willing to donate the surgery but we need to raise $500 to buy a corrective lens and pay for his medicines and supplies from surgery.

Will you help us raise this money?

Click on the title link of this blog post and it will take you to where you can give online by credit card. All gifts are tax deductible to South America Mission. Several people willing to give $20, $30, or $50 will make the difference.

Thank you for joining us in efforts like these. Contact us directly if you have further questions and God Bless.

Changes and Transition

I am well aware that we have not done a good job of updating our blog. Not only has it been almost 2 months since we last posted, but we are now back in the states. Some of you are aware of this major change for our family, and for those of you to whom this is news, I apologize for the lack of communication. Bubba was asked by SAM to consider serving as the Director of Partnership Development for the mission. This was a decision that we did not take lightly. Our commitment to SAM was for 2 years plus language school. Our time, so to speak, is up this August. When we started this journey, I was sure that after our stint in South America, I would be jumping at the chance to return to the states. But the Lord has a way of working in our hearts that we don't always expect. None of us were really ready to return. Aside from missing our friends and family and wanting to be closer to them, we could think of no compelling reason to return. So we took very seriously what the mission was asking of us. We prayed, talked, and cried and then Bubba visited the Home Office in January. After this, we came to 2 decisions - one, to join the mission full time (instead of as 2 year associates) and two, for Bubba to take the job. It is a big job for Bubba. At the end of the day, it's about raising funds for the mission. But I believe it is one that he is uniquely gifted for because of his 10 years in business and then our 2 1/2 years as missionaries. It is our desire to one day go back. So pray for us and this huge transition. Reverse culture shock is real. I'm amazed at how perfect everything seems (no potholes in any street, beautifully cut green grass, and I'm just thinking along the interstate :), clean public restrooms). But I also realize that this seeming perfection is only surface deep and that the endless striving for this perfection is just as much a trap as the desperate poverty seen in South America. The transition is huge for all of us. Bubba begins his job in the office on September 1. In the meantime, we are visiting family and friends, trying to sell our house in Charlottesville, VA, buy a car, renew driver's licenses, find a house in the Charlotte, NC/Fort Mill, SC area, and take care of ourselves and our children. We hope to get to visit each of you and would love the chance to tell you about our experiences in person.