So I haven’t written in a while, but I can explain why. First of all, as I said on my last blog, we had a VBS at the local public school in Vinto, which was very consuming. However, there were also several new volunteers arriving at the guest house throughout the week, so I was spending some time getting to know all of them. There are now people here from Florida, California, Massachussets, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, the Carolinas, and Maine.
You probably remember from my last blog that we were struggling with language barriers at the VBS and God was opening doors there. Well, I am pleased to tell you all that a Bolivian translator named Adriana came with us to the school on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and she helped us share Bible stories with the kids. Having Adriana around was a huge relief, because with her help we were able to focus solely on leading games. Therefore, everything went more smoothly on Wednesday and even more so on Friday. In fact, Adriana shared the story of Noah and the story of Christ’s death and resurrection with the kids, and six of them accepted Christ as their Lord and savior. I don’t know the kids names, but please pray for them and, at the very least, the seed that has been planted in them.
We are actually more than maxed out at the guest house right now, as there are currently 26 people living in the guest house, and it is only meant to house about 20 people. I have really enjoyed meeting all of the new volunteers and have yet to meet someone that I don’t like. I say this because I can see that God is going to do great things through the current volunteers at the guest house. Last night something remarkable happened. All of the volunteers randomly got together and decided to sing some worship songs together. Normally, you might expect something like this on a missions trip, but, for whatever reason, this was the first time this had happened while I have been here. It was amazing, because not only did we spontaneously get together, but we probably sung for about 45 minutes just because we wanted to. After that we prayed together and went to bed.
I remember that one particular song stuck with me, and that song was “Hosanna” by the band “Hillsong.” There is one particular part of the song that always moved and that is the lyrics “I see a generation, rising up to take their place, with selfless faith.” Being a “joven”(young person) I have always loved the imagery in that lyric of the coming generation rising up as we grow into places of leadership, but I was always bothered by the fact that I felt like I couldn’t really see my peers “rising up to take their place.” In truth, I have seen my peers have passion for the Lord since I was just 14, but I had yet to see my generation stand in maturity and boldly live out their faith. As I sat in a small room in Bolivia, singing praises to the Lord for more than 45 minutes with people from age 19 to 28, I suddenly felt like I could see my generation “rising up to take their place” for the first time in my life. Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors in college, Med students, Nursing students, a Nurse, and a Pharmacist all sung to their hearts content. Indeed, this was a wonderful and inspiring experience, and I cannot wait to see what God does through this group.
The following day(Sunday, which is today) we went to church with the Lab Director at the hospital, Daniel. Daniel’s church was a small, Baptist church in the city of Cochabamba, and the entire service was in Spanish(which I have become accustomed to). We had to focus really hard to follow along, but everyone was very welcoming to us, and one man even translated some of the service for us. Believe it or not, Bolivia sends missionaries around the world(or at least around South America), and we got to pray for some of the said missionaries today. Even though this small church only had a congregation of about 40 people, 5 of the jovenes(young people) at the church are going on a 2 week mission trip to Sao Paulo, Brasil next month, and the congregation at this tiny church in Cochabmaba, Bolivia prayed for them this morning. The pastor of this church said that the Jovenes are going to preach to the people of Sao Paulo while they are there. Once again, I found this very exciting and inspiring, because the Jovenes were all between age 20 and 26. Yes, God is even raising up a new generation in Bolivia to go share the gospel with the world.
So for all of you out there that are worried about the future of the church(and I know there are many of you), I hope that my experiences have been as inspiring for you as they have for me(or at least as encouraging). For the first time in my life I feel like I can say with confidence that “I see a generation, rising up to take their place, with selfless faith.” Furthermore, this rising generation goes beyond the U.S, beyond Canada, beyond North America, and even beyond the ever-growing population of Christians in the small nation of South Korea. This generation even extends far into the South American nation of Bolivia, the poorest nation in South America. Rest assured, God is moving and the young 20 somethings of the world are growing, and God is preparing their hearts for future service and leadership. I no longer think of this type of thing as an idealism or hope; I now think of it as a reality. Please continue to pray for my generation. I can honestly say that prayer is working and God is doing great things. Stay tuned! I’ll let you know how things are going again later this week. Hasta Luego!
Kevin Quinby
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