Filtered by Category: From the Archives
As a young orphan, Fiona* and her siblings were left to fend for themselves. She and her little sister fled to the streets after being sexually abused as teens. Desperate to survive and to provide for her baby as a young, single mother, Fiona unwittingly entered commercial sexual exploitation and found herself trapped there…
Read MoreThe Freedom Climb mirrors a woman’s arduous journey towards restoration. We meet her in her place of need and offer hope and opportunities for lasting change. Support her brave journey to freedom!
Read MoreI have lived in El Alto, Bolivia almost all my life. My parents worked in the copper mines, and 30 years ago moved to the city where they raised my four sisters, my brother and me. I have watched the city limits explode, reaching out further and further. I’ve seen up close how difficult it is for migrants to learn a whole new way of life, to navigate intense poverty, limited options and racism…
Read MoreMission work has its ebbs and flows of learning effective ministry and mission tools and tricks. From saying the wrong things to practicing ineffective missional practices, we have definitely fallen short. It’s no surprise that we fall short, Romans 3:23 tells us “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Our humanity is simply incapable of being perfect, which is why we strive to continually point back to Jesus, even in the midst of mistakes and weird moments.
Read MoreAs the pandemic turned all of our lives upside down, we suddenly found ourselves at home every day, using our 220 sq. ft., two-bedroom apartment for two jobs, virtual preschool, and everything else already related to home. Though difficult some days, we were able to adjust as a family and in general enjoy some extra time together. For other families though, the strict lockdown experienced in Bolivia meant that they had to deal with an increased threat of violence, not from anything outside, but from inside their very homes…
Read MoreFrom our home, we have a panoramic view of the capital city of La Paz and her sister-city El Alto, a combined population of over 2 million people. I stood paralyzed at the edge of our overlook and watched the outbreak from afar. I could hear dynamite boom and pops of firecrackers on all sides. I saw huge smoke stacks rising in the distance from ongoing fighting and vandalism. And the nervous words of loved ones bombarded my thoughts:
Read MoreOur program begins with intervention: meeting women in brothels and health centers, building relationships and trust. We believe that if Jesus came upon someone in the road who needed healing, he would heal them. Perhaps he would never see them again, but that one interaction still had an impact, still glorified God, and was still a work of the Spirit. We believe that even if we never have the opportunity to follow up with a woman, the interactions we have in the intervention stage still make an impact…
Read MoreWhat then can we learn from the simplicity of Bolivia? For all that it may lack, Bolivia keeps me grounded. Sharing the mundane and the gritty with my neighbors is good for me. Overlapping pieces of life together highlights our shared humanity. And a slower interdependence with one other means that not only do others matter, but I matter to others as well.
Read MoreWe can all do something, from raising our voices, to volunteering or supporting from our own corner of the world, so that the “invisible” are seen. And you ... what will you do to change the world?
Read MoreTodos podemos hacer algo, desde alzar nuestra voz hasta ser voluntarios o apoyar desde nuestra propia realidad para que los “invisibles” sean vistos.Y tú… ¿todavía no harás nada por cambiar el mundo?
Read MoreI have recently rejoined our Word Made Flesh community in El Alto, Bolivia after a time of maternity leave and sabbatical.
Read More“How would you like to win $70,000?” We were initially excited when a few weeks ago we were asked to pitch SutiSana for a Bolivian version of the reality show Shark Tank, where we would be competing with 99 other Bolivian businesses for a $70,000 prize.
Read MoreThe first two coronavirus patients were diagnosed in Bolivia on Wednesday, and already life has been turned upside-down.
Read MoreOften times, the day-to-day of life in ministry can become meetings, budgets, endless reports… I often struggle, especially during the first couple of months of the year when our programs are slower, to remember the real issue at hand.
Read MoreWe don't love the word "rescue" in the context of prostitution and trafficking work, because the implication is that WE missionaries and social workers are doing the heroic and dangerous work of swooping in and carrying women away from this life, Indiana Jones-style. That's not what we do.
Read MorePese a la situación que se vive en Bolivia, las sonrisas y las ganas de seguir trabajando junto a los más vulnerables nunca se acaban.
Read MoreToday on All Saints' Day we remember the deceased. Vivi* left us and her two young sons earlier this year.
Read MoreRecently, we as a social enterprise experienced a similar discomfort, when we embarked on a large scale project that was slightly outside of our core offerings of handbags and small accessories.
Read MoreI was running errands with my daughters when a teenager with a duffel bag swung over his back stopped me and asked if I could spare some change for food. His name was Jesús. Sometimes God isn’t too subtle when He chooses to wrap Himself up in the guise of his suffering children.
Read MoreOf course it was "Mariela*" who didn't show up to SutiSana to work, our youngest artisan barely out of her teens, already a mom of her own two children and raising her orphaned brother.
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