December 2022 Prayer Letter
What a month we have had! We faced some uncertain and unprecedented circumstances, but we believe in the end it has all been profitable for the cause of Christ.
Our state started out November with political issues that actually began the previous month. The citizens went on strike. Almost everything, businesses, and roads, was closed in protest of the federal government. This is not unusual for Bolivia. This happens multiple times a year around the country, but one has never lasted as long. This one drug on for 36 days!!! And the longer it went, the harder it was to get anything accomplished. Normally during a civil strike, they allow bicycles and motorcycles to travel about, but things progressed to the point that these were not allowed either. The government used their supporters to cut off supplies coming into the city, hoping to starve us out. They bussed in more supporters and police to try to forcefully lift the strike by using tear gas and making arrests. None of these tactics worked as they had hoped and only made the citizens more determined.
With everything closed, most of our church people were unable to work. They normally live each day on what they earn that day. Very few have the resources to survive more than a couple of days. One of our churches prepared a small community meal on their own that first week of the shutdown. It was a blessing to see them sacrifice in order to reach their community. After the first week, our family saw that there was to be no quick end to the strike, so we decided to take action. We started helping all 3 of our churches provide meals to their communities. Thanks to the help of many of you who gave, they did this 2-3 times a week with each church providing for 400+ people at a time. This was a very difficult task for our people, but it was worth the effort. It required our people to work together in ways they never had to before. It also let the communities around them see that the church cares for them. Hundreds of people came and heard the gospel for the very first time, then left with tracts and additional information about the gospel. What an amazing opportunity! The second week, the church members put together bags of food and delivered them to around 300 homes each! A phrase that has been in my mind the entire time has been, “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” One thing for sure, our church communities know we care about them and hopefully, that will open more doors to share the gospel with them. Many have shared a new or renewed interest in coming to the church. Please pray for our 3 churches as they try to connect with these individuals but more importantly for souls to be saved as a result.
During all of this upheaval, construction has continued on our new church property. To keep the progress moving forward, the workers lived under a tarp until they were able to get the rooms built for shelter. It is coming along very well; and as of this writing, we believe the first and main phase will be finished soon. We still have the goal of holding our first service there for Christmas. It is far enough along that I believe this is possible, but there are still several things we want to accomplish before then. The most important projects are sealing our storage room from moisture, pouring the floor, and finishing some electrical work.
The protests did become intense enough that I was no longer able to travel to our churches by bike. Our pastor recommended that we come out for a short time for safety's sake, which we did for about 2 weeks but continued to work virtually with our people daily to make sure meals and construction continued in our absence. As of this writing, everything has calmed down and we are on the plane flying back home to Bolivia.
The theme of my heart lately has been of “the peace of God which passeth all understanding” (Phil. 4:7) and in the middle of the turmoil, He reminded me that the “God of peace shall be with you” (Phil. 4:9). In addition to the peace, He has provided for all our needs and protected us the whole way through.
We want to thank all of you for your help and concern during this time. Many of you checked in on us and prayed for our safety. Many sacrificially gave to make all the extra outreach possible. We even had a church buy our plane tickets to help get us to back to the states. This month has truly been a reminder that without the faithfulness of those God has placed around us, nothing we do in Bolivia would be possible. Thank you so much for your faithfulness to our Savior and toward our family!
