Newsletter June 2021
    In God is my salvation an my glory,
    the rock of my strenght an my refuge, is in God.   
 
 
 
What did we learn in these last 15 months from the hard taskmaster: Covid? 
Because they sure were hard lessons, and actually, still are. Being “cooped up” as someone said, though now there is some more movement possible and curfew isn’t as bad anymore. But like Teresa said today: there is mourning all around us and that weighs heavy on everyone. Coming to terms with the death of friends, also from the church, is hard for me from a distance.
 
What did our young people learn in this time? In the boy’s house there was a stronger interest in the wellbeing of their families. When talking by phone they ask about their health and express concern if the family is able to cope with the challenges. And then there was the challenge of dealing with distance learning or at times with a visiting teacher.

The boys sometimes come into the house of Adulam as big tough guys for their intake to start rehabilitation. Like 14-year-old Joseph and 17 yr. old Joel, who was using really any substance under the sun and who will get a truly hard time with withdrawal. They came from other areas of the country and when their mums said goodbye, they wept like babies. Due to the distance, they will not get a lot of visits. Luis of 15 yrs. old has a very difficult time withdrawing from cocaine among other things. It is easy to start using a substance but to quit is a different story. In this case our doctor is trying to help with some medication.
Will you please specially pray for those going through withdrawal?
 
The children in Jesed are very happy they can come to us again to learn things. This little guy with limitations has a problem with motricity and here he is learning a new skill. We employed a speech therapist again and together with the psychologist they can do a lot for the children. Sometimes also for parents, like for the dad and children who lost mummy to Covid. 
 
During the very strict quarantine, parents were forced to be more involved with the education of their children. The sad thing about distance learning is that again the poor are hit badly because they don’t have money for Mega’s or a smartphone.
 
We try to be there for them as good as we can. We gave some support with food to many families and try and keep an eye out for the families that suffer the most. Sometimes we also hand out clothing. For instance to this sweet girl whose trousers looked more like Capri pants at this stage.

Personally, I am still in the Netherlands for furlough and am delighted about the contact with so many churches to speak about the Lord and the ministry. Felina and I are in constant communication and I will join the midyear evaluations through Zoom – what a tool! Saying that, I am joining some of your meetings through Zoom which is great too. 
It is great to miss the Bolivian winter and enjoy spring / summer and the lovely fruit this end of the world and ofcourse catch up with family and friends. I trust you'll have a lovely, restful summer too, in spite of the remaining restrictions!
 
Please pray for safety of all in the Mission as Covid is still quite bad in Bolivia. Thank you for standing with us, and for your amazing financial support, this way we continue to reach out to vulnerable children en addicted teenagers together.
 
Bye, may the Lord bless you, this comes with love, Fineke
 
 
Support: In the USA and Canada we are linked with Foundation for Missions, select Fineke Janssen in options:
Wednesday was a memorable day in Mision Adulam.
 
Together with the board I have handed the task of general director over to Felina who came to work in the mission 5 years ago as deputy director. This is quite a process that we cannot finish in a few days. But for the whole team the message is: she is now the one they are accountable to.
 
As president of the board, overseer and the one responsible for the relations with our larger support base, the same tasks are still on my plate. In relation to the work of Felina, I hope to walk with her as mentor in this new season – as she put it: “regarding how we do things together nothing is going to change, lets agree on that”. I am grateful for a trustworthy person who loves the Lord and has a deep commitment and compassion for vulnerable children and youth.
 
Will you pray especially for Felina? Today I travel for furlough to the Nederlands and she will take on this challenge with the support of the board. This decision also implies some logistical challenges and changes, we trust that - as always - our faithful Lord will supply all we need.
 
I am excited to see what the Lord has for us in this new stage, and am grateful I will be able to be involved more in the prison ministry.
Hopefully there will be opportunities to share with you also, be it through joining you on Zoom or travelling!
For now, please keep me in your prayers as well as the teams in this time of transition.