Baby Wash
TOP :Miky and Techi BOTTOM: LHBC team with Miky and Techi in the CBM office
Notice the flag!
Hello everyone,
We spent the afternoon with the couple who run the baby wash ministry here. Dan Johns has written an article capturing much of what we heard.
Sue
Washing babies sounded crazy to Miky Villarreal when his wife Techi proposed the idea, but God had revealed an authenic need to Techi. The Villarreals explained their mission to the Laurier Heights delegation on Saturday.
The first week the Villarreals put their vision into action, they washed three babies, but the mothers, street beggars on the streets of Cochabamba told their friends and now up to 500 children a week are brought to be washed. In spite of generous donations and the dedication of the Villarreals and volunteers, the program can´t meet the demands placed on it.
The families of beggars come to Cochabamba from an area north of the city called Potosi, a dusty, bleak place where they have no chance of earning a living. They speak native languages, not Spanish, but can earn more begging and surviving on the streets than they can at home.
Following their traditions, the women bind their babies from head to toe and as a result are dirty and often covered in blisters. Techi had the opportunity to wash a baby one day and the blisters went away. That was the genesis of the program, in spite of Miky´s initial skepticism and it wasn´t that Miky was not already a dedicated Christian worker on the streets of Cochabamba. The couple had initiated the Jireh program for shoe shine boys and the Laurier delegation will learn more about that program later.
The long range goal, Miky says, is to have a shelter where school support, hot meals, clothes and shelter can be offered to pave the way to evangelism. Some of this assistance has been offered on the streets, but has had to be phased out. At one time medical assistance and clothes washing has been offered, but the logistics are difficult. The baby washing program is already existing on generous donations which have provided a trailer, jeep and electric generators that provide hot water. The water is provided by a nearby police station.
When she explained her vision to the Laurier, Techi quoted Matthew 26:40. "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these, these brothers of mine, you did it for me." This couple is living out this vision.
Dan
2 comments:
Thank you for posting the picture. It was great to see your smiling faces!
The washing of the babies is so moving. It's something that we take so for granted, and yet there it is a mission. Bless you all as you support those tireless workers, and as you process all that you are exposed to.
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