On the Race ministry looks much different month to month, day to day, and person to person. For example my ministry in the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia this month looked wayyy different than that of my squad-mates that hiked three days through the Amazon to minister to a Bolivian tribe. And my structured schedule this month was a completely 180 from the unpredictable schedule thrown at us in our last country. When it comes to the Race you have to be flexible, and you need to be able to pull anything out of your back pocket at a moments notice (My team learned that in Argentina when we were dropped off at a camp, placed in front of 40 young adults, and were told that we were in charge of running a two day Christian retreat complete with games/group activities, testimonies, full sermons, worship sessions and much more).
But here is a little snippet of what ministry looked like for me in Bolivia.
Iglesia Monte de Los Olivos:
Our team arrived in Santa Cruz filthy, hungry, and exhausted around midnight after three full days of crazy travel. At that point all we wanted to do was go into a state of hibernation, but we were greeted with news that we had to wake up bright and early for a 16-hour day of ministry.
Our first day started off with a few hours of street evangelism, which consisted of walking around the neighborhood passing out invitations for an evening church service. We stopped by the local market to hand out a few invitations. It was at this market that one of our leaders bought me my first achachairu—a small orange fruit native to the Santa Cruz area that basically tastes like heaven. Guys, it was love at first bite. By the end of the month, I could confidently say achachairu became an addiction for our entire team. You place a bowl of those babies in front of us, and they’ll be gone in a hot second. But I digress.
The afternoons at the church were spent crashing graduation parties, eating absurd amounts of achachairu, playing charades with the pastor’s family, sipping hot coffee, laughing a lot, and preparing for the evening church service, where we were to lead worship, present dramas, share testimonies, and give full sermons…oh yeah, and do it all in Spanish!
Hogar Los Preciosos:
Three days of the month we walked 10 minutes down the dusty palm tree-lined road to an orphanage which housed about 15 children, most of which suffered from disabilities. Each kid had their own personality and a humungous heart, and I think each of us fell in love with every single one of them. In the mornings we showed them the Father’s love by playing games with them, singing songs, and feeding them. And in the afternoons we would walk together to the local park where the kids would play soccer, which consisted of us pushing around the kids in their wheelchairs as we kicked the ball for them and cheered them on, and their faces would completely light up with joy.
Iglesia Cristiana Misionera:
Week two was spent helping another pastor organize and run a kids’ camp. The first two days we went out in groups to hand out event invitations to the neighborhood. We walked through streets and markets eating achachairu, talking to the locals, and getting to know our translators who happened to be 7 and 10 years old. The kids’ camp was complete with choreographed songs, dramas, games, and free candy! No kid left unhappy. Our final day with the pastor consisted of us deep cleaning the church inside and out, from the floors to the ceilings as we blasted music and worshipped the Lord. In the evening we fellowshipped with the family over a table of homemade cookies, banana bread, and sushi, followed by a dip in the pool.
Fundación Renuevo:
Our final week in Bolivia was one of my favorites for ministry. The first day we arrived at a young womens’ rehabilitation center where four teens currently live. They taught us Bolivian slang over the lunch table, and we taught them American card games. We played until we were exhausted and ended the day eating mangos off the tree and sipping hot coca tea. The next day we served them by mowing their front and back fields, and raking up the dead grass and leaves. We raked and pruned and weeded until the sun started to set, and the day ended with us sipping refreshing coconut water straight out of the coconut under the cool shade of palm trees and in the company of our new friends.
Bolivia, you will always have a special place in my heart!
Next stop: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
