Click below to read the stories of some of the people and churches who will benefit from these projects.

See photos of Bolivia.

“Forty-five people, ages 15 years and up, gathered from all over the country. Lay people, teens, moms, dads, and pastors all came to spend a week learning how to teach Bible stories, how to teach better, and how to write Sunday school lessons. They slept on mats at the Instituto Americano, ate their meals together, worked together, and worshiped together. They all spoke Spanish; very few spoke any English at all. But a smile, a greeting en el nombre de Jesu Cristo, or a hug all transcend language barriers.

“They called us Las Hermanas, “the sisters.” We came to share what we know and who we are. We came to live among them, to break bread with them, and to talk about how to share the Good News of God’s love to children and youth.”

Click here to read more of the workshop stories.

New Canaan originally had a typical urban-style church building: two stories, brick walls, tin roof, and wooden floor. The stairs outside had no guard rail for the children.

The congregation had outgrown the old building, so they began construction on a new three-story building that would share a wall with the old building. They planned classrooms for the first floor, with the sanctuary on the second.

Eventually, they planned to knock out the wall between the buildings, creating a worship area capable of handling 200 people. The third floor would serve as an apartment for the National Pastor serving in this area.

Click here to read what happened to the New Canaan church…and how hard the congregation is working to fix it.

The women who make our handicrafts are talented, creative, bright spirits who are doing their best to help their families and their communities. These are the stories of just a few of the women who make and sell these beautiful handicrafts.

Click here to read about them.

Justa Saravia is a product of the Methodist Church in Bolivia, the Methodist Women’s Federation, and the Advance project “Women’s Enrichment Program.”

Like most Andean women, she was raised in a small, rural agricultural community on the high plains of Bolivia. She started working as a child, taking care of animals and the land. Being an indigenous woman and poor, she was only able to finish the third grade.

Click here to read how the Methodist Women’s Federation helped Justa and her family.