TRAVIS TRACKS in BOLIVIA

Steve, Dorothy, Aaron, Celeste and Elizabeth Travis, missionaries with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention would like you to be informed. This home page is provided in order that you may know our family and the work that God has called us to do. Also, we want you to be informed partners with us in reaching the Aymaran immigrants of La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia. Our desire is that you be involved WITH us, praying, giving and going in order that these people can respond to the good news of Jesus Christ and be gathered into New Testament churches. God may have a place of service for you as a career missionary or short term volunteer in the future.

Our desire and prayer is for a CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENT to sweep through the city of El Alto. In order for this to happen, Baptists and other evangelical churches must embrace this vision together, mobilize themselves and equip lay missionaries. Pray that we will seek, discern and accomplish God’s will together.

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A CHURCH IS BORN

The Aymara Church Planting Team of the International Mission Board is currently targeting the city of El Alto, Bolivia. El Alto is a city of 650,000--the fastest growing city in Bolivia. Over 50,000 immigrants arrive annually in this city located at 13,000 feet above sea level and overlooking La Paz, the capital of Bolivia.
Only 10% of the people of El Alto claim to be evangelical believers. In partnership with Bolivian Baptists, the Aymara Church Planting Team has a goal to start 30 churches over the next seven years.
As the team strives to meet this goal, one might ask, “Whose lives are being touched? Are people in El Alto really interested in hearing and responding to God’s Word? What is involved in starting a church?”
One evening Pastor Angel Aguilar, president of the La Paz Baptist Association’s Evangelism and Missions Committee, and IMB missionary Steve Travis converse over a cup of hot tea and some crackers. Angel mentions the names of several families in Villa La Merced who recently have shown interest in spiritual matters. Angel had received these names from a friend and fellow pastor who owns property in La Merced. Steve asks some probing questions, aware that this growing and relatively new subdivision only has two evangelical churches.
Within a few weeks, an evangelistic home Bible study is begun with one of the families. Javier, his wife Jacoba, and their children begin enthusiastically. A weekend of evangelistic movie projections is planned. On the final night, as the Jesus Film is shown in a vacant lot, several families pray to receive Christ. Several others express interest in studying the Bible in their home. Spiritual counselors take down their names and addresses.
Additional home Bible studies begin the following week. Jacinto, his wife Adela, and their four children exhibit a profound and extraordinary hunger for God’s Word. During the third lesson, Jacinto shares that God had radically transformed his life just a few weeks before the church planting team arrived in La Merced. Jacinto had been humbled and convicted during the serious illness of his wife. In a spirit of repentance he was compelled to burn a stack of CDs and turn away from trusting in wise men and witch doctors. As the family continues to study the Scriptures together, it becomes even clearer to Jacinto that Jesus Christ had died to forgive his sins and to provide a relationship with the only true God. A week later, Adela shares how her illness had caused her to depend on God, and how the change in her husband had motivated her to make a full surrender to Christ.
Several teams of Bible teachers, made up of IMB personnel and local Baptist partners, meet with other families throughout the subdivision. Beatriz invites a team into her home, where she ends up studying alone with her small children after her husband drops out after one or two lessons. It is evident that God is working in her life, preparing her heart. The fact that she is the only adult family member participating doesn’t discourage her. During the fourth lesson, the teacher gives the invitation to receive Christ. Beatriz invites Christ into her life and surrenders to His lordship. Within a few weeks, the Bible study in her house has grown as Beatriz invites numerous family members to attend. Shortly afterwards, Beatriz’s parents, sister and brother-in-law, father-in-law, and her oldest daughter are saved.
After several months of patience, persistence, and frustration trying to meet with Javier, Jacoba, and their family, some positive changes can be seen in their lives. After receiving Christ, Javier had experienced much temptation to continue hanging out with his soccer and drinking buddies. But now he is willing to forego those temporary pleasures and follow Christ more completely.
Three months have passed since Bible studies began. The La Merced Baptist Congregation, with a current attendance of about 16 adults and 12 children, is meeting twice a week for worship, prayer and Bible study in the home of Jacinto and Adela. Jacinto teaches the evangelistic Bible study to newcomers each Sunday. Beatriz brings someone new almost every week, and her husband has been attending since about two months after her salvation. He too has now been converted. Javier is helping lead music during worship times. Gabriel, a student from the Theological Education by Extension program, is helping to provide spiritual direction and organizational leadership until pastoral leadership emerges from the La Merced congregation.
Every home Bible study started doesn’t result in people praying to receive Christ and becoming active in the church. In some cases missionaries arrive to lead a Bible study and the family is away from home. Some people lose interest after a few lessons. Missionaries and local believers sometimes become discouraged. Nevertheless, the rewards of seeing individuals and families hunger to know God and His Word and watching lives transformed by the grace of God keep the passion and dedication for this work alive.
It is Sunday morning, almost six months after missionaries made initial contacts in the area. Eight new believers dressed in baptismal robes stand on the edge of the cold waters of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. Following baptism on the high plains of Bolivia surrounded by the awesome peaks of the Andes mountain range, the La Merced Baptist Church celebrates its first Lord’s Supper. A church is born. (See photos in Photo Gallery. Go to top of page and click on Photo Gallery)

God is indeed moving in Bolivia among the Aymara people –and it is exciting! Teams of people willing to give of themselves, and join God at work, are being formed throughout Western South America. If you would like to learn of the many exciting opportunities for missionary service in Western South America, please contact Tom Vassar at the International Mission Board at (800)999-3113 or by email at tom.vassar@imb.org Come join God at work!

L to R: Steve, Dorothy and Eli; Linda Baker; Martin & Libby Smith; Kent & Elaine Shirley

THE AYMARA LANGUAGE
"Diosajj aca mundor wal munatap laycuw mä sapa Yokapar qhitani jupar creepqui ucanacajj jan chhakhañapatataqui, jan ucasti wiñay jacañanïñapataqui. (John 3:16)
Markajankasipktwa. So you think it's one word? Nope, guess again! It says, "We continue to be in my town." It is one word (marka - town) with seven suffixes attached to it.
As you can see the Aymara language is very different than Spanish and English. Several interesting aspects of the language include: 1) There are only three vowels and each vowel (with one exception) always has the same sound. 2) There are many consonant sounds that don’t exist in the English or Spanish language. And are they tough to pronounce! You have to use parts of your tongue and mouth that you never new existed! 3) Aymara is an ancient language. It does not have words for chair, cow, table, truck, bottle, etc. so many Spanish words have been incorporated into the language. 4) It is well structured grammatically and is organized logically. Praise the Lord!

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BROOKWOOD VOLUNTEER MEDICAL & EVANGELISM MISSION

A volunteer medical & evangelism team of 35 adults and youth sponsored by Brookwood Baptist Church of Birmingham, Alabama ministered to the physical and spiritual needs of over 2300 people in Villa La Merced of El Alto the last week of July. The team offered general medical, dental and eye care. Hundreds of prescription glasses and non-prescription sunglasses were distributed. A variety of health and nutrition seminars were provided by nurses from the team.
The team also had the opportunity to share the message of Christ through children’s ministries, puppets, personal testimonies, and proclaiming the gospel. Around 20 people prayed to receive Christ. Several of these folks have starting attending Bible studies and worship services at the new congregation in La Merced. This team played a vital role in helping our church planting team start a new church in La Merced (see A Church is Born above).
We are looking forward to having this team return next year. They will minister in another community in El Alto where the love of Christ and the Word of God need to be known. There is a tremendous amount of poverty and human need in El Alto. Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. El Alto is plagued by a lack of pure water, waste treatment and other basic services. (See photos in Photo Gallery)

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WELCOME TO THE HIGH PLAINS OF BOLIVIA

The city of EL ALTO (meaning "The High Place) is located on the High Plains of the Andes mountains in western Bolivia. The elevation is 13,300 ft. Below El Alto in the "bowl" or canyon is La Paz, the administrative capitol of Bolivia. The elevation varies from 11,500 to 12,500 ft. The two cities combined have a population of nearly 1.4 million. The population of El Alto is nearly 600,000. Its 1992 population of 415,000 is expected to double by the year 2000. 58% of its inhabitants were not born there. Most come to this urban center looking for a better way of life. It is literally a city of immigrants.

BOLIVIA is the poorest country in South America. This is evident in El Alto where lack of decent sanitation and public utilities abound. Rural Aymarans choose to immigrate to El Alto instead of La Paz because the cost of living is lower. Many commute daily to La Paz to earn a living. Therefore, typical starting time for Bible studies and meetings is 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. in El Alto.

The AYMARA are an indigenous, mountain people. Generally, they are hard working and pacific. They make up roughly 25% of the population of Bolivia. There are a total of 1.7 million Aymara in Bolivia. Many youth have been influenced by western culture, dress, music, etc. Nevertheless, most adult women and many young women continue to wear the traditional skirt, blouse and derby. Many holidays are celebrated with traditional folk music and dance. Traditional medicine is still an integral part of the culture. Plants and herbs are common for medicinal purposes.
As is common in many South America countries these indigenous people were forced to accept the Catholic religion. However, most combine their ancestral beliefs and rituals with Catholicism. They believe in a multitude of spirits, both good and evil. There are ancestral spirits and nature spirits. For example, Pachamama is perceived as owner of the earth. Through ceremonial rituals they seek to appease the spirits and maintain harmony with the spirit world and nature. They place a lot of emphasis on receiving messages from spirits through dreams. The picture below is of the Witches Market, where herbs and charms are sold. Notice the llama fetuses (a little left from center).

Carnival is one example of the spiritual darkness that exists in the Bolivian highlands. Carnival, a major religious, cultural and social celebration is held near the end of February. The celebration, which includes a parade, sacred offerings, dancing and drinking, is steeped with deep religious meaning. It is a perfect, yet grievous example of a mixture of the Catholic and indigenous religions. The primary sacred offering, challa, which occurs during this holiday time consists of sprinkling alcohol on houses, cars and other property and in adorning them with confetti and streamers. This is done to invoke the gods of increase and abundance and to demonstrate respect for their protection. The parade consists of people dressed as devils and witch doctors. The masks of dancers dressed as devils are adorned with toads, snakes and lizards. A primary religious element is the worship of the Virgen del Socavón (Virgin of the Mineshaft).

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FAMILY NEWS

We enjoyed a month long visit with Aaron during July and August. Aaron has been learning to play the guitar. He played quite a bit on Steve’s guitar. He is doing a great job. Aaron got to brush up on his Spanish during the volunteer medical project. He translated for Dr. John Hicks from the Brookwood Medical Team. Steve and Aaron played basketball, but only got to play twice. Steve fractured his right elbow. It needed surgery to repair several bone fragments. After a month in a cast, Steve started physical therapy. Physical therapy will last about a month or so. Dorothy had to drive everywhere for a little more than a month.
Elizabeth started Kindergarten in August. Last year she was at a Spanish speaking pre-school. This year she is attending an English speaking school. She has begun writing her letters and numbers. She has real “homework.” Celeste is living with Steve’s mother this year. She is a junior at Westbrook High School in Beaumont, TX. She had a great week at Centrifuge in Glorieta, NM in July. She is on the JV volleyball team.
It’s pretty tough being away from your teenagers. Eli misses her brother and sister a lot, too. We are looking forward to being together for Aaron and Celeste’s 2000-01 school year. We plan on being in Marshall, TX for nine months for our stateside assignment, where Steve will be Missionary in Residence at East Texas Baptist University. He will teach a mission’s course each semester at the university.
Dorothy is excited about spending a month of vacation in Texas in December. The entire family will enjoy the Christmas holidays together.

FOR OUR PRAYER PARTNERS

Over 600 people have already expressed their commitment to pray for the Aymara Church Planting Team, Aymara Baptist churches and the Aymara people in general. We have a goal of at least 1000 prayer partners. If you want to be a part of this team let our Prayer Coordinators, Martin and Libby Smith, know. Their E-mail address is mdsmith@ceibo.entelnet.bo. They send out regular prayer request via E-mail. They also prepare a prayer letter every few months.
Also, you can receive regular prayer requests and answers through the IMB's Compassion Net. To access Compassion Net go to the IMB's web site (see link below). On the menu at the top of the page select "Compassion Net." Then select "Unreached People Groups." Next, scroll down until you see "Aymara." Select it and you will get prayer requests from 7 to 30 days old.

You are visitor number since February 10, 1998

Links to other sites on the Web

International Mission Board
Bolivian TIMES (English)
BOLIVIA NET
Aymara Church Planting Team web site (under construction)

Casilla 23607 - Obrajes
La Paz, Bolivia
591-2-75-01-35

© 1997 sttravis@ceibo.entelnet.bo

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