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Soria Family

A year ago, we had our “Christmas at Home” – where we invited three different groups of street ladies to El Jordan to get a taste of “HOME”, to build trust and bridges that we hoped would result in some of them getting brave enough to come back for Bible Studies and practical classes at El Jordan in the new year….

Well… we are almost at the end of that “new year”… and it looked much different for us that what we “planned” – but then:

In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9

What a comfort to know that the LORD establishes our steps! There are no surprises for Him! Our year was established by HIM ... and what a year it was!

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Debbie, an Austrian volunteer who spent 9 months at El Jordan, does a great job at painting a picture of our 2020 year.

Our time as volunteers at El Jordan has come to an end and looking back on these last couple of months, I wanted to share Psalm 146 with you which I think sums up perfectly this special year in Bolivia:

Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
On that very day their plans come to nothing.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
The Maker of Heaven and Earth,
the sea, and everything in them
The LORD, who remains faithful forever.

He upholds the cause of the oppressed
And gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,
The LORD gives sight to the blind,
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
The LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the alien
And sustains the fatherless and the widow,

But he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
The LORD reigns forever,
Your God, O Zion, for all generations,
Praise the LORD.

V3: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.“ The leaders of the world - these “mortal men“ cannot save us from a pandemic or any other catastrophe that might happen, their plans “come to nothing“ and we end up disappointed and frustrated.

V5: “Blessed is he … whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.“
I think this year has taught us once again that we cannot put our trust in anyone else but God; He wants us to trust Him in the midst of all this chaos and uncertainty.

V7a: “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.
Over the last couple of months through God’s help, El Jordan was able to feed over a hundred families on a regular basis with donations that came in from all over the world. The Lord saw their suffering and hunger and provided for them!

V7b: “The LORD sets prisoners free.“
We have been praying for a Christian lady from the US who had been wrongly accused and imprisoned here in Bolivia four years ago. She has gone through a lot of pain, humiliation, injustice and so much more, but this year for the first time the judge and jury believed her and the trial turned out in her favor. The battle is not yet over but God has given her a mighty victory.

V8a: “The LORD gives sight to the blind.
This passage reminded me of Carlos whose wish is to get his eyes fixed so that he can read his Bible. (My note: This is Carlos, who left the streets during our “Friendship on the Streets” (Christmas in July) over a year ago… He has cataracts and needs an operation to be able to read his Bible.)

V8b: “The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down.“
I think throughout this year we have all been able to relate to this verse in one way or another. Also, the workers from El Jordan have been through a lot this year and have had to fight many battles, illnesses, emotional challenges and even the loss of family members. But they were lifted up by the Lord and were therefore able to share His faithfulness with others.

V9a: “The LORD watches over the alien.
This one I take especially to heart because in this year I was an “alien“ or foreigner, so to speak, and it was not always easy. But I can clearly testify that the Lord has watched over me and sustained me day by day. Each day He was there beside me; He walked to the mountain tops with me as well as being by my side in the valleys of shadow.

V9b: “And (He) sustains the fatherless and the widow.
The boys’ home “Ebenezer“ has been well taken care of in this past year. Even though the man who ran the home died at the beginning of the year leaving the boys with disabilities literally fatherless, God did not forsake them. He sent Corina to help them out with regular food donations and Maria, the neighbor, agreed to care of the boys and is now like a mother to them. All these groups of people - myself included - had the privilege of experiencing God’s loving care and kindness in this challenging year. I want to end with a verse from First Samuel: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12

Let us all have a stone named Ebenezer in our lives to remind us that the Lord is right here with us and He will continue to be right next to us in all the trials and tribulations that might still come. Praise the Lord! (Debbie)

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Here are some stats from El Jordan that Debbie compiled from this COVID time:

1. Over 100 families were fed throughout quarantine - around 500-600 people
2. 8-9 times we were able to order a truck load of vegetables, each being about 3 ½ - 4 tons each plus MANY pickup truckloads of flour and such.
3. 45-50 students got weekly devotions and “homework”, they were supported financially to be able to have enough internet on their phones and 10 were even lent a phone from El Jordan so they would have the opportunity to take part in the Bible study.
4. About 150 kids were provided with school material (and devotionals as well) every week enabling them to keep studying.
5. Over 60 bibles & other Christian material such as books and games were bought for about 2000€ so each family would own a Bible and other material to support them in spending more time with God

PRAISE GOD!

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A highlight of 2020 has been seeing how God, in His mercy, has allowed our families to more clearly see HIS hand reaching out to them in their need… Our families mostly live day to day – if they don´t sell, wash cars, or in some way make money, their resources might not stretch to cover their daily needs…

In “normalcy”, the reason for El Jordan´s existence sometimes becomes blurred as there is the temptation for our families to run to us with their problems or for us to take “solutions” into our own hands. Bolivia had over 5 months of complete lockdown… and in those months GOD SHOWED UP in our families lives! The names of God weren´t just names they learned around a table at a Bible Study in El Jordan, Jehovah Jireh brought them rice on the day their rice ran out… soup given over the wall from a neighbor when there was nothing left to feed their children… and on and on and on… El Roi, the God who Sees, was not blind to their needs… the Good Shepherd carried them when they couldn´t keep on any more… Our Abba Father showed up with bags of groceries minutes after one of our new girls, knelt with her son, crying out to God because they had nothing more to eat… Jehovah Shammah, the God who is There, didn’t leave our families alone! He was there! He was their Shalom, their Peace, when fear and distress surrounded them. El Shaddai, God Almighty, who abundantly provided everything we needed and more: truck loads of vegetables and food (tons and tons… feeding close to 100 families all through the lockdown and even now, still helping), passes to be able to drive (and deliver food) during lockdown, cash when our bank cards all got eaten by the ATMS or didn’t work (including El Jordan’s bank card!), strength for every day, health and help… Wow… Could we have asked for a better year?

Many of you gave, others did the shopping, packaging and delivering… but God did all of the orchestrating, “establishing our steps”… You see, the “mist” lifted, and people could see beyond El Jordan, beyond us (who sometimes get in the way of people seeing HIM) COVID-19 19 has been a blessing!

Over the last 10 years, Bolivia´s minimum wages went from $70 US a month to over $320 US a month and it left El Jordan´s wages on the low end. Our workers could earn much more in other places, but have chosen to work and walk with us… During these months of lockdown and restrictions, while many others were unemployed or not paid, we were able to continue paying our workers and guarantee their jobs until the end of 2020. We told them In November we´d evaluate, restructure and let them know our decisions about the team…

Not that there weren’t struggles and discouragements… but God was faithful in walking with us through those times… Our banking situation was frustrating; phones, vehicles, printers and laptops all took their turns having problems (some taking more turns than others!!!)… but God took care of things…

Our little part of the world, just like all other parts, had to say a lot of goodbyes during this COVID time. Some of those goodbyes are just “see you laters!” until one day we meet again in heaven, others we don´t know where they stood on their last breath… We lost 2 El Jordan volunteers. The El Jordan family – volunteers and students – lost lots of family members… several of my Bolivian friends have lost family members (one lost both of her parents within a week)… Maria Luisa, one of our first students, lost her 18 year old son to cancer in September, and Mirtha, one of our contacts from “Christmas at Home”, sadly passed away as well… Ron Larsen, a friend of many years, someone who believed in and stood behind Marco´s dream of having a soccer field at the workshops (for the boys and to rent out in order to work towards being self-sufficient) – who donated our soccer field, also passed away from COVID. Lots of sadness…. Lots of hurts… Oh Lord, we need you! Where would we be if we didn´t know that HE established our steps!

Keiden and Marlee have had to study at home (online schooling) since March… and yet God has taken care of us… “Auntie Heidi” would take a day a week, and when El Jordan was able to open again, Debbie and Marei (our 2020 volunteers from Europe) also took a day with the kids, allowing me to still be involved in the goings on in El Jordan… Since August, their online classes at home were extended…. to 7 class “periods” a day… and sometimes with homework after that… Definitely a stretching experience for all of us… but here we are, on a break after the end of the first semester. Ebenezer! God has helped us thus far!

Talking about Ebenezer, during this “special” year, El Jordan turned 20 years old! God has been FAITHFUL! God has brought us this far! Thank you, God! With COVID-19 restrictions, we couldn’t have an all together celebration, but God provided (once again!) for a special gift of flash memories filled with Spanish praise and worship music for all of our families (and a special prize of a wireless speaker for 25 of our girls who had completed a high percentage of their Bible Studies….) So, we praised and worshipped God together from our different corners of the city!

Here are a few of the comments the students made on our anniversary in answer to “What have you learned through El Jordan?”

In El Jordan I learned to forgive. Sandra I.

I learned how to be a good mom and that I could make it as a single mom!  Lorena J.

We learned to love each other. Katherin T.

Thanks to El Jordan I´m learning about God and how to write. Yulisa D.

Thank you God - for 20 years of faithfully establishing our steps… of allowing us to be a part of Your work… You working in us… and through us… touching lives, young and old… each one with a story, all needing You to heal and make new... Thank YOU!

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When we told our workers that we would evaluate and restructure in November, little did we know to what extent we would have to restructure! Annemarie, one of our Avant missionaries, is continuing her studies, getting married and moving towards other ministries. Heidi, who has been with us for 16 years through thick and thin, who has been our kids´ “auntie” from day 1, also has been felt led to step away and take time to search for where God would have her use the gifts HE has given to her… Our European volunteers have finished their short term and returned to their countries... One addition is our nephew Devan who came to help out at the Workshops...

So… we are down to a bare bones team… a bit scary but at the same time trusting that God has established even these “steps” and He has plans to grow us and our team in different ways!

COVID made us find new ways to fulfill our missions’ statement. Our focus didn’t change… just the way we did things… We found ourselves “walking alongside of them” where they were, not just saying it! We had to forget about our Bible Studies and practical classes within 4 walls and figure out how to facilitate and encourage them to read their Bibles and study on their own! We sent out lessons for our kids to do their devotionals and to practice their school work (since school was cancelled in Bolivia for 2020... everyone passes and goes on to the next grade – not ideal for most of our kids who struggle to understand and retain information.) God provided great ideas for encouraging both our moms and kids in life skills, quality time together and more...

As we look forward to a new year (holding our plans in open hands!) we don´t want to go back to our “great” plan from the beginning of 2020! Nor do we want to throw everything away from our pre-COVID planning! What we are looking at is a fusion between the old and new, taking the “cream” from both periods to create a new plan… For our workshops we want to add more “life mentoring” into the equation. However, we remember that: In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps!

Thank you for walking with us through this time! For your prayers and support! For your care and encouragement!

We love you and thank God for you!!! HE IS FAITHFUL, always.

Because HE is faithful, Corina (for Marco, Keiden and Marlee)

Marco & Corina Clements Soria
WhatsApp: 591-776-90452
El Jordan: www.KidsInBolivia.org