Karina’s Challenge
Karina is 16 years old and was five months pregnant when I first met her. She is a tough, feisty girl whose pregnancy did not hinder her from sniffing glue, climbing fences, playing games and boldly fighting off all who bothered her. One day I was the person who became the brunt of her frustration. […]
Humility When Tensions Are High
Last fall, Bolivia experienced significant political instability throughout the country and in areas where our WMF staff reside. Some community members evacuated as we experienced weeks of national protests, blockades and riots regarding socialist president Evo Morales and his continuance of power for an unconstitutional 4th term. Chaos and division grew as protests became increasingly […]
Humility in the “Shark Tank”
“How would you like to win $70,000?” We were initially excited when early 2020 we were asked to pitch SutiSana for a Bolivian version of the reality show Shark Tank, where we would be competing with 99 other Bolivian businesses for a $70,000 prize. Like most businesses, and specifically as a freedom business that employs […]
Choosing Radical Hope as Obedience
I have recently rejoined our Word Made Flesh community in El Alto, Bolivia after a time of maternity leave and sabbatical. Sabbatical is intended to be a time of stepping back from the daily grind and automatic racing from one task to another in order to reflect, to be calm, to remove oneself and one’s […]
Intimate and Abundant Life
Psalm 27 The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war […]
Knowing Each Other by Our Real Names
“No one has ever believed me before.” There is trust in intimacy. “I can’t believe I finally said that out loud…that feels so good!” There is freedom in intimacy. “There are still so many things that are scary and worrying, but I know I can accept God’s peace and love within me.” There is transformation […]
Suffering Over the Long Haul
One afternoon a few months ago, I had an opportunity to jump into a quick battle and fight suffering head-on. I was running errands with my daughters when a teenager with a duffle bag swung over his back stopped me and asked if I could spare some change for food. His name was Jesús. Sometimes […]
Becoming Like Him
It can be easy to believe that going to church on Sundays or participating in another church activity is doing the will of the Lord, that this is enough to fulfill the responsibilities of every believer. But when I understood that God calls us to go beyond attending church, my wife and I decided to […]
The Process of Community
On a cold rainy day in El Alto I walked into the SutiSana workshop. The space is filled with ladies hovered over sewing machines. To make your way to the offices, you first have to walk through the middle of the production process. As I try to unassumingly sneak past, one artisan lifts her head […]
Humility vs. Humiliation
Where I live, humility is often measured by the size of one’s paycheck. In this context, the word humble is not reserved for the meek and holy – rather it is used to describe people of poor and lowly stature. In my culture, wealthy people are esteemed while “humble” people with less money are seen […]