Latins Minister Across Cultures

One of our values as a mission is to bridge the gap between North and South American Christians. Now, our national missionaries are bridging the gap between their own urban and rural congregations.

Above: Onesimo and Elodia Rojas (standing) distribute
reading glasses.

This January, a medical team, solely from a church in the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, ministered to 900 people in the town of Concepcion and the villages of Porvenir and San Ignacio. Coordinated by LATCOM national missionaries Onesimo and Elodia Rojas, the team was hosted by several local evangelical congregations. The team provided medical and dental work, distributed reading glasses, and offered prayer to those in need.

The medical team's visit was a week-long, community event. The Concepcion hospital provided space, and local doctors also participated. Local churches provided lunch on the first day and the mayor's office the second day.

Above: a Bolivia doctor is testing stool samples
for parasites. The medical team is part of the NETS
Project, which is dedicated to serving communities
as well as evangelizing them.

We hope that this medical team has opened the door to more urban-to-rural ministry. The Santa Cruz doctors want to return to the region, but next time to visit the more remote settlements outside of Concepcion. Furthermore, after the medical team left, eight women from another Santa Cruz church came to Porvenir to teach crafts, such as including painting, jewelry-making, and sandal-making. They also said that they would return the following month.

Once a sleepy and forgotten colonial town, Santa Cruz de la Sierra is the second largest city in Bolivia and one of the fastest growing cities on the continent. It has emerged as the economic hub of the nation and is modern as any other South American city. The towns, villages, and settlements in eastern Bolivia, however, tend to be much less developed, and many still speak indigenous languages. By bridging the urban-rural gap, the medical team has crossed socio-economic, cultural, and ethnic barriers.