If you want to find something, sometimes it requires looking for it. This past month, Kevin set out, along with fellow missionary James Wolheter and two men from Montana, to seek out the lost people of Bolivia. After an airplane ride, a nine hour bus ride, and two hours in the back of a pickup going down a river bed, we arrived at our first camping spot. From here, we could see the daunting hike that stood between us and the people that God had called us to reach. After a night’s rest we set out, me with my fifty-five pound pack, on a ten mile hike to summit the top of the mountain four thousand feet above the river bed. While standing by the river, it was hard to imagine that life could exist on top.
These people are almost completely forgotten. Eighty percent of the village has no record of their birth and no guess of how old they are. The majority of the people have never seen their faces in a mirror or photo and they survive without electricity, running water, or communication to the outside world. Beyond their practical inexistence, the only spiritual element of the whole village is an abandoned Catholic Church that sits as an empty reminder of what used to be and a source of confusion to the children who never knew. And this was our motivation to help show them that they were not lost in the eyes of God but instead forgiven and loved.
As we entered the village of Pucara, our objective was clear: show the Jesus film to a group of people who, for many, would hear His name for the first time. The anticipation of the villagers to watch a film was contagious and bursting from all around. Once the movie was over and the clapping stopped, the people were excited and wanted to see the movie again. They reluctantly left for their homes with the excitement of returning for the Sunday morning service.
In the morning, we had 99 people show up. It was during a call to accept Christ that a few people raised their hands making the daunting trip worth every mile. We had decided to bless the people with new sandals and two lambs for lunch once the service had been concluded. I was permitted to help slaughter the sheep for the meal. These people, even though they are herdsmen by trade, very rarely eat anything but the potatoes that they raise. The average family lives on a few pounds of potatoes and some eggs each day. You can imagine the smiles and appreciation we received when they discovered they would eat meat that day.
For these people, nothing is easy. They work hard to survive and appreciate the simple things that we can give them in this life. We feel blessed to have had the opportunity to share Christ and see their excitement for a faith in a real God. Now we are left to wonder what the next step is. We recognize, Christ did not command us to make “converts” but instead disciples. We need to discover how our mission can be involved in the next phase for Pucara? Currently we are not exactly sure. This is where your prayers can come in to play. We have a man, Roger, who is interested in starting a church in Pucara. He has shown some interest in taking the necessary institute classes in order to become a pastor. We would ask that you would keep the village of Pucara and all of the surrounding villages in your prayers. Pucara is not the only village that needs Christ; each mountain top has another village of a hundred people who have never heard the gospel. The fields are ripe and our mission wants to be there to fulfill God’s calling and train up leaders in these forgotten villages. Please pray for guidance as we prepare to do the work that God has called us to do.
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