Bolivia Fun Facts:
Bolivia has two capitals: Sucre (constitutional) La Paz (de facto)
Bolivia has salt deserts.
El Alto, Bolivia (where I am living) is 13, 300 ft. above sea level. (Geneseo, Illinois is 600 for reference.)
Ministry for the month: Word Made Flesh
I love Bolivia and Bolivians! I have yet to meet a country and her people that I do not like, and Bolivia is no exception. Our team of six has been paired with team Bold Radiance. A wonderful group of women! Our two teams have been split up into pairs and each pair has been given a host family. We live and eat with our host families and work at the ministry site Monday-Friday.
Shelby and I have the best host family. We live with Abad and Berta and their four children. Clearly someone gave up their bedroom for Shelby and I, and I have a feeling that they also gave up their blankets. Each of our beds has 6 blankets on them because there is no heat in the house. It gets below freezing at night, so we are very thankful not to be in our tents this month. We have a dog named, Linda, and 2 rabbits. The bathroom is outside and consists of a toilet and shower. There is a big sink outside where we can brush our teeth, which I love looking at the stars and the moon each night while brushing my teeth. If you are ever in the southern hemisphere, look up at night!
We take public transportation everywhere, which always seems like an adventure. Today I actually was able to get a seat and had the nicest conversation with an older lady about her work with kids with disabilities. Before we got on the bus today six street dogs came chasing after us; that got my heart racing! Thankfully we were able to pick up some rocks and throw at them to stop.
My jobs at Word Made Flesh are a little different each day. I have done quality control on the purses, cut fabric and made a guest book for the store. If you ever see a bag or purse with a Sutisana tag, buy it! Made right here in El Alto, Bolivia by some wonderful ladies.
Word Made Flesh has opened my eyes to the horrible world of prostitution. In el Alto there are 1, 295 registered Sex Workers, but when you include all the nonregistered it is easily over 3,000. 98% of the women they know in El Alto want to leave prostitution immediately but don’t know how. Word Made Flesh makes relationships with these women and offers hope of another way of life with the help of Jesus Christ. They teach women how to sew, offer classes on how to save money and manage money, aerobics classes, classes on how to give pedicures/manicures/cut hair, and many other opportunities.
Please pray for the staff here. They work so hard in a very discouraging environment. Please pray for the women that are dehumanized on a nightly basis. Please pray for the men that frequent the brothels that they would realize the damage they are causing and stop going. Please pray for the three brothers and their mother that run all the brothels in El Alto, that they would have a change of heart.
Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” This verse always has made me think of the poor and of orphans, but now I think of these women. What are we doing to help these women in our communities? The U.S. has just as big a problem as Bolivia. What are we doing in the States to offer hope to women who prostitute? Do we show them love? And if so, how do we do it?
