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2016 BOLIVIA I UBF Annual REPORT By Shp. Mateo Carmelo & Shp. Abraham Erick

We began the year 2016 with the leaders’ conference where we chose Ezra 7:10 as our key verse. It reads, “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” We chose this verse with the direction of being raised up as Ezra’s of our time, seeing the great necessity for leaders in our country who love and live according to God’s word, and change the history of our country.

Easter Bible Conference

The time of preparation for our conference was short. First, we looked for an adequate place to hold the conference. We searched many places but we could not find a more adequate place. Therefore we held our conference at the same place as the previous year located in Villa Marista. The conference was held from March 25-27. It rained so much on the 25th that we could not leave to the conference. Finally, God worked everything out and we could arrive to the conference site and begin our program. 

The title of our conference was, “Who will go for us?” The key verse was Isaiah 6:8, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Shp. Emanuel delivered the message. We accepted this word with a spirit of sharing God’s broken and shepherd heart who looks for shepherds to serve His world redemptive work. In this way, hearing His voice, we could rise up to the call as shepherds to serve His word for campus mission and in the future pioneer a new chapter in Bolivia. Despite the obstacles we faced, there were great participation among the invited guests; we had a total of 70 attendants. 

We also heard a message by Shp. Javier based on Mt 24:45 titled, “Who then is the faithful and wise servant? Through this message we wanted to learn to be prepared in season and out of season to share God’s word, overcoming the worries of this world. We also studied the passage of the prodigal son based on Luke 15 to better understand God’s broken heart for sinners such as us. There was a great spirit of repentance and as well as the grace of forgiveness of sins and love of God among the participants.  The testimonies were very heart moving and filled with the grace and forgiving love of God. 

Fellowship

In our ministry, we have fellowship in the homes of the house-churches of Shp. Mateo and M. Corina with their son Isaac, Shp. Lorenzo and Shps. Pamela with their daughter Arely, and the homes of Shp. Moises, Shp. Emanuel and Shps. Teodora. We continue to struggle to keep faithful early morning prayer at 5:45am, sharing Daily Bread with the shepherds that live near the center. Around 10 people gather. 

Transition of Bolivian Leadership

Since 2015, Shp. Abraham and Shp. Mateo assumed the roles as directors of God’s work in Bolivia. Each one served for six months. Shp. Mateo served from January – June, and Shp. Abraham served from July – December. Despite their limitations and shortcomings, this helped them to depend more on God and grow as stewards of God’s work. 

This year, after the conference, Msn. Esteban and Msn. Paulina went to Korea for one month. This was an opportunity for native shepherds to serve the front lines of God’s work in Bolivia without the missionaries. Shp. Abraham Erick and Mateo Carmelo served Sunday Worship Service messages and Bible studies while other shepherds served in other areas. In this way, they could all learn about shepherd life independently, without the missionaries being in Bolivia. 

God’s Work in the University Campus of Santa Cruz & Cochabamba

As we went out to share God’s word, we found a problem: we shared God’s word but there was no follow up, no one made a second appointment. God helped us discover our problem and realize that we needed to follow up sheep. We engaged in the struggle for follow up through phone calls and whatsapp. The leaders among each group also held each other accountable to see if all members within their group followed up students. In this way, we slowly but surely began to overcome the problem of the lack of follow up.

We are also praying to serve God’s work in Cochabamba. May God raise up three house-churches who have the calling to serve Cochabamba. We pray that by 2019 we may hold a conference with more than 120 participants from our chapter and Cochabamba.

New House-church

Shp. Diego Navia and Shps. Mariela established a house-church. In order to serve campus ministry by faith, this couple turned down the opportunity to live in a house offered to them by Shp. Diego’s parents. Instead they chose to rent and live in a house in front of the center. Also, second generation M. Maria Cho, the eldest daughter of Msn. Esteban and Msn. Paulina, established a house-church with Shp. Yoel Park of New Jersey UBF. The wedding was held in Korea. M. Maria Cho now serves the ministry in New Jersey. We pray for the raising of many house-churches in Bolivia.

M. John Jun & Sunji Jun’s Visit for CME

In October, Msn. John Jun and his wife, Msn. Sunji Jun visited Bolivia. We had Bible study together and shared testimonies. We received the direction to have 50% of members participate in early morning prayer since prayer is the source of revival within the church. He also reminded us of the importance of keeping daily personal devotional time in order to live a fruitful life.   

Prayer Topics 

1. Bolivia may be a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation,

2. Early morning prayer at 5:45am with more than 50% participation among members,

3.   The pioneering of La Universidad de San Simón de Cochabamba through 3 house-churches and the purchase of a Bible house there,

4.   United Conference may be held among Santa Cruz & Cochabamba with 120 participants in 2019,

5.   For M. Marco Noe who was sent to Argentina as a missionary to be a good co-worker and disciple maker, and to be self-supporting.