Fun with the Fishers

By the time we rolled into the Fisher's driveway in Roanoke, we were ready to unwind...and that we did!  Bill and Ramona Fisher have been long time friends of Jennie's family.  Jennie actually attended their wedding when she was just 3 years old...and we had the privilege of having Bill marry us at our wedding.  Through the years Bill and Ramona have become dear friends of ours and have opened their home for us to retreat to several times over the past 8 years.   

Just like in times past, we enjoyed the tranquility of their farm-like neighborhood, long talks lasting late into the night, wise counsel, and lots of laughs.  Bill and Ramona invested their time into our kids and as you can see by the pictures they soaked it in.  

We also really enjoyed sharing at their church (First Baptist Church) of Warren Indiana.  As always the fellowship was great and the time was a blessing for our family.  Thanks Bill and Ramona for your friendship and a great few days of relaxation and fellowship.

Hit the ground running...

...we certainly did!  We landed in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday around noon.  Our good friends Erin and Jason Hughes were our hosts and they graciously picked up us (and our 6 suitcases).  About an hour after arriving in Columbus, John's friend Cam picked him up and the two of them headed up to Bluffton, Ohio to prepare for Cam's wedding.  Meanwhile, Jennie and the girls stayed behind in Columbus to visit with the Hughes family.  She and Erin had a great time catching up...and wrangling  5 children and a dog!

The next morning, John's parents came through Columbus to pick up Jennie and the girls and they all headed to Upper Sandusky for Cam and Emily's wedding.  Ella and Lydia were excited to see their grandparents again.  

Saturday morning we enjoyed celebrating Cam and Emily's wedding.  It was a beautiful fall day and a wonderful ceremony.  There were several other friends there and we enjoyed catching up with everyone.

After the wedding we were on the road again!  We spent 5 nights in a row, each in a different city and in a different bed.  We were thrilled to finally arrive in Roanoke, IN to the welcoming arms of our hosts, Bill and Ramona Fisher.  

Stay tuned for more of our adventures!

We Made It!

It took several days but we finally made it back to the US for our furlough!  We left Sucre for Santa Cruz on Monday the 17th.  Because Sucre has such a small airport, and no radar, flights get canceled all the time.  So if you have an important international flight to catch, you really need to allow 2 days to make it.    Our flight left on time Monday, and we arrived in Santa Cruz in the early afternoon.  We settled into our hotel and made our plans for the following day in Santa Cruz.  To help pass the time, the Mozombite family who serves in Santa Cruz, came over with their kids to swim in the hotel pool.  We had a great time catching up with them...and you can tell by the pictures below, the kids certainly had a blast together as well.  

We woke up early on Wed morning to catch our 9am flight from Santa Cruz to Miami.  Everything went well and we arrived at the airport by 6:20 am.  Once we made our way up to the ticket counter, we found out that our flight was delayed until 12:30pm and that we wouldn't make our connection in Miami.  So, we had a 6 hour wait in the airport before getting on our 6 hour airplane ride to the States.  American Airlines did put us up in a hotel and we had meal vouchers for lunch in Santa Cruz, dinner and breakfast in Miami.  On the plus side, our plane was only half full, so we were able to spread out and the kids were able to nap well during the flight.  Luckily the delay didn't cause us to miss any important events...we just had to shave off some time we had planned to spend with friends.  

We are thankful to have arrived safely and appreciate all of your prayers.  

Faces of Bolivia

There are times in life when God really challenges you through other people.  Maybe it is a conversation or act of service by another person, or just the way they live.  There have certainly been several of those occasions while living here in Bolivia.  One person I would like to share with you is Adelia Chumacero.  Adelia may be one of the best examples of passionate, sacrificial service for the kingdom of God I have ever seen.  Adelia is a pastor in a rural village called Ravelo, which is located about 2 hours outside of Sucre in the Andes Mountains.  For many years Adelia has been working in the rural areas of Bolivia planting churches, sharing about the Bible, and serving the Quecha people group.  What many people do not realize about Bolivia is that the Andes Mountains are some of the most rugged mountains in the world.  The mountains are literally impassable in certain areas.  Because of this there is a section of the country about 200 square miles wide where the Gospel has not been shared or introduced.  There are no roads to this area and no evangelical churches.  The habitants in this area are very tied to the ancient Inca Indian religious rituals and worship many of the Inca Gods and spirits.  It is Bolivia’s own “10-40 window” of unreached people groups.   Life in this area is very harsh with climate, conditions and resources being very sporadic and challenging.  What is amazing is that Adelia a single women in a male dominated culture has embraced these peoples and started a ministry in several of the small villages tucked back in this region.    

Adelia for several years has had a vision to start a seminary in Ravelo that would train and equip indigenous Quecha speaking pastors to plant churches and embrace a ministry among these unreached Quecha people groups.  However, in the mean time Adelia has taken it upon herself to reach out to this region of people and share the hope of the gospel.  When I (John) talked to Adelia in March of this year she shared with me that she had been walking 13 miles off of the nearest road to the area, to a village several Sundays a month for the previous 3 months preaching and serving the people.  She was excited to share that the previous week she had baptized two new believers.  Adelia has also spent many days hiking further back

into the regions sharing about God and the message of hope He brings.  During this conversation I was humbled by her incredible dedication to these people and the passion she had to try to touch every one of them with the gospel.  

Adelia also has developed a radio ministry to the Quecha people, started a kids ministry in Ravelo, and been a vibrant part of our pastor training program over the past year.  Not only has Adelia been a leader in her community but she has been a model of faith and love to the Quecha people.

A few months ago we hosted a pastors meeting in the village of Ravelo.  During this quarterly meeting we gave each pastor a chance to share about their ministry and what struggles they are facing.  Once again I was struck with God’s amazing work through Adelia.  Adelia shared about the various villages she had been visiting and the ways that God had been moving in the hearts of the people she had been ministering to.  She shared an incredible story of how she had been struck by the car of a drunk driver and God had protected her.  She shared how God healed a woman who had been a paraplegic for some 40 years through a seed project of service and prayer.  She also shared how she had been blessed by several faith conversions through her radio ministry.  Adelia then paused for a moment.  With tears in her eyes she then shared with us that she also had recently been diagnosed with Chargas disease. 

Chargas disease is caused by a parasite transmitted through a beetle-like bug found mostly in Latin and South American regions.  These bugs live within the cracks of mud huts and bite their victims during the night.  Once bitten, the parasite enters the blood stream and this incurable disease is contracted.  Chargas over time ultimately affects the nervous and digestive system, as well as causes a deterioration of the heart, leading to cardiac damage and eventual death.  This of course is devastating information for any person to hear.  What’s amazing about the situation is that Adelia’s first response was not about a fear she had about the disease or the unknowns and struggles she would face in the future living with this condition, or even a anger or disappointment that she most likely contracted this condition while living and serving in the severe conditions of this region; no, her first response was of fear that as her heart deteriorated that she would not be able to continue her ministry to these unreached people.  With a heart condition it would not be possible for her to walk the distance needed in order to get to these areas.  A heart sold out for the gospel and its transformational impact.  A servant sacrificing MUCH for the spreading of the kingdom. 

Thanks Adelia for your model of sacrificial ministry.  You have been an example and challenge for me and many others.  Well done faithful servant.      

   

Soccer Dreams

This past week our office decided to participate in a seed project for a neighborhood in Horna C'Kasa.  This is a slum region just outside the city of Sucre.  The FH office has worked in Horna C'Kasa for about 6 years and with the help of a US based church has started a soccer school for youth.  With the goal of helping develop the God given gifts and talents of soccer in these boys the school has really been a blessing to the neighborhood.  

A challenge for many of the boys in the school is finding shoes to wear at soccer practice.  Many come from broken families who have little to no money to invest in soccer cleats.  Thus, they try to practice in sandals or bare-feet.  Our office decided as a seed project that we would purchase a pair of new soccer cleats for each child in the school.  This past week we shared a few testimonies of some Christian soccer professionals, talked to them about perseverance and dreams, and presented a pair of cleats to each boy.  A smile is worth a thousand words.        

Prayer time.  Thanking God for what he has provided

Trying on for size

Our group for the office and the boys

  

Empowering the Church II

One of the final lessons in our curriculum of church strengthening is teaching leaders God’s intentions for the church today.  What is the role of the church and how does God want the local church to be an instrument of transformation in its community?  We teach this principle through a lesson called “seed projects.”  Seed projects are small projects that any church, family, or individual can do to have impact or influence for the gory of God in their community or neighborhood.  Seed projects are motivated by Jesus love and example of growth (Luke 2:52) and service (Acts 20:53), and they seek to plant seeds of transformation in the community.  These projects also speak to God’s desire for stewardship, development, and our care of creation.  

An important aspect of seed projects is the fact that they use the resources of the local church or family to complete the project.  It does not involve outside resources but rather a faith venture within the individual or group.  Their own time, money, creativity, and tools.  Breaking the mentality of dependence in materially poor areas is extremely difficult, so seed projects seek to empower the churches to see the abundance of resources in their midst.  The Bible illustrates through a variety of stories how God desires to multiple our obedience for His glory.  As the church embraces its God given role in the community, healing, restoration, and reconciliation will be the result. 

Several of our churches have done seed projects over the last few months.  (Many with great motivation and creativity.)  Below are a few highlights from some of the seed projects completed this summer by small churches in the slum areas of Sucre. 

First fix the basketball back board

Then paint it!

Pastor Severino (left) leading his team of servants

Final product for this project.... a sparkling clean street!

Though we have lived here for two years Ella is still a novelty.  People often ask to take their picture with her.  

Empowering the Church

We would love to share with you a few highlights of our current ministry with churches here in Bolivia.  Early in 2011 John started working on a church strengthening project aimed to encourage, empower, and train church leaders and pastors.  For the first 6 months of the year John and a Bolivian pastor (Luis) spent time launching the first phase of this training project.  Mosty training, teaching, and encouraging the pastors and leaders.  To this point John and Luis have worked with 14 different churches in and around the city of Sucre.  Nine of them have completed the first phase of training, as well as 1 seminary, and all will continue in 2012 with the second phase, of application, teaching, and deeper study.  This new project has brought about new challenges and obstacles for us, but we are very encouraged in the progress and openness many of the pastors and leaders have had.  We are grateful that God has equipped us to do this work and trust his faithfulness in bringing transformation in time. 

The past two months we have been celebrating with many of these churches their graduation through phase one of our training.  Typically we take a night to celebrate their participation by handing out certificates of completion, praying for God’s future direction and wisdom, and sharing a meal or snacks together.  Below is a list of churches who have completed our training.  As well as a few photos to celebrate our work with churches here Bolivia. 

Iglesia CICA, Aposento Alto

Iglesia Templo de Fe

Iglesia Casa de Dios

Iglesia Casa de Oracion

Iglesia Centro Familiar

Iglesia Cristo es la Unica Esperanza

Ministerio Vision de Desarollo Integral

Ejercito de Salvacion (Liga de Jovenes)

Ejercito de Salvacion (Liga de Lideres)

Seminario Universidad Unidad

If you want a real challenge some afternoon when you are bored, you can try to translate some of the church names mentioned above!  

Pastor Primo.  Iglesia Casa de Oracion

Capitan Carlos.  Iglesia Ejercito de Salvacion

The church Templo de Fe gave Luis and John hand-made bags as a thank you.  It is normal for John's head to be cut off in pictures, he is always just a few inches too tall.... 

A special celebration dinner with the church Templo de Fe.  

A spicy Bolivian dish called Mondongo.  All that food is floating in a blazing hot red pepper sauce called aji.  Never sets good when you eat it at 9:30 at night....

Pastor Wilbur.  Iglesia CICA, Aposento Alto

A graduate from the church CICA, Aposento Alto

Pastor Juanica.  Iglesia Casa de Dios