TARIJA - Our first venture

Finally, a chance to travel! All of the missionaries from EFCCM gathered in Tarija for a three day retreat headed up by our faithful leader, Steve Neufeld, of Red Deer. We have known Steve and Myra for a number of years so it was great to see them again. But they also brought along a goodie box from our kids and that was a real treat.

Steve led sessions during the day on different aspects of ministry. These were very thought provoking and left us with many things to ponder during the next year. It was a bit different for us since we have only been in language school and are just starting our project. We expect that next year things will be different.

Tarija is an interesting place. It has access to natural gas so most of the places have ‘piped’ gas; whereas, in Cochabamba we use propane bottles. There was a landslide in a remote area south of Tarija and the gas lines were broken. This meant no gas in the city. It also meant no hot water, no cooking. In addition to this problem there was a rationing of electricity. The lights would go off for the night at about 6 p.m. so we would eat by candlelight. Imagine sitting outside by a beautiful lake, eating by candlelight! It really was not that bad. We had power for a couple of hours in the morning but that was all. The hot water was heated by electricity so we could have a hot shower in the morning.

We stayed in a family house that was 150 years old. The present owners decided to fix it up and run it as a hotel. Since they have recently become Christians they want to operate camps etc. from this site also. So some of us stayed in the original building and others stayed in modern cabins. It was a beautiful place to stay, with a great view of the lake.

The last couple of days we stayed in a hotel in the city. Half of the city would have power while the other half lived in darkness; then things would switch. We lived in the half that had power at night. Although there was electricity, there was no gas so we did without hot showers. Some tolerated very cold showers while others settled for a cold sponge bath. Thankfully, the last morning we could all treat ourselves to a hot shower! The things we think are important in life. Throughout the weekend, the others told us they were just preparing us for life in Patajusal.

A good time was had by all and we were able to meet the other members of the team. Jake and Dorothy Fehr work mainly with Radio Transmudial in Santa Cruz and Pailon. Also in Santa Cruz are Rudy and Erna Friesen and their family. They are in language school and will start their active ministry later in the year. In Tarija there are four missionaries. Larry and Colleen Loewen and their family are active in the establishment of a church. Many who attend would be considered upper and middle class. Merle ministry has been the establishment and operation of a coffee house in downtown Tarija. What a wonderful place! Both the church and the coffee house are called Candelaro (Candlestick). Connected with these ministries is a streetkid ministry called Candelarokids. Heather heads this ministry. Heather is also active in another church that ministers to college and high school students, as well as many single mothers and their families. It was heart warming – and humbling—to see these projects.

Washing hands and feet

Since January I have increased the number of ‘school’ hours to five hours a day. That means that I have not been working at the orphanage. Instead Jake and I have joined Bonnie and Mike Timmer of International Teams in their baby washing project.

A number of families live at the local dump. They search the dump for anything they can salvage or sell. Needless to say it is not the nicest place to live and the aroma leaves a lot to be desired. There is not adequate access to water so a team goes each Thursday night and washes the babies. Now these are not all babies. If the ‘baby’ can fit in the washing tub, it can be washed. If it is too large, we will wash hair, hands, and face. After a good wash, the child is dried and we provide clean clothes. Some weeks we also bring along some chocolate milk and bread. The children are brought by their older siblings or by their mothers. Often the older sibling really needs come type of care also and the first couple of weeks I had older boys begging for a pair of pants since all they had were shorts. I found a pair in our pile of clothes and received permission to give them to the young boy – in exchange for a hug. I now have a good friend.

One day we drove up to the community center and there were a number of children with a homemade go-cart. We asked who had made it and were told that the children made it themselves from scraps they found in the dump. Kids are the same all over the world.

Last week we came upon another problem with children’s health. We only had a small team so we just washed hands and feet. We found a couple of them with tender sores on their feet that appeared to be infected. When we asked about them we were told that it was a worm that entered their feet because they did not wear shoes. When the worm matured, it would release itself from the skin and become a butterfly. Yes, it would be possible to lance the sore and take out the worm, but then the child would have to ensure that their foot remained cleaned. It was a better alternative just to leave nature take its course since it didn’t do any harm. I still have mixed feelings about the whole incident but we have to be careful not to make their lives worse but bringing our ideas that we think should work.

We wash and bring a bit of sunshine into about 60 to 100 children per week. There is another group that washes children in the city plaza on Saturday afternoons. They work with many of the street people – people that have made their way into the city from the mountains, hoping for a better lifestyle.

This is one ministry that we will really miss when we leave.