A Busy 24 Hours

Easter here in Bolivia was an amazing and busy twenty-four hours. Jeremy Kochendorfer, our Stateside Ministry Coordinator with Evangelical Church Missions visited Bolivia to provide our field some training and encouragement. While he was here, Jeremy came out to visit Mizque and see what it is we are doing here. After a four hour bus ride, we arrived with a few hours to prepare for Saturday night. Saturday night Kevin preached to the youth and then we led games as we usually do.



This year Bolivia had a different kind of Easter Sunday. It was actually made into an election Sunday for the country of Bolivia which meant that no one was allowed to drive and people had to stay in the towns where they were registered to vote. This caused some confusion for the Baptist Church in Mizque since their pastor had to stay in Cochabamba to vote and could not be at church on Easter. So, Kevin was asked to lead the Sunday morning and evening services. After preaching at the morning service, Kevin and Jeremy set out on an 8 mile round trip to Tukma Baja where Kevin taught our Hermeneutics class. Then they returned with enough time to change clothes, shower and head off to the evening service. While it was an exhausting weekend for everyone, all in all it was a wonderful few days.

Kevin's Toe

It seems like it has been a long time since Kevin’s initial accident with his toe, but we are now very thankful to report that his toe is healing well and he has been allowed to take his bandaging off. Kevin was thrilled to be able to wash and trim his toe nail after a full month without even seeing it. Lisa was very pleased as well. :) The doctor has given him leave to do just about anything but he doesn’t want Kevin wearing a shoe yet without a wrapping. So, Kevin is back to his flip-flops and as long as he stays away from burning objects, he should be fine. We want to thank you all so much for your faithful prayer on behalf of Kevin. It was a long process in the hospital and while he did it, your prayers are what helped push him through. We are so grateful for all of your e-mails of love and support and in return we pray for God’s blessing to be on you all.

Moises

There is a man, Moises, who walks two hours to the Baptist church in Mizque every Sunday. He is actually a pastor himself and he has a passion to learn more about the Bible. Moises lives in a small village called Tukma Baja and every week he comes to church in the morning and then returns to his village where he preaches to his small congregation in the evening. Moises has such a desire to learn that we began teaching him one of our Bible Institute Classes we use for our pastors. Moises was so excited that he began sharing with the congregation in Mizque and when two of the members asked if they could travel with us to Tukma Baja for class, we were thrilled. What we didn’t expect was that twelve members of the church in Mizque showed up at our doorstep when it was time to go. So, we piled in to two vehicles and drove out to Tukma Baja. We decided this many people couldn’t travel to Tukma Baja every week so we decided to start the same class in Mizque at the church. We currently have three students officially enrolled in the class in Tukma Baja and six enrolled in Mizque. We are thrilled for the opportunity and pray the students will continue to have the passion they possess now to learn more about the Bible.

Leading the Youth

When we first arrived in Mizque, we began attending the Baptist church in town. This church seemed like a good way of getting involved in the community. One Sunday morning they invited us to youth nights which occur every Saturday night. Of course when the games started up no one could keep Kevin away from playing. After a few weeks of playing and getting to know the youth in the church, the Pastor asked us if we would be willing to take over the youth. Now once a week Kevin preaches to the youth for 10 to 15 minutes and then we go outside and play games for the remainder of the time. We feel it has been a positive experience for us to take part in the church and meet other believers here in Mizque. One thing we would ask you to pray for is that the pastor would allow us to do some day events with the youth. While we are in charge, the pastor feels that the youth are too busy in their daily lives and the only time we get is Saturday night. It is difficult for us to get to know the youth or their culture when we are not permitted more time with them.