A great movement towards the Lord Jesus Christ took place in Bolivia. I don't know how many others call it a revival, but I certainly do. I will explore the reason for my deep conviction in various blog posts.
This revival in Bolivia did not begin with a confession of sin. It happened after the forgiveness of sin!
In 1948, there were only a few thousand evangelical believers in Bolivia, a landlocked nation in the heart of South America. For half a millennium, the Roman Catholic Church dominated all aspects of life, economically, legally, and certainly spiritually.
"Bolivians celebrate the sixth of August as the date of the emancipation from Spanish colonialism and the birth as a nation, taking the name of their liberator, Simon Bolivar (1783-1830). They enjoy the three days of August 5, 6, and 7 to affirm their national identity with the family of nations." Jaime Goytia R in Bridging Cultures and Hemispheres: The Legacy of Archibald Reekie and Canadian Baptists in Bolivia.
Those three days in 1949 were chosen by missionary Norman Dabbs and the congregations in Oruro for dynamic, special meetings. On Monday, August 8th, Norman Dabbs and several church members went in an open truck to preach in Merk'Amaya, a mining center high up in the mountains. Unknown to them, a meeting had been held to plan a violent clash.
In the raid that evening, stones rained down from all sides. Among the bodies were those of Norman Dabbs and Pastor Meneses. Luis Guerrero was pulled from the mission truck, pleading, "Don't kill me! I have six children!" Four members of the Merk'Amaya community were killed. Six were driven to nearby Catavi, three of them women. In all, eight were stoned to death and six badly wounded.
Time magazine picked up the story and published it on August 22, 1949, reporting that "300 drunken Indians used stones in their attack on a home where Baptist Missionary Dabbs was conducting a Bible Study for some 40 believers."
Walter S. Ridgeway, in the well-known publication Redemption, wrote: "What attitude did the evangelical Christians of Oruro take when they learned about the untimely death of their pastor and their other spiritual leaders? Was it a reaction of hate and vengeance? No, but "Father, forgive them for they know not what they ." This was the biblical text most frequently cited through the whole funeral service." Lorna Dabbs expressed her forgiveness towards the men who took her husband's life. She said she was not there to condemn but to love them and show them the way to a loving, forgiving God.
This forgiving spirit moved many Bolivians. The flicker of forgiveness and reconciliation grew and spread throughout the land from a cold, distant mining center few had ever heard about. This movement gradually ushered in a growing wave of redemption and reconciliation. The work of the Holy Spirit was evident as numerous lives were changed. Churches were planted, and many came to know the power of salvation. Instead of vengeance and resentment, humble brothers and sisters became bold to speak of their relationship with the Lord.
On August 8th, 1998, I was one of a delegation of 110 Canadians who met with the nation's highest authorities. The Bolivian Baptist Union leaders were present, too. The event was held to celebrate 100 years of evangelical witness in Bolivia. The nation's highest authorities represented the Judicial, Legislative and Administrative arms of the nation. Amazingly, these politicians would normally not be with each other on the same platform. In some ways, they promoted opposing ideologies. But during their two-hour presentation that day, they put aside their differences. Each distinguished authority, speaking in their most erudite Spanish, publically recognized the effectiveness of humble, forgiving Christians living honest, productive lives. It was an event I will never forget. The list of social changes and improvements they commented upon deserves a blog post of its own.
From a few solitary evangelical believers in 1898 until today, when about 25% of the nation confesses "Jesus is Lord" within one of a variety of church groups, I positively affirm: revival is at work in Bolivia. It sometimes appears openly in special meetings or events. But most of all, revival in Bolivia, as in the rest of Latin America, is lived out in the ordinary rituals of daily life. Revival in Bolivia takes place through the gradual ingathering of people who repent because the Kingdom of God is at hand.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." II Corinthians 5:17-19
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