I pray that God’s grace and peace would be with all of you during the ongoing challenges due to Coronavirus. I know that a number of you are without work or are concerned for loved ones. I’m praying for you.

Today marks day 44 of the Bolivian quarantine. One of the greatest surprises for me is to see how we, as the body of Christ around the world, have become so creative in learning how to love our neighbor and serve our communities despite the confinement. I’m thankful to God that He has stretched El Alfarero (The Potter) and me in ways that we had never anticipated.

With the financial crunch that El Alfarero continues to endure, I submitted a proposal to the board to create a 501(c)(3) non-profit in the United States in order to expand our presence and financial reach there. Currently, El Alfarero only has a fundraising arm in Bolivia and Great Britain. My vision is to use the U.S. donations that we raise to create a reserve fund for the minimum wage workers at El Alfarero. They are the ones who are hit hardest in times of crisis. We’ve experienced two crises within six months in Bolivia (the revolution last year and now COVID-19), and I expect that there will be more in the years to come.

The Bolivian church has reached an exciting point in that it is sending more missionaries abroad. So, we at El Alfarero are creating a program to help prepare these missionaries who are being sent out. Part of the coursework will involve giving them language tools. Since English is the lingua franca of the world, a few others and I have started developing the language curriculum. This missionary program will be launched in 2021.

While I am not directly involved in this aspect of El Alfarero, I’m still excited to share with you that the master’s program for Christian Leadership offered at the organization has truly become international. Due to Coronavirus, all of the courses have moved online, and the program has students taking courses from across Bolivia, and in Spain and Chile. In the future, we hope to have a greater impact around the world through these online courses.

The children at Talita Cumi continue to do well. They are doing their schoolwork remotely and submitting it to their teachers online. The tías (aunts) are keeping the children as active as possible with art projects, Bible memorization, volleyball and soccer in the courtyard, and letter writing to their sponsors.

With the Coronavirus lockdown, I am prohibited from visiting with the children, but I did swing by the home to greet them a few weeks ago. I stood in the street with significant distance between us, but a few of the kids tried to rush me to give me a hug. I quickly warned them to stay back just in case I was carrying the virus. While it was good to see them briefly, I decided not to return. The risk is just too great; if one were to get sick, then all of them would get sick. Last, Luis, a 17-year-old at the home, studies at an English institute and will be taking an exam later this week. I’ll be getting in touch with him virtually to help him prepare.

The kids working on a art project with recycled materials.

Luis and Valeria (who are twins) celebrated their 17th birthday.

The girls praying for their families, their sponsors, and those who have been affected by Coronavirus.

The boys playing with their LEGOs.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Bolivia, the university students, the children at Talita Cumi, and me.