Eating Potatoes on a Dirt Floor.

We wanted to share some of our rich experiences with you.  Here is a journal entry of Chris’ from May 17^th when he visited a Quechua village north of Cochabamba.  Pictures included.

We are in Bolivia.  The first month has been very difficult! Ups and downs almost every other day.  Today, however, was one of the neatest experiences I have ever had.  I went to a Quechua village with Ruben, Fernando, and Santiago to talk with the village about the possibility of separating some land to build an evangelical church building for the body of believers that already exists there. 

When we arrived, Gregorio invited me into his home, along with the other men for food.  It was a mud hut with a straw roof and a dirt floor.  The food was purple potatoes in one bowl and onions, tomatoes, and a little cheese in another.  The bowls were set on the floor and we were given tiny wooden stools (6 inches high) to sit on.  We ate with our hands and it was delicious, even without salt.  

While this village got electricity six months ago and there is a truck that brings them to the city weekly, most villages don’t have these luxuries and they live on only potatoes and meat (llama, cow, and sheep).  During lunch I shared my orange and some fruit snacks with a Quecha woman [below, the lady all the way to the right]whom I was told by Reuben is older than 100 years.  Though I must admit, she looked her age (not an insult here), she moved around quite easily.  What an amazing experience this was!  I wonder if I will ever be a part of ministry to the Quechuas?

While we don’t know all the ways God will use us here in Cochabamba, Bolivia, I wonder if it will be possible to get some of my students excited about Quechua ministry and even bring them on trips into the mountains with me.  Our church here (in part planted by SIM missionaries) plants new churches in these villages.  I was honored to join them on this excursion.  Since then, our Spanish-speaking church has gotten approval to build.  They will provide supplies to the Quechua village.  The village will be providing the labor and actually constructing the building.  God is moving in Bolivia through His missionaries as well as His local church.