“What a sweet surprise to get your email,” Sandra wrote, “I never expected to get a message from you. I’m so pleased.” Once again, our Grandma Carolyn has wonderfully added another “grandchild” to her long list of LOGOI family members.
Meet Sandra, a medical doctor from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and an amazing lady who is preparing to be a missionary in a foreign land. She has asked that we do not publish her photo because “I am applying to be a missionary in a country where I cannot publicly identify with a Christian organization.”
Bolivians are legally entitled to religious freedom, but these rights are increasingly limited. Religious education in schools face growing restrictions, and the government has started taxing churches and orphan-serving organizations. Still, Sandra says with great excitement, “I want to share the Good News with people who have never heard about Jesus.”
We are always thrilled when we hear this kind of news. Few think of Bolivia as a missionary “sending country,” but what a joy to see how the Lord has captured her heart with the desire to proclaim the Gospel in a closed country. “I want to be prepared to serve the Lord,” she explains, “and I want to say ‘thank you so much’ for the Bible course you gave me, Consejería bíblica (Biblical Counseling)." She adds, “I was glad to find the biblical focus of LOGOI’s course because so many are really written from a humanistic focus.”
Sandra was raised in a Christian home and says she was 12 years old when she truly believed in Jesus. “Today, I am part of the Christian Education ministry in our church, and I work with teenagers.” Sandra adds, “I’ve also been involved with a trafficking prevention ministry and led discipleship activities for the girls who were part of that program.”
“Here in Santa Cruz,” Sandra explains, “there are two extremes: rich and poor. There is very little ‘middle income’ which makes things very difficult for most (including Sandra). You would think this would cause real spiritual hunger, but I see the opposite. There is no spiritual hunger in my area. I see the opposite, but without falling into judgment, I try to awaken spiritual hunger among teenagers. There are not many growing up in Christian homes here."
Would you take a moment right now and pray for Sandra? Specifically, she asks for wisdom to invest her time well starting with spending time the Lord. She also asks for a spiritual awakening among the young people in their community. Finally, she asks for prayer as she prepares to be a missionary in a country that is closed to the Gospel.
What a joy it is to partner in ministry with Sandra. May the Lord give us many more willing and able to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).
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Your gifts are used to help train and equip national missionaries to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples all over the Spanish-speaking world.
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