Bolivia Wrap Up

Remember Javier? He was our street’s security guard who allegedly is afraid of his mother. The more I got to know him, the more I wonder if I missed something in the translation regarding the mother issue. But, moving on …

After Javier accepted Christ, we talked about the first steps of discipleship:

• Praying daily
• Reading your bible every day
• Getting plugged into a gathering of other believers
• Telling others about Christ
  

Then we set a follow-up appointment. He couldn’t talk much at the time because he was working. His hours? 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. seven nights a week. No vacation, no sick days, no benefits. I think because I was so caught up in the moments I’m going to describe, I took no pictures of his home or his family. Let me attempt to paint a mental picture for you. Instead of his home being a brick and concrete structure like the majority in the neighborhood, his home was a one-room tin shed that leaned against a larger building. He shared that home with his wife, three children, cousin, his cousin’s wife, their 11-month old, and his mother-in-law.

When we arrived for our follow-up appointment, Javier gathered his chairs for us to sit in his yard. He only had two, so my translator and I took those while he sat on the ground. (It’s hospitality man, you’re the guest and it’s their honor to do stuff like that for you.) We started by teaching him what a bible is and how to use it. I had given him one the night he accepted Christ and I don’t think he’d ever cracked one before that night. We talked about it being God’s own words to us, truth he could trust, and life’s practical instruction book (hat tip to Reed Ashwill for that last one; I heavily borrow that lesson). Then we showed him the table of contents and worked from there. I noticed the rest of the family milling around and asked if they’d like to see the EvangeCube. All but the mother-in-law came over and listened as we described how God has made a way for us to reconcile with him through Christ, and how He alone has the power to take away our sins. All three prayed to accept Christ. After talking for a while longer, we left. Now check out what happens.

In our last evening’s service—the celebration service—I had the privilege of leading the adult cell group, doing my best to encourage them to keep pressing on and challenging them to multiply the work by planting another church in one of their homes in the next two years. After I spoke, the pastor began talking and three more people prayed to receive Christ. One of them, a lady probably in her 50s, told us her story. Her grandson asked her to come. He had told her what great experience this house church was, and then she pointed to her son and his wife. They had made professions of faith in Christ this week and were coming to learn more about Jesus. Who was this lady? Javier’s mother. The whole family, just about, came to Christ. It reminded me of my first time in Bolivia when two sisters who helped us all week saw their father make a commitment to Christ at the dinner on our last night. It was a real sweet moment. As a side note, I followed up on that father. He’s not attending church and one daughter and his wife went to Spain for work. I write to you about a lot of victories, but it’s not all cherries and whipped cream. This was disappointing to hear.

I titled this as a wrap up, but rather than summarize the week, I’d refer you to our Tuesday night meeting again. That night was just unbelievable: The night I experienced the Spirit of God in our midst unlike any other night. Now some numbers that I hope show you God's glory:

• In our area we saw 62 people make professions of faith in Christ.
• Overall just over 1,600 made professions.
• In our neighborhoods, we followed up with 80% of that 1,600. The folks on the trip were great about disciple-making, not just evangelism.
• The Lord established eight new churches
• The Lord strengthened nine churches
• In three areas, we had teams who worked to restart dying, or dead, churches.
• 162 locals participated in the work.

Up Next: A newsletter that will essentially be from Ali (hat tip to Todd Salkowski)

Sudan and Ethiopia in August.