Thanksgiving 2008!

Thanksgiving was great! We went to Tiquipaya to have Thanksgiving with the Marcums, the Bulls, and the Sandovals. As we were leaving the city in the Sandovals car we had to go around in circles a few times because there were some natural disaster drills going on. At one point we joked about taking a picture of us have Thanksgiving on the side of the road because there were lawn chairs in the car and a feast. We had a roast, cornbread, mash potatoes, and three kinds of pies. Thankfully though it didn't take long for Butch to find a way out and we made it to the Marcum's by 11. The kids had a great time playing while we got the food all put together and then we had a FEAST! After lunch we visited and the kids did a little turkey craft.

We are thankful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for all the amazing blessings we have received in the past year. We have been blessed with the birth of Malakai, a growing church family here in Cochabamba and new friends.

May God bless our family and friends during this holiday season and the year to come!

Blessings on my head!

(Hi! This is Katie and there will be a noticable difference in the writing of this blog entry.)

I just wanted to update everyone on how we are doing and what's going on here in Cochabamba.

After a wonderful and powerful trip to the states to introduce Malakai and recharge our batteries we are back in full swing! The trip was a blessing in many ways and we thank everyone, including our team, family, friends and supporters, for their patience and encouragement.

Malakai and Jubilee are doing great! Malakia is growing and changing everyday. He is now saying no with his head - and many times I think he knows what he is doing. He is not crawling yet but he is very close. He loves to play and does a good job of entertaining himself as long as he doesn't realize that he is alone. His big sister is his favorite toy and she continues have an amazing amount of patience with him as he discovers the world. Malakai is still struggling at times with some breathing problems but prayer is powerful and we thank everyone for their continued prayer for his health.

Jubilee turned 4 on October 27th! She will finish her first year of preschool on Friday. She has learned many things and made great friends. She will attend a vacation program for about a month and then be out of school from the end of December until the beginning of February. We are looking forward to having her at home!

Jeff back to his English classes, preaching, teaching and serving. He also started working on his master's degree from UMASS and is doing a great job of balancing work, school and family.

We are also looking forward to a visit from Rod and Darlene - Jeff's parents - for CHRISTMAS! This is an amazing blessing and we pray that they have safe travel and a wonderful experience here in Bolivia.

The church here is growing and changing. We have had a couple of big events lately. We had the church retreat before we left for the states and then the national encampment after we returned. We continue to see growth within the body as people learn more about their relationships with Christ through service to each other.

Right now the ladies are preparing to go to Cusco for the Ladies Conference. The conference will be held in Cusco, Peru from the 20th to the 23rd of this month. This will be the third time that I have had the priviledge of attending this ladies conference. The conference is on a rotating schedule. I attended two years ago in La Paz, Bolivia, and last year in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I know it will be a blessing for everyone. There are about 120 ladies expected to be there in total. They will be coming from from Chile, Peru , Bolivia and the United States.

Please remember www.dropshots.com/forbessfamily is out their for you all to see!

May God bless each and everyone! You are loved by the Forbess family and we appreciate you all!

We Are Okay

We wanted to send out a quick update to let everyone know of our status. By now many of you who keep up with our blog have probably also heard something of the escalating political situation in Bolivia right now. Basically, the same conflict between the central government and regional governments has continued and grown to the point that in some regions of Bolivia there have been some demonstrations that has turned into violence. That is not really a good summary and I would encourage anyone interested to follow the links on this blogs or go to your own trusted news website to find out more about what is happening.

I am writing this blog to let everyone know that Katie, the kids and myself are doing well. We actually had planned a short visit to the states right before the latest problems in Bolivia began. We arrived to the states on Monday the 8th and things started happening in Bolivia the next day. My plan was to return to Bolivia sometime this week and Katie was to stay until the 13th of October. Right now we are waiting to see when American Airlines will begin flying back into Bolivia and of course to see when things in general die down somewhat. The latest we have heard was that American would start flying again on the 30th of September which is next Monday.

Currently, I am at my parent's house in Chillicothe and Katie and the kids are spending the next two weeks as planned in Hot Springs Village with her parents. Last week we were in Rogers, Arkansas with my sisters and grandmothers and before that we spent a week in DC with our good family friend Becky. So far it has been refreshing to be with family although each day we wake up hurting for our loved ones in Bolivia.

We have spoken with the three other families who are all in Cochabamba right now. They have informed us that things in Cochabamba itself are peaceful and the main affects being felt are rising food and fuel prices because of the blockades in other regions of Bolivia which is impeding the transport of goods. We are thankful to God that our teamates and the local brethren are out of harm's way. Let us all continue to pray fervently and without ceasing however, that this peace being enjoyed in Cochabamba continues. Let us pray that our Heavenly Father would sheild His children in Bolivia from threats to their homes and families. There are many brethren of the church in Santa Cruz where the situation is much more dire, let us pray that God would keep each and every brother and sister in Christ safe during this most difficult of times.

I have posted throughout our time in Bolivia other prayer requests during other times of political instability and I know that each time we have loved ones down on their knees. We know that this time is no different. We put our precious adopted homeland in the hands of our Father who knows our every need before we verbalize it. Let us be a people of prayer today and plead with our Heavenly Father that peace would return to the whole of Bolivia and that the hearts of many people would turn to Him in this time. Thanks!

La Familia Forbess

New Sister and Political Situation Update

Good News First

As of Saturday evening the Lord's body in Cochabamba now has a new sister in Christ. Mary Jane after having regularly come to worship services and other activities for several months now, made the decision on Saturday night to become a new creature in Christ. We certainly are rejoicing with the angels in Heaven over her decision to repent and be clothed anew with Christ. For any of you planning a visit you will surely enjoy meeting Mary Jane and hearing her story. Please be in prayer for Mary Jane and her new life in Christ, that God may protect and strengthen her as Satan will undoubtedly attack her in new and creative ways to pull her away from God. I phrase the prayer request this way because I have observed the time following the decision to become a Christian is often if not always followed by strange and difficult trials in the life of the new Christian.

Other Good News

Josh, Julie, Michaela, Eliana, and Jana Marcum all made it safely to Cochabamba on Thursday after being on furlough from June to August. We are very grateful along with the Sandovals, Bulls, and other church members for their return. They are a very big part of the work here and their absence was definitely felt! We praise God that the Marcums were able to return safely and that their request for visas came through in a timely manner.

Chad and Lisa Benton along with their two boys Mark and Grady who are representing the Austin Avenue Church of Christ arrived today on the same flight with Gary , Laura, Nathan and Grant. We are thankful for the safe travel, the return of the Bulls, and for this special time we have to share with the Bentons. We thank God that He heard our prayers requesting safe and uneventful travel.

As a lead-in to the next topic, we are also thankful that the Bulls' and Bentons' arrival on Monday was not overshadowed by any political unrest. As some of you may know, Sunday was an historic day in Bolivia. August 10th was the day when all Bolivians of voting age would vote to approve or dissapprove of Evo Morales (president) and the nine prefectos (governors) who represent the nine departments of Bolivia. To sum up the day, below I have cut and paste an email I sent to both sets of parentals to let them know of how we are doing.

Sunday was an interesting day indeed. Before leaving the house to walk over to the church building I reminded Katie that it would be very possible that we and the Sandovals would be the only ones at church. As in most Latin American countries, votes are held on Sundays. Additionally, as in most Latin American countries voting is more than just a right, it is an obligation with stiff fines and possible jail fines facing those who choose not to vote. On the day before and the day of voting the sell of any alchohol is prohibited. On the day of voting from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM all unauthorized vehicles are prohibited from operating, which includes all forms of public transportation. For this reason, we were fully prepared to see our meeting place virtually empty. Some members and regular friends of the church did make the trip however. All in all we had around 30 people in attendance. Some people who came live in the neighborhood and some others donned tennis shoes and made quite a trip to meet with the saints on that day.

While it was certainly a different kind of worship service, it was actually very special. We half joked that at least we knew everyone there was there because they wanted to be, because the ban on transportation did not make it easy to come simply out of a sense of routine or obligation. There were many people out on the street walking past our meeting place, some on their way to vote and many others just out enjoying a day in downtown Cochabamba with no automobiles dominating both space and sound. Although on the surface it was seemingly quiet and tranquil, doubts and fears hovered in the thoughts of most people. Many people stopped and peeked in curious about the church that met even on voting day. Although we certainly hadn't planned it, it was perhaps a quiet testimony about who we are and how important it is for us to meet as a church body to worship our Creator, learn from His Word and edify each other through song and praise. On a day when none of us knew the outcomes of the election nor the ensuing aftermath, it was a particularly meaningful context in which to reflect upon our need to completely rely on God and each other in the midst of an underlying current of worry and fear bubbling in the world outside from which we had entered. Praise God for our safety, for His protection, and for days such as this that bring our purpose for meeting each Sunday sharply into focus.

Below is the portion I have cut and paste which details the outcome of the vote.

Hey guys. Everyone except for me is quietly sleeping in their beds. Well, Malakai is actually in our bed but you know what I mean. Anyway, I just thought I'd give a brief update on the political situation here. Sunday went well, it was very peaceful. We were done with services and home by 1:30 which is unheard of so we took the opportunity to have a little picnic in our bedroom and then rested during the afternoon. Later we went outside and Malakai and I went for a walk as there were no cars allowed on the streets. Katie and Jubilee blew bubbles with Gabriella and her son Gabriel on the front steps of our building as watched other neighbors pass back and forth on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Later on when Mally and I returned we played lobo lobito outside with Juju, Gabriel and Gabriella which is kind of like duck duck goose.

By Sunday evening the results were already pretty conclusive. Evo "won" with a 60% approval rating overall, although he lost the departments of Santa Cruz, Beni, Chuquisaca (Sucre), and Tarija while maintaining strong approval in the departments of La Paz, Potosi, Oruro, Cochabamba and a much less stronger lead in Pando. Potosi led the nation with Evo's highest approval ratings at about 83%. As far as the prefectos (governors), all but three garnered enough votes to continue in office. Of the three prefectos to be ousted are the prefectos of La Paz, Oruro, and Cochabamba. The prefectos of La Paz and Cochabamba are pretty much anti-Evo and Oruro's prefecto was a member of the Evo-affliated MAS party so it was kind of an upset for the MAS prefecto to be voted out while Evo maintained strong approval. The MAS party cited this as an example that the vote was legitimate and not staged. La Paz's prefecto Paredes is accepting defeat somewhat gracefully while Cochabamba's Manfred Reyes Villa has vowed to fight the decision albeit through a proposal of legal appeal. Manfred did show up for work at government offices this morning at about 7:30 AM as showcased by local news. This will be the power play to watch which will be essentially between Evo and his backers and those of Manfred and his. So far though, there has been no sign of street violence. We continue to watch the situation and will keep you all posted. Love you guys! Please continue to pray for Evo Morales, Alvaro Garcia Linares (VP), Manfred Reyes Villa, the armed forces and their leaders, members and officials of the MAS party, members and officials of the various opposition groups and all citizens in general, that God our Father would grant each one of them clarity of thought and an ability to discern and put into practice what is best for Bolivia and not individual interests. It is a long prayer request but surely you understand. We thank you as always for standing by our family, our team, the church body and our adopted home in prayer. We are fully confident that God hears and answers the prayers you lift before Him on our behalf.

In Him,

La Familia Forbess

Indepedence Day

Notice: The length of this blog will be determined by the sleeping habits of one Frankie Malakai and one Jubilee Song. Both are asleep at the same time. Hallelujah amen, hallelujah amen!

Today is the Bolivian Independence Day. At her school Jubilee will march in honor of the "patria" with all of her other classmates and as they march they will be singing loudly and boisterously the Bolivian national anthem as she has already demonstrated all day yesterday at home. At the lunch table she told me that she was Bolivianita, Malakai was Boliviano and so were mommy and daddy. To be honest I didn't know how to answer her or respond. You see, the invetable is happening with Jubilee and as a father I am finding myself a little unprepared and reluctant. She is forming her own identity and I recognize already that it will be an identity that is far different from my own. She is not growing up in Santa Fe or Denver as I did nor is she growing up in Dallas or Houston as her mommy. She and her brother are growing up in a place that on one level is home for me but at the same time will probably always maintain a certain level of the unknown for Katie and I.

Yesterday, I was watching a movie we have seen before called "Bend It Like Beckham" which is a story about a teenage girl who growing up in England but whose parents have immigrated there from India. The girl Jess (Jasmindey) is constantly torn between her parents' close-knit community of immigrants from India and the mainstream English society she is struggling to understand and become a part of. I had seen the movie before but this was the first time I watched the movie and identified with Jess's parents. Sitting in the middle class English living room, the father with a traditional headress and mother in traditional silk clothing trying desperately to understand their daughter's world I somehow saw Katie and I here in the kitchen of our apartment listening to Jubilee belt out a song we were never taught. Were we to ever learn the song it would mean something different for us anyway. For Jubilee and eventually for Malakai they will sing the song as Bolivians just as Katie and I would sing and hear the Star Spangled Bannerwith our hands proudly across our chests.

On one hand I am a little sad to realize that Jubilee and Malakai will undoubtedly form an identity vastly different from their parents. On the other hand isn't that part of the challenge of parenthood for any parents? Even for parents and children who grow up in the same town or same house, isn't the difference between a generation immense enough to stir up the same emotions as I feel raising my children in a foreign country?

In light of this particular instance my mind is drawn to a comforting and strenthening verse Paul wrote in I Corinthians 9 and verses 22 and 23, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. " I do not quote the verse in a martry-like self describing way yet I quote it to guide myself towards a more Christ-like approach that I recognize I do not always acheive. What I know in my head but what is hard sometimes for my heart is to remember that for me to become all things to all men my entire family must also do so.

In closing I am reminded of Paul's words to the Phillippians in chapter 3 and verse 20, "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ". This is a verse I often cling to as I face this world with my family walking the fence between two very backyards hestitantly watching my children lean towards one side that I do not know. It is a truth I believe we can all cling to, to know that our true citizenship is not determined by stern looking consulate officers but rather by a loving Father who sacrificed the ultimate to scoop us up in His arms and shower abundant blessing upon us. Praise God that He allows us to enter into to His presence and glimpse together a glorious future when our common love for Christ will truly unite us all!

Summer Updates

Hello to everyone. Yes, I know it has been way too long since our last blog update and for that I apologize. The good news is that there is lots of good news to report. The Lord continues to hear your prayers on our behalf and on behalf of the work here in Cochabamba. Thanks for your faithful intercession for us and the work of God's Kingdom. I will begin with a few "highlights" and will try during the next few days to continue writing until I have recorded everything worthy of reporting.

FAMILY NEWS

We are doing well although the past six months have been challenging. Our main challenges have been trying to keep healthy, keep sane, and keep rested. Obviously with a three and a half year old plus a newborn those three things can be difficult to maintain. As I had mentioned in earlier posts, Malakai had been sick several times with respiratory problems. For the past two months or so, he has been doing much better. We have located a respiratory specialists who specializes with children also. He basically has a combination of asmthatic symptoms and allergies that when coupled with Cochabamba's poor winter air quality make for some breathing difficulities. The doctor has helped us to treat the condition and hopefully the coming of the rainy season in October will also help.

Jubilee is doing well also. She had a four week winter vacation in June/July so she was able to spend lots of quality time with mommy, daddy and Malakai. She is now in her second week back at school and will continue until November when the children have summer vacation. Yesterday she visited a gymnasium with Katie and she really enjoyed her tumbling class so we will probably enrolling her. Jubilee is getting to be such a big girl. We are so proud of both of our children, they are such blessings! She is really missing her friend Mikaela who has been on furlough since the first of June and Nathan as well who just left last week for a short visit with his mommy and baby Grant.

Katie and I are doing well. Malakai lately, has begun taking a bottle for me and Betty which allows Katie so much needed freedom to ocassionally get out of the house and slowly involve herself once again in different ministries. Most recently, Katie along with Trish, Laura and the ladies of the church put on a lovely Ladies Tea. It was a very encouraging time when both church members and visiting ladies were uplifted in song, Bible study, and other activities. One of the best outcomes of the Tea was the participation of the Bolivian ladies. There were four of the Cochabambina ladies who presented character studies on women from the Bible. Gabriella, Sonia, Maggie, and Ofelia all presented lessons which were well received. Another activity that Katie has been involved in along with Trish is a Bible study for new Christian ladies. The group started out small but thankfully has grown. It is held on Thursday nights before the regular CAFE group and has become a mini-CAFE group of its own. Now participating in that Bible study are: Gabriella, Sonia, Maggie, Ofelia, Patricia C. and Palmira in addittion to Katie and Trish. Katie has also been studying with Augustina who because of her job at her beauty salon is unable to come to the study with the other ladies. Lately, Katie has really enjoyed partnering with Laura and Trish and the other ladies of the church family. She is also looking forward to Julie's return as are all the other ladies.

I too have been busy although maybe not as quite as Katie :)! One of my most important ministry outreach activities as been the continuation of the ESL classes using the Bible. In March I began an English class focused on the Life of Christ. We studied from the beginning of March to June 9th every Monday. For that course I had four groups ranging in size from 2 to 14 students in each group. At the very end of the course we had a special graduation dinner for all the students who had completed the course in our home. The course was designed to cover 15 lessons about the life of Jesus. We had so much to talk about and learn that we only completed the first five lessons! After the first course had ended in June, I repeated the course with new students along with the help of our three Harding interns, Heather, Elizabeth and Jacob. The interns did a fantastic job with their students and at the end I was very proud and appreciative of the work that they had done. The second course we offered with the interns got only to lesson 3. So, fortunately I had a great reason to continue the course with all of those who were interested. I combined students from the first course and second course into two groups that meet on Tuesday afternoons. Both groups are going well and currently we are just finishing up Matthew 5 and 6 which have proven to provide great opportunities for English conversation practice and even greater opportunities for sharing the gospel. I praise God for the privilege and joy of teaching these wonderful people about the good news of Jesus.

NEW BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Since the last blog update there have been three new Christians added to the Lord's Body here in Cochabamba. Among them are Bruno, Ofelia and Patricia. Bruno is the 13 year son of Maggie who was baptized earlier this year and began as a student of Butch's Bible Institute classes. Ofelia was the one faithful attendee of the Oasis ministry that I began in March. The Oasis idea did not take off like I thought, but something much better happened which is the birth of a new sister in Christ. Ofelia at the beginning was very torn about her decision because she was employed with another church in town and was very afraid of losing her job. She lost the job partly because of her decision to be baptized but God has worked in her life to continue giving her other forms of employment. She in fact thanks God for all that has happened lately in her life. Ofelia has a daughter Yolanda who is about 11 years old. Patricia made the decision to become a Christian just last week. Her story is also very interesting. She began coming to church through the suggestion of her son Diego who is on a scholarship in Switzerland and was invited by fellow Bolivian students in Switzerland to attend a church of Christ in Gineva, (sorry I forgot how to spell that in English). Patricia somehow found the phone number of Renan Vargas and began visiting worship services. She also began attending the Life of Christ courses I was offering at the time as well as the CAFE groups held at Butch and Trish's on Thursday nights. Please be praying for Bruno, Ofelia, and Patricia as well as their families.

There will be more to come, but for now I will close. I need to go pick up Jubilee at her school.

Love you guys!

La Familia Forbess

Praise God! Thanks for Praying

Hello brothers and sisters. I am writing in between the ESL classes that I give here at the Contact Center. I can´t write very much but I can write enough to say that our God once again heard your prayers on our behalf and in this case on behalf of an entire nation. Some would say it is mere chance and that I had blown it out of proportion in the first place. Yet, when you consider the fact that close to half a million people demonstrated in our city yesterday with no violence whatsoever I would call that only one thing; providence. There was some violence in Santa Cruz but even there it was much less than what had been expected. Yesterday´s voting results could have resulted in immediate unrest because the referendum for autonomy did pass. However, I am positive that your prayers as those of so many others were heard and God chose to work in the hearts and minds of leaders and their followers all throughout this nation. Thank you to all of you who cared enough to speak to God about our safety, that of our teammates and that of all Bolivians. Let us hope that this relative peace we have been granted may be used to God´s glory and that the freedom we maintain to speak the Good News boldly may lead to many more additions to the Lord´s body of Bolivia.

Love,

La Familia Forbess