tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66149911912093097522023-11-16T06:29:21.196-05:00Bolivia Adventist MissionsA pilot. A nurse. And a sausage dog.Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-14757351221308059962017-09-25T07:27:00.000-04:002017-09-25T07:27:18.355-04:00Friends,<br />
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It has been a long time since we've posted. Those who have been praying for us, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wanted to share this important information with you all, which I received from Gospel Ministries, International. It was sent out in July. Now there are only 30-some days left.<br />
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In <a dir="ltr" href="x-apple-data-detectors://0" style="-webkit-text-decoration-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.258824); color: black;" x-apple-data-detectors-result="0" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">Oct. 31, 2017</a> will mark 500 years of Reformation. In just about 3 months will be the end of it!</div>
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Many people still don't understand what does it mean!</div>
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Please help to distribute this information to your families and friends. This document has been translated into different languages for distribution!</div>
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Queridos Amigos,</div>
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<a dir="ltr" href="x-apple-data-detectors://1" style="-webkit-text-decoration-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.258824); color: black;" x-apple-data-detectors-result="1" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">El 31 de octubre de 2017</a> se celebrarán 500 años de Reforma. <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.3333px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">¡</span>En sólo unos 3 meses será el final de la misma! <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.3333px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">¡</span>Mucha gente todavía no entiende lo que esto significa!<br /><br />Por favor ayude a distribuir esta información a sus familias y amigos. ¡Este documento ha sido traducido a diferentes idiomas para su distribución!</div>
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In this mail are the following PDFs of Luther pamphlets in several versions. You can find them at <a href="http://www.endtime.net/">www.endtime.net</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/engelsk/Luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/engelsk/Luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/engelsk/Luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/deutsch/luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/deutsch/luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/deutsch/luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/dutch/Luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/dutch/Luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/dutch/Luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/fransk/luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/fransk/luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/fransk/luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/italian/Luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/italian/Luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/italian/Luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/spansk/luther_spanish.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/spansk/luther_spanish.pdf">http://endtime.net/spansk/luther_spanish.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/polsk/Luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/polsk/Luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/polsk/Luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/hungarian/luther_hungarian.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/hungarian/luther_hungarian.pdf">http://endtime.net/hungarian/luther_hungarian.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/romanian/luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/romanian/luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/romanian/luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/portugisisk/luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/portugisisk/luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/portugisisk/luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/Estonian/Luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/Estonian/Luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/Estonian/Luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/chech/luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/chech/luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/chech/luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/russisk/2017%20-%20500%20years%20after%20Martin%20Luther%20-%20Russian.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/russisk/2017%20-%20500%20years%20after%20Martin%20Luther%20-%20Russian.pdf">http://endtime.net/russisk/2017%20-%20500%20years%20after%20Martin%20Luther%20-%20Russian.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/Filipino/Luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/Filipino/Luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/Filipino/Luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/hindi/luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/hindi/luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/hindi/luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/finsk/Luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/finsk/Luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/finsk/Luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/svensk/luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/svensk/luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/svensk/luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/dansk/luther.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/dansk/luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/dansk/luther.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/islandsk/luther_iceland.pdf" title="http://endtime.net/islandsk/luther_iceland.pdf">http://endtime.net/islandsk/luther_iceland.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://endtime.net/norsk/luther.pdf">http://endtime.net/norsk/luther.pdf</a></div>
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We will give all the honor and glory to God for this progress! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!</div>
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We hope that as many people as possible can read this pamphlet <a dir="ltr" href="x-apple-data-detectors://28" style="-webkit-text-decoration-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.258824); color: black;" x-apple-data-detectors-result="28" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">before October 31, 2017</a>.</div>
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Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-39146734617598732912014-02-12T08:49:00.001-05:002014-02-13T15:23:52.658-05:00Update Winter 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Dear family and friends,</div><div><br></div><div>Scott and I have been back in Bolivia since the 26th of December. As I (Min) write, it is raining "cats and dogs". I am under our mosquito net with a twitching 9 day old puppy on my belly that keeps sliding off…. and the laptop on my lap :) I write a little and then pet the puppy. Write a little. Pet the puppy. I'm rather content right now and happy :) Other than the puppy sliding off every now and then, she makes cute growling puppy noises! </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18ohWu03ImpIg3B6JYRp9MmaIgXO3lmhtG09zOngwD_O9GL4eV8j5MgbbgEUjjRxKEyCQ3NaHdj_gD2u-9Ycmr81N-aze8uJ8sA9Cj2Z62XUf9Zn7c36ZVHUjrrFmOJ2xru_Gh8bhdcE/s640/blogger-image--904337032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18ohWu03ImpIg3B6JYRp9MmaIgXO3lmhtG09zOngwD_O9GL4eV8j5MgbbgEUjjRxKEyCQ3NaHdj_gD2u-9Ycmr81N-aze8uJ8sA9Cj2Z62XUf9Zn7c36ZVHUjrrFmOJ2xru_Gh8bhdcE/s640/blogger-image--904337032.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>We don't know how this school year will start out since most of the staff from last year are not coming back. We know that God will bring whoever needs to be here. However, if you are reading this, and you or anyone you know is interested in coming down for 9 months and helping teach classes at our school, PLEASE email Scott or the director as soon as possible. We ARE IN GREAT NEED OF VOLUNTEERS, to teach, and help out with the girls/boys dorm, cafeteria, and other work projects. </div><div><br></div><div>The rain is so strong as it beats down on our corrugated tin roof! I love the noise it makes, as the rain is so powerful. It's so loud and sounds like a million shower heads are on at the same time!!! As I look outside the trees are waving like crazy, and the rainwater is forming "little rivers" as it flows off the road and grass, down past our front step. I see lightning in the distance and hear occasional sounds of thunder resonating all the way down to my toes.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDJLwo5uCkypm39i7DVC0umgn-3F-rBCy23MosIECMDPZzLbRkHcmjj_2a-H78K2pLZTiNOpTSvcaGwGRqJHCZQDhnvHEVZ6mbsSSEYvQyQRucH1g8bj0d6_8QzOB6YlDQPfIzXCUHtI/s640/blogger-image--617740907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDJLwo5uCkypm39i7DVC0umgn-3F-rBCy23MosIECMDPZzLbRkHcmjj_2a-H78K2pLZTiNOpTSvcaGwGRqJHCZQDhnvHEVZ6mbsSSEYvQyQRucH1g8bj0d6_8QzOB6YlDQPfIzXCUHtI/s640/blogger-image--617740907.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Yes, we are in the rainy season. It has been raining just about every day; sometimes, it rains twice a day, and I mean, pours non-stop for a long time. Whenever Scott and I are on the motorcycle and it starts raining, we feel like someone just took us and dunked us in the river, since it takes just a few seconds to be completely soaking wet :) This has been our welcome back to Bolivia. And with the rainy season comes the lushness of greenery all around us, thus the constant need of cutting the grass and beating the jungle back. It's a struggle and a big job to maintain the lawns! Last year, the jungle had crept all the way up to one side of our house and was threatening to swallow it. It took Scott three hours using a machete to cut the overgrown bushes and vines. I am so amazed each year at how fast stuff grows here. I feel like the grass grows an inch a day… </div><div><br></div><div>Yes, we made it safely back to our rainforest/jungle school, 30km from Guayaramerin. Thank God! We had about 3 days of cleaning before our house looked decent again. Now, we are trying to get our laundry washed and dried. It's a challenge as it rains a lot now and is humid. </div><div><br></div><div>We've had a huge froggy visit us every night at our house. I guess he comes in through the doggy door. We get frogs in our bathroom, so as you can see... nature is all around us, even when we shower. One time in the shower, Scott touched a frog which quickly inflated with air... and would you believe this froggy sounded like a drum as water from the shower bounced off his back. He looked like a frog balloon! I just don't like it when they start jumping on us. Anyways, Scott has been picking Mr. Froggy up and throwing him out the door. Now when we see him, we say "Oh, its you again…here you go! and swish…..through the air and the froggy flies out into the obscure night. Last time we threw froggy out, he got so scared that he peed on himself before Scott launched him out the door. I thought that maybe Scott had just squeezed him to tight... but no, froggies do that when they get scared. It's funny how I don't like frogs, but Scott on the other hand, lights up like a little kid each time he picks up Mr. Froggy. I think it's because he enjoys launching him out the door. Who knew frogs could fly? Each time he throws the frog into the air, he quickly closes the door and chuckles to himself. I truly married a fun man! Each day is an adventure...</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KEv7PIdG0uTCTlmNGovHI8sBfDz_ztr0XxTJhenLtPDrQ11PNrm75TcBH0sHt0vgSFcte25URt6osWg-8lKwR-8k5fl79OhG7SzI3e0wxRUDmm-ckW_5AmCP-3dYxOm6IVyCrVsUspA/s640/blogger-image--1443158505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KEv7PIdG0uTCTlmNGovHI8sBfDz_ztr0XxTJhenLtPDrQ11PNrm75TcBH0sHt0vgSFcte25URt6osWg-8lKwR-8k5fl79OhG7SzI3e0wxRUDmm-ckW_5AmCP-3dYxOm6IVyCrVsUspA/s640/blogger-image--1443158505.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Switching gears now.</div><div><br></div><div>We are learning more and more that God is in control of EVERYTHING. Providing for our needs as we travelled and putting the right people in our path to help us. God knows what we need before we even know what to ask him for. And as we are blessed in whatever way, be it financially or in other ways, we want to share His blessings with others. This gives us tremendous joy!!! As we walk through this life, we are to keep our hands open to receive God's blessings and keep them open so that we can freely give to others. We know that whatever we have is the Lord's and we want to use it to glorify Him. We received a donation last month and we were able to buy another keyboard in which will be used to teach more students piano. I (Min) had a full sized electronic piano with weighted keys which I brought down with me a couple years ago, but it didn't allow much students time to practice on.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmruyi_dQUdEFvNZLIRfbNeeIYkPYkPvUJt5Q_pu4imtRYNdIf-Jlkb0V6XUlDuQiYoR3yoGawnSXjUIO9v1dqlywPUXddLfxo6hf9WvEdFUl4avqcSFe0GU555gjcUmsq6AvE8dy94o/s640/blogger-image--1837196268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmruyi_dQUdEFvNZLIRfbNeeIYkPYkPvUJt5Q_pu4imtRYNdIf-Jlkb0V6XUlDuQiYoR3yoGawnSXjUIO9v1dqlywPUXddLfxo6hf9WvEdFUl4avqcSFe0GU555gjcUmsq6AvE8dy94o/s640/blogger-image--1837196268.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div> I had put my keyboard in the dorm so the students could practice, but we needed another one. So we are very happy to say that we bought one a couple weeks ago in Santa Cruz and it made it safely to the school with us!! </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcS4es7lfI709y9gDzYG0TYzJ-UMsjFMcvP2u69a_r6Y_e0NctKOmUGoDfT1w8drAtj5ZTHNhKEN0qQ_QvV-EatCbDCV2kCU6P3bFK8kxGxztkznIqHkrc-6gTqAtwGlNktg-IiXq_-8/s640/blogger-image--1282965535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcS4es7lfI709y9gDzYG0TYzJ-UMsjFMcvP2u69a_r6Y_e0NctKOmUGoDfT1w8drAtj5ZTHNhKEN0qQ_QvV-EatCbDCV2kCU6P3bFK8kxGxztkznIqHkrc-6gTqAtwGlNktg-IiXq_-8/s640/blogger-image--1282965535.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>We were able to bring down a couple suitcases from the States for other missionaries who didn't get to be with family over the holidays, and they were happy to receive them. </div><div><br></div><div>Also, we were surprised when Herman, <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">the head pilot for Bolivia, </span>who was dog sitting, told us that Raisin (our dachshund) had a surprise for us. Well well, she surely did. It totally wasn't planned, but just a week after getting back to our school, Raisin gave birth to 7 beautiful puppies. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3inaFFySko3TmmIUt7ytVAaOVVwuVw4aZtWOCdU1-Up66o33V3y-bwpNkN1mCqiTckcdjIE0e5etp0ipeZp2_Tqan7ChlaUi7uuvNn6li3D698eLY56Cw9sLQjXWwQL9Oo_1F4FFpW8/s640/blogger-image--999850791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3inaFFySko3TmmIUt7ytVAaOVVwuVw4aZtWOCdU1-Up66o33V3y-bwpNkN1mCqiTckcdjIE0e5etp0ipeZp2_Tqan7ChlaUi7uuvNn6li3D698eLY56Cw9sLQjXWwQL9Oo_1F4FFpW8/s640/blogger-image--999850791.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>They are 9 days old today, but are growing really fast. This time the puppies are half dachshunds and we are curious to see what they will look like. The puppies' father belonged to the TV station's director's kids. I'm not sure what kind of dog he was, but he was 3x bigger than our Raisin. So I'm just thankful that our dog didn't have any complications and that the puppies are healthy and well. For now, they look like dachshund puppies with a little more fluff. Whenever Scott comes back home and is a little stressed out, I just plop down a puppy on his chest and say "Here! hold a puppy! You'll feel better!!" It works :) </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttvDFBoT4mmjrtSylTkzuDFgLjKWsCj65IX9p_N3ZPSqQd5rJEgZ7aR6bX4nSk217LEuFI6fHeeDh62Oi4NsfV1KdEdZCg3-SMJ42qfEuORUL40kPwKy_ClRdVJu43BPaW0dqtJ0rUs0/s640/blogger-image--709457717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttvDFBoT4mmjrtSylTkzuDFgLjKWsCj65IX9p_N3ZPSqQd5rJEgZ7aR6bX4nSk217LEuFI6fHeeDh62Oi4NsfV1KdEdZCg3-SMJ42qfEuORUL40kPwKy_ClRdVJu43BPaW0dqtJ0rUs0/s640/blogger-image--709457717.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>The other day I didn't see the puppy on Scott's chest and found out that it burrowed in his shirt. The only thing I hate about having puppies is giving them away after holding each one of them close to your heart. It's so hard. So I told Scott that this time, "I'm keeping all 7 puppies!" He said…no. Maybe I can convince him to let me keep one. Still working on it. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6bvahDjAuKrmx_XydKXY6vCxaNBQhx6j0CcVAeNJm-WUdrJsO_n8aRukpvK0gOwyM66j-GyTZaVAt4E3sUjluigPps6Dbwwi7J5YvGQyIRMEruWztCEQ7uuwXfl62n_DCVHcHy0825Q/s640/blogger-image--1115824612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6bvahDjAuKrmx_XydKXY6vCxaNBQhx6j0CcVAeNJm-WUdrJsO_n8aRukpvK0gOwyM66j-GyTZaVAt4E3sUjluigPps6Dbwwi7J5YvGQyIRMEruWztCEQ7uuwXfl62n_DCVHcHy0825Q/s640/blogger-image--1115824612.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>So yes, we arrived at the school rather early because the director had to travel doing interviews with potential students all over Bolivia. This is a demanding job, as travel during the rainy season is tough. Just before the director got back a couple days ago, his bus broke down 3 times, so he left the bus and hitched a ride on a truck to the next town. When he got near there, one of the bridges was washed out..bummer. While the director was away for about two weeks, Scott and I got to do interviews with potential students and their parents. It's been a really busy process, but we are happy that the director is back and has the paperwork and recommendations to decide which students he will accept for the 2014 school year. For those of you who are confused, our school year is from March-November. We are praying for the new students who will be accepted this year, as well as the students from last year who decided not to come back. There are complicated situations with some students and we just keep praying for them. </div><div><br></div><div>A couple months ago, we were blessed to have the chance to visit family and friends in TN, FL, and WA state. During this time we were able to share how God is using us for His work in Bolivia. Even while we were in the States, we had many trials, including just having enough gas money to travel to our next speaking appointment. But we decided that God wanted us to share what He was doing in Bolivia, and as we shared our experiences our faith continued to grow. It gave us great joy to be able to share what The Lord is doing to save lives for His kingdom. </div><div><br></div><div>As many of you know, we had many trials last year including sickness, our computer frying and also losing our son. Although the trials of last year were very difficult, God has given us enough strength to go on. And we praise Him for this. Our time in the US also brought many blessings. Here are some stories that have let us know that God cares about us. We would like to share them with you. We'll write stories on the next update.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2012, Scott wanted a guitar and so we would pray for one on a daily basis. We saw the cheapest one in town cost $50 and so we tried to save for it. But each time we would get close to having enough money, a more pressing need would show up and we couldn't justify buying the guitar. One day, towards the end of the school year, a student knocked on our door and tried to give us her guitar. We refused it, of course, feeling bad to be "taking" a student's guitar. However, she kept on insisting, saying "No, please take it! God has been telling me to give you my guitar for the past month!". Wow! we were flabbergasted. And humbled. You see, as teachers, we think that we have to always be on the giving end. Not just giving of our time and attention, but also sacrificing whatever it takes to help students when they are in need. And this time we had to "learn" how to receive. It was hard to take her guitar, but we did. She was happy and so were we! We've never experienced being poor before, and although it is hard sometimes, we see it as a blessing in disguise that teaches us how to be truly happy for what we do have. Thankfulness is not necessarily based on circumstances; it the state of our souls. Choosing to be thankful for the little things we have is changing us to appreciate what really is important in life. </div><div><br></div><div>So back to the story... Scott would practice every day and by the time the 2013 school year started, he was getting the hang of playing along for church services. I was so proud of him! He really enjoyed it and two more students wanted to play the guitar too. Well, just this past October 2013, Scott gave away the guitar to a student. Now we didn't have any guitar, but we were sure that God could give us another one if He wanted to. We just didn't know when. We could not afford one for sure, so we put it on our prayer list. Just last month (December 2013), we went to visit Blue Angel SDA church in Pensacola, FL, where Scott was baptized. We went to visit Neville and Dorothy Parkinson, the godly couple that had given Scott bible studies, many years ago. While conversing with them and showing a slideshow of Bolivia, a picture came across of Scott holding a guitar in one hand while standing next to a student. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJxgxnpOJtquUD_fTY4-Vk9LS0u95SjP3FxddY_b8sz2NSQT-X6eLkd95X-UaJr2RGgTNoa8MOqDgpXOHsfOdw3_22TLsA94-exL3Rt9GoFzDF-N9eoFLqxHuy_kE4PvZmJHmCQ_2IKw/s640/blogger-image--1699210521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJxgxnpOJtquUD_fTY4-Vk9LS0u95SjP3FxddY_b8sz2NSQT-X6eLkd95X-UaJr2RGgTNoa8MOqDgpXOHsfOdw3_22TLsA94-exL3Rt9GoFzDF-N9eoFLqxHuy_kE4PvZmJHmCQ_2IKw/s640/blogger-image--1699210521.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Neville asked "Scott, do you play the guitar?" </div><div>Scott responded "Yes, I do!" </div><div>Neville then went to to say "Well, you know, I still have that guitar I bought from you many years ago…you can have it back if you want. I meant to learn, but haven't played it much. If you want it--it's yours!" </div><div><br></div><div>Scott was so overjoyed as Neville brought the guitar and gave it to Scott. You see, while Scott was in the military, he had accumulated many things and when he decided to follow God's leading, he sold many of his belongings, including his guitar. He had sold it to Neville. And now God was giving Scott back his guitar, seven years later!!! We were amazed at what had just happened. You see, God does care about the little things too. They matter to Him.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOgjJI_u6QSXG_TBi8zJtXZuNMGcjI8ixtRqksEXaoVT-89y4hVxibO2QDlEUMnlGnfFWEqTtwkk6UzqhXqpEHsgujbt0CEkaGuC_A8UC-ZVhLIhcmN6axt5qcNsW-E7wKqjpQYACM2c/s640/blogger-image-1770302196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOgjJI_u6QSXG_TBi8zJtXZuNMGcjI8ixtRqksEXaoVT-89y4hVxibO2QDlEUMnlGnfFWEqTtwkk6UzqhXqpEHsgujbt0CEkaGuC_A8UC-ZVhLIhcmN6axt5qcNsW-E7wKqjpQYACM2c/s640/blogger-image-1770302196.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Something I'd like to mention is that God expects trust and obedience from us. While we were visiting in the States, we wanted to share what The Lord was doing in Bolivia, but many times we just had enough gas money to drive to our next speaking appointment but not enough to get back home. We decided that if God gave us enough money to drive there, then He could give us enough money to get back home. So that's what we did! And each time we trusted God and just went on faith to share what He was doing; He blessed us with enough money to travel, along with kind family and friends that let us stay with them. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhDajnt0g3YVeJQYVseohJQXEcHhPmLxOV3IQOUWBPG4HCRuqb6dYwLmBtbUyHgB8hAWG_aT3pDTC8ulgJpd-rwYOEe7txL1KZ145YCNTLrA0Vlyi7FT4Ul0VIpxwoWEO26vBcF1C4Bc/s640/blogger-image-1501555112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhDajnt0g3YVeJQYVseohJQXEcHhPmLxOV3IQOUWBPG4HCRuqb6dYwLmBtbUyHgB8hAWG_aT3pDTC8ulgJpd-rwYOEe7txL1KZ145YCNTLrA0Vlyi7FT4Ul0VIpxwoWEO26vBcF1C4Bc/s640/blogger-image-1501555112.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfS1HMSsNaYAONplxtuvvHDoqFpmWKG6WCXOnc7x5Rdhdtle4qqIgGMESVz1RzT4z5qd2ZJctcFfddsDTFO3aAEkT8nTOeLmyU-EYuu0ov6wx2_5DsiT-5l1kSZ5Sgjw3u41luT_sqnlo/s640/blogger-image-1924435830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfS1HMSsNaYAONplxtuvvHDoqFpmWKG6WCXOnc7x5Rdhdtle4qqIgGMESVz1RzT4z5qd2ZJctcFfddsDTFO3aAEkT8nTOeLmyU-EYuu0ov6wx2_5DsiT-5l1kSZ5Sgjw3u41luT_sqnlo/s640/blogger-image-1924435830.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZOb-Nt56nTENogXfbhDVTnB2A_0JKijt7rio9_m8Usyv91nf1hs7kanMTpcVs3gdM8CjloB6vihfzKsVJz6ImZDrJbngsCaKqaS4qTakuHPDCCtKAk9tifTlJEloA4z52h9NO21LtBg/s640/blogger-image--1999523738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZOb-Nt56nTENogXfbhDVTnB2A_0JKijt7rio9_m8Usyv91nf1hs7kanMTpcVs3gdM8CjloB6vihfzKsVJz6ImZDrJbngsCaKqaS4qTakuHPDCCtKAk9tifTlJEloA4z52h9NO21LtBg/s640/blogger-image--1999523738.jpg"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKSsJRZSFRBEpXHBqucBZrHapJxN_RoAry63DlVEC-6LT79adA0fgUdWZFVIzGcZsq672NCm0B4m3XdJoqBcBnmfN2m5MrfBSw5bLpxTP4GCm8LWdPPTrWLQLbIANCMAvB3rARTPiVVs/s640/blogger-image-1053494560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; "><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKSsJRZSFRBEpXHBqucBZrHapJxN_RoAry63DlVEC-6LT79adA0fgUdWZFVIzGcZsq672NCm0B4m3XdJoqBcBnmfN2m5MrfBSw5bLpxTP4GCm8LWdPPTrWLQLbIANCMAvB3rARTPiVVs/s640/blogger-image-1053494560.jpg"></a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1e0xKZyPzX8d6Bj8B5UEW7g9vdhX1HfOyFME8LkpNSTx4SqzOoSqgjVR0v6hvGjEXVune2A7dZkBahqrZlBZA0k4u5ABSAXbeguEfaQfTGnCOZJcwrhL8pSOY-kEuHq7gnR-3opXHvds/s640/blogger-image--2029740049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1e0xKZyPzX8d6Bj8B5UEW7g9vdhX1HfOyFME8LkpNSTx4SqzOoSqgjVR0v6hvGjEXVune2A7dZkBahqrZlBZA0k4u5ABSAXbeguEfaQfTGnCOZJcwrhL8pSOY-kEuHq7gnR-3opXHvds/s640/blogger-image--2029740049.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>They fed us and took care of us and when it was time to drive back to Tennessee, God provided enough money not only to make it back, but also to get a few things we needed. Scott needed a computer, and had just enough to buy a used one that runs really well. Unfortunately just a couple days before flying out to Bolivia, we discovered that the computer didn't recognize the new battery that we had bought for it. So for now, we have to keep our computer plugged in if we are using it. But we are just so happy and thankful that we have a computer!</div><div><br></div><div>Many of you know we had lost our firstborn son, Michael. As hard as this blow was and is still to this day, God is healing our hearts in a mighty way. I know now, that you never get over it, as in our hearts never stop hurting. It's just that time helps us cope better. It's like living with an amputation. A part of you is gone and you are never the same. We'll miss him until we see him again. We long for heaven all the more. Many try to put themselves in our shoes and sympathize with us. We can only say that we are thankful for their love and support. However, unless, they themselves have been in the same situation, they cannot know or understand what it feels like to lose a child. It is heartbreaking, to tell you the truth. The only hope that gives us encouragement to hang on is the hope that we have in Jesus' soon return. And so we continue to pour out our lives and our love on the children at this school. Scott and I praise The Lord for the privilege He has given us to be used to show His love and character to them. Without this knowledge, how can they learn to love a God they don't know? </div><div><br></div><div>Being volunteers has not been easy. There are many setbacks and challenges we face, including opposition from people who feel that we are wasting our lives, for a cause that is not worthy. I've had one person say to me, "Why don't you just come back to the States where you can make good money and have a comfortable life? You will not have to worry about getting sick! Scott and you can do very well over here (States), if you decide to come back permanently." Although Scott and I have had the hardest year last year, we know without a doubt that we are where God wants us to be. Just because one has difficulties and trials doesn't mean they should quit and give up what they're doing. On the contrary, the trials and difficulties of this life, are only confirmation from God that He is with us and that He is allowing us to "pass through the fires" that will purify our characters. It is because God is with us, that we have trials. But even so, it is encouraging to know that God will not give us trials above which we can bear, but will always give us a way out, so that we may be able to bear them. Isn't God good? He promises strength for the day, rest and comfort when we put our trust in Him. He has never failed us. </div><div><br></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">Just as it is for sure there is a God, there is also a devil who seeks to destroy us.</span><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "> Let us not forget that each day we are facing the battle for our souls. Whose side will we be on? </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "><br></span></div><div>Just a thought: I am listening to "The Desire of Ages" on audio which helps me understand better what Jesus faced on this earth. Thinking of Jesus as our only example, what kind of life did He have? What kind of things did he have to call his own? Did he have a home? What was his mission during his time on earth? And last but not least, What did Jesus give up so that we could be saved? Jesus gave up EVERYTHING. The prince of heaven, left His Father's side. He left the glory and splendor of heaven, to come down to this sin sick world to become one of us, so that we could be saved.</div><div><br></div><div>When I think about Jesus' life, I can't even begin to imagine how much he had to give up to come to this earth and ultimately die at the hands of people that rejected him then and reject him now. If Jesus did all that for you and me, nothing is too great to sacrifice for Him. Even if we give all to Jesus and sacrifice our lives, it will never never never match up to what He did for us. </div><div><br></div><div>It's not been easy. However, Scott and I believe with all our hearts that Jesus is coming very soon. It is our life goal to do our part in saving lives for all of eternity. Might Jesus be calling you to make a similar sacrifice? Do not hesitate! God will make it well worth it in the end. </div><div><br></div><div>It's still raining. The puppy has now stuck her head under my chin…sighing occasionally.</div><div><br></div><div>Before school starts, I'm giving piano lessons to 3 kids and teaching 2 other kids the recorder. I'm also composing some music and teaching myself how to draw. It's been fun! I'm taking advantage of the down time I have before the school year starts and the knocks on our door never cease… :) Also, I'm re-learning how to play the trumpet. I used to play trumpet in band while I was in high school. Scott got a used trumpet for me while we were in the States and had it fixed up…so now I am happily playing my horn whenever I get a chance. Scott is learning how to play the recorder and he likes it. </div><div><br></div><div>Well, that´s all for now. We have many stories but will write some of them in the next update. We don't have fast enough internet signal at the school but we try to go to town to send updates, whenever we can. We pray for all our friends and family at home that God will keep you and that we will see each other in heaven, if not sooner. We love you!</div><div><br></div><div>Min and Scott</div><div><br></div>Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-5519944317219134702013-10-18T17:06:00.001-04:002013-10-18T17:06:41.052-04:00Teaching and TravelingFriends,<div><br></div><div>Well, we are recovering from our loss day by day. It is much harder for Min, having been intimately connected to Michael for almost 9 months. Some days she is fine and others a deep sadness comes over her and she can't stop crying. Please pray for emotional healing for us, especially for Min. </div><div><br></div><div>Min's mother came to visit us for two weeks. That was a big blessing! She's the first of our friends and relatives back home to see what missionary life is like here in Bolivia. She brought us lots of gifts from her and friends and family too, which was a blessing. We love you guys!</div><div><br></div><div>Here she is at the port in Guayaramerin:</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVO7W7P42KxK3sxqkT-TXCW2t9vKh-94cFHS0-nXRXgSB-i0uf0Zw4FS9QNN6KEEEax9qtzBWPGUkOpuAN5ZRIPaqpyDuH40ePP_CsDHdRexHDPVNgqnKDZTissSnlTUaEu0izoI3rWIw/s640/blogger-image-708925642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVO7W7P42KxK3sxqkT-TXCW2t9vKh-94cFHS0-nXRXgSB-i0uf0Zw4FS9QNN6KEEEax9qtzBWPGUkOpuAN5ZRIPaqpyDuH40ePP_CsDHdRexHDPVNgqnKDZTissSnlTUaEu0izoI3rWIw/s640/blogger-image-708925642.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div>Here we are eating at our house:</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIADFZYVm3Q4TocVS38c3qKfUSrzpnzXfyX9QgKv93juJPOPnKLdNXYDceugqi-zSGlN6n1pYsyyC76uL74ssXQyHMyQKBmMFlssCyD405-ZJ2d_K3DYjqL394R9c4VRPjTS1kAxG1Zk/s640/blogger-image--700802522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIADFZYVm3Q4TocVS38c3qKfUSrzpnzXfyX9QgKv93juJPOPnKLdNXYDceugqi-zSGlN6n1pYsyyC76uL74ssXQyHMyQKBmMFlssCyD405-ZJ2d_K3DYjqL394R9c4VRPjTS1kAxG1Zk/s640/blogger-image--700802522.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><div>Before we went to Guayara we celebrated her birthday:</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBQKvyNTJv3wuSktuHmBssLpOayddkj20bRl5cAnBVekgSNLdRTgx-sbnb8M5b9G5j_kdvusyGj-UibFtDrVjZiq08tCFCBNZmzvMZnRwEg4Iqrf3Okngpl-5ajEJ2k92-13dxYJbMZE/s640/blogger-image--551386452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBQKvyNTJv3wuSktuHmBssLpOayddkj20bRl5cAnBVekgSNLdRTgx-sbnb8M5b9G5j_kdvusyGj-UibFtDrVjZiq08tCFCBNZmzvMZnRwEg4Iqrf3Okngpl-5ajEJ2k92-13dxYJbMZE/s640/blogger-image--551386452.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><div>I've been teaching since the week after we came back. The directors at the school kindly said that we didn't have to do any teaching, just come back and let them love us. That was really nice! I recommended that Min not teach unless she really wanted to, and she decided that it was best for her not to yet. </div><div><br></div><div>When we arrived there was a big surprise waiting for us! Some students and staff had gone all-out to fix up our house better than we'd dreamed. Everyone pitched in something and it went from being one of the poorest-condition houses to one of the best! What a blessing. It has all-tile floors, a tiled bathroom, a wooden "couch" for guests, curtains, and it's all done with our favorite colors: blue and yellow. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsdjevbD9u4RTgEDCdYQYTQsZToD_LVP-cekC85_wcqUjzf4yn4nNiyeuAzv5VZyiLzLueF4BB4iYYLgbK7cfbBLRRrIIYDjSpcO7ZReM0axoGogIR28V3qv3YzqOUreIIzAocWGRL5k/s640/blogger-image--934380795.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsdjevbD9u4RTgEDCdYQYTQsZToD_LVP-cekC85_wcqUjzf4yn4nNiyeuAzv5VZyiLzLueF4BB4iYYLgbK7cfbBLRRrIIYDjSpcO7ZReM0axoGogIR28V3qv3YzqOUreIIzAocWGRL5k/s640/blogger-image--934380795.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufFzQ-UOAdJ2jencJr_irgDFi3VwxVhizBH9g_TiIIRapRjgey6ATmHTamRs3W-xbF-id29vzBCq6rvc1HBKbiiF2It75PpfIX77hSxZ0OpMA9oAjf5Nt1mGCy5yn0SzLbGlcWYPjlrM/s640/blogger-image--384886017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufFzQ-UOAdJ2jencJr_irgDFi3VwxVhizBH9g_TiIIRapRjgey6ATmHTamRs3W-xbF-id29vzBCq6rvc1HBKbiiF2It75PpfIX77hSxZ0OpMA9oAjf5Nt1mGCy5yn0SzLbGlcWYPjlrM/s640/blogger-image--384886017.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ842QDWn-PI3FTG04KxWFCuDa4qq132HqVJV8RUoU4Eilc68Tc739ZrHF89SHmPFUxZcdF_fgJnzBAc0JPdYwTf9MlH6G4TcI49Ld4oEXKl0vsL_Ftx5EqOUqoVtrpom1JuWm4gHWSYk/s640/blogger-image--1286035537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ842QDWn-PI3FTG04KxWFCuDa4qq132HqVJV8RUoU4Eilc68Tc739ZrHF89SHmPFUxZcdF_fgJnzBAc0JPdYwTf9MlH6G4TcI49Ld4oEXKl0vsL_Ftx5EqOUqoVtrpom1JuWm4gHWSYk/s640/blogger-image--1286035537.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnvoa_oFu60m1LgoBwnBXxT7Qlm9b4WZodkt4ONzlRygmnwqE_RSdIQLsDniwpm5gXxi6CtPBHXN6_3Mu0Kb79FrKKtSD__U_PUPjdi5RwV4-dWUpqMyctYPpPn6427bu7h0lDl37voo4/s640/blogger-image-2096852414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnvoa_oFu60m1LgoBwnBXxT7Qlm9b4WZodkt4ONzlRygmnwqE_RSdIQLsDniwpm5gXxi6CtPBHXN6_3Mu0Kb79FrKKtSD__U_PUPjdi5RwV4-dWUpqMyctYPpPn6427bu7h0lDl37voo4/s640/blogger-image-2096852414.jpg"></a></div>So we know we're very much loved here. </div><div><br></div><div>Min's brother came to visit from Switzerland, so Min traveled back to the US to spend time with family. So for two weeks I've had to live like a bachelor again. I just washed some laundry today...</div><div><br></div><div>I have to endure for three more weeks and then I can go join her. Thank you to the family and friends who chipped in to get our airline tickets! We praise The Lord for the chance to come and visit. </div><div><br></div><div>I don't have all the contact info that I should, but if anyone who reads this would like us to speak in their church while we are in town please connect us with someone whom we can coordinate with. </div><div><br></div><div>Our tentative plans are:</div><div>Chattanooga area: Nov 9-16</div><div>Seattle, WA: Nov 17-Dec 3 </div><div>Chicago, IL: Dec 4 - Dec 8</div><div>Pensacola, FL: Dec 11 - Dec 15</div><div>Chattanooga: Dec 16 - Dec 24</div><div><br></div><div>These could change. </div><div><br></div><div>Also if anyone we know has a vehicle we could borrow for any of these trips, please let us know. </div><div><br></div><div>We love you all,</div><div><br></div><div>God bless,</div><div><br></div><div>Scott and Min</div><div><br></div>Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-84376787956792142412013-09-27T14:38:00.001-04:002013-09-27T14:38:21.710-04:00September NewsletterFriends,<div><br></div><div>We've been through some tough experiences lately, and have put everything in our September newsletter. This time it's in a nice PDF format. Here is the link: </div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/vsr3uc0tzqzv9bx/Newsletter%209-2013.pdf">https://www.dropbox.com/s/vsr3uc0tzqzv9bx/Newsletter%209-2013.pdf</a></span></div><div><br></div><div>God bless, </div><div><br></div><div>Scott and Min</div>Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-36510080748612324312013-04-03T22:30:00.001-04:002013-05-28T14:02:51.272-04:00PhotosWe've been back at the school for almost 2 months. We arrived early to prepare and plan. It was a blessing to arrive early this time. Last year we joined at the end of 1st trimester. On one of the first Sabbaths we saw this double rainbow over our school. I've never seen one before. We took it as a sign of God's protection and providence this year. <br />
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Sadly our cat was not here. She died while we were gone, probably from rat poison. So we found a kitty in town and brought her home. The shop keeper gave it for free. What a blessing. <br />
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One of the first jobs for everyone was to harvest the rice. The students planted it last year and it was already ripe. We had only a few weeks to harvest it before it fell and rotted. We even cancelled one day of class as the rice was falling to make sure to get it all in. <br />
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We started school as normal. We had an orientation day, and the first Sunday was also our school's anniversary celebration so we had half a day of fixing up the school and then fun activities, a little music concert and a special meal. <br />
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In the last picture we are saying goodbye to Soledad. She graduated last year and is moving to Guyana to attend one of our missionary training schools. Our love and prayers go with her. <br />
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More has happened since I started writing this update, including an internet outage. Min is preparing a post to fill in the details. <br />
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God bless!<br />
<br />
Scott <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNMBL3OGHxEOUPQt4Mb3-36f0s5K8YcWUjx48RnyZ3b8lyjaIja_coIl40Mc3NtEmmcPuWTWr6bP8toqb2GnjjCs_BR7CGDyYtnoTPXSSO6QXGIrYyj5mMHG43NnBsPHZjWrwm0N4Cho/s640/blogger-image-970260893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNMBL3OGHxEOUPQt4Mb3-36f0s5K8YcWUjx48RnyZ3b8lyjaIja_coIl40Mc3NtEmmcPuWTWr6bP8toqb2GnjjCs_BR7CGDyYtnoTPXSSO6QXGIrYyj5mMHG43NnBsPHZjWrwm0N4Cho/s640/blogger-image-970260893.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbI6adkYwVe6_4h-L1aEdZLC1r3-MI1ektyYnd4G5C_-yZ7B5ipA0QVBvod-iBDlS1pURU3SIJotIerkUT8QgTp3ztP2nDxV-k0CXIdUYgkvH6baEkhtg8Y-asMfOs2OZ2T8aWa8mxVjU/s640/blogger-image-332730355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkX6kQNvjzcITf-6wht_qwMaf187YYAF4gNxZgU7Z7QluOz2TZDb6JG34IbC_byNB0AO4X-8jTj6VW6DVc7E3LSJ0SruBxBts3AblOS6-c78Zefm0J17WPmV1125vrrwgle4jJiO5gJvo/s640/blogger-image-727143949.jpg" /></a></div>Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-19826593448132617852013-02-20T11:03:00.001-05:002013-02-20T11:03:43.223-05:00Recent News<div>Here's an update from Min:</div> <div> </div> <div>For the past 6 weeks, Scott and I have been living near Santa Cruz, out in the country with missionary friends. This time was a blessing because we got to load up on fruits and vegies for cheap! This was really good for me, coz most of you know we're expecting our first baby the first week or so of September. Most of what I was able to keep down was only fruits which was basically 90% of my diet. I don't really have any cravings or foods that aggravate me, as most pregnant women experience. Although I did notice that I didn't desire milk products, like cheese, chocholate (yeah I know right...Min must be going crazy coz she loves chocholate), and I love spicy hot stuff, but I couldn't eat too much of this. Now I can basically eat everything, not a lot, but my appetite is getting better. For some reason, every lady here that is a Mom is giving me advice on the do's and don'ts and recounting their fabulous unbelievable tales of how their pregnancy was like. One told me that she had severe nausea till up to 7 months...I guess this is when I started thanking God that mine left last month! I think the best part about being pregnant so far is no periods!<br> <br>This past Sunday, Scott and I were planning to bus it all the way to Guayaramerin, where the school is. But since it is the rainy season, people were telling us that it could take 2 or more days. Some said that they were bussing it for 3-4 days one time. But we knew that if we didn't leave soon, the heavier rains would fall and then it would take longer to get to our school. An hour before boarding the bus, a friend called and was really concerned that I was going to bus it all the way. She heard from someone who just travelled those roads that the roads were super bumpy and she was afraid that I would miscarry, would get a bladdder infection--the buses stop every 5-7 hours to let people use the bathrooms...etc.. Well we really didn't have another option to get back to the school and she wanted us, at least me, to fly. We told her that we didn't have that option, so very last minute, she came up with the money to fly from Trinidad to Riveralta, a city an hour away from Guayaramerin. So Scott and I got on a bus Sunday night with 6 other missionaries all headed up to the same place. It took 9 hours overnight to Trinidad. Then two other missionary women and I got on the last plane to Riveralta (all the flights were full), and arrived at the school Monday afternoon, THANK GOD! <br> <br>Scott and the the 2 husbunds of the other missionary ladies took the bus from Trinidad to Guayaramerin, which took like 36 hours...All the luggages were like 20 something pieces. Most of us were coming from the States, so it only made sense that the bus was the best option to carry a lot of stuff. Thank God Scott and the other men arrived last night close to midnight. Scott was telling me that the bus sometimes would be on a ferry to cross rivers and then once they were on their way, it was sometimes scary coz the roads would be really slippery and sometimes the bus would lean over to the right, and that would scare people and send them hopping over to the left side to balance the bus. He said this kept happening. I've heard from a friend who has bussed it many times, that one time she saw a bus that totally flipped over on its side. I'm just glad and thankful. that I didn't have to bus it. <br> <br>I really wanted to pick up Raisin, our sausage dog, on Monday, but I was too tired and decided that it would be better to wait for Scott to pick her up, as she is extremely attached to Scott and super loyal. Last time we left for the States and came back in 2 months, she followed Scott around for 2 weeks, just to make sure he never left her again! We heard from a friend we gave one of Raisin's to, that she was depressed with the family we left her with in town. It only makes sense since she is a total country dog and runs around everywhere. It was hard to wait for Scott to make it here because I wanted to get her back so bad. Well! today is the day!!! We just arrived in town, and here I am updating you before we pick up our little dog. I'm so excited. Who'd ever think that your pets would be in your dreams?? Mine was!<br> <br>Oh and another thing! I couldn't move in to where we used to live coz...there are 8 bats living there :( I remember last year when we came to help the school, they had no where to put us and decided to put us in the half of that duplex. Well surprise surprise, it seemed like whoever last lived there left it in a wreck, as in the floors had huge holes in it, the screens were falling apart and not to mention that there was a thick layer of bat poop everywhere. I don't think anyone lived there for more than 3 months or so. I remember it took us 4 days to just clean, and another 2 days or so for Scott to buy some screening and fix all the windows and the doors. I'm really happy that Scott can fix anything!!! He has a natural talent for this. He even cut out a little dog door for Raisin :) At first I didn't want to live there, because I've heard that bat poop can release an airborn fungus that may cause acute pulmonary histoplasmosis (you can look this up), but after it was all clean, it seemed better. I really don't want to go through all the cleaning again, plus we have to wash all our clothes that may have been peed on by rats or that just stink coz the humidity is so bad. We will attempt to clean the place this afternoon some, after we get back from town.<br> <br>On a downside, our cat, Olive is missing. We left her with a family that said they would take care of her, but then they decided to to on a trip or something, anyways, the missionaries at the school said they haven't seen her, and another lady said that a while back they were poisoning rats and that they found a dead cat in one of the houses. I know our cat is a great hunter, and it scares me to think that she caught a rat that had been poisoned and died. It makes me even more sad, if she's gone for good, coz she was more Scott's cat. He asked for her when he arrived and I told him that she's missing. He seemed kinda sad coz this cat would sit on his shoulder and go on walks with us. She really was an awesome cat. She even took care of 2 puppies when Raisin wasn't around. I'm still praying that we find her. If not, Scott and I may try to find another cat, but its hard, coz every cat is different...different personality..etc., smart/dumb...etc. you name it.<br> <br>Oh and another thing. I can't believe that I'm back at the school. In the jungle once again! One thing's for sure, the "no-seeums" (little gnats that bite you a lot and get away with it coz you cant see em), sure did a good job in welcoming me back. It only took but a moment to look at my feet that were covered in little pink bumps ALL OVER, my legs too...to finally believe that I was back. Bummer. For instance, I was picking guavas off a tree for a minute or so and red ants started biting me. I found one on my arm, biting me for all he was worth. When I pulled him off, his head stayed stuck on my arm. I guess that bite cost him his life.The biting bugs are still something I haven't gotten used to. Last night I couldn't stop scratching, next thing I know, I'm waking up :) I'm just thankful that Scott is back and is safe from that long trip. He bussed it a total of 45 hours or so.<br> <br>There's a lot of cleaning to do, as rats and other small animals have invaded other homes and taken over. Its not a pleasant thing or an easy job, but it must be done! So once we get our place all cleaned up and all our clothes washed, Scott and I plan to start a little garden. This sounds pretty ambitious! Well, we'll see, coz we only have 3 weeks or so before school starts and the students get here. Scott has been working on his lesson plans already! <br> <br>Well, this is where we are right now. As far as we know, our baby is doing great! I am extremely anemic... My Hemoglobin and Hematocrit were very low. More so with the Hgb. It was at a 9. So I'm trying my best to eat iron rich foods. I just feel exhausted all the time and I guess the heat doesn't help much. I'm taking in extra Ca+ and Mg, along with supplements. and alot of citrus fruits. I'm also going to try to sproud mong beans to have something fresh to eat. I brought a kilo of sesame seeds and a quarter kilo of chia seeds with me. I know sesame has lots of Ca+ but I was reading that Chia seeds have 3X the amount of Ca+ regular milk has and has all the essential amino acids and other vitamins. I don't remember all that I read but basically it sounded like a super food :)<br> <br>Please continue to keep us in your prayers and when you're not too busy, we would also like to hear from you and how you are doing. We think of you all and pray for you. Thank you each for you love and care, support and prayers. We appreciate you.<br clear="all"> </div> <div> <div> </div> <div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"></a> </div> <div style="PADDING-BOTTOM:3px;BACKGROUND-COLOR:#ffff77;PADDING-LEFT:3px;PADDING-RIGHT:3px;COLOR:#000000;PADDING-TOP:3px"> </div></div> Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-91130681038600218472013-01-30T11:39:00.000-05:002013-01-30T14:32:20.292-05:00Back in BoliviaFriends,<br />
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We've made it back to Bolivia! We're staying in Santa Cruz until mid-February and then we'll make the journey to Guayaramerin to teach at the school again. We've been blessed to enjoy all of the tropical fruits that are in season here! Mangoes, achachairu, pineapple, coconut, etc. We got 50 little mangoes for $1 one day. We had to cut them up and freeze them for smoothies, but wow what a price. <br />
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Just before we left the U.S. we found out some good news! Min was feeling very sick and it turns out she is pregnant! We calculate that our little one will be born around August or September this year. We're looking forward to it, and we're reading up on what we need to know. I'm glad to be here during this time, as there is an abundance of healthy food in Santa Cruz. <br />
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Last weekend we visited another ministry in the area; a missionary health and evangelistic school about an hour away from where we are staying. It's WAY out in the country. A small group of us boarded a taxi to get to the main road, then a bus to El Torno. We hopped off and found a pickup truck willing to take us to Quebrada Leon for $1.50 each. This was the long part.<br />
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The road is only 11 kilometers, but it takes 45 minutes to navigate it because it is so rough, and you have to cross 6 rivers. As we traveled on this road, the countryside became more and more beautiful. There were orchards filled with citrus and other fruit trees, mountains came into view, and everything seemed peaceful. It got better and better until we arrived at the school property. We had a wonderful sabbath with the volunteers and a few students there, and on Sunday everyone went to visit a waterfall nearby. <br />
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One day I was exploring the school's land with some friends and we ran across some of the neighbor's cows. Apparently the cows are welcome because they keep the grass from growing too high and they fertilize the land. One of my friends tossed a sweet lime at one and it started following us and I got a little worried because of their big horns. However, when it got to me it just stopped and looked at me expectantly. I reached up and picked a sweet lime and offered it to the cow. She took it! In one lick it was gone. Here's the video:<br />
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(The video isn´t showing. I´ll get it from my friend and post it later. It´s on my facebook page for now)<br />
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What fun! It wouldn't let me pet it though. So far I've gotten to help another volunteer weld together a roofing frame and other odd jobs around the TV station in Santa Cruz. I offered bible studies to a local taxi driver and he actually seemed interested! Please pray that he'll give me a call. He reads the Bible to his family on weekends sometimes. We're also praying for many volunteers this year for the Familia Feliz orphanage and other missions. You can find the needs at <a href="http://www.gospelministry.org/">www.gospelministry.org</a> if you feel led by the Lord to do so. <br />
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God Bless,<br />
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Scott and MinScott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-36693677858990158122013-01-06T01:33:00.001-05:002013-01-06T01:33:23.683-05:00Updates to blogFriends,<br />
<br />
We've updated the blog title to reflect the name of our ministry. To be specific, the name of our ministry is Bolivia Adventist Missions, and we are a member of the worldwide mission organization Gospel Ministries, International.<br />
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We also updated the "How to Help" page. There is a list of needs to pray for or contribute to, and new instructions for donating. Just to re-iterate: we do not ask others for funding for our project, we go directly to God and expect Him to provide all our needs for doing His work. We do not believe it is wrong to ask others to help, but we are doing this to show the world (and ourselves) that God can and will provide the needs of the people working for Him, whether they have rich friends and relatives, or they are poor and unknown. May it be a testimony that anyone who is called by God can step forward and expect God to open the way before them and provide for them as they pursue missionary work. For more great testimonies you can visit the Gospel Ministries International website at www.gospelministry.org and click on the Resources tab.<br />
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Min and I have finished with most of our plans while visiting the United States this year, and will be traveling soon to Bolivia. The school year doesn't start for a few more months, so we'll use this time to prepare and hopefully to build a little house for ourselves at the school. I'll be doing some flight training most likely, and being oriented on the flying routes near the school. We've received a lot of school supplies and other useful items from friends and family, and are excited to get back to work in Bolivia. We look forward to seeing the students as well. May God work through us to prepare many more people for heaven!<br />
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God Bless,<br />
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ScottScott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-77571819423210780392012-12-10T19:13:00.000-05:002012-12-10T19:14:08.846-05:00UpdateFriends,<br><br>I'm sorry for the long wait with no post. Here's what happened:<br><br>After the truck accident, we had to wait 3 days before someone with a strong enough cable came by who pulled us out. We had students and staff taking shifts sitting in the truck so no-one would steal parts off of it or something. We were so grateful to get it out, and with very minor damage.<br> <br>Several of the girls in the back were injured, and Min gave countless massages to them in the girls dorm in the evenings. They appreciated her so much, she would come back home often with fruit they gave her. I also noticed that even after they were all healed, the girls were more open with her and gave her lots of hugs. Min says they are emotionally closed off to new people at first, but when they trust you, they show lots of love. She says many of them had a very disfunctional home life growing up. For some it was so bad that they don't even want to go home to visit on their vacations. I hope at least they find the closest thing to a loving Christian family here at our school; Even though they were not privileged to grow up with one. Knowing this makes me appreciate my family a lot. Thanks Mom and Dad!<br> <br>We continued teaching all the way until near the end of 3rd trimester. The whole time I was struggling to keep up as best I could with the class syllabus. I joined the school as a teacher 2 weeks before the end of 1st trimester, so I was behind to begin with. Also against me were my spanish speaking skills and the fact that I had to come up with my own lesson plans, homework assignments, tests and quizzes. Also when students wouldn't do their homework, procrastinate, wouldn't study, be late to class, etc, I had to come up with appropriate consequences. I've never taught so there was a STEEP learning curve. It's only by God's grace that I finished the year out, got our grades in, and felt confident that we covered the material as best we could in the time we had. Sometimes I forget that I majored in Physics and took Chemistry maybe 3 times. They don't need to understand it like I do yet! Overall I was very happy and relieved when all was finished. We had two students that tried very hard, but I was sure they would fail. As much as I liked their attitude, I couldn't pass them if they didn't know the material. I also had pity on them because they were teaching the primary kids during their work time, which is a big job and often steals their free time when they could be doing homework or asking for extra help. However, by God's grace, even though they failed the 3rd trimester miserably, when their grades were averaged over all three trimesters, THEY PASSED! Praise the Lord. God rewarded them for their efforts.<br> <br>The other big news in the last few months is that I came down with Typhoid fever. I didn't know what it was to begin with but the first day I had a 104 degree fever that lasted all day, and finally quit at night. Min took care of me as each day it happened again and again for 3 weeks. I took every natural remedy we had available: raw garlic, GSE, cat's claw herb, echinacea, and goldenseal. I had a cough, so I would put my head over a pot of steaming eucaliptus water and inhale it to clear my lungs out. I can't thank Min enough for all of the care she gave me during that time. The fevers eventually disappeared and the headaches improved, but my family and the leaders of our ministry were concerned for my health, and wanted me to be tested to know exactly what it was. My parents were able to pay for a flight to Santa Cruz were the test facilities are more advanced, and after several tests my malady was identified. By God's grace it was Paratyphoid B and Typhoid O that I had. There is a more severe form out there that can stay in your system for years, but I was spared from that. <br> <br>I am in good health now, and we are in the United States visiting family. Thank you for your prayers, I know they were effectual. We'll be heading back at the end of this month and we're looking forward to it!<br> <br clear="all"><div> <div>God Bless,<br><br>Scott Sterling</div><div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"></a> </div></div><br> <div style="background-color:#ffff77;color:#000000;padding:3px" id="divLookup"><img src="data:image/gif,GIF89a%12%00%12%00%B3%00%00%FF%FF%FF%F7%F7%EF%CC%CC%CC%BD%BE%BD%99%99%99ZYZRUR%00%00%00%FE%01%02%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00!%F9%04%04%14%00%FF%00%2C%00%00%00%00%12%00%12%00%00%04X0%C8I%2B%1D8%EB%3D%E4%00%60(%8A%85%17%0AG*%8C%40%19%7C%00J%08%C4%B1%92%26z%C76%FE%02%07%C2%89v%F0%7Dz%C3b%C8u%14%82V5%23o%A7%13%19L%BCY-%25%7D%A6l%DF%D0%F5%C7%02%85%5B%D82%90%CBT%87%D8i7%88Y%A8%DB%EFx%8B%DE%12%01%00%3B" border="0"></div> Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-91847524879646494062012-04-19T14:11:00.001-04:002012-04-19T14:11:22.804-04:00Truck Accident<br clear="all"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">April 19, 2012</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Friends, </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We've been so busy at this school! Here is an update from Min followed by a few comments from me:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Something bad happened last Friday. The day started off like a normal day. The whole week, we were preparing for Communion on Friday night, as the worships in the morning where about preparing our hearts...etc.. This day, the girls dean and director of the school took some kids in the big truck to the river for their swimming classes. Now this truck is huge! Its like a huge vegetable truck or like one of those trucks that carry livestock. The cargo area of the truck is hard wood. Anyway, the kids piled in the truck and away they went. I went to the river to wash my clothes and Scott went to town to do some errands. Then around 12pm I saw a small pick-up truck pull up , then all of a sudden people started swarming around it and some were crying and people were calling for someone to come help. I ran over there to find out that there had been an accident. I saw two girls, wet from swimming, one was laying on the back of the truck, crying with some cuts, and the other one was in the cab in pain. Apparently, the kids that had gone swimming earlier in the morning were ready to come home. When the truck tried to do a 3-point-turn and for some reason, the brakes failed and the truck suddenly rolled backwards down the embankment into the river. When this happened the kids couldn't hold on and fell on top of other kids, squishing them against the bottom of the truck. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Five girls were hurt. But at the time I ran over there, we really didn't know what the situation was exactly. One girl told me that the truck fell off the bridge into the river and I was thinking the worst. I saw one of the teachers, who was a paramedic, trying to stabilize one girl just in case she had any spinal injuries...it was a lot of stress, confusion, and not knowing for sure how badly injured the girls were. We didn't know if there were any broken bones..etc. I was scared for one girl because she was pinned to the bottom since all the kids fell on her, and she wasn't moving very much. It was a very stressful time, because some of the kids' parents who live near the river came with and were distressed and crying and telling us that their kid was dying and we needed to do something quick...etc. You know, when a kid is injured and the parent is there, it is very difficult to calm the kid down, especially when the parent is crying. Most parents were angry too. It was a tense situation; very emotionally stressing. During this chaos, one girl found out that her sister was injured and when she saw her sister, she went into a panic and started hyperventilating. The injured girls were rushed to the hospital in town as soon as possible, while we stayed and prayed to God that they would be alright. By then most of the girls were crying and everyone was scared. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This one girl who went into a panic, stopped breathing and it was quite an ordeal to get her breathing again. As soon as I would get her to breathe, she would do so for about 30 seconds or so, then her eyes would roll back, and she would stop breathing again. This went on and on for 15 minutes or more. She wasn't even in the accident, but I was more worried about here, because her pulse was starting to get faint, and I knew that if she didn't start breathing pretty soon, I would have to breathe for her. Long story short she started breathing on her own. Thank God. Three other girls were injured and taken to the hospital. It was hard to just sit and wait at the school not knowing how serious the injuries were, but all we could was pray, and pray we did! At the hospital the girls had to wait till 5 or 6pm just to get the x-rays done. They mostly had muscular injuries, some girls had injured knees and most of them injured their backs, none of them fractured any bones. Thank you Jesus. There was one girl that hit her head really hard and I was concerned that she may have a slight hemorrhage since after the accident her vision was affected and she started getting dizzy. But thank God, she is getting better now. The girls that got hurt got some massages and hydrotherapy from me, which they enjoyed. Today, all the girls seem to be doing better, except for one girl, whom the director took to the doctor to make sure she didn't have any nerve damage to her legs. Apparently her injured leg doesn't have the same sensation as the good leg... We are praying for her too. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">It just seemed like the Devil threw an attack at this school and of all days, for we were supposed to have Communion that night. Well it was canceled, obviously. Most kids were traumatized. From 6-930pm Scott and I sat and watched the truck to make sure that no one came and stole parts. This past Sunday they were able to get the truck out, with the help of another truck, but now it has to be fixed since the brakes are bad. Monday morning, Scott drove the truck to town. I didn't want him to do it since I was scared that with the breaks malfunctioning, I didn't want him to be in a situation where he couldn't stop and hit someone or another vehicle. But thank God, Scott went around 5am to town when there were hardly any cars and was able to put it the shop to be fixed. This afternoon we will be checking on the truck to see if they are able to fix it or what kind of parts the mechanic may need. I'm just thankful that in spite of the accident that God protected the kids and that no one died. And that the injuries are not life-threatening. We are still taking care of the girls injured and praying for a quick recovery.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">With so many kids here, I'm worried sometimes that something life-threatening may occur and we may not be able to get them to Santa Cruz and they may die. We are out in the middle of no where and even in Guayara, there isn't any emergency type of help or "hospitals" that can take care of something serious. Another reason why the director says "We need a plane stationed here." This is very important because, usually if someone gets hurt and needs to be flown out, the director has to call the pilot in Santa Cruz, but its 3.5 hours flight away, and by the time he is able to come it may be 8 hours later, or even not till the next day. We are praying that there can be a plane stationed here, just in case any emergencies take place, Scott can take them to Santa Cruz. I'm afraid in serious circumstances, the patient may die due to too much time wasted.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> As you already know, Scott and I moved to Guayaramerin, which is at the northeastern tip of Bolivia, literally on the border of Brazil. There's a primary and secondary school here that we are helping out with. Scott is teaching Chemistry, Physics and Math, and I'm teaching piano and Choir. Scott has found it challenging to be teaching in Spanish...the first couple days it was frustrating not knowing Spanish terms and looking them up in the dictionary. But he is trying his best and the students seem to be understanding and respectful even when he can't communicate well. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We are both learning Spanish faster than we ever had before :) I have 10 piano students and they seem to be loving it! However, I don't have my keyboard with me since there was a problem with 6 keys and we left it in Santa Cruz to be fixed. Well, it looks like they don't have the right part for it, so for now I don't have a keyboard, but at the school there is one, so thank God we can use that. I've never taught choir before and thought that it wouldn't be too hard...however many of the kids need to learn how to carry a tune. I didn't think I would have to deal with this problem, but its been a challenge just trying to teach kids the melody of a song and making sure that when we begin or end on one note that I'm not hearing 5 or 6 different notes :) </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I don't know what to do about the kids not being able to sing in tune... I thought about separating the ones that can carry a tune and the ones that can't. But then again, I don't want to do that because I realize that most of the kids that can't sing in tune were raised in homes where they never heard music or sang before...and I don't want them to feel like they're not good enough...etc. I at the least want them to try and try and improve. Its frustrating, but oh how they love to sing. You know what, I am more thankful that I grew up in a home where my parents sang and that I got the opportunity to learn how to sing and play different instruments. What I consider easy and natural, as in singing, is not to most kids here. I realize that I am blessed. Lately we have been borrowing a guitar that a student has here and Scott has been doing really well, learning how to play it. He really likes the guitar! Someday we want to get one in town.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We've been here 3 weeks already and are starting to get into the routine of things. Its so much different than living in Santa Cruz. Well, for one, we are "faculty" which means that we have some 50+ pairs of eyes watching whatever we do and how we act, say things, etc.. I'm realizing more and more that we are examples to these kids. The kids that are in secondary school just warmed up to us really fast and love talking with us. Over here, half the students have class in the morning while the other half work in the rice fields, cooking, cutting the grass, getting firewood...etc. And then after lunch, they switch. The students here work very hard and aren't lazy for the most part. I've worked in the "chaco", or rice fields, with the kids and I've had numerous opportunities to speak in Spanish for hours and learn not just the language but talk one on one with the kids...and this gives me opportunities to listen to their experiences from where they come from. Other times they have questions about me or just want to talk about something. Most kids come from broken homes, or where the father drinks and is violent or where one or both parents left the home. So they have their baggage with them, but I also see that they are just so happy to be here and they laugh and smile and are really thankful to be at this school. There's a roof over their head, rice to eat every day, and a small river to wash in, and they are thankful!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Since we've been here, there have been challenges I am still getting used to. We eat mostly white rice and beans with a little salad. I like rice, but I may be cured of it by the time I leave here! There are also lots of bugs here. Every week I'm seeing something bite me that I've not seen the previous week. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I really like the worships and the singing kids (even if they don't sing in tune), and the fact that we are out 2 kilometers off the main road, its quiet and you can hear the birds and there's nature all around you. Just the other day I saw a wild pig that was about the size of a piglet. And today as Scott and I were walking the 2 km to the main road to hitch a ride to town, we saw HUGE iridescent blue butterflies that had a wingspan of 8 inches!!! So beautiful. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Anyway, Scott and I are doing fine, praise the Lord! Thank you to my friends and family for your love and support and for your prayers. We need them every day. Thank you so much for being there. We love and miss you. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Min</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">And from Scott:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Driving the truck to town to get it fixed was a scary thing. Fortunately a student and I went through the cycle of bleeding the air out of the brake system three times and finally I had enough braking power that I decided to make the trip to town. I had to drive very slow through town, shifting down to 1<sup>st</sup> gear and pumping the brakes rapidly to stop at the intersections. God blessed and I made it all the way to the mechanic without a problem. It turns out there is a hole in one of the rubber seals in the master cylinder. The school uses the truck at least once a week to bring students to town for Service Day, and to bring home food for the school. They fill the tanks with diesel and siphon it out later to power the electrical generator at the school when they need to. On Service Day the students break into groups and go to different parts of our area, doing service for those in need and trying to be a good witness for Jesus Christ. I really like the idea and the kids love to do it. Especially they look forward to going down the river to visit the people who live along side it. They have a long wooden boat with a motor just big enough for a group of kids and teacher to ride in. They load it in the truck early in the morning on Service Day and drop it off in the river. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">With all this happening every week I'm determined to fix the truck as fast as possible. I am in town today to get the final verdict on what parts need replacing and what the total cost will be. Then I will be traveling sometime to Riberalta, the larger town 1.5 hours away. There we can hopefully find replacement parts and bring them back to the mechanic. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I really have enjoyed playing the guitar recently. I took some lessons when I was just out of high school, but what I learned never came together very well. Now I've been playing hymns and with some help from Min, it's all coming together. I'm now able to quickly pick out the chords for most songs based on the key it's in and start playing along right away. Often I change to the wrong chord the first time through, but by the 2<sup>nd</sup> or 3<sup>rd</sup> time through it sounds good! I'm so thankful. We should be getting our own guitar soon. Originally Min wanted to learn, and I'm getting all of the practice. I want her to learn too.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I've gotten to see God's hand at work here. The students are great. They are teenage kids, but for the most part very respectful, helpful and caring. During their free time I often hear the sound of their plastic recorder flutes playing hymns. Or I hear singing. The boys are skilled at construction and one showed me how to lay bricks this week. I went to harvest rice with them, and got a visual lesson of "the harvest is great but the laborers are few" (Luke 10:2) There is a huge area of wetland in the back of the school where rice is growing. As I looked over it and at the 10 students that were with me I didn't know how it was all going to be harvested before it fell over and was not harvest-able. I'm sure the practical labor teaches the students valuable lessons, and working alongside their teachers gives them more love and respect for us. Fruit is scarce here and expensive, so we've tried to maintain a little stock of it at home to supplement our meals. We ran out last week, but God provided in different ways. Some of the students wanted to thank Min for massaging them after the truck accident, and gave her oranges and tangerines from a stock their parents had given them. As I was waiting by the truck when it was in the water, some students came on a motorcycle from the nearby village, carrying fruit. They gave me some oranges and a big chirimoya (custard apple)! The students were without calculators and needed them for my class, so Min and I looked for some simple solar powered calculators in town, hoping to get enough for them at least to share. Praise the Lord, we found a school supply shop with just the kind we were looking for, and for only $2-$4 apiece. We were able to get enough for each student to share with one other. They were very pleased!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">God is clearly working on me and I know He's using me to help these students. I hear that many of them want to be missionaries when they leave here. I pray that they will be a blessing wherever they go. Please pray for us and the students.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">God Bless, </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Scott</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p></div><br> Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-71075496761349277162012-03-14T15:54:00.001-04:002012-03-14T15:54:28.168-04:00Update from MinHi friends, this update is from my wife, Min:<p>Today, Scott and I took the missionary van to pick up a missionary couple,<br>Clint and Mindy, from the hospital in town. They work at a missionary<br>school in Guayaramerin, 3.5 hours by flight from where we are. This past<br>Friday, there was an emergency to pick up Mindy, who was 5 months pregnant,<br>and started going into labor. It happens to be that when she was 3 months<br>pregnant, her placenta started to detach and she had to stay on bedrest for<br>about 2 months to help the placenta re-attach itself. Unfortunately, she<br>started to bleed and went into labor last Thursday night when they placed<br>the call for help. Our main pilot, Herman, couldn't pick her up that night<br>since the runway closest to the school didn't have lights. So he flew first<br>thing in the morning and took her to a good hospital here. She had to have<br>a C-section since the placenta started to come out first. The baby was lost<br>in this process. I feel very sad for both of them. This is the<br>2nd miscarriage she has had. They looked ok when we picked<br>them up, but I could tell that they were sad.<br>We had the funeral yesterday and they buried their child<br>together, saying their good-byes in private. With all this that has<br>happened, this couple will be leaving to go back to Canada this coming<br>Thursday. They have been through a lot, and they need time to heal.<p><p>The director of the school in Guayara, Suzie Cornejo (she's an American<br>nurse, married to a South American), accompanied Mindy and Clint during the<br>flight and took care of Mindy in the hospital. Just yesterday, Suzie<br>mentioned that they need someone to teach science classes and possibly a<br>music class. With Mindy and Clint leaving now, and another missionary<br>couple who is out of the country, they are short-staffed, and desperately<br>need help out there. The school in Guayara has about 30<br>preschool/elementary kids, and about 40 high school kids. Only the high<br>school kids board since they come from all over Bolivia. Many come from<br>broken homes, or have been abused in some kind of way.<p><p>Anyway, Scott and I felt that we needed to pray and ask God what to do<br>since we felt that there was a need that we could possibly fill. Scott is<br>strong in the sciences and I love music. We have never taught before, and<br>this factor intimidated us. So we prayed about it, and talked with Suzie,<br>and she was so excited saying "This is an answer to prayer!" The staff at<br>the school were praying that God would send the right people to them, and<br>someone else that was supposed to come ended up not being able to.<p><p>So Scott and I now have decided to pack up our few belongings and join the<br>missionary school in Guayara. We are hoping to fly out there this Wednesday<br>or Thursday. We are excited and nervous because it's a new place and things<br>will be very different there. But we know that God is leading us there.<p><p>Suzie says that fruit is expensive there, and other people tell me that<br>people don't have much variation in their diet: Rice and beans, beans and<br>rice… This will be a challenge for me, since we live close to Santa Cruz<br>(about 30 minutes by car) and here, fruits are in abundance, there is more<br>variety of food to buy, and food is cheaper. I didn't realize how blessed<br>we were until I thought about not being able to have that variety in our<br>diet. Other than this, we know that it's going to be a little hotter over<br>there, and we will be washing our clothes in the river J Kinda like<br>camping!<p><p>We will be living in the hut that Mindy and Clint were staying in. Right<br>now, someone is packing up their few belongings and putting it on a plane.<br>We don't know if they will be coming back to Bolivia or not. We hope they<br>do, though. So for now, Scott and I will be packing up our things and<br>running to town to get some supplies we may need while we are out there. I<br>understand that were we will be going to, there will be electricity (this<br>is a recent thing, since they didn't used to before), cell signal and a<br>small town 35 minutes away if we need to get something. As excited and<br>nervous as we are, Scott and I just want God to lead and guide us, and to<br>try our very best to be of help there during this time. For the time being,<br>we plan to be there until other volunteers re-place us. There is also talk<br>that if they get permission for another plane to fly, that Scott will be<br>stationed in Guayara and fly from there. We don't know what God has planned<br>for now, but we trust that He is with us. We talked to David Gates, the<br>director of the ministry about what he thought about our plans to help out<br>the school and he approved our decision and says that its great that we are<br>willing to help them out during this time, since the Bolivian government<br>could shut down the school if the required classes aren't being taught. We<br>don't want this to happen, since this school teaches young people about God<br>and trains them how to reach out to others. Scott and I hope to be good<br>examples to the kids there, because 75% of them come from non-Christian<br>homes. Please pray for us, as this is a big change in roles we are filling.<br>Pray that God will give us strength, wisdom and courage to face whatever<br>comes with this new adventure!<p><p> When Scott and I<br>back to Bolivia, the airplanes still didn't have permission to fly, so<br>Scott has been doing other things that have been keeping him busy. It so<br>happened to be that the cook left again for 2+ months to plan her wedding<br>in Guyana, her homeland, and during this time I filled in for her. I also<br>taught piano to the 8 missionary kids here. I enjoyed this very much! Scott<br>has been such a big help to me with running the kitchen. He has gone to the<br>market many times to buy food for the week and just did all he could to<br>lighten my load. I am so thankful for him!!!<p><p>I am glad to say that the cook came back 2 weeks ago, and things are a lot<br>better, in that Scott and I can focus on other things now. I just help<br>mostly for lunch now and help clean-up…etc. Although I was super excited<br>that the cook came back, I also knew that she was physically exhausted when<br>she left and I decided that things would go better if she had some help.<br>She appreciated this very much.<p>Before our decision to move to Guayara, we were approved to build on a plot<br>of land that was part of the pilot's side of the property here in Santa<br>Cruz. You can imagine how excited Scott and I have been. We worked on<br>designing our small 2 bedroom house and clearing some land for making our<br>garden. By the way, clearing a 10X10ft piece of land for the garden was so<br>exhausting and hard work! I slashed away with a machete, and Scott dug away<br>with a hoe we got from town.<p><p>During this past couple months, a lot of construction was taking place.<br>Three missionary homes are in the process of being built, and Scott has<br>been helping with this too. Also, he is one of 2 people that are allowed to<br>drive missionaries to town with the van. A new Romanian family moved down<br>here 3 months ago and Scott has been really kind in taking them where they<br>need to go into town and translate for them…showing them the way…which bus<br>to take…etc. A couple months back, Scott helped Norbert, the Romanian man,<br>start a couple beehives over here. Of course the bees had to be bought from<br>town and this took a while, mostly of going back and forth and helping<br>Norbert find the best bees and buy whatever he needed. Another set of bees<br>had to be bought since one beehive disappeared! Well, right now, the bees<br>are doing great and Norbert and his family are slowly adjusting to the life<br>down here. They are learning that things in South America don't go as fast<br>as in the States or Europe. They used to be so frustrated that things<br>happen so slow over here and people don't seem to care to be on timeJ But<br>now, they are accepting a different culture and learning Spanish. (From<br>Scott: "One hard thing to do is to be on time and very productive, even<br>when it seems like the whole world around you isn't.")<p><p>I will miss the people over here, but I know I will make more friends in<br>Guayara. This is the newest news I can tell you right now. I am happy that<br>we can take Raisin, our sausage puppy, with us AND our kitty cat, Olive.<br>Scott absolutely loves his kitty cat!!! She's 99% black with tiny white<br>hairs on her chest. She will run up Scott's back and sit on his shoulder<br>when he goes for a walk. Olive loves to take walks with Scott in the<br>morning. So ya, Scott walks the dog and the cat in the morning. Raisin, our<br>dog, used to be terrified of Olive, but now they play together. Actually,<br>Raisin mostly bullies Olive, and sometimes Scott has to "save" the kitty!<p><p>We are very happy together and with our pets. And we are learning more and<br>more about each other. One thing that we are working on is dying to self<br>(Gal. 2:20). When self is alive, its so easy to be selfish…but when we ask<br>God to help us, its amazing how He changes our attitude and actions for the<br>better.<p><p>Yesterday Scott and I went to the US consulate to try and see if they could<br>do my fingerprints that are required for my US Immigration papers that I<br>will need to send back to the US. Unfortunately, they couldn't do it here<br>and referred us to La Paz, a main city here, which is an 18 hour bus ride.<br>We emailed the Consulate there, and called, but we haven't gotten a<br>response. If we aren't able to get the fingerprints done in La Paz, our<br>next option is Lima, Peru. We are trying our best to get this done before<br>heading out to Guayara because we hear that doing paperwork from way out<br>there is very difficult. We will see what happens. For now we will miss the<br>free flight to Guayara this week and try to catch the one going in the next<br>two weeks, and see if we can get the fingerprinting done.<p>Take care and may God bless you.<p>MinScott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-81682772137926835402011-12-22T20:14:00.001-05:002011-12-22T20:14:29.914-05:00Back in BoliviaFriends,<div><br></div><div>It's been a long time since I have written. Here is what has happened:</div><div><br></div><div>We made it successfully to the United States. God chose not to allow us to bring our dog with us, and for good reason. It seems that there is a rule that airlines will not accept pets for transport if the temperature at any of the destinations en route have a temperature forcasted to be above 85 degrees F. This happened to us. Looking back, it was a blessing that we left Raisin behind because of the expense of bringing her back to Bolivia, and the additional paperwork. We were only in the U.S. for 10 weeks anyway. We were sad at first, but the time went very fast. This also allowed us to send some money back that we borrowed from a friend, and send a little more to help to a missionary who we left behind. I felt good about the outcome.</div> <div><br></div><div>Arriving in Collegedale, TN we had $5 to our name but we were happy and in the hands of family. Our first goal for coming to the U.S. was to attend Min's brother's wedding. Bruce and Keturah were married in a beautiful wedding in Lake Lure, NC. They accomodated us well, and we had a great time with the family. Everything came together for the wedding, and they are now happily married. </div> <div><br></div><div>Our second goal in the U.S. was to save up enough money to file for U.S. citizenship for Min. She has been a legal resident with a "green card" for several years. Jobs are scarce and the price for applying is $680. By God´s grace, the next day or so after we returned to Tennesee from the wedding, my mother-in-law received a call for me. She had a friend who might employ me if I call him right away! Sure enough, he was a tree worker who needed help working on several jobs. I started working the next week. Our time in the U.S. was a blur for me, every day either asking questions and making sure Min´s application was filled out correctly with all necessary attachments, or working to pay the application fee. God knew we would need a lot more funding than I could earn in that short time, so he sent donations from several sources to help provide for other needs, including travel, communication, and necessities for returning to Bolivia. I was even able to fly to Washington for a few days to have Thanksgiving dinner with my parents (a week before Thanksgiving). I hadn´t seen them in almost a year. One excellent testimony to God´s provision: Min´s paperwork was sent with the fee just two weeks before our target date to return to Bolivia. I had no money for airplane tickets and prices would only go up as the time approached. A missionary bought us two tickets knowing we would pay him back. I worked as I could for two weeks, and with some family help we paid him back and flew to Bolivia. While in the U.S. we gave mission updates in three churches, and saw family and friends when we could and the whole experience was a blessing.</div> <div><br></div><div>We´re back again in Bolivia! I´ve been helping however I can, and getting our living area more livable. I put in shelves and a place to hang our clothes, and even installed an electrical outlet professionally with conduit and a junction box. It´s different here, because the buildings are made of cement and bricks - no drywall. A HUGE blessing this time was being able to bring Min´s electronic piano with us. She likes it a lot better than the ones available for her use here, and we can travel with it too. </div> <div><br></div><div>I´ve been blessed to find a Bible study interest in the community next to our property. His name is Jimmy (doesn´t sound Bolivian does it?), and he drives a bush taxi. He is interested in Bible prophesy. My level of Spanish is just enough that I would attempt this on my own, and so far God had blessed. We covered Daniel 2 last time, and I plan to go through Daniel 7 next time. An unexpected surprise the last time was that he wanted to do the Bible study inside the little office they have where the bush taxis stop near our property. We ended up with an audience of four, and afterward they asked if I would teach english. I taught an english lesson and everyone wanted me to return the next week! His car broke down this week, and I really want to keep the study going so please pray that God intervenes to make sure it doesn´t fizzle out.</div> <div><br></div><div>Min´s been giving piano lessons to five or more missionary kids here. Along with helping in the kitchen it´s a full load! We´ve been asked to be part of the music program at the Hamacas SDA church. At first we were hesitant, because we prefer our small church at Pedro Lorenzo. Hamacas is perhaps the largest church in downtown Santa Cruz with many members and many of them trade professionals. I found out it is also perhaps the most influential church in Santa Cruz. It may turn out as a calling though: Our ministry in Bolivia is a ¨supporting ministry¨ not funded or governed by the local SDA conference. This is not common here in Bolivia, and since its inception, our ministry has been looked upon with skepticism by the local leaders. We have wanted so much to work together with the conference while maintaining our own leadership and TV content to ensure the highest standards. This last year that door has opened. The new president of the Santa Cruz Mission of SDAs came to visit our facility and express the desire to work together as brethren! I believe the pastor of Hamcas was with him and some others. Now the Hamacas church has identified us as theirs, and our station director is in charge of the music program there. So we can see that by participating in the music program, we are strenghtening the ties between our ministry and the local churches and knocking down the walls of fear! </div> <div><br></div><div>I´ve not been flying lately. Our chief pilot is not here, and right now I am the only pilot. The planes should have permission to fly soon, but I´ll need to fly with another pilot for many more hours before flying on my own here. </div> <div><br></div><div>Please pray for us, and one of our missionaries, Daniel. He had a motorcycle accident today. He is fine, but someone else was injured badly and he is not sure what the government will do to him. The injured person was taken off to the hopsital by an ambulance. </div> <div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br clear="all"> <div>God Bless,<br><br>Scott Sterling<br></div> <div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com</a></div> <div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"></a> </div><br> </div> Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-68056440829067130092011-08-29T17:57:00.001-04:002011-08-29T17:57:38.957-04:00Good News and Bad News<div>Friends,</div> <div> </div> <div>I´ve got good news and bad news this month; the bad news first:</div> <div> </div> <div>Our airplane was robbed! We have a Cessna 182 turbocharged airplane that we have been working on permissions for as our workhorse. A few days ago, we were contacted by someone at the small municipal airport where the airplane was parked, stating that the propeller was missing from our plane. Jeff rushed down to the airport and discovered that at least the following were missing: Variable-pitch propeller, brakes, pitot tube and some antennas. He´s talked to the airport police and filed a report. Fliers were handed out at the airport and local bus station with a reward offered. So far to no avail. The sad part is that donations have come in enough to pay the import fees (around $16,000), which we paid and filed paperwork for importation. This plane and the Cessna 172 are the two planes that should have unlimited permission to fly in Bolivia soon. The 172 is a small plane and more suited for short flights within the jungle. This plane was going to work here, and eventually in La Paz, where only a turbocharged plane can go. (We should be able to import planes for free when the laws are enacted in our favor to do so, but for now we have to pay.)</div> <div> </div> <div>There is some good news, however. In the process of talking with people at the airport about the incident and looking for a safe place to put the airplane, Jeff met two people who have hangars and are willing to let us keep our planes there. Hangar space is expensive, and we are not rich, but the owners for now are letting us stay for free. What a blessing! Our planes are much more secure now. </div> <div> </div> <div>The airport closes at sundown, and everyone goes home including the police. It´s possible that someone who owns a hangar at the airport stayed late and stole the parts off the plane when everyone went home. I pray that God will forgive those who stole the parts, and that they may be saved someday. As for us, God can provide another propeller since He owns everything.</div> <div> </div> <div>On to more good news:</div> <div> </div> <div>Min and I received our 30 day visas! We traveled to the border between Bolivia and Argentina. The city on the Bolivian side was called Yacuiba. Our goal was to cross the border into Argentina where there was a Bolivian Consulate that would process our paperwork. We hopped a bus from Santa Cruz at 9:30pm and arrived at 4:30am in Yacuiba and made it to the border ok. It was a little scary because Min was denied entry into Argentina because she was Filipino. Three of us did our paperwork while she had to wait at the border. We stayed the night, and the next morning applied for a visa for her at the Argentenian consulate on the Bolivian side of the border. They finally decided to grant her a 3 day visa for $50! That was a high price, but we paid it and that afternoon she received her 30 day Bolivian visa as well. We traveled home safely, just in time to play instruments for a wedding. We have been applying for our 1-year residency since we returned to Santa Cruz. There is a list of 20 papers that we need in our application. Most of them have a cost attached, so I´m watching our money disappear more rapidly than I´d like. It´s ok though; we need this to be done in order to work here in Bolivia. Our only other option is to apply for a working visa each month at $105 per person per month. Instead we´re going to pay about $600 per person for the year (paperwork included).</div> <div> </div> <div>While we were in Yacuiba, we met some Seventh-day Adventists who run a vegetarian restaurant. We ate there and talked with them and while we were there a little boy came in with some hamsters in a cardboard box. We´ve wanted to get a pet, but are worried about having to travel. We decided to buy two hamsters for his asking price of 40 bs ($6). After bringing them home, we found that another missionary really liked hamsters. In fact, they seemed to bring him so much happiness just holding them, that we decided to give them to him. He was VERY happy. And so we were petless. A few days later we went with this missionary to town to pick out a cage, and saw some dogs and cats. Min seemed interested in getting a dog, maybe even one like the Dashund she had when she was a kid. The next week we stopped at the same pet sellers on the way home and guess what? There appeared to be a pure-bred Dashund puppy for sale! We had enough money (the man wanted $65 but we talked him down to $50) and we bought her. Min was _really_ happy. $50 is a lot of money as a missionary, but for comparison, these dogs sell for $200-$500 in the U.S. With that in mind, it seems that God took something that would normally be outside our means and brought it down to our level! We´re happy with her and named her ¨Raisin¨ (she´s mostly black). So far I´ve learned more patience, waking up at 2am to let her pee, cleaning up after her during potty training, teaching her not to chew on everyone. I think I´m being prepared to be a father someday, should the Lord tarry. We´ve been blessed so far, as she was potty-trained in one week, although these dogs are notoriously hard to potty-train. I´ll put up some pictures of her soon.</div> <div> </div> <div>A new missionary has arrived here. His name is Jon and this is his first mission trip. He´s been a blessing so far, and he´ll be here 5 months. He´s from Michigan and his girlfriend worked at one of our projects here in Bolivia. He´s just starting to learn Spanish, and we took him to town with us to buy groceries and show him around. He´s got quite a testimony, having rebelled and gotten into drugs, and then delivered. He is so serious about getting away from his old environment and temptations and getting closer to God that he came all the way out here to volunteer in Bolivia. So far he hasn´t been turned-off by the 3rd-world difficulties, the different culture, or the prospect of hard work. Please pray that his motivation continues and that God answers his prayer for a closer walk with Him in a mighty way.</div> <div><br></div><div>This last weekend a group of us went for a weekend retreat to the hills of Palermo. Santa Cruz is very flat, but as you travel to the southwest, the terrain gets more and more mountainous. We went on the road to Samaipata, which is somewhat of a tourist destination. My friend Daniel suggested we hitch a ride on a truck coming from the market in Santa Cruz. There are buses and bush taxis that go there, but he insisted that trucks are much more comfortable. It turned out he was right - we tied our hammocks up in the back and had a relaxed three-hour ride. Before we reached Samaipata, we got off the vegetable truck we were riding in and walked up a road that went a mile off into the hills. There was a small home and church that we stopped at and spent the weekend. The home belonged to a couple of missionaries, Matteo and his wife Paola. They run a lifestyle center out of their home and local Seventh-day Adventists come to the small church next-door. Min and I stayed in a bedroom behind the church and the others stayed in the house. It was a reverent and awe-inspiring weekend. Worshipping in the small church with windows all around displaying the high hills around us was a great experience. After lunch we went hiking up into the hills for a few hours. We returned on Sunday after visiting a churchmember who had a sugar cane farm. She sent us home with two bottles of fresh-squeezed sugar cane juice. We caught a ride home on the back of a truck carrying cement to Santa Cruz. I highly recommend taking a trip up into the mountains if you live in the lowlands or city. The tall mountains made me feel small, and more in the presence of God. Oh, and stars were so much brighter out there!</div> <div><br></div><div>Please pray for us, as we have more needs now (see ¨How to Help¨ above for details), for our missionaries, including Jon, and that God would open the doors soon for us to resume mission-flying here or show us if he has a different plan, and finally that the building projects go forward here with good speed.</div> <div><br></div> <div>God Bless,<br><br>Scott Sterling</div> <div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com</a></div> <div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"></a> </div><br> Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-37516852958936858052011-07-25T19:19:00.000-04:002011-07-25T19:20:24.516-04:00NewsFriends,<div><br></div><div>A lot of good things have happened here in Bolivia. Our chief pilot, Jeff, has returned along with two more missionaries, D.J. and his wife Jodie. D.J. is a pilot and Jodie is a teacher. They have been a blessing, since there are three girls who share the cooking duties right now, leaving Min some time to hang out with me :) </div> <div><br></div><div>Jeff is also the manager of our building projects here, and so a lot more is happening on the grounds here. We are submitting plans to the local government for our property and paying taxes on all the houses. Once they are approved, we will not have to worry about the government putting roads through our houses, land, etc. </div> <div><br>We have a machine for making cinderblocks and are getting it running with the right mix of sand, rocks, concrete and water to make blocks for building houses. Supposedly we can make 1000 blocks a day with it. The blocks take 6 days to cure, and then we can use them to build. Another project far to the north wants to use the block machine as well, and they will tow it up there and use it. Until then, we are going to make as many blocks as we can and have them ready for construction projects here. </div> <div><br></div><div>One of our pilots, Steve, is getting married this November. His house is the next to be built, and I´m sure he´d like it if it were finished for him and his wife to move into when they return after the wedding. This will be one of our main projects in the coming months.</div> <div><br></div><div>Jeff is working on getting permission for our planes to fly, which involves getting them imported so they become Bolivian airplanes. Normally, this costs 30% of the airplane´s Bolivian value, and this has been a major obstacle for us for the last few months. However, God has provided another way. The government in La Paz, Bolivia is so interested in having our planes flying and doing the work we do, that they are willing to write whatever laws we need (within reason, I´m sure) to get our planes flying. So far we´ve asked for free importation of the airplanes (as they will be used only for humanitarian work). </div> <div><br></div><div>Another requirement will be that our pilots need to be Bolivian residents with Bolivian pilots licenses to fly these planes. I´ve heard from 4 different people here that doing paperwork in Bolivia is very difficult, especially if you´re American. There´s always another stamp you need, or another certified document, or the person you need to sign you off is arguing with you, telling you that you can´t do what you are filing paperwork to do. I talked to a pilot who ¨convalidated¨ his American commercial pilot´s license so that he could use it in Bolivia to work as a pilot. They did it, and put a restriction on it that he could not work for money... which is the only reason most people get a commercial pilots license! This was very frustrating for him. Jeff is going to work with the government in La Paz to make it possible for our pilots to obtain residency and licenses without roadblocks.</div> <div><br></div><div>After talking with David, my parents, Min´s parents, and reflection in prayer, we believe God is leading us to come back here and work as missionaries. Jeff said he and the others would be glad to have us on the team, and I am happy about that. It also simplifies our plans, since now we can leave our belongings here when we go to visit the U.S. this September, and we can start on our paperwork for Bolivian residency.</div> <div><br></div><div>My tourist visa has run out, and I am now racking up a fine of $3 per day that I will need to pay when I leave the country. This was the plan, and I was saving $200 to pay my way out of the country in September. This was the only option I knew we had at the time in order to help out here until September. Now we are putting that money toward our paperwork to become Bolivian residents. This will cost us a total of $600 each, is what I am told. To start out, we are applying for a work visa for $80 each. This will allow us to be in the country for 30 days or more to apply for residency. Residency can take 3 months or more, but we can ¨pause¨ the process by withdrawing our passports. This we will do when we come visit the U.S. in September. We intend to visit family, apply for Min´s U.S. citizenship (she is here as a Filipino), and attend her brother´s wedding. It stresses me out a little to imagine how we are going to do all of these things quickly and return here, especially since some of it costs money we don´t have yet. However, our experience so far and the experience of others here is that God finds a way every time, and we can count on Him to lead us through.</div> <div><br></div><div>We are leaving this Tuesday on a bus to the Argentina-Boliva border to exit the country and apply for our work visas. We will take the bus in the evening and arrive in the morning. Apparently the buses are really nice, even better than a commercial airline inside. We´ll try to get some sleep on the way, and file our paperwork during Wednesday. Wednesday or Thursday night we´ll return here, Lord willing. We need to, because we´ve been given the opportunity to play music for the reception at a Menonite wedding on Friday. There are several Menonite colonies in Bolivia, and near Santa Cruz. Hopefully this experience will allow us to meet some of them and make friends. </div> <div><br></div><div>Please pray for us, that all goes well with our travels and work visa applications. Please pray for D.J. and Jodie as they plan to travel to Guyana and work there for a while. Finally, please pray that Jesus will come soon and that we all will be ready!</div> <div><br></div><div><div>God Bless,<br><br>Scott Sterling<br></div> <div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com</a></div> <div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"></a> </div><br> </div> Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-90972167371222865692011-06-26T18:09:00.000-04:002011-06-26T18:09:10.466-04:00Photos!!!Friends,<br />
<br />
I´ve finally posted photos. They will run as a slideshow at the top, or you can click on the slideshow to go directly to the album. You must go directly to the album if you wish to see the descriptions I made for each photo. They are ordered by subject but not chronologically. Enjoy!<br />
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If you are reading this on facebook, go to <a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/">http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/</a> to view the photos.<br />
<br />
God Bless,<br />
<br />
Scott SterlingScott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-66798664055267681662011-06-14T17:21:00.001-04:002011-06-14T17:21:37.847-04:00More News<div>Friends,</div> <div> </div> <div>I haven´t communicated in about a month, so here´s what´s going on:</div> <div> </div> <div>Min made it back safely on her trip, and with presents! We had four missionaries request special items from the United States, and we had our own list of things. Nutritional Yeast Flakes, Insoles, McKay´s Chicken Seasoning, raw cashews, vegetarian jerkey, italian seasoning and rechargable batteries were among the requests. She said Pearl´s wedding was great, and she brought back a hand-carved pair of giraffes made in Africa that each guest was given. (Apparently the bride´s family bought them in Africa and brought them to the U.S. for the wedding).</div> <div> </div> <div>Cooking had been a bit stressful for Min. She had been cooking 3 meals a day which meant getting up at 6am to get breakfast going, followed by a cleanup, worship, a two-hour break and then get started on lunch. After cleaning up lunch she was off for 3 hours and then started dinner... finally finishing her day at 7:30pm! If she did laundry on her breaks she would have a 12-hour day. Thanks to a missionary named Carmen who came to visit, we´ve adopted a new schedule and Min´s very happy. She now only cooks breakfast and lunch, and is off Saturday and Sunday. She also wanted to cook meals just for me and her, so I bought a gas cookstove and put it in our little kitchen. We´ve cooked one meal on it so far!</div> <div> </div> <div>We have an airplane! It´s not for very long, but we´ve been granted permission to use our Cessna 182 Turbo for 1 month, ending June 27. Apparently when you bring an American airplane to Bolivia, you either pay 30% of it´s Bolivian-estimated value as an import tax, or you ask permission to fly it as an American airplane. Since the second option is free, we´ve been doing that on all our planes for about a year. Sadly, it´s getting more difficult to get permission, and we think they are pressuring us to import them. This amounts to $16,000 per plane and we have at least 5. We´ll see what God does. It´s been 6 months since we´ve had permission to use an airplane so we haven´t gotten many calls yet, as people are just becoming aware that it is available. We´ve taken a pastor out to San Joaquin to work in a village for a month, and Friday we brought David Harding out to Familia Feliz orphanage in Rurrenabaque, Boliva. David´s daughter started the orphanage. We also brought them 30 or so baking pans for making bread, and took a man home to see his family who had been in the hospital in Santa Cruz. It seems that there are other mission pilot organizations in Bolivia, so we just work one area that no-one else serves, called The Beni. It is mostly jungle with few passable roads. You can read about it at: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beni_Department">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beni_Department</a> . I´m learning to communicate to air traffic control in Spanish. Technically English is the official language of aviation worldwide, but that doesn´t apply in small regional airports in Bolivia. I had a fellow pilot tell me sometimes they can understand ATC´s Spanish better than he can their English! It´s very difficult for me, but it´s coming slowly. Herman, one of our pilots, told me even though he is fluent in Spanish, they sometimes use terminology with him that baffles him. So I´ve got a big learning curve to meet! </div> <div> </div> <div>Another project here is the runway. We have a grass runway prepared on the property right where we live. Right now it´s 550 meters long (about 1800 feet) and ultimately we plan to extend it to 1200 meters. So far it´s been smoothed by a tractor dragging a large log up and down it, and good grass has been planted. Now we´re working on the requirements to get it certified for use. We need runway beginning and end markers, markers on the sides every 50 meters, and a windsock. Last week and this week we finished the markers. Being in Bolivia, we opted for large PVC pipes to mark the ends, and buried tires painted white for the 50 meter markers. I think in total we spent less than $50 so far. </div> <div> </div> <div>On a sad note: Red ADvenir, our Spanish TV network is off the air. We´ve been waiting on some donated funds for some months now and praying, but finally we had to cease transmitting our signal last week. I hear that sufficient funds have been donated to keep us on the air, but they were sent from another country, through the U.S. and the funds are tied up in the U.S. Maybe the U.S. government thinks it´s drug money... or, more likely, Satan doesn´t want our station on the air. Just a week before this, we had a fire break out in our most critical computer room. Richard (the station manager) called the station watchman to tell him that he wasn´t receiving the signal. The volunteer watchman went out side and saw smoke coming from the transmission room! Apparently a power surge had started an electrical fire and the main power cable was fried. The fire had started underneath the signal amplifier, a $70,000 piece of equipment needed for transmitting the signal to the satellite that needed to be imported from the U.S.. By God´s grace, all that needed to be replaced was the fried power cable. The signal amplifier was completely undamaged. Within 6 hours the signal was back on the air. </div> <div>A couple of good things are coming out of our current situation: Richard has had plans for relocating some of our equipment to better serve the station and aid expansion in the future. This project requires us to be off of the air, so we are going forward with it now. Another possible blessing is in working with the Seventh-day Adventist conference in Bolivia. In the past, it seems, our ministry has been regarded as a nusance and we have not had a good working relationship with the conference. However, new leaders have been appointed to the conference positions here in Bolivia, and they have already come to visit the station and extend the hand of fellowship. Here´s where the opportunity comes in: Even though we are off the satellite, we still have several TV station licenses around Bolivia. These stations were receiving our signal via satellite, and re-transmitting it via cable or over-the-air waves. The conference has an official TV station in South America called ¨Nuevo Tiempo¨. We can work together at this time by telling our TV stations to receive the Nuevo Tiemo signal via satellite and transmit it in place of Red ADvenir for now. That seems to be the plan, and in the meantime we´ll prepare for when we can be back on the air again, should God re-open that door.</div> <div> </div> <div>Thank you for praying for us! Please pray for the station, the aviation program, the other missionary efforts here in Bolivia, and that Min and I would continue to be a blessing here.<br clear="all"></div> <div>God Bless,<br><br>Scott Sterling</div> <div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com</a></div> <div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"></a> </div><br> Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-70263600147432303142011-05-19T19:48:00.001-04:002011-05-19T19:48:08.623-04:00A Little ScareFriends,<br><br> 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 :)<br> <br> 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. <br> <br> 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.<br> <br> 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!<br> <br>Please pray for the TV station, the workers' pay, Min's safe travels, and her friends' wedding and future life together!<br><br clear="all"><div>God Bless,<br><br>Scott Sterling<br>011-591-6-780-4066 cell (Bolivia)</div> <div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com" target="_blank">http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com</a></div><br> Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-37629390625429460462011-05-02T07:35:00.002-04:002011-05-03T11:38:18.121-04:00News From Bolivia<div class="MsoNormal">Friends,<br />
<br />
We have been here 12 days now. Our time here has involved both great joy, and adjustment. Our joy has been the fresh air, peaceful country setting, and good company. The Bolivian people are amiable, and don't treat us poorly or try to sell overpriced items to us at the market.<br />
They just seem a little more interested in me because I stick out. This week we went to the market twice. The fresh market called "Abasto" is where we get the cheapest and freshest fruits and vegetables. The market is HUGE. Maybe like four Super-Walmarts side by side. It reminds me a little of the Pike Place Market in Seattle as well, although there is not a second floor. We bought pineapples a little smaller than watermelons this last time, and they were 10 Bolivianos (Bs.) each, which is about $1.40, and what they call mandarines, which look like green and yellow normal-size oranges 10 for 5Bs, about $0.80. So it is possible to eat here for about 100 Bs. per week, or $60 per month per person and eat healthy, if you shop right. The people seem to think that Min is Bolivian sometimes. I had one person in the market speak to us in Spanish, and I replied that I didn't understand. They nodded toward Min and said, "It's ok, she understands."<br />
<br />
This week I worked to lay the foundation of David Gates' new house here on the property. We had lots of help this week, so it went relatively fast. David's daughter, Katrina and her husband Jared were visiting, and Jared headed up the work. An electrician and retired pastor, Paul Eirich is here with is wife. The volunteer coordinator here Jose-Luis arrived as well. Min was surprised to be feeding 12 people for breakfast and dinner rather than the usual 7.<br />
<br />
With all those hands, as well as one of the paid workers, Jose, we worked quickly to mix cement, pour it into a wheelbarrow, dump it into the ditch of the foundation footing, and smoothed it to the right level. Having worked for a brick mason before, I was familiar with mixing cement and pouring it, but this time I learned to smooth it. I had put metal stakes (rebar) in the floor of the ditch and had made sure each was level with the rest. I now used a large metal level to scrape the wet, pudding-like cement to the right height. Then I would use a smoothing-motion to get it all level and smooth. We also have a laser-level system. A laser on a tripod at one end of the construction site emits a laser in all directions that is level with the ground. I use a receiver mounted on a measuring rod to test the level of the cement. If the cement is at the correct level, the receiver beeps long and loud. After 3 days we had a smooth, solid, level cement footing for the foundation of the house. Just in time too - David and his wife left and took Jared, Katrina and Jose-Luis with him. Jeff, the chief pilot left with his family earlier this week, and so did D.J. and Steve, two other pilots. Now it's just Min and I, the TV station volunteers, a german couple from another ministry, and two other pilots. Of the two pilots, Daniel and Herman, Daniel is fighting Dengue Fever and Herman is busy getting permissions from the Bolivian government for the use of our planes and for the new runway to be approved.<br />
<br />
Today I learned how to drive a piece of heavy equipment: A diesel tractor forklift. This one is finicky; It often needs to be jump-started with another vehicle, and you have to keep the gas pedal all the way down when you move it or raise it or the engine dies. I used it to move a 1000 L water tank to the pumphouse for one of our wells. I cleaned it well, filled it up, and now it's next to where 3 missionaries live who don't have running water (including us). Jeff left and hasn't assigned me something specific to do. Fauna, his wife, asked me to plant some trees of theirs and water them while they are gone. I have to dig a 3' by 3' by 3' hole to do it, and by hand, so that will take a good while and is not an emergency. Later today I am going to view a project I'll be assigned at the studio, cutting and welding some pipe into something useful for the studio. I have welded before, and am still a beginner, but they are not concerned if the weld looks great, just that it sticks and I think I can do that well. I've got until Wednesday to get this welding project done, and then the man with the keys to Jeff's container that has the tools in it will be leaving. Jeff has asked him to bring the keys to him in the U.S., which is understandable because the Lord has blessed us with some expensive tools that need to be protected from misuse. I'm not offended that I wasn't entrusted with the keys :)<br />
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Please pray for our volunteers: Daniel Adams is recovering from Dengue Fever, Daniel W. is beginning pilot training here while his wife works at another ministry. Pray that our mission here will reach many souls!<br />
<br />
God Bless,<br />
<br />
Scott Sterling<br />
<a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/">http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com</a></div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com/"></a>Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-38695582072510362682011-04-21T17:24:00.001-04:002011-04-21T17:24:52.133-04:00ARRIVED IN BOLIVIA!!!Friends,<div><br></div><div>Min and I arrived safely on Tuesday morning in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. A friend of mine and pilot for GMI named D.J. Knott picked us up at the airport and showed us around town on the way to the RedADvenir TV station where we will be working and staying. Santa Cruz is an interesting city in that there are roads called "radials" that start from the center of the city and go outward in all directions, as well as "rings" that make a circle around the center of the city. The circle closest to the center is called "ring 1" and the next, "ring 2", etc. We travel west out of the city on the radial "double via" until kilometer 17 and take a left to get to the station. It's a good distance away and very peaceful. Min and I are staying in a shipping container that has been converted into a house. It is several feet off the ground on cinder blocks and has running water from the well at the station, and 220V electrical power, a shower and toilet. We're very happy there. I am officially working with the pilots, who have a plot of land at the other end of the property and a grass runway. The airplanes are at a small nearby airport though. Min is working at the TV station. She may be the new cook, as the current one is leaving on Tuesday. She is hesitant about cooking for 15+ people, 3 meals a day but she is brave enough to be considering it. She is working with the current cook, Monica (who is from Guyana) and we will be taking a trip to the market together soon to buy food for next week. </div> <div><br></div><div>Today, RedADvenir had a visit from the local SDA conference. Two officials came and were very supportive. Everyone at Red ADvenir was very pleased and excited, especially David Gates. It seems that in the past, the Conference here has not recognized "supporting ministries" which are ministries that are not directly supported and supervised by the Seventh-day Adventist Conference. However, a change in administration has taken place, and now the door seems to be opening for us to work together in harmony! I am very happy to hear this, although I didn't know there was a problem in the past with this until yesterday.</div> <div><br></div><div>So far I have been helping the pilots move tools, oil, etc. from the TV station to a shipping container on the pilots' side of the property. This allowed the TV station to clean up the main studio for tours, as they were able to move their things into the adjacent storage rooms that were now empty. For me, it was a lot of lifting heavy objects and moving them all day. I was so grateful for a loving wife who could give me a back massage I so much needed that night! </div> <div><br></div><div>A little history: The TV station has sold their old property which was in the city (actually the city grew to encompass it) and bought a property in the country. The new property had no buildings, so they are almost starting over. They have a very nice main building now, and hope to be up and running soon. The pilots are working on Jeff Sutton's house. He is the director of the Aviation program here, and the new grass runway is across from his house. He just moved into the unfinished house just recently and we are working around him and his family. Please pray for all of us as we work to get these two ministries set up in our new location.</div> <div><br clear="all"><div>God Bless,<br><br>Scott Sterling<br></div> <div><a href="http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com" target="_blank">http://www.missionpilotscott.blogspot.com</a></div><br> </div> Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-36392559124813537832011-04-08T09:54:00.001-04:002011-04-08T09:54:54.419-04:00Bolivia Mission TripFriends,<p>The time is getting closer when we should be able to depart. We have<br>received enough for plane fare, and to keep up with bills while we are<br>gone. All that remains are visas for Min and I, and enough commitments<br>from donors to supply our needs while in Bolivia. We're communicating<br>with those who've said they want to support us, and as soon as we know<br>for sure, we'll post that it's been taken care of, so you all can<br>rejoice with us! Please pray that God will continue to lead us in a<br>plain path on this trip. It seems that He is opening the next doors as<br>we walk through the ones He has already opened. We're excited!<p>God Bless,<p>Scott SterlingScott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-47565059333330685022011-04-05T14:19:00.001-04:002011-04-05T14:19:55.126-04:00Re: Going to Bolivia soonAwesome, if we want to make a donation, where do we send it? Jason<br><br> <div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 3:33 PM, Scott Sterling <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:scott.a.sterling@gmail.com">scott.a.sterling@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br> <blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; PADDING-LEFT: 1ex" class="gmail_quote">Friends,<br><br>We've had quite a battle trying to launch to Africa. I'll go into more<br>detail later, but after four months, we still do not have sufficient<br> funds travel to Africa. It seems the Lord has kept us here. We were<br>frustrated and beginning to wonder if our plans were not in accordance<br>with the Lord's will, or if we had somehow made it so that he could<br>not bless our plans. It has been hard working, waiting and wondering.<br> We decided last year that, if at all possible, we would be back for<br>Min's brother's wedding in September. However, time is short now, and<br>even if we had the funds, it would be hard to justify spending them,<br> just to return in 5 1/2 months. We really want to begin working,<br>however, and an opportunity has arisen. David Gates suggested that we<br>go to South America until September. It is much cheaper to fly there,<br>and he even said he can give us a ride back, making it still cheaper.<br> Our upcoming tax refund and the sale of our cars ought to get us<br>there. Please pray for us. We are very excited!<br><br>God Bless,<br><font color="#888888"><br>Scott Sterling<br></font></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"> <br>-- <br>-- <br>Jason Shives, MD<br>---<br><a href="http://www.jshives.blogspot.com">www.jshives.blogspot.com</a><br><a href="http://www.HaitiHunger.com">www.HaitiHunger.com</a> <<a href="http://www.haitihunger.com/">http://www.haitihunger.com/</a>><br> <a href="http://www.AudioVerse.org">www.AudioVerse.org</a> <<a href="http://www.audioverse.org/">http://www.audioverse.org/</a>><br><br>(407) 536-8280<br>(909) 238-0194<br><br>---<br><br>"We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way <br> the Lord has led us in the past." <br><br><br><br> Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-79896014958254403732011-03-28T16:33:00.001-04:002011-03-28T16:33:53.064-04:00Going to Bolivia soonFriends,<p>We've had quite a battle trying to launch to Africa. I'll go into more<br>detail later, but after four months, we still do not have sufficient<br>funds travel to Africa. It seems the Lord has kept us here. We were<br>frustrated and beginning to wonder if our plans were not in accordance<br>with the Lord's will, or if we had somehow made it so that he could<br>not bless our plans. It has been hard working, waiting and wondering.<br>We decided last year that, if at all possible, we would be back for<br>Min's brother's wedding in September. However, time is short now, and<br>even if we had the funds, it would be hard to justify spending them,<br>just to return in 5 1/2 months. We really want to begin working,<br>however, and an opportunity has arisen. David Gates suggested that we<br>go to South America until September. It is much cheaper to fly there,<br>and he even said he can give us a ride back, making it still cheaper.<br>Our upcoming tax refund and the sale of our cars ought to get us<br>there. Please pray for us. We are very excited!<p>God Bless,<p>Scott SterlingScott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-12678958285206031452011-01-13T01:22:00.000-05:002011-01-13T01:22:51.324-05:00:) :) :) Married!!!!!!! :) :) :)The wedding went better than I could have asked! The Lord provided a wonderful day, with sunshine and little or no wind. It was cool (50-60 degrees F) but beautiful. The last two weeks before the wedding were extremely busy, and many "last-minute" details had to be managed, often with much help from friends. Scott's best man flew all the way from Washington State, and was a great help. Scott's parents came out too and we all had a wonderful week together. A week later, we flew to Seattle, WA, to visit Scott's family and prepare for Africa. For updates on our status for getting to Africa, or to donate towards our mission, click the link to the right that says "how to help". Thank you for your prayers.Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-58984924472885293242010-10-19T18:14:00.001-04:002010-10-19T18:14:48.750-04:00Getting Married Soon :)Friends,<p>An update on the wedding: For any who I forgot to tell, our wedding is<br>coming up in a few weeks. The date is set for November 7 in<br>Collegedale. I hope all who know me and can make it will make it. It<br>will be outdoors, so we're praying for a nice warm sunny day. Min and<br>I are both excited as the day approaches, and planning for Africa as<br>well. We may leave as soon as December for Chad. For now though, we're<br>working, planning, saving and preparing for marriage. I hope you all<br>are well! I'll be very busy the next three weeks, but drop me a line<br>if you have time. Pray for us! You all are in my prayers.<p>God Bless,<p>Scott SterlingScott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6614991191209309752.post-53183357125394952732010-07-25T18:24:00.001-04:002010-07-25T18:24:52.822-04:00Engaged!<div>Friends,</div> <div> </div> <div>I've just returned from a visit to Seattle, Washington with Min. I received the guidance I sought from God and decided to ask Min to marry me there. She said yes! I am very happy, and the whole reality of it is yet to set in my mind. I'm happy with my decision though, and we are going to preparatory counseling and are planning the wedding for November. We decided it would be best for me to stay and work to save up for bringing two people to Africa, and of course, the wedding. I am back in Collegedale. Our plan is to go to Washington when we are ready, and depart from there to Africa (so my parents can see us off).</div> <div> </div> <div>We have already received much help in planning the wedding. God has shown his hand as well, in the provision of a wedding dress: It seems one was donated, new in the box, to Gospel Ministries in McDonald, TN. A friend of mine knew I was getting married and held on to it. It turns out it fits Min perfectly! (Of course I haven't seen it yet). It seems to have been tailored for her, although whoever donated it could not have known who would receive it.</div> <div> </div> <div>I hope this encourages you and keep us in your prayers as we prepare for marriage and a launch to Africa as missionaries!</div> <div><br clear="all">God Bless,<br><br>Scott Sterling<br><br></div> Scott & Min Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420903551263708123noreply@blogger.com0