July 7, 2023
Dear Diary,
The past two days have been very similar. Yesterday we started the day at 8:00 and after breakfast/devotions we were at the church painting. We had some more helpers that day so that helped it go faster. I listened to Adventures in Odyssey for the first time in my life. And got distracted talking and painting so then one of the girls just gave me a rundown of the story. :)
We went home for lunch a bit earlier so we would have time to prepare for the afternoon. We had empanadas for lunch, which while they are a typical food, eating them for lunch was abnormal. The people here always think we don't eat enough. We had plenty of leftover emapanadas for supper.
We planned a skit and practiced it before heading out to the University to share the good news with the students. The pastor's sister went home and got a whole bag of props for us to use. Robes for the Priest and Levite, bags, trumpets, ears for the donkey, etc. We met with a group that does evangelizing there and split into groups to go around and invite people back to the nurse's building to watch our play.
The guy we were with pretty much took over explaining his different methods of sharing the gospel and then we did a game with a group of young people where you choose cards that describe your past, your present, your view of God, etc. That was interesting to do and learn to know some people better in our conversations.
We went back to the nurse's building to do our skit, the story of the Good Samaritan, and then one of the ladies shared the gospel message, how Jesus like the Good Samaritan was willing to get dirty, even die, for people who were his enemies and who didn't treat Him well.
After we finished up at the University we went to the Plaza to do the play again and talk with people there. My dislike of sharing my testimony came out and I felt bad later because I didn't try to talk to more people. We did our Good Samaritan skit on the corner of the plaza and then talked to a few more people before going home.
After supper we had debriefing and were all able to be honest about how our day was. I think some of the girls were a little surprised that there was something I was scared to do.
We had good dish-washing conversations and stayed up late talking about church cultures and continuing to learn about each other better and better. Sometimes I wonder how I thought I knew them when we first arrived in Bolivia, since I keep learning more about each one daily.
Today we painted some more. We thought it was going to be the last day, but I think we're going to have to give it all one more coat tomorrow.
Some of the places were so high we had to put a chair or ladder on top of the scaffolding to reach. We painted until lunch and then after lunch headed to the plaza again to do more evangelizing. We took our bag of props along, but decided to let it set beside a tree while we went around to talk to people.
We had some interesting conversations. I had prayed about the day and tried to be more intentional about talking to people and using the things around us to lead into a spiritual conversation. Several people were professing Christians who needed encouragement, some had questions about the Mennonites, or affirmation for what they see in us. It was an honor to be able to pray with the people and find common ground with them. At one point I took some of the girls and acted as translator so they could have a conversation with an older lady..
When we got back to the center of the plaza to get our props and do our skit the bag had disappeared. Apparently the plaza clean up people had taken it since they couldn't find the owners. It was disappointing to have lost all our costumes, etc. but we just sang for a while and talked with a few more people who came around.
Once it was dark we went to the mall to have ice cream and play games until we could go home. I went with one of the "young" men on his moto and we talked about various things including how we came to know Christ. I've always struggled some with the fact that I didn't have a big life changing conversion, but he pointed out how God had chosen me for something special by placing me in a Christian home and "protecting" me. I am very grateful to God for that gift and I want to always to be willing to share what He's done for me.
Some of us played ping pong or other games until the pastor's wife came to pick us up and then we went home for supper and talked about our day and what it was like to go out on the street and make a "spectacle" of ourselves, how our conversations left us feeling, and what we could learn from the day. Well, it's time to go to bed. I want to quick talk to the pastor before I go to bed to check in on how we're doing, if there's ways we can improve, etc. I still feel bad about loosing the props, but we're praying about it and hopefully can contact someone and get it back. Good night.
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