Dear readers,
My name is Manuel Martens, and I am 20 years old, and had the great privilege of working for several months at the Hogar de Paz Children’s Home in Bolivia. I am wholeheartedly grateful to God for this wonderful experience. I hope that this report will allow me to share with you some of the blessings that I personally experienced. Already during my school days, I had the desire to travel to Bolivia for a certain period of time, after I graduated from school, to help with the Mission there. This time was to be devoted entirely to God, combined with my desire and prayer to be a blessing there – but also to grow closer to God personally.
On September 5, 2023, I flew to Bolivia. I was given a very warm welcome and quickly sensed that the people were extremely hospitable and loving. Shortly after my arrival, I was told that I would be helping out at the Hogar de Paz Children’s Home. When I drove there for the first time, many thoughts went through my mind: What will it be like there? What will the children be like? What will I experience there? The next morning, I prayed that I would be able to be a help to these children and be a role model for them through my lifestyle and behavior. When I entered the Children’s Home, something happened that I never would have expected: four or five children ran up to me and gave me a warm hug. This moment was very emotional and at the same time a great encouragement for me.
What I will never forget are the eyes of these children. Their eyes revealed a lot about their life: you could see that many of them came from difficult circumstances, some were even traumatized. You could feel their longing for love—love that they may never have experienced enough of at home.
I quickly got into the routine of the day. My job was supervising the older boys. This meant waking them up in the morning, eating with them, working, playing, and accompanying them to school. Soon we became better acquainted, and it was wonderful to see how the boys gradually grew to trust their supervisors and foster parents more and more.
Every morning, the staff prayed together. These times were very uplifting, and it was often the morning prayers that gave us the strength we needed for the day. We experienced many answered prayers. Even though the work was not always easy, we were always able to draw new strength from our Lord Jesus.
After about three months, I came back home to Mexico. However, later in the year I had the opportunity to return to Bolivia for a few months to help out at the Children’s Home again. This time I helped out as a teacher because the school was in urgent need of support in this area.
This task was completely new to me. I had little experience in teaching, but here too I was able to feel God’s help and strength. He helped me again and again—even in moments when I didn’t know how to proceed.
The Children’s Home school is not your usual school: there are kids there who are already teenagers but are unable to read, and at the same time, there are others who are quite advanced. These big differences don’t necessarily make teaching easy for the teachers. Yet somehow, thanks to the prayers of many brothers and sisters in Christ and friends, it always worked out.
Together with Ruth Mirau, who also helped as a teacher, we tried to teach the children both academic and biblical content. It was often like Sunday school. I was deeply touched by the fact that many children—especially those from the Old Colony—had never heard stories about Jesus before. Isn’t that sad? There are thousands of children—even among Mennonites—who may never have heard Bible stories. When we think about this, shouldn’t we wake up and realize that God wants to use us? Perhaps right here in Bolivia? I think it’s worth thinking about.
We saw how children listened with great curiosity and attention when we told Bible stories. They looked at us with open, curious eyes, and you could clearly sense how interested they were. This often led to wonderful conversations. We saw how children gave their hearts to Jesus and how their lives visibly changed as a result.
The Hogar de Paz Children’s Home is still operating. Daily, children are supervised there, and hundreds of them have already been exposed to God’s Word. If you are interested in working at the Children’s Home, please contact your local pastor or Pastor Roland Stieben directly (Tel. +59176004319). I can assure you of one thing: you will grow spiritually, and your heart will be filled with joy if you do this work with the right attitude. You will certainly not regret it. If you don’t know just yet what you want to do in the future or what you want to study, then take the opportunity to travel to Bolivia and help out at the Children’s Mission, whether as a teacher, childcare worker, or even in the kitchen. They will surely find the right place for you. I personally have been greatly enriched spending my time in Bolivia and thank God with all my heart for giving me this opportunity. Let us continue to pray earnestly for this important mission. Often it is your prayers that give the supervisors and home parents the strength to continue.
Manuel Martens
Neustädt, Mexico
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