Representing the New York, Susquehanna and Blatimore-Washington Conferences.
Wrap-Up Report from the June/July 2011 VIM Team
Sunday, August 14
The 2011 Bolivia VIM Team has been back for for five weeks, and we’d like to wrap up our reporting for this year by sharing some thoughts of various team members about two questions:
What was my most memorable experience from the trip?
“My most memorable experiences involve the people of Bolivia. Their warm and welcoming greeting is the beginning of new friendships. The women work so hard and are faithful to their families and God. The dear children have a forever-place in my heart and I look forward to being with them again. Their smiles and love are so evident. The prayers of the little ones were so real and their willingness to lead in prayer shows their love of God.”
“The most outstanding part of the trip for me was the relationships with the team members, the house staff at the Institute, the children in VBS, and the women in the churches.”
“Wilson (Boots) said, the Methodist church features not only administrative connections, but connections of GRACE….There were so many of these connections of grace that I come away from this mission experience with a much larger sense of the concept of the body of Christ in the world and I am so happy to be even a small part of it.”
“My most memorable moment – The ceremony for the teenagers turning 15. What a great event to celebrate! I think (of) the presentation of the Bible and the candle as symbols for them to shine their light under God’s direction.”
And from some of the Young People on the team:
“My most memorable moment of course was meeting all the people down there, especially the children. They all were just so welcoming and loving. You could see it in the children's eyes. Even if they couldn't understand what we were saying, just the look in their faces told us they cared and were learning something.”
“The last day of bible school at Nazareno, because you could tell the kids had understood God’s message better.”
“Going to the youth group and meeting all of the teens there, and then hanging out with them after”
How have I been changed by participation as part of this team (and what effect do I
think this will have on my future actions)?
“These relationships have enlarged my view of the world and helped me again realize that love of God is alive in the hearts of these people.”
“This missionary experience has confirmed my love of global mission work. Being in the little churches with the faithful people worshiping God together is a memory I will remember each Sunday as I worship here. I feel connected to the people because I shared life with them and I look forward to sharing this joy with others as I tell of my experiences.”
“This year was a big challenge for me to act with grace and faith in others. I didn't do as well as I would have hoped, but I believe I learned a lesson that will help me in the future.”
”I have a much deeper appreciation of the need existing in our missions and how the money they are given is used and how grateful they are to receive it. I am definitely going to participate again.”
And from some of the Young People on the team:
“I definitely have a better outlook on life after this trip. I'm more grateful for the little things now and don't take anything for granted. Just seeing how happy some of these people were, who have so little, makes me think I'm so blessed to have some of the necessities I have. This trip is something I'm going to hold dear to my heart for a long time, and I can't wait to return again.”
“I realized how fortunate I am to have all I do, because I saw some of the people there and they were living in bamboo, and had almost nothing. I will try not to take anything for granted anymore.” (Note: The reference to “living in bamboo” refers to homeless people who had established rudimentary living quarters in the middle of a large cluster of bamboo and other plants.)
“Now I realize that straightening the nails, which was such a small task, is important in God’s plan of building a church to spread his love.” (Note: As in all similar underprivileged societies, previously used building materials are salvaged whenever possible, including bent nails that are straightened and reused.)
We’d also like to share the following report received from Nora Boots about what has happened since we left Bolivia:
The very significant progress you all were able to make possible on the Luz de Vida building provided the dynamic momentum for the TX Conference team (4 churches--26 people) to move forward to complete the sanctuary and a garden between the building and the road. The attached photos give you some perspective; although we are still waiting to receive a photo of the very
large congregation (filling the sanctuary with many outside) we had for Friday and Saturday nights' preaching mission, and for the great celebration dedicating the church on Sunday morning (as many outside as inside, upwards of 200 folk). A number of new people from the community, with many from Emmanuel and other District churches. Children/youth in abundance. Beautifully decorated front of sanctuary/holy table.
Great preaching from 5 TX and Bolivian pastors, great music, vital worship. Feasts of the Spirit.”
All of this construction has been accomplished in a little over a year since the Central PA Conference team led by Bishop Middleton arrived in April 2010 at the site of the partially cleared site and began digging holes in the hard clay with picks and shovels so that the first columns could be erected.
Accomplished with:
• Hard work by our Bolivia family, one Central PA Conference VIM team, two joint New York Conference/Susquehanna Conference teams and two teams from Texas.
• Financing from these VIM teams and their supporters (and raised locally where God provided)
• The working of the Holy Spirit
Some pictures of the site at various times during this process are at the end of this report (coming soon). Thank you for sharing this journey with us. We hope that you will continue to support the Bolivia mission, and that you will seriously consider being part of a future VIM Team, so that you too can experience memorable moments and be changed forever. (The 2012 trip is tentatively scheduled for June 21 through July 7—contact Bob & Ginny Stevenson at
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for further information about the Bolivia Mission and to arrange a presentation to your church or related organization.)
Paz y Gracia (Peace and Grace)
This was the Luz de Vida site at start of April 2010 |
By time the NY/Susqehanna Team arrived in June 2011, much work by the Bolivians and an August 2010 Texas team had raised the building shell two floors high, added a roof and put parts of the lower walls in place. |
Many holes were dug and some pillars planted |
When the Combined Team left in early July, the main Sanctuary floor had been completed. |
Bolivian workers planted many more pillars before the Combined-Conferences Team arrived in June 2010. |
With the help of a large team from Texas, by the end of July, the raised alter area at the front of the Sanctuary (on which children danced) was completed, a garden emerged from the hard clay yard and a three-day preaching, evangelism, revival and worship celebration heralded the major advances in the life of Luz de Vida. |
When the June 2010 Team left, preparations were underway for putting beams in place. |  |
