Dear friends and family,
I (Becky) have started a language exchange group at the institute where we are taking classes. I’m learning Spanish and am paired with Bolivians who are learning English. Currently, it is my girlfriend and I who are the English speakers and two guys, Rene
and Jose, both in their 20’s, who are helping us with our Spanish. At first, I thought it was weird I was not placed with a girl or group of girls. But it’s afforded an interesting opportunity to get in the minds of two young men. The whole purpose of the group is conversation, so you get to know each other fairly quickly. Because Word Made Flesh Bolivia’s ministry is currently focused on women who prostitute, my energies are spent thinking on the situation of women in Bolivia, their role in society, and discrimination. But in some senses, I can see the up-hill battle for men, as well. For whatever reason, there seems to be less censorship on advertisements (billboards, television, posters at corner stores, etc.) in Bolivia as compared to the States, which I wouldn’t say is that conservative anyway. The amount of half-nude women I see helping sell a product is alarming. It’s also very common for young people to go to discotecas, drink and party into the night. There is also the fairly normal practice of taking your buddy to the brothels to treat him on special occasions. Sadly, you can see every type of guy at the brothels; our staff members even see men they know every now and then. It seems as though Christian men here are up against a great deal.
Having been married the last few years has made me aware of a few things. It took Adam some courage to tell me he liked me the first time, to ask me out, and to get to know me when we were dating. I feel like it’s taken even more courage since we’ve been married for him to maintain our marriage, to work through hard issues, and to stay committed to me. Then I think of how easy and cowardly it is to go into a brothel, shop around for what pleases you most and force yourself on a girl you don’t have to win over, or get to know her strengths and weaknesses, who you don’t have to commit to and don’t have to love. How easy and cowardly is that!
All this to say, I sometimes find it difficult to have hope for Rene and Jose who are inundated with this everyday. I’m not trying to paint a bleak picture of Bolivia – there are wonderful things about the culture here and plenty of God-fearing men. Rather, I’m expressing the loss I sense and the sadness I feel for our fallen humanity. Perhaps God can use our conversations in our language to change to move some way in the lives of Rene and Jose. This is what I pray.
Thank you again for supporting us and journeying with us in Bolivia.
Thoughts for prayer:
*Our new business enterprise for the women we serve – Suti Sana – has just recently been launched in El Alto! Pray that it will be used as an instrument of liberation.
*Our language exchange group has a lot of potential. Pray for the lives of Jamil and Carlos and the relationships between men and women in Bolivia.
-Becky (& Adam)