Newsletter October 2026

In God is my salvation en my glory, 

the rock of my strength and my refuge, is in God.

We walked to the office and saw a car parked in front of the building, with a teenager standing beside it. That was Edinson; he was there with a representative from Child Protection Services. They had a journey of over 16 hours to get to us from another region of Bolivia. The boy arrived with a court order for admission, but we have a resolution from the magistracy that we don’t have to admit anyone without first evaluating if they fit in the target group we work with. But there we were, faced with the situation. His mother hadn't come along, because she couldn't afford the journey. We evaluated him and decided not to send him back, choosing instead to give him a chance.

 

The reason for our reluctance, is that he has already been involved in some truly terrible (criminal) activities; we hope and pray he won't pass those negative influences on to the other boys. It will be a challenge—not in the least for him. He is 16 years old but only made it as far as second grade of primary school. Boys who have been used to the quick money of illicit activities from a young age, need to make a complete change in their mindset.

 

On Wednesday, I saw Wilson at Chonchocoro, the high-security prison. "Do you remember me?", he asked. I certainly do; I recall several amazing opportunities he had, including a very good, steady job. And now, here he is. I trust he will remember everything he experienced with us. He shares a cell with Rafael. A few weeks ago, Rafael invited the Lord Jesus into his life. As we prayed with Rafael, we literally saw his face—previously contorted with tension and worry—change to radiate peace upon receiving the Lord's forgiveness. Rafael remains steadfast in his faith, and I hope he can be an inspiration to Wilson.

 

Pictures: top: snow on the mountains around La Paz. Below: Top left: in  Adulam they held the Mister Adulam elections! Top right: revising thousands of medicines, thankfully with the help of volunteers. Bottom left: eight girls gave their lives to the Lord when a pastor visited. Bottom right: Felina and I gave a kit with things for personal hygiene to our young people, here in Jesed.

 

  

 

 

Over the past three weeks, I have checked several thousand boxes of medical samples (received from doctors who got them from medical representatives) for expiration dates and sorting them in alphabetical order. On Wednesday, we were able to hand over 340 different medications (more than 4,200 pills, to give you an idea of the scale) to the doctor at Chonchocoro. It is a great blessing for which we are very grateful.

 

Felina and I are also thankful that, through a special project, we could provide all our young people with personal care kits as well as underwear in Adulam and Talita Cumi. The children who attend Jesed got a kit as well, enabling us to teach them about dental care and hygiene.

 

We are now working towards the end of the year. That might seem a long way off, but things like team evaluations and end of the year celebrations in the three projects have already been planned. For the teenagers living with us, this is the final stretch of their studies. Several others have completed their rehabilitation program and are returning to their families or moving to another institution. This also means that new young people - like Edinson - will be arriving.

Please pray for this: that the new boys will settle in and start working on their rehabilitation. A few boys who have been with us for some time, seem to have stalled and are no longer making progress. Please pray that they get a vision for a different, better future. For example, Christian told his mum that as soon as he returns home, he wants to try out the latest drugs; that would mean he didn’t learn very much in the year he lived with us. Other boys have no family willing to offer them a place to stay once they finish their time with us. Please pray for suitable alternatives.

 

Thank you very much for your commitment and for working alongside us through prayer and love gifts, may the Lord bless you, also where He placed you.

 

Bye, with warm greetings, Fineke and teams.