2013 Summer Mission Team – The Body of Christ in Bolivia

Written by John Lytle, Development Director

Member of the 2013 Summer Mission Team

At LATCOM, we like to say that we “are your heart, hands, and feet in Bolivia and Latin America”. We work daily with national missionaries – Christians ministering to their own people – and do everything in our power through the grace of God to share the Gospel.

One way we do that is by sending a mission team from the United States to Bolivia at least once every year. God has asked all of us to give of ourselves, and by choosing to go, our mission team members have answered the call. Upon returning home, most people will say that the trip was a bigger blessing to them than they ever could have blessed those who they were serving.

There were 21 members of the 2013 Summer Mission team. They came from different cities and different states. They have different life goals and backgrounds. They are followers of Jesus, but they have different gifts and talents. Each person was unique, but this group of individuals quickly united and served as a true reflection of the body of Christ.

Building a Pavilion

The team worked tirelessly to build a pavilion in the Lomerío region of Eastern Bolivia, which will be used as a church building in the village of Palmira. They removed stumps and moved dirt by using shovels, pick axes, digging irons, and wheel barrows. The team moved approximately 26 tons of dirt by hand!

Once the ground was level, the team set the posts, built the rafters, laid the foundation, and finished the roof. It was incredible to see the pavilion erected within one week! There is still work to do on the pavilion (brick pavers for the floor, adobe walls, electric lights, etc.) to make the pavilion complete, but it is usable as is and is a great improvement over a tarp held up on wooden poles.

On Sunday morning, the churches of these rural communities came together to dedicate the pavilion for the Lord’s work. It’s hard to imagine an atmosphere more filled with the Holy Spirit than during worship that morning, and it was a blessing to be able to construct a new place where community members can praise God and serve Him.

Sharing the Gospel

While one part of the team was working on the pavilion, other members of the team were sharing the Gospel with people in five of the unreached communities of the Lomerío. There are 29 communities in this region, but only 7 have evangelical churches. The REDESProject leaders hope to reach all of the communities in the future by ministering to the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of the people.

Team members shared the message of Jesus one-on-one with the adults, provided reading glasses, and also taught seminars on diet and hygiene. We formed relationships, talked, and prayed with them. Over 100 people decided to follow Jesus that week.

On the first day, a language barrier prevented us from being able to share the Gospel with the children. The Lord answered our prayers in miraculous ways, reassuring us of His constant provision. That evening, God provided another translator with experience in children’s ministry. One team member had brought pipe cleaners to use as bracelets along with beads in the Wordless Book colors, while another team member had some Wordless Book tracts with her.

Working through these people, we were able communicate with the children and share the love of Jesus Christ. The children were excited to hear about Vacation Bible School that will held in their community in September.

Building on a Legacy of Blessings

Our summer mission team trips are a highlight of our year. What’s even more remarkable is that these trips have led to new churches in the Lomerío. Several churches celebrate their anniversaries each summer – shortly after a mission team traveled to the community each respective year. You can visibly see how God has worked through the teams and the communities, and the blessings that followed.

With God’s help, we’re able to accomplish great things and enable people from the U.S. to take part in these important ministries in Bolivia. Praise the Lord for the 2013 Summer Mission Team!

If you’re interested in going on a mission trip with LATCOM, visit our website for more information.

First Trip to Bolivia – From Communications Editor Christine Spicuzza

“I’m going to be spending two weeks in Bolivia.” [pause] “Where is that?”

This is the response I got for the most part when I would tell people about my plans to travel with LATCOM.

I began working for LATCOM as the Communications Editor in the beginning of July. Basically, my job is to communicate, educate, and promote the mission’s efforts in the U.S. Since the mission uses national missionaries in Bolivia to minister to their own people, it was clear I needed to travel there and see everything firsthand.

I traveled with the Executive Director, Tim, his wife, and Steve Jeter, a videographer, conducting interviews with leaders, pastors, national missionaries, and shooting b-roll. I learned a lot while I was there. Some of the more light-hearted include:

·         Roosters crow all night long, not just at dawn. I woke up to a chorus of roosters crowing and donkeys “ee-aw-ing,” for lack of a better description.

·         If going through Security annoys you when flying in the U.S., know that Security in other countries can be much stricter.

·         Riding in a truck on unpaved roads is essentially like going on an ATV ride – bumpy!

·         The passion fruit juice in Bolivia is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted.

·         I’ve eaten yuca, but I prefer potatoes.

On a more important note…

The ministry that struck me most while I was there is called the REDES Project, which stands for Relationship, Evangelism, Discipleship, Empowering, and Service. The rural villages of Eastern Bolivia are building churches and literally transforming their communities in ways that are critical to them—clean drinking water, improving outhouses, raising chickens, teaching women how to make handbags to sell, etc. They invite people in the community to take part, and by doing so, form relationships that eventually lead others to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It’s a ministry that is incredibly powerful and is a reflection of how the church should function in the world: forming relationships and meeting the needs of the people in the name of Christ. This trip taught me that no matter where you follow Jesus in the world—whether it’s in Pittsburgh or Bolivia or Africa or even on your own street—it all starts with relationship.

Christians often have different viewpoints on how and where to serve. A few people told me they couldn’t understand why I would go elsewhere when there is so much to do in the U.S. I will be honest in saying that I never pictured myself working for a foreign mission. However, the opportunity to work for LATCOM found me, and I felt like God was calling me to help in any way I can. (I also have a passion for local mission. I’m a pastor’s wife, and ministry in our church and in our city is our way of life.)

Now that I’ve returned, I can honestly say this trip changed my life in the way that only traveling to a third-world country can. To see God at work in another part of the world – in the most remote jungle villages of Eastern Bolivia – it was incredible. It’s simply something you have to see firsthand, and I look forward to going with a mission team in the future.