Christmas in Bolivia:
This is always one of my favorite times of the year. It brings back memories of being a child and being so excited about Christmas coming. Then, it was probably more for the toys than anything else, but now looking back I can see that the most special part was spending time with family. Now that we are missionaries and live in Bolivia, you might ask if there is much difference in the way we and the people here celebrate. In reality, there are quite a few differences between the way Christmas is celebrated here and in the states. To start with the weather is quite different; because we live south of the equator we are opposite seasons from the states. We are actually in the middle of summer with temperatures reaching into the upper 80’s. Not that I am complaining about warm weather, it just doesn’t seem as much like Christmas when it is this warm. Also here in Bolivia, like many Spanish countries the 24th, Christmas Eve, is actually bigger than the 25th. The tradition here is that families get together on the 24th and have a special meal starting after 10:00 pm. Then at 12:01am they exchange gifts and spend time together until one or two in the morning. Then on the 25th, Christmas day, they really don’t do anything and it is not even really a special day like the 24th. One thing that I have noticed for many people here is that Christmas itself sometimes is not even a special time. When I have asked if they have any special memories of Christmas, often they say that they don’t really have any special memories. I have tried to encourage them to not focus as much on the material part of Christmas but to try and make special memories, remembering the Lord’s birth and spending time with family and friends. Even though I don’t get as many toys now as then, I enjoy even more spending time with the kids and making memories that will last for years to come.
Building the Church:
I can remember when Beth and I first got married; we got a large glass jar and started putting our change in it every day. After just several months we took the change out and counted it. We had close to $200 already saved up. The principle is that if we are faithful, little by little we can accomplish much. This month we are going to be presenting several new projects in the church to help raise the funds necessary to buy land and build a building. We recently had someone make some miniature houses with a slot in the roof to make a piggy (or house) bank. The people in the church will be able to take their bank home and put their money in during the month and at the end we will be taking all the money up a registering it on several different thermometers to show our progress. Each family will have a house along with several different ministries, like youth, ladies and men. There will be a thermometer for each of the ministries and also one large one to show our overall progress. This is a way that the people of the church can learn that if they are faithful even if it doesn’t seem like much that together we can accomplish great things. Our Goal through this, and the help of many of the churches in the US, is that we can raise enough money to be able to make a serious offer on a piece of land when it comes available. Please pray for our people and this special need.
Three Wise men and Some Sheep:
This past month we had our children’s Christmas Play here at the church. The kids had been practicing for some time and as usual things were chaotic before the play started, but they all did a really good job. I have to give thanks to my wife and some of the children’s teachers here at the church for all their hard work and “patience” while working with the children. The play had a great message about the true reason Jesus came to this earth as a babe in the manger. This is always a special time and many people come to see their children and family participate. We had a great service with well over a hundred in attendance and five first time visitors that were able to hear the gospel.
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray that we can raise the funds to purchase land and the special projects that we will be having.
2. Pray for us as we restructure our Sunday School classes.
3. Pray that the Lord would continue to call men into the ministry around the world.
4. Pray for the men that will be studying in our Bible Institute this coming year.