Bolivia
If you're reading this, you might be thinking, "Is God calling me to be part of His work in Bolivia this summer?" If you are, that's awesome because this is just a little idea of what God did last summer. In case you haven't heard, although Bolivia is a Spanish-speaking country, no knowledge of Spanish is needed for this trip. Because the team wasn't exactly a group of Spanish scholars, we collaborated with the Campus Crusade in Santa Cruz where some of the local college students translated for us. We were able to build relationships with many of the students as well as a team form Louisiana State University that was in the country for six weeks to help with campus ministry. Our last evening in the country was spent in fellowship after one of the meetings with our team, the LSU team, and many of our Bolivian brothers and sisters in Christ.
We also did backyard Bible club and showed the Jesus film in Spanish in neighborhoods outside the city of Santa Cruz. However, the term "neighborhood" is hardly the best way to describe the area. the two areas we focused on were very different. The area where the mother church was located was a little more high-end than the other. Most of the homes had a concrete wall with broken glass or barbed wire on top and were made of concrete or brick. the other area where we built a structure for the church plant was quite different. Most homes were made of bricks, and if there was a foundation, it was made by just digging a foot or so bellow ground level and starting with the brick there. One home was made of large tree limbs as supports with a tarp for the three outside wals (there was no Fourth wall) and a tin roof held down by bags of trash.
The key term for the VBS and Jesus film showings was "Flexible." The first night we were showing the Jesus film, I was confident that Josh would give his testimony so that we could use it as a sort of template for what we should and should not say in giving our own testimony. Just before starting the film, he turned to me and said, "Do you want to give your testimony tonight? and by 'Do you want to' I really mean 'You're going to'." But it was really cool to see how God works when I'm no in control of everything. The next day, I got a good 24-hour notice before I had to teach the Bible story at the VBS the next day.
Finally, I'll leave you with a story about a little girl I met named Romina. She came to the last Jesus film showing we did in our week in the country. When Chris Daley and I were preparing to meet people after the movie to talk to them about it, she asked us about the card we had in our hands. We had been given a card to read to people, in Spanish, to tell the about God and what Christ did for us. She read most of the card for herself but still had questions so we asked Darling, one of the student translators, to help us. She understood what Christ did for her and she desired to make Him her Lord and Savior, so Darling helped us to lead her in a prayer. Afterwards, when we asked her where Jesus was, she said "In my heart." We continue to pray that she will grow up to be a shining light for Christ along with her other brothers and sisters in Christ and that God will continue to bless Warren, Christian, and Juan Bautista (in English, John the Baptist), three of the main leaders of the mother church and the Campus Crusade ministries in Santa Cruz.
K.B.
K.B.
