New Sister and Political Situation Update

Good News First

As of Saturday evening the Lord's body in Cochabamba now has a new sister in Christ. Mary Jane after having regularly come to worship services and other activities for several months now, made the decision on Saturday night to become a new creature in Christ. We certainly are rejoicing with the angels in Heaven over her decision to repent and be clothed anew with Christ. For any of you planning a visit you will surely enjoy meeting Mary Jane and hearing her story. Please be in prayer for Mary Jane and her new life in Christ, that God may protect and strengthen her as Satan will undoubtedly attack her in new and creative ways to pull her away from God. I phrase the prayer request this way because I have observed the time following the decision to become a Christian is often if not always followed by strange and difficult trials in the life of the new Christian.

Other Good News

Josh, Julie, Michaela, Eliana, and Jana Marcum all made it safely to Cochabamba on Thursday after being on furlough from June to August. We are very grateful along with the Sandovals, Bulls, and other church members for their return. They are a very big part of the work here and their absence was definitely felt! We praise God that the Marcums were able to return safely and that their request for visas came through in a timely manner.

Chad and Lisa Benton along with their two boys Mark and Grady who are representing the Austin Avenue Church of Christ arrived today on the same flight with Gary , Laura, Nathan and Grant. We are thankful for the safe travel, the return of the Bulls, and for this special time we have to share with the Bentons. We thank God that He heard our prayers requesting safe and uneventful travel.

As a lead-in to the next topic, we are also thankful that the Bulls' and Bentons' arrival on Monday was not overshadowed by any political unrest. As some of you may know, Sunday was an historic day in Bolivia. August 10th was the day when all Bolivians of voting age would vote to approve or dissapprove of Evo Morales (president) and the nine prefectos (governors) who represent the nine departments of Bolivia. To sum up the day, below I have cut and paste an email I sent to both sets of parentals to let them know of how we are doing.

Sunday was an interesting day indeed. Before leaving the house to walk over to the church building I reminded Katie that it would be very possible that we and the Sandovals would be the only ones at church. As in most Latin American countries, votes are held on Sundays. Additionally, as in most Latin American countries voting is more than just a right, it is an obligation with stiff fines and possible jail fines facing those who choose not to vote. On the day before and the day of voting the sell of any alchohol is prohibited. On the day of voting from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM all unauthorized vehicles are prohibited from operating, which includes all forms of public transportation. For this reason, we were fully prepared to see our meeting place virtually empty. Some members and regular friends of the church did make the trip however. All in all we had around 30 people in attendance. Some people who came live in the neighborhood and some others donned tennis shoes and made quite a trip to meet with the saints on that day.

While it was certainly a different kind of worship service, it was actually very special. We half joked that at least we knew everyone there was there because they wanted to be, because the ban on transportation did not make it easy to come simply out of a sense of routine or obligation. There were many people out on the street walking past our meeting place, some on their way to vote and many others just out enjoying a day in downtown Cochabamba with no automobiles dominating both space and sound. Although on the surface it was seemingly quiet and tranquil, doubts and fears hovered in the thoughts of most people. Many people stopped and peeked in curious about the church that met even on voting day. Although we certainly hadn't planned it, it was perhaps a quiet testimony about who we are and how important it is for us to meet as a church body to worship our Creator, learn from His Word and edify each other through song and praise. On a day when none of us knew the outcomes of the election nor the ensuing aftermath, it was a particularly meaningful context in which to reflect upon our need to completely rely on God and each other in the midst of an underlying current of worry and fear bubbling in the world outside from which we had entered. Praise God for our safety, for His protection, and for days such as this that bring our purpose for meeting each Sunday sharply into focus.

Below is the portion I have cut and paste which details the outcome of the vote.

Hey guys. Everyone except for me is quietly sleeping in their beds. Well, Malakai is actually in our bed but you know what I mean. Anyway, I just thought I'd give a brief update on the political situation here. Sunday went well, it was very peaceful. We were done with services and home by 1:30 which is unheard of so we took the opportunity to have a little picnic in our bedroom and then rested during the afternoon. Later we went outside and Malakai and I went for a walk as there were no cars allowed on the streets. Katie and Jubilee blew bubbles with Gabriella and her son Gabriel on the front steps of our building as watched other neighbors pass back and forth on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Later on when Mally and I returned we played lobo lobito outside with Juju, Gabriel and Gabriella which is kind of like duck duck goose.

By Sunday evening the results were already pretty conclusive. Evo "won" with a 60% approval rating overall, although he lost the departments of Santa Cruz, Beni, Chuquisaca (Sucre), and Tarija while maintaining strong approval in the departments of La Paz, Potosi, Oruro, Cochabamba and a much less stronger lead in Pando. Potosi led the nation with Evo's highest approval ratings at about 83%. As far as the prefectos (governors), all but three garnered enough votes to continue in office. Of the three prefectos to be ousted are the prefectos of La Paz, Oruro, and Cochabamba. The prefectos of La Paz and Cochabamba are pretty much anti-Evo and Oruro's prefecto was a member of the Evo-affliated MAS party so it was kind of an upset for the MAS prefecto to be voted out while Evo maintained strong approval. The MAS party cited this as an example that the vote was legitimate and not staged. La Paz's prefecto Paredes is accepting defeat somewhat gracefully while Cochabamba's Manfred Reyes Villa has vowed to fight the decision albeit through a proposal of legal appeal. Manfred did show up for work at government offices this morning at about 7:30 AM as showcased by local news. This will be the power play to watch which will be essentially between Evo and his backers and those of Manfred and his. So far though, there has been no sign of street violence. We continue to watch the situation and will keep you all posted. Love you guys! Please continue to pray for Evo Morales, Alvaro Garcia Linares (VP), Manfred Reyes Villa, the armed forces and their leaders, members and officials of the MAS party, members and officials of the various opposition groups and all citizens in general, that God our Father would grant each one of them clarity of thought and an ability to discern and put into practice what is best for Bolivia and not individual interests. It is a long prayer request but surely you understand. We thank you as always for standing by our family, our team, the church body and our adopted home in prayer. We are fully confident that God hears and answers the prayers you lift before Him on our behalf.

In Him,

La Familia Forbess