Monday, September 29, 2008

More Attacks

Well...the enemy just keeps bringing it.

Everyone, I need to ask for your urgent prayers again. This time it is not for me but for the family of a pastor that I work with.

I am helping a foundation here called RockSalt and one of the pastors that we work with was shot early this morning. He and his family live in a pretty remote area outside of La Paz and this morning five armed men jumped the wall and broke into his house. They shot pastor Juan Carlos, tried to shoot his 21 year old son and they beat up his wife and kids pretty bad. They robbed the house completely and told the family that if they complained they would be back.

Pastor Juan Carlos has six kids and the kids are really messed up right now, physically and emotionally. Juan Carlos is currently in the hospital.

I just ask for your prayers. This is not a story that I am making up. This is a pastor that I know and work with. Please pray for him and his family during this time. We have to relocate the family because of the danger and I have offered my home up to them for whatever they need. If they need to store stuff or if they need a place to stay.

He had surgery already today and he will be in the hospital for at least two more days. And with six kids he does not have the money to cover any medical bills. And he will need to replace the items from the house that were stolen. I am going to help them and if you want to help the family financially too just email me or call me and you can deposit money into my Wachovia account. I can give the money directly to the family. This is an opportunity for the Body of Christ to come together and help out a pastor and family who are doing tremendous work to advance the Kingdom here in Bolivia.

But at least pray, especially for the six kids. We feel like the enemy is really attacking our team right now. First with my stuff getting stolen but now with this much bigger attack on Pastor Juan Carlos and his family.

These days have just been a reminder of how dangerous this world really is and a reminder of how much the enemy wants us to fail.

Thanks for your prayers and support for this family.

I´m an uncle...

...again.

My best friend Chris and his wife Melissa welcomed a beautiful little girl into the world this past Saturday.

Congratulations Stallings family. I love you and I can´t wait to hold her and maybe change a diaper or two in a few months.

Natalie Suzanne Stallings
Born 9/27/08 at 2:23 a.m.
8 lbs 1 oz.

Friday, September 26, 2008

God the Provider

The work continues here in La Paz without a laptop. I am using internet cafes for a few hours each day to work on projects. Sure it makes life a little more difficult but it could be way worse.

God has definitely been speaking to me during this whole situation.

First, He is reminding me that what I lost was just ¨stuff¨. There are so many people in this world who are suffering way more than I am right at this moment. I mean there is cancer, abuse and death. And God is reminding me about all of the many blessings that I currently have in my life right now. When we lose things, especially material things, it is very easy to focus on the things that we lose but God has used this moment to show me and remind me of the things that I have NOT lost. The things that I still have. What a blessing.

God is also showing me that I don´t need a laptop, a camera and an ipod to serve Him and be used by Him here. Sure they help but He is much bigger than that. Maybe He needed to get my attention. Maybe not. Maybe I need to step farther out of my comfort zone these next few weeks and take a risk and serve Him in a new and different way here. It´s almost as if He was telling me to put the computer down and find new ways to interact and serve the people here.

And probably the biggest thing that I have seen is how God provides. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and thanks for my friends and family back home right now. Within two days of me losing all of this stuff I have been contacted by friends back home who want to get involved and help me replace the items I lost. One group of friends has told me that they are going to go in together to purchase me a new laptop and another friend just contacted me today because He has already bought me a new camera. Wow. God is so good to me and He has been so good to me this year. I have lots of necks to hug and people to thank when I get back home in December.

And the timing couldn´t be better because my brother will be coming to La Paz in about two weeks and he will be able to bring me my new laptop and camera.

I just can´t thank God enough right now. I am blessed with an amazing group of supporters back home who always step up to the plate if I have a need. And I am also blessed with great friends and a wonderful girlfriend here in La Paz who love me as well and who want to see me be used by God.

God is so good. Whatever you are going through I just pray that you continue to ask God to show you His hand in the situation. To show you that He is working through the situation. Because trust me...although we don´t see His hand sometimes...He is always there.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Spiritual Attack

Hey ya'll.

So another lesson learned tonight and I have absolutely no doubt that this one was a spiritual attack. While sitting in a restaurant with my girfriend Paola tonight my backpack was stolen from me right out from under the table. No lie. I am still in a little bit of shock because my backpack was right next to my leg and it disappeared just like that.

It hurts. I lost my laptop. I lost my ipod with all my tunes. I lost my digital camera. And my bible and my girlfriend Paola's bible were in there also.

I have no doubt that this was a spiritual attack. Things are going well. God is using me in a great way to help ministries here in La Paz and the enemy took some of my tools away from me tonight to try and knock the wind out of my sails. The enemy knows how important my laptop, ipod and digital camera are to me. The loss of my music hurts alot because the music was not backed up and it is all gone. I had mostly praise and worship music that has really fed me sipiritually this year in La Paz.

Yet I know that in the end it is just "things" that I lost. It could have been worse. I didn't suffer any physical harm. I didn't lose my bank cards or my wallet. God is so much bigger the the "things" that I lost tonight and I am not going to let me spirit get down. I am going to keep praising Him and keep letting Him use me here...even without a laptop, music and a camera at the moment.

But I would appreciate your prayers right now regarding this attack. I have talked to some friends and I am definitely not the first to have something like this stolen. And some of my friends have had things much more important stolen. Some of my friends have suffered through experiences here that are much worse.

But it is a promise. As you serve God and as you make more noise for Him in this world...you WILL be attacked. Brace up for it. You will suffer sometimes because I truly believe that there is an enemy out there who doesn't want us to serve God and impact the lives of others for Him.

But we can take our hope in the fact that we are on the winning side. We know how the story ends. So even without some of my biggest assets here in La Paz right now...my computer, my worship music and my camera...I will still get up tomorrow and do all that I can to be used by God.

Ministry Post # 1

Ok. So I had a few cool ministry experiences this past week that I just thought I would share. This post is the first one. My home church of Holy Cross has started to send me some funds each month to use for special projects and special needs that I see down here in Bolivia.

And last week I was able to use some of those funds to help out a ministry known as Qhanawara. This ministry is an afterschool program located in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of El Alto. The ministry was in serious need of two gas tanks for their kitchen. So with some of my special project funds I was able to purchase and deliver two tanks to them last week. Praise God.

Here are a few photos to commemorate the event…enjoy.

Me showing off my arm strength to one of the kids…

Delivering the tanks…

I don’t think you should sit on that…

The kids, the tanks and I…

There has to be a photo of us making faces…

And a photo of us screaming…

Cool kids. What an amazing job God has blessed me with…

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Reporting from La Paz

Hey everybody. I just want to thank you so much for your increased prayers right now for myself and for the current political situation here in Bolivia.

I am doing fine and I just wanted to give you an update and let you know that I’m ok. Life for me here in La Paz seems pretty normal actually. Yes, there has been some violence here recently and there is definitely a lot of politics happening right now. The US and Bolivia aren’t the greatest of friends at the moment and some relief and volunteer organizations have decided to temporary remove their workers from Bolivia.

But, to be honest, for me life seems about the same. Most of the conflicts are in other parts of the country. It hasn’t really reached La Paz but I am keeping my eyes open and trying to be careful just like my momma taught me.

If the situation does get bad my sending agency, SAMS, can decide that it is best for the missionaries to temporary leave the country. But at this point the situation has not gotten that bad and they have not asked us to leave. They are my authority right now and I will respect any decision they make. But time will only tell if it comes to that.

I certainly don’t want to leave the country but if they do decide that I need to go I might see you before December 5th after all. Maybe God just wants me to go to a Georgia football game this year…not sure…and I promise that the fact that I am totally in love with an amazing Bolivian girl has nothing to do with me wanting to stay!

Well…I just write you this update in the hopes of putting your spirit at ease some. True…it is not the best political climate here in Bolivia right now but I have really not been affected at this point.

I welcome your continued prayers and I will keep you posted as things develop. But I continue to get up each morning and try to be used by God to serve the people here. That’s all I can and want to do right now. No matter what is going on in a country it certainly doesn’t mean that the people need Jesus any less.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Travel Warning - Bolivia

Just got this email from the US Department of State.

I am fine and I am keeping an eye on what is going down in the country right now. I have faith that God is in control and that He has a plan. I am in His very capable hands and I am going to serve Him here as long as possible.

September 15, 2008

This Travel Warning is being issued to alert U.S. citizens to the unstable social and security situation in Bolivia. The Department of State has authorized the departure of non-emergency personnel and all family members of U.S. Embassy personnel in Bolivia and suggests all U.S. citizens defer non-essential travel to Bolivia. U.S. citizens currently in Bolivia should remain vigilant, monitor local media, review their security posture on a regular basis, and consider departing if the situation allows. Travelers in vehicles should not attempt to pass through or around roadblocks, even if they appear unattended. U.S. citizens who encounter a demonstration should try to depart the area as quickly as possible.

Over the course of the past weeks, opposition to the Central government’s policies by five of the nine departments (Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, Chuquisaca and Tarija) has turned increasingly violent. Hunger strikes, marches and road blocks that were initially peaceful have become violent as pro-government and opposition forces attempt to consolidate or impede control of government buildings and strategic facilities, such as the gas and oil pipelines. To date, more than a dozen persons have died and over 100 persons have been seriously injured. Police and military police have lost control of the situation in some areas and cities of those departments, and the road blocks and other measures taken by the opposition are making gas, diesel and other essential items unavailable. No one can, with any degree of confidence, predict what may happen in the near future.

The U.S. Embassy in La Paz continues to review its security posture and may, from time to time, close for routine services. U.S. consular personnel remain available to provide emergency information and services to U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens in need of Embassy assistance should call the Embassy’s Consular Section at (591) 2-216-8297 during working hours or 216-8500 after hours or on weekends.

American citizens should monitor the U.S. Embassy web site, http://bolivia.usembassy.gov, and stay in contact with family and friends in the United States. Family members and friends unable to verify the safety and welfare of U.S. citizens in the affected area should call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada, or from other areas via a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Pray

That's word,we pray(pray,pray)
We got to pray
Just to make it today
I said we pray(pray) ah,yeah,pray(pray)
We got to pray
Just to make it to pray
That's word,we pray

Thank you MC Hammer.

That's my way of asking you to pray again.

But this time please pray for the country of Bolivia. There is a good amount of violence right now in the eastern part of the country in Santa Cruz. At least eight people have died. Anti-government protesters have taken over key buildings and they were also able to successfully block some gas pipelines that lead to Argentina and Brazil for about seven hours today. These pipes support large large parts of those countries. Brazil is Bolivia's # 1 customer. Gas reserves and gas revenues are key fighting points here in Bolivia.

And to make it a little tense between the US and Bolivia...the Bolivian president, Evo Morales, has just basically kicked the US ambassador out of the country. He told him to leave. The Bolivian president accused the ambassador of supporting the anti-government protesters and conspiring to tear the country apart.

And I just read that in turn the US government has now kicked the Bolivian ambassador out of the US. So I am not sure exactly what is going on. And I don't know how this will affect relations between the two countries.

My brother is supposed to visit in a few weeks so I hope he doesn't have problems getting his visa. And I am trying to help my girlfriend Paola get a visa to the US so she can visit at the end of the year. So I hope this doesn't mess up their chances.

There is no violence where I am in La Paz right now. So I am fine.

But we will see. Please pray for the political situation here. Gracias.

Success

A couple of things.

1) I ate Burger King while riding in a taxi today. It was the second time that I have done this in eight months. And for some reason I feel the closest to home while eating Burger King in a taxi. I guess all those memories of eating fast food while driving come back to me. Not something I want to do consistently but it just made me smile a little. A little dose of home.

2) The workshop yesterday was a huge success. Thank you so much for your prayers. There were alot of organizations represented and we took advantage of some great opportunities to help them improve their marketing/communication platforms. I also gave my contact info out to several ministries so I am sure there will be more meetings in the future.

But that is why I am here. To help as many people as possible and try to use the gifts and abilities that God has given me as much as possible.

Here are a few shots of me doing my thing...in Spanish I might add...






Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Oración

Hola.

It is early morning on Wednesday, September 10th and I wanted to send you a prayer request. Today myself and two others will be giving an all day communications workshop to organizations that are part of the Red Viva network here in La Paz.

Just please pray that God's hand guides us today. And pray that He speaks through each of us to help these organizations that are serving Him here in La Paz better communicate the work that He is doing through them.

We will be trying to help very small ministries buy into the importance of making time for communication and we will also be trying to help some very large national ministries improve upon what they already do.

Please pray for us today and pray for me especially because I will be giving my part of the presentation/workshop in Spanish. It will not be translated so I am sure that it will be another great learning experience in a long line of learning experiences this year.

But the bottom line is that God is giving us the amazing blessing and opportunity to impact roughly 15 different organizations in one day. It is a great use of time. His kingdom and His work deserve the best marketing that it can get because I believe that He is the best product that this world has to offer.

I promise you a few photos and a recap later in the week. Thanks so much.

Friday, September 05, 2008

Booked.

So I officially have all of my flights booked now. My flights from La Paz to Miami AND from Miami to the ATL. I arrive to Atlanta in the evening on December 5th and leave in the evening on January 8th.

I just got real excited all of the sudden. The fact that I know that I will be visiting home in a few months is realing making me happy right now.

I did not realize how much I missed everyone until I actually bought the plane ticket.

Can't wait.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

90 Days

So it turned September and I suddenly realized that I have only 90 days left before I return home for a visit. I can’t believe it. And I just got excited all the sudden. I can’t wait to see as many of you as possible and I can’t wait to share with you face to face the amazing things that God has done in my life this year living here in Bolivia.

I am hoping to buy my plane tickets this week but I have pretty much decided on the dates. My plan is to return to Atlanta on Friday, December 5th and leave Atlanta to return to La Paz on Friday, January 9th. So I will be home for five full weeks.

And I have no doubt that it will be a very busy five weeks because there are so many people that I want to see and so many restaurants that I want to visit. Also, my friend Warren is getting married on New Year’s Eve and I am in the wedding. Plus it is the holidays and I am guessing that Atlanta still has a traffic problem.

But I know that these last 90 days will be action-packed here in La Paz. I am a part of some exciting projects right now and time is flying. And although part of me knows that it will be very hard to leave La Paz for five weeks (read: I have met the love of my life), God is giving me an amazing opportunity to visit home and talk about Him. And I don’t want to miss this opportunity. And I have never been away from home for this long and I truly miss my family and my friends.

So I just write you to tell you that my calendar is officially open for business. I will be back in Atlanta from December 5th – January 9th. Please call my crib in La Paz (678.431.6810) or shoot me an email (curt.little@gmail.com) and let’s schedule time to hang. I want to see you.

See you in 90 days Atlanta.

Monday, September 01, 2008

EL DIA

So I have mentioned previously that one of the projects that I am working on this year is an event called EL DIA. It is 24 hours of worship, prayer and fasting that started here in La Paz about five years ago. It has now spread to five cities in Bolivia and this year the event will also be held in Santiago, Chile and in Dayton, Ohio. The event is November 22.

This past March I agreed to manage the marketing for this event on a national level. Meaning that I am responsible for getting all of the cities the marketing materials that they need to promote the event. The main things being making sure that the website gets updated, producing a video and producing a poster design. Easier said than done.

This project is by far my most difficult project. And sometimes I think that I bit off a little bit more than I can chew. The reason it is hard is because I am working with so many different people. People don't answer the phone. People never call you back. You have to push people so hard here to get things done and I am honestly not one who is used to pushing people that hard. I was starting to get there in my job back home but it was still a work in progress. And every city has their own issues and ideas. And I just arrived this year and I am still learning how to work in this culture and still learning the language.

At times I have even wanted to give up. But I know God has a plan for me with this event and even though it is challenging I am going to press on. People tell me that when I actually experience the event all the issues and problems before the event seem to fade away. I am looking forward to that.

Well we are a little under three months until the event and I am scrambling to get marketing materials to the cities. We have almost finished the video but what we have finished is the poster design and I wanted to show you the finished product. You might recognize the person in the photo. Believe me, it wasn't my initial idea to be in the photo but sometimes things just happen. Last year the cities received the posters two weeks before the event so I guess I should be happy that this year they will get them two months before.

Here is the Spanish version...

And here is the English version because the event is in the states this year...