Catch up

It looks like it's been a while since I've updated what's been going on here and it is way too much to put down in one blog post. In the last month I've travelled to the guarani village of Machipo to give a 2-day workshop to church leaders on integral mission; I spent a week participating in the Indigenous March in Defense of the TIPNIS; our intern from Wheaton College arrived; I held a meeting with indigenous church leaders from all over the department of Santa Cruz; and last week we hosted a volunteer group from McCallie School. 

Looking back at all the crazy activities in the last month all I can say is that I have been overwhelmed with a incredible sense of gratitude. Thinking of all we have done all I can think about is how none of this would be possible, nor would I have even been there in those places if it wasn't for the generosity of so many different people back home. 

For example, At the meeting in Machipo with the churches we were able to pay for all the participants food so that those who came from far off could stay the next day. We even had a feast of goat for our last meal and the youth in the village killed over 400 Totaki birds (like miniature mourning doves) to feed us upon our arrival. All the participants were so grateful for the teaching they received and are already putting it into practice in their own churches. 

Then in the protest march I was able to connect with a number of Christian indigenous leaders who will be able to attend our conference later this year, as well as document some of the march that we will later be able to make available to an English-speaking audience to help the cause of the people marching. If you want to know why we think this is important work for Paz y Esperanza and the church, you can look at this. 

I also think that our intern is a great guy and is going to be a huge blessing to our office. And the McCallie group of 9 high school boys was, in my humble opinion, GREAT. They had an amazing time. It was exhausting for us, but every day I was full of energy just being able to see a change come over each one of them. Each night we shared about our day, things we learned and were surprised by, but the last night these boys blew me away with their honesty and vulnerability, sharing how they had been changed in three short days by their interactions with each other and the Bolivian students they met. 

And none of this would have been possible without the financial and spiritual support of so many people back home. But I'm not only grateful for the amazing support we have been shone but also at how God has chosen to use us in these very unique circumstances. This whole month, and the months before as well, I have felt so overwhelmed, inadequate, and powerless. Yet with each activity we have seen the power of God as people's lives are transformed. All I can do is give the credit to Whom it is due because it certainly wasn't anything we did. I can only stand in awe and be grateful.