Shalom Es Mi Casa Orphanage, Our Employer?
I sat at my computer crying alligator tears. I had met some of these former street orphans.
You can also see them by just Googling a search under “Shalom Es Mi Casa Bolivian orphanage.”
The director is Ana Colque Nutt, wife of former widower and current foreign missionary, Howard Nutt. Together they lead over sixty to eighty children as surrogate parents for the orphanage. Their love story is in another blog entry.
My husband, Allan, and I have sent our little check for Shalom to the Assembly of God headquarters in Springfield, MO, for several years. We are glad to know that most of the money goes directly to the children since administrative costs are covered by the headquarters’ budget under their home and foreign missionary department. (We also send our offering there for our son and his family in Belgium, an Assembly of God foreign missionary.)
When Allan and I were visiting in 2005, Ana gave us a tour of Shalom on her off day. I remember hearing her call a child “mi amor,” my love. She showed us a building under construction. It had a future apartment designed to house some “grandparents” for the orphans. It had not occurred to me that they do not have four people in their lives who adore them as their special grandkids. (Facebook is oozing with photos of those “adorable” little folks.)
It was hard to get to sleep that night for thinking of the job offer. Allan was not tempted at all since he does not speak Spanish. I decided to stick with my man.
Ronnie Hoover of the University of Arkansas Chi Alpha (XA) ministry has also been captured by a special love for these wonderful children. He decided to teach them one of the things he knows well, baseball. He has worked to provide baseball uniforms and equipment for their growing teams. (Chi Alpha is over 50 years old and ranks with Campus Crusade for Christ and Intervarsity for its effectiveness in reaching out to college students. It is the college wing of the Assemblies of God.)
The University of Arkansas XA ministry made a ten-year commitment to the universities of Bolivia to see a similar ministry established there. They stayed true to that commitment and saw similar ministries raised up in various cities, like Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. During that ten years, Ronnie was able to do extra for Shalom. It was our privilege to be on the first XA team to Sucre, Bolivia, along with our daughter and her husband, in 2005. Unfortunately, when XA’s 10-year commitment expired in 2015, I experienced my brain hemorrhage, and things began to move more slowly.
Well, what calls forth “alligator tears” in your life? Perhaps part of your calling and probably where you should put some of your life’s energies (your time, talent, and treasure) lies in that direction. And, it’s the perfect time to get busy at it if you haven’t already.