The Dedication

The inauguration or dedication of anything is an important event in the lives of the Bolivians. Whether it be the water wells, a home, or a church, a celebration is in order. Having the WoodyNook group participate in this cultural event was important, especially since these believers were dedicating the church to God. In North America we may have a different view of the church building than they do here. Here it is considered the house of God and they would like it to be a ‘good’ house, something worthy of God. Although we consider our multi-purpose building to be a place where we will be doing God’s work, they do not see it as such. Therefore, our foreman, José, worked without pay for two weeks on the church – because it is God’s house.

Before we started building the church the congregation talked about associating with a denomination. There are two different types of Assemblies of God denominations in this area but the people were quite adamant that this would be a church for the community – every one is welcome. Therefore, the total service was organized by the members of the church rather than by a visiting pastor. Throughout the service it was emphasized that this is was a church for the community since only community people participated in the majority of the ceremony. The only pastor was the person who actually blessed and dedicated the church.

Showing their appreciation to the ‘grupo’ was essential and was illustrated by their being asked to cut the ribbon to the main entrance of the church. Teodoro and his father, Tomas, cut the ribbon the entrance walkway and Jake and Marg cut the ribbon for the back entrance door. At one time they also wanted to cut ribbons to the prayer room and the storage room but that didn’t happen.

During this time the community also expressed its thankfulness to the drupo by giving them gifts. All received a friendship bracelet made by one of the women in the community, the women received traditional blankets, and the men received traditional women necklaces with Patajú on the ends. In return, the group gave the church a set of drums.

Following the inauguration service, a feast was held and the guests of honor (the grupo and Jake and Marg) were fed in the building in which we had eaten during the week. The rest of the people gathered outside and found a place to eat – some in the church, some on the ground, and others on pieces of wood.

Then came the time for the first church service. This was led by a pastor from Yapacani and his youth group. One of our young men, Geraldo, attends that church while going to school in Yapacani. Geraldo plays the zampoña ( pan flute) and that was one of the highlights of the evening. Music filled the air and all the people were clapping and singing praises. The night ended early because the group from Yapacani had to return to the city for worship the next morning. We trust that they made it – their one vehicle broke down on the way to Patujusal and their bus didn’t sound too reliable.

Floors and the Final Touches

The crew worked late into the night last night finishing the walls, to the accompaniment of Bolivian music. Jake and Irene rose early to mark the points for leveling the floor but when they got there they found that the floor was already started. Not only had the guys finished the walls but they also started hauling in all the large rocks for the floor. This was a huge job but many hands were there to help. First they lay the rocks down the center and level them. Then all the remaining rocks are placed so that all are level. They use a long board or rod to ensure that everything lines up. Using rocks lessens the amount of cement that is used. However, we still wanted a deep enough cover so that it didn't chip.

Then the cement brigade started once again with the girls making the cement and the guys hauling it in. Leveling and smoothing was the job of the maestros. We didn’t count how many wheelbarrows of cement we used! We were thankful for all the Bolivians who just kept on trucking late into the night. It was midnight again before they shut down for the night.

While most of the people were working of the floor other groups were finishing other small projects such as finishing the prayer room and the storage room. Others cleaned up the site. The women and Tomas baked buns, enough to feed an army. Their whole house was filled with buns -- beds, steps, everything!

Saturday morning was the last time on the job site. The cooks were busy killing the fatted calf and preparing the feast. Pots were brought in from La Pista and there were at least 30 women cooking.

Dionicio monitored the installation of the doors. These doors are made of wood and that means that each one of them has to be trimmed to fit the opening. Dionocio was thankful for the electric drill and other equipment that he could use. It made the job go much faster.

While Dioniscio finished the doors, Jose and a couple of others trimmed up the windows with a layer of cement. This covered all the little holes and cracks that could not be filled and cleaned around the windows.

Finally everything was done -- the building looked good, the yard was cleaned, and the food was been cooked. By noon all that was left was cleaning up the equipment to be returned to Jake’s and wait for the ‘Gran Fiesta.’

It was hard to believe that only two weeks earlier the team had arrived to see only bare ground with a few stakes and now there was a church standing!