Sterling College

Bolivia mission trip gives Sterling College students experience in sharing the Gospel

One pair of shoes. The unknown substance of toothpaste. A medical clinic. Orphans needing love and attention. And the opportunity to provide people with the one true hope.

That is what eight Sterling College students found when they embarked upon an eye-opening and world-expanding adventure to Cochabamba, Bolivia, following the conclusion of the academic year. The mission trip was May 20 through June 4.

While in Bolivia, the team worked with Hospitals of Hope, a mission organization based in Wichita, Kansas, which serves the underprivileged people of Cochabamba through healthcare and evangelism.

The students began each day outside the Hospitals of Hope clinic presenting skits that told the Gospel message to the people waiting for the clinic to open. The students found the people not only receptive to the message given but hungry to learn more.

“Although we were only in Bolivia for two weeks, we still were able to make an impact,” said Emily Ryan, a 2005 Sterling graduate. The people are so open to listening to the Gospel; they are hungry. We handed out tracts after our evangelistic skits and we never had enough because everyone would want one. People came to the clinic for physical healing, but more importantly, they could also get spiritual healing.”

Following the skits, the group divided in two with one-half staying at the clinic to assist in the clinic as well as perform some maintenance or construction tasks and the other half going to an orphanage to assist and play with the children living there. While at the orphanages, the students discovered what really mattered to the children.

“I learned the value of playing and holding these children,” said Emily. “Many times children would ignore the toys and playground just so they could sit in our laps.”

The Sterling group also spent time at two all-girl orphanages. At one they were able to set up a clothes store where the girls could trade their old clothes for new clothes. The girls could trade five items and only 12 minutes to decide.

“You couldn't believe how glad and how thankful they were for the minimal time we could give them,” said Emily.

Sterling College Director of Alumni Tarah Colvin ’98 led the trip and was also impacted by the girls who lived there.

“A lot of these girls were orphans because they had been abused at home, which was very sad to experience,” said Tarah. “I felt I could stay there forever and love on those girls, and let them know that there is a hope and an eternal answer to their future.”

As the team interacted with the people of Bolivia, Tarah had her own desires of what she wanted the students on the team to learn and experience.

“I was hoping they would see the real impact of what it’s like to be in a third-world country. I wanted them to take in the poverty and how little the people have materialistically. I also was hoping they would get excited about the evangelistic opportunities there was to share the basic gospel message of how Jesus loves us and died for us.”

Many of the observations and lessons that Emily learned paralleled what Tarah hoped the team would take home with them.

“Life in Bolivia teaches you how to appreciate what you have,” said Emily. “The pace of life is slower and being there taught me how to take time to serve other people, to spend time with other people and focus on what is important. We were only in one small portion of Cochabamba; how many more places do we need to serve?

“It seems a bit overwhelming to think about all the people that need help, but every little bit makes a big difference. I encourage anyone who feels the calling to go on a mission trip to pray about it. It definitely can happen with God's help.”

Those comprising the SC team to Bolivia were Jill Allred, Rigby, Idaho; Brittany Darling and Amanda Everett, Longmont, Colorado; Megan Lewis, St. John, Kansas; Ben Piper and Emily Ryan, Loveland, Colorado; Ben Sparks, Winterset, Iowa; and Ted Woods, Wichita, Kansas.

The team worked with Sterling College alumna Andrea (Johnson) Wilson ’98 who currently is a missionary with Hospitals of Hope in Bolivia. She is the daughter of Glenda (Timmons) Johnson ’65 and the granddaughter of Grace (Stone) Timmons ’39.