Blogging from Bolivia
Sunday, December 6, 2009
By: Michael Nyenhuis

Building Bridges

I made it home yesterday after a great week in Bolivia - and interminable flight delays on the way back. Flying internationally is not fun anymore.

The long delays, however, gave me time to reflect on my week spending time with MAP International staff and projects in Bolivia. I want to end this series of blog posts by sharing an aspect of MAP's ministry that is greatly encouraging to me.

On the one hand, the point I am going to make might not seem central to MAP's health-focused mission. On the other hand, it is absolutely essential to our vision of playing a part in the building of God's kingdom of redemption, compassion and love here on earth.

One of the great - and unfortunate -divides in Latin American countries like Bolivia is between the Protestant  (called "Evangelical" there) and Catholic churches. There are serious and historic suspicions between the two. Many Catholics believe Evangelicals are intent on "converting" them away from Catholicism. 

Many Evangelicals are not sure Catholics are Christian at all. (These are oversimplified descriptions of the divide, of course, but they give a taste of the problem.)

The MAP team in Bolivia has carefully created an environment where struggling followers of Jesus Christ - whether Evangelical or Catholic - work together on the same staff without having to exclude their spiritual lives. A good example is the team's weekly devotional time. 

They have avoided the trappings of the Catholic or Evangelical religious traditions. Instead, they sing simple Christian hymns or choruses and then share what the words meant to them in the context of their current life and work. It is a beautiful, and prayerful, time.

Of course, a key tenet of MAP's work in Bolivia and everwhere is to serve people regardless of their religion (or lack thereof), ethnicity, gender, etc. In other words, we do what Jesus did: heal and serve people regardless of who they are or where they are from.

As an agency of Christians called by our faith to this work, however, we want people from various traditions within God's diverse church to feel comfortable working and worshipping together. That is happening beautifully in Bolivia. And it is a great witness to Evangelicals, Catholics and others in that country.

Here is one example. I wrote yesterday about Evangelical Pastor Miguel Duran Calle. He and his wife have been trained as health promoters. He admits that when he came to MAP he was suspicious of a theology that called for all followers of Christ - Catholics and Evangelicals together - to engage in social ministry.

His experience at MAP opened his eyes to a new way of thinking. 

"Before, as an Evangelical, my mind was very closed."

He now builds bridges to the Catholic church. He has good relationships with the local priest. He is invited to speak about values and health to Catholic communities. Catholic youth seek him out for support. As an act of trust he has sent his children to a Catholic school.

"This isn't common at all," Pastor Miguel said. "Our history is that we always fight one another."

About his new building, he said: "This building is not only for Evangelicals. The building has an open door for everybody."

I am proud of the MAP Bolivia team for their influence on Pastor Miguel and others. They are modeling the best of what it means to be brothers and sisters in Christ in their lives together and their service to all.

Michael