April was an exciting time for new ministry opportunities. Now that the school year has been in full swing for a couple of months, I’ve been venturing out with fellow team members to the University of Gabriel to meet students. Gabriel has over 80,000 students and 1,500 professors, so there is no shortage of people with whom to speak and share. The purpose of these chats is to introduce ourselves on behalf of El Alfarero (the organization where I work) and to encourage them to take advantage of and enjoy all that we have to offer: the cafe, the Christian counseling, the English classes, and the library full of Christian books. If they are willing, we pray with them as well.

Conversing with a couple of students over a Soularium–picture cards designed specifically for evangelism that help people open up and share about their lives and their thoughts about God.

A couple of students that participated in the Soularium (above) and then we prayed for them (below).

Last week I also launched an English conversation club at the University of Gabriel. This club is different from the English class that I teach in that it is an entirely separate group of students who are English majors and speak at an intermediate or advanced level. It is a rarity in Bolivia for a native English speaker to engage with students seeking to become proficient in the language–so this kind of set up creates a large draw. Since they already speak English quite well, the aim is to discuss important life questions from culture to family to politics to one’s spiritual life.

Day 1 of the conversation club. We spent nearly an hour and a half getting to know each other.

This week my English Level 1 class wrapped up its eighth and final week. We celebrated by playing Jeopardy. The categories were based on the material we studied in the course. No one has heard of Jeopardy down here (sorry, Alex Trebek), but that didn’t stop us from engaging in a friendly competition over snacks and drinks. Four students met all of the requirements to receive a certificate from El Alfarero acknowledging their achievement (pictured below). Certificates carry significant weight in Bolivia because people include them in their portfolios when applying for jobs.

I am in awe of what I’ve seen God do within the ministry circles of El Alfarero: miracles of people coming to faith in Jesus Christ (such as one of the team members) and miracles of healing (such as a young woman who suffered from painful cysts for 14 years and was healed through prayer and the laying on of hands). Thank you for partnering with me through your prayers and financial giving so that I can witness these glorious works of God and carry out His kingdom design for my ministries too.