Misión Evangélica Menonita, Bolivia
Misión Evangélica Menonita, Bolivia (Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference in Bolivia). From 1965 to 1968 radio programs in Low German and High German for Mennonite colonies were the start of what led to Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference (EMMC) involvement in Bolivia. David and Tina Wiebe, New Tribes missionaries at the time, later became the founding missionary couple (with EMMC 1969-1977) at Chorovi—an area halfway between the Tres Palmas and Bergthal colonies, on the eastern edge of the Canadiense colony (Sommerfeld Mennonites; Bolivia). While some individuals from different colonies have been spiritually enriched by the EMMC ministry, colony leadership has usually felt threatened and been concerned about EMMC presence. (The Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference in Canada originated in a division within the Sommerfeld Mennonites in Canada.)
A five-bed clinic, built in 1973-74, has provided health treatment for a 25-mi. (40-km.) radius—to both colony and Bolivian populations. Its services have included staff nurses, a preventive health program in surrounding communities (1983- ), and regular visits from an evangelical Bolivian doctor (1985- ) .
Two Bolivian congregations have resulted from EMMC ministry. Zafranilla, located near the clinic, began in 1974 (50 members, 1986). Pedro Dias, located in a semi-urban squatter community of the same name on the outskirts of Santa Cruz, is the second effort. It began in 1983. Drilling safe water wells, providing public health services, a dynamic congregation of 75 members, and a 200-student private school (kindergarten to third grade) were features of this effort.
Bibliography
Mennonite World Handbook Supplement. Strasbourg, France, and Lombard, IL: Mennonite World Conference, 1984: 57.
| Author(s) | Gerald Mumaw |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1987 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Mumaw, Gerald. "Misión Evangélica Menonita, Bolivia." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1987. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Misi%C3%B3n_Evang%C3%A9lica_Menonita,_Bolivia&oldid=90031.
APA style
Mumaw, Gerald. (1987). Misión Evangélica Menonita, Bolivia. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Misi%C3%B3n_Evang%C3%A9lica_Menonita,_Bolivia&oldid=90031.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 590. All rights reserved.
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