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.