Why are we serving in Bolivia?
BOLIVIA
(Ruth Block)
While I come from southern Alberta, I currently serve in Bolivia with Misión Evangélica Menonita (MEM)—Mennonite Evangelical Mission in English. Our team consists of 33 people, including children, and we all come from different countries: Mexico, Belize, Paraguay, the United States and Canada. We live in different communities, but we all work toward the same goal: to bring the gospel to the Low German Mennonites in Bolivia. I’m so thankful for the team that I work with; they are my family in Bolivia.
Why are we working in Bolivia? There are approximately 120 colonies in Bolivia with new ones built every year. Of the approximately 150,000 Mennonites, most of them are Old Colony Mennonites. They have the Bible in High German but are not able to understand it and are not encouraged to read it or study it. Electricity, cars and phones are not allowed. Children do not attend church until they are out of school. Boys attend school until they are 12 years old and girls until they are 11 years old.
The colonies are governed by church leaders. If members break the colony rules, they face excommunication, which means that they are banned from the church. Their children are not allowed to attend school. They cannot sell their milk, which is their main source of income. They’re also shunned by their families and neighbours.
Singing time on Belice Colony (Nancy Friesen in right foreground). (Ruth Block)
We have been meeting in the Belice Colony since October 2022. We go out every Sunday afternoon to sing and pray together, and we have a Bible study class every Thursday evening, but only one or two couples come out regularly. We try to visit families individually and often buy milk, cheese, butter and eggs to build new connections. Families usually enjoy visiting but are not open to hearing about the gospel. My focus is children’s ministry, but so far, I don’t have any children to minister to.
A couple of months ago we were excited when a family invited us to their home, with permission to have Sunday school with the children. We spent a lot of time praying, asking God to lead, and for the Holy Spirit to work. Sunday evening arrived, and we drove out to the home and the gate was closed. No one was home. We were extremely disheartened. We keep praying for this family. In other visits, they have been friendly but have not issued any more invitations.
Join us in praying for Bolivia. Pray for those on the colonies battling abuse, addictions, and oppression. Pray that the Holy Spirit will work in their hearts and that they will turn to Jesus. And for those that do turn to Jesus, pray for them as some of them will have to give up everything to follow Jesus. Pray for us as MEM that we will have the resources and wisdom to know how to help these new Christians start a new life.
Pray that God will provide a place where we can gather. In order to avoid having us there, the colony leaders will likely soon purchase the old clinic building we are currently using. Pray for the families that are excommunicated—that somehow there will be a way that they can stay living inside the colony and not have to move out, so they can be witnesses to their families and their neighbours.
– Nancy Friesen
Nancy Friesen (Picture Butte Mennonite Church) works in Bolivia with Low German Mennonites through Mision Evangelica Menonita (MEM). She lives in the community of Villa Nueva and is helping with a new outreach/church plant in the Belice Colony.
