Mojos, Bolivia. We were assigned to hike 31 miles into the Bolivian jungle to do life with 15 families and all we had were the packs on our backs.
30 pounds feels more like 100 poundswhen you’re hiking through the Andes Mountains. And that is an understatement.
20 grueling hours of hiking through beach, mountains, and over 25 river crossings.. We finally arrived to the gates of Mojos.
We were greeted with incredible food and a chilly first night in our tents on the flat plain of a mountain we had just ascended. The morning brought more good food and A LOT of smelly clothes. This is where life began for us.
The history behind this small village is still being written. Mojos has been a community for over 400 years- and they’re just now getting missionaries regularly?! Yes.
Pastor Luciano, his wife and 2 children welcomed us and taught us about their story. About 15 years ago Pastor Luciano was converted to Catholicism. He loved the worship of idols, and especially the parties that came of it all. Loud music, drinking and fighting. After all, there isn’t much entertainment coming through the radio and satellite phone.
5 years ago there were 4 Christian missionaries that came out to Mojos and taught the people, especially Pastor Luciano about Jesus. They stayed there for 4 years and just did life with them. THIS is what missions are. THIS is how people see and experience the love of Jesus – simply life.
Then came Pastor Phil from La Paz, Bolivia. Our host dad. Born and raised as a missionary kid in Bolivia all his life, he experienced a unique way of living out the love of Christ. Now as a 63 year old husband, and father to 3 crazy grown up men, he continues to live out his parents dream of bringing the Gospel to the unreached people of Bolivia – his true home country.
Phil ventured out into Mojos a few years ago and made peace with the village. Ever since he’s brought out teams of all sizes including churches, doctors, dentists, and now 2 World Race teams in the last year!!
I guess the coolest part of this whole story is what history WE were a part of the past 2 weeks…
(to be continued)
