I had a little scare today! First I should say that Min is safely back in the U.S.. She has a friend that she grew up with in Africa who has been engaged for many years. So long that her friends are calling it the "wedding of the decade". Min really wanted to go, and was blessed when a friend from Florida used some of her air miles to buy min a round trip ticket. The trip turns out to be a blessing to us and those around us as well. We're getting our cold-weather clothes from home, and some needed cooking items from Walmart and the Village Market in Collegedale, TN. Some important documents are being carried to the US for a volunteer, and some items for other missionaries are going to come back here with Min. I miss her :)
When I returned from the Airport this morning at 9:30am, our volunteer pastor was standing outside the kitchen. He was talking to Carmen, a visitor who cooks really well and is taking over for Min this week as cook. Carmen speaks both English and Spanish and was translating for us. Apparently the workers were going home, because we had received word that the government was coming to reposess the property of the TV Station! The first word we heard was that when the government does this, everything on the property at the time becomes theirs. I asked why this was happening. Carmen said, "Apparently some of the paid workers had filed a lawsuit with the government because they had not been paid in several months. The government has ruled in favor of the workers and they are coming to reposess the land." My mind raced to the computers and other equipment in the TV station that might be saved if we brought it next door. There is a property next door that is not ours yet but we're renting it. I mentioned this to others and we were contemplating the task . To move some of the equipment would mean taking God's TV network off of the air... a daunting prospect. The station director had just left this morning for La Paz, Bolivia and was on an airplane so we couldn't contact him for direction.
Just then, the pastor returned with better information. The workers who had filed the lawsuit had been laid off months ago. Normally that means all of them must be paid all back pay within 15 days. The station did not have enough money to do this, and was in the process of negotiating a payment plan with the workers. The workers had told the government that our mission was rich, had airplanes and other expensive equipment and could pay if we wished. Today the government was simply coming to inspect us and see if these claims were true. No reposession was to take place! Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and my mind raced for a few minutes more until I calmed down.
Everyone slowly dispersed, and went to work. I welded the rest of the shelves I was working on, and by the end of the day no-one came. David Gates and Richard were both contacted and I'm sure they were working with the government during the day. It just reminds me how delicate our position is on the planet, and how much Satan would like to see our work ended. The TV station daily reaches millions of homes with wholesome Christian family programs, Bible studies, Nature videos, etc. and has been heralded as a great benefit here in Santa Cruz. I am so glad they are still on the air!
Please pray for the TV station, the workers' pay, Min's safe travels, and her friends' wedding and future life together!
God Bless,
Scott Sterling
011-591-6-780-4066 cell (Bolivia)
Scott Sterling
011-591-6-780-4066 cell (Bolivia)
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