While some holidays here in Bolivia are the same as the US, here in Bolivia, Father’s Day is celebrated on March the 19th. For several weeks we planned to have something special for each father. The children sang a special song and made cards in the shape of a tie; while we had a special gift and message from the church. A week or so before, we gave each person in the church an invitation to give to their father for this important day. As the day approached, many of the teenagers talked to us about not having a father present to invite. We realized that more than half of the young people in our church were without a father. We told them that they could invite anyone else that would be a father figure to them. In spite of this, many of them did not come because of embarrasment or because they felt bad. Although, this was the case, the Lord still gave us a tremendous day and we had over seventy in attendance and 14 visiting fathers. It was a wonderful time, but sad at the same time to realize the need for stronger families. A large percentage of children here in Bolivia grow up with one or both of their parents being absent. Sometimes it is due to broken homes, but more often because one of the family members has gone to another country looking for work to support those back home. Please pray with us as we train up a new generation and build strong families for the future.
