Bolivian Journal 3 August 6, 2005

Welcome to the third edition of the Bolivian Journal with a few lines to keep you up to date on our adventure of ministry.

We continue to go Spanish three days a week. We are doing ok in our lessons but believe it or not it more difficult to find real life situations in which to practice. The contacts we have here tend to speak English when they are with us. It doesn't come naturally to walk up to someone and have a meaningful conversation asking: ´´ Tiene un foto album? (Do you have a photo album)Como te llama tu tia? (What is the name of your aunt) Que quiere comprar? (What do you wish to buy)Donde es el partido de futbol? ´´ (Where is the soccer game)(sorry I forgot the upside down question marks at the beginning of the Spanish question.) And then if and when they should answer you say with enthusiasm and a rich accent: ´´Que bueno!´´ (How good) The other day in class in response to a situation in which someone was supposed to shouting at me I was to respond: " Why are you shouting at me? I am not deaf(sordo)." Instead,awaking from my day dream, I answered " Why are you shouting at me? I am not fat (gordo)." The teacher, Susan, Anna and I had a good laugh at my expense. Despite these obstacles we are still studying in the hope that someday we will be able to discuss which library book they want or if they would like to come to the English service and speak English for a change. Que es la vida!
Last Saturday night we had the privilege being treated to a farewell meal by and for the volunteer ministry team from Stanley Park Church in Kitchener Ontario. I know now that Vancouver has not exclusive rights to the name.The team of nine members included two families, two teen young ladies, and one retired pastor by the name of Ron Watson. Ron had served in various locations including Dryden, Ont. and had also been area minister in Ont. at one point. It is no suprise that Ron knows Oshiro's and via this email passes on his greeting to Tom and Vi. It is a small world. The team was here for eighteen days and helped out with construction and finishing a new sanctuary at "Luz del Christo" church. On "off" days they ministered to childrens classes, attended services, shared testimony, pitched in with the baby washing downtown, became oriented in Cochabamba and took a weekend trip to La Paz and First Baptist. Oh yes they also worshipped with the English congregation at Calama Baptist. The Canadian Baptist volunteers enrich the ministry here in Bolivia and go home spiritually enriched themselves.

Puerto Madero

Back to the dinner with the team, it was voted into the category of " the best meal I've ever had", by both Susan and Kent. We went to the "Puerto Madero" and enjoyed a buffet with several separate cooking stations at which the dish your choice was individually prepared over flaming burners before your very eyes. The meal was soooo good and the sights, sounds and smells of the cooking fascinating.

Begining last Sunday, running through August and into September, all four congregations at Calama Baptist are celebrating the their annual season of missions. The theme each Sunday for each of the congreations ( Spanish, Quechua, Portuguese, English) is, of course. missions. On August 21 in evening service we will come together to share in worship and a light meal following. This past Sunday our Canadian Baptist missionary, Terry Janke, preached at the Spanish morning service. He based the message on John 15:8, the overall theme verse for the missions season. We know Terry and his wife Pat from centuries ago when we attended Acadia Divinity college. Pat is currently away helping to lead worship for the womens meeting at the Baptist World Alliance conferences in Birmingham. It was wonderful to hear Terry preach in Spanish and notice the attentive congregation. We actually caught more of the Spanish message than usual since Terry's Spanish is not a rapid or heavily accented as most that we hear.

Calama Teens wearing costumes frrom the various parts of Bolivia

I have attended my first meeting with the steering committee of the English congregation. It a taken a while to get to the first meeting since the members of the group all have busy shedules and some have been in North America for a summer furlough. Although I have been preaching for the Sundays in August I now have a little better picture of what role the committee expects me to take. As one member of the committee put it, I think lightheartedly,:"basically, we are dumping it all on you." Rather than taking that to mean that the church absolutely had to grow from twenty to five hundred in less than six months or I would be fed to the llamas, I understood that to mean that they are happy to have someone, anyone, to serve in the area of pastoral ministry. Even so I would prefer not be fed to the llamas.After listening to the Sanhedrin, I mean the committee, I have gathered that they hope I will able to keep track of and follow up on the stray sheep who wander into the service and to keep them in the fold. This scenario reminds me of the early stages of church planting way back in the Maritimes. I continue to enjoy the discipline and hard work of prayer and the ministry of the Word. The steering committee has been used to carrying this load themselves so they seem glad to let me preach and yet at the same time they want and are willing to share in this ministry. In July the messages each Sunday were based on one of the first four (120-124)pilgrim psalms(120-135). The beginning our pilgrimage seemed a logical place to start, but for now we will leave these psalms, perhaps to return to them later. In August the season of missions will determine the theme of the Sunday messages. For now, I have in mind some passages in Matthew´s gospel ( the call to be fishers of men Mt. 4, Jesus' compassion for the multitudes and the discipes charge to pray for workers to be sent out Mt. 9, and the Great Commission Mt. 28) but will wait and see how this unfolds.

This week Susan and I went with Anna to Carcachipampa Christian School for some entry level tests to measure Anna`s abilities in English and Math. All new students are required to take the tests so that the school has some idea of the raw material they are dealing with. While Anna was busy I had some time to sit in the sun, sip some coffee, devour a bread roll and casually meet some of the staff members and parents. After the tests Anna was excited to meet her new friend and classmate Rachel. What a difference a friend makes to a teenager. As it turned out Anna spent the day with Rachel and then in the evening joined the youth group for more new friendships and a night of snacks and lazer tag. Classes at Carachipampa are scheduled to begin on August 17 and once they begin life will be faster and fuller for Anna.
Last night hosted a the Ramirez family and the Escaldero's (a couple , though I am not positive about the last name) from Calama Baptist. Susan displayed her usual culinary and hospitality skills and fed all, as she would put it, "within an inch of their lives". It was a enjoyable occasion of getting to know people in a little more depth than over coffee after Sunday service. I am reminded again that there is a connection between knowing people at a deeper than a surface level and offering appropriate ministry to them.

There is more to share but I will save this until next time. Many thanks for you interest in and support of this ministry.


Stay in touch. We appreciate your notes.
Love in Christ,
Kent