Dear Friends and Family,

First of all, I want to thank everyone for all the support the boys and I and the mission team received from all of you. I know that without your support and prayers that this mission would not have been possible. I know that God answered your prayers for us because too many times we made travel connections, battled health problems, traveled treacherous roads, and finished projects that only could have been accomplished by His grace. We felt God’s hand and His peace all along this incredible journey.

There are so many stories I want to share with you that I don’t know where to start. Many of the stories are quite funny. Ask me about the bus ride from Sucre to Cochobamba some time!

Anyway, I left for Bolivia expecting to experience a different culture, to work with a group of brothers and sisters to develop a terraced demonstration farm, and maybe share my faith through song and testimony. I was not prepared for what the Lord had in store for me. I experienced poverty that left me speechless. My heart was broken, my spirit emptied, and then my heart was broken again and again - my spirit completely drained. My cup of life was emptied to the point that the cup was dry and dust covered the bottom. And after the Lord broke my heart, He filled my cup to overflowing with a gusher that caused me to write in my journal that I may have experienced the most holy time of my life and felt a closeness to Jesus Christ that felt so real, so close, so intimate that His love overwhelmed me.

Our mission team held tight to Isaiah 58: 10, 11 …if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noon day. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

The people of Sorocoto and Soroscopa live a hard, burdened life, surviving each day by working very poor land to grow enough food to feed themselves and their families. They are a dirty people who never bathe, who never know rest. I came to know the truth of Matthew 11: 28-30 …Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gently and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

We know no burden like these people. No running water, no sanitation, no modern tools or technology. I know the Lord wants us to reach out to these people.

When I first arrived and looked at the rock filled gully that we were going to transform to a terraced demonstration farm, I thought the task was not only a huge undertaking, but felt that it may be a futile effort. Day by day we used picks, shovels, wheel barrels, carried rocks and slowly transformed this worthless gully. On the last day we faced more work to complete our task than we had completed in the previous two days. But the local community worked side by side with the mission team and the farm was completed. By God’s grace we sat on top of the farm together - Americans far from home and Quetchuan Indians and smiled and said God is good. The Lord says you cannot reap what you do not sow. Our prayer is that the farm will be planted and harvested and the village will know that we came and worked with them to create this good thing and that they will know we are one in the spirit and that they will know we are Christians by our love.

Speaking of love - we fell in love with many of the children. We held and laughed and played with the children and were satisfied by their smiles and occasionally their affection. Jacob and Joel played soccer with the older boys in the village. Jacob said these kids are just happy to play. It didn’t matter what the teams were and what the score was ( we don’t think they ever kept score) - it was just pure joy to simply play with each other.

Vacation Bible School was an absolute hit. The women of the mission team (with some help from Joel from time to time) conducted a VBS in which those children heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and learned about how He loves each of them and cares for each one of them. One of the highlights of VBS was the day they got to blow bubbles. These kids had never seen a bubble before. Kids from 2-16 chased bubbles and were amazed to see these clear balls float in the air. Our prayer is that God will raise up a new generation in the villages of Sorocoto and Soroscopa that know Jesus.

I am tired, I am hungry, I am filthy and now the Lord is going to fill my cup. We attended 3 church services during the week. The shortest service was 2 and a half hours and I didn’t know a word that was spoken - yet I experienced God’s presence in every minute. I have never seen people worship with more love, devotion and energy. We sang for an hour, preached for an hour and prayed for an hour. Simon is a man of God in the churches of Sorocoto and Soroscopa that absolutely gives everything he has to God in worship. He prayed to God with every ounce of love, emotion and energy he had. He left nothing on the table. He gave absolutely everything his mind, body and soul had to Jesus Christ. Umberto in Sucre left a life of law representing drug traffickers and all the money and material possessions he could dream for to become a pastor of a small church. He welcomed us and loved us like we were his own family because we were his brothers and sisters in Christ. At both of these churches I found myself saying "these people are so poor, yet they worship with all their hearts. The Holy Spirit was alive in those churches and God touched me and I experienced a cup overflowing with His love to the point of filling my eyes with tears of peace and joy and being overwhelmed by His love for me in the midst of a land an entire world away from mine.

My heart was also touched one day in the village when one man (standing in his home of dirt and filth, having nothing, and one who smelled so bad that its hard to be next to) said "we are so blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ. He has provided for all our needs. We lack nothing". Our society would say he had nothing, but he did have everything because he knew the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

And among the deprivation that surrounded me in these people, I found myself saying - the Quetchuan families that know Christ are rich in ways that our society has long forgotten. I saw a love and devotion to family and God that is rare. There were not sporting events to race to, no television show that had to be seen, no shopping to do, no events to steel time away from worshipping God, praying, or spending time in the company of family on a Sunday afternoon. They are rich in God’s love and devoting enough time to let God be their God. Simon said that we should have a joyful spirit before the Lord and I know that he has found that joy.

As we gathered to say our good byes, I was looking forward to start the journey home, but I was sad to leave. I hugged Simon and so wanted to stay to love these people and learn from these people. The church leaders each spoke of how our visit was a blessing to them. They want us to come back. Simon said that if we don’t see each other again on earth, then he will look forward to seeing us face to face in heaven worshipping Jesus together. You see when that day comes, our worlds will come together and we will all be one in Christ. The poverty of the Quetchuans and the immense richness of our world won’t matter. Our culture and language differences won’t matter. We will all be the same in heaven - the children of God - praising His name forever. Amen. I too can’t wait for that day to see the brother that I fell in love with. We left saying that we came for one reason - to bring glory to God, so, the mission team, with you as our partner - accomplished what we went to Bolivia to do. We finished the work we set out to do.

Pray today for the people of Bolivia. Pray that God will raise up many Christians and a new generation that praises the name of Jesus Christ in every home.

Finally, I want to thank Sherri and Josh. I want to thank Sherri for trusting in God to let go of her family - to put her family in her Lord’s hands for 10 long days. It changed my life and I thank Sherri for this opportunity. I love her with all my heart.

So, thank you for sharing this journey with us. Que Dios te bendiga - God bless you.

In Christ,

Greg