Waraka

Unfinished Projects

Do you have unfinished projects? We often start with good intentions—like that storage room we were going to organize or, in my case, a large workbench I started to build but never finished. Let me tell you about an unfinished “project” I had almost forgotten about.

This story takes place on the eastern side of the Andes mountains in Bolivia. The remote churches often invited us to three-day Bible conferences over Christmas, and by December 26th, we were eager to get away as a family. We often sought a remote jungle canyon, where spring water flowed from a rock wall, offering respite from the heat.

Donkey, Chickens, and an Unexpected Invitation

One time, as we sat in the stream with our camping chairs, a lone donkey passed by carrying 20 live chickens hanging over its back. Soon, the owner appeared, herding several pigs. Our oldest son, Devan, had to ask where he was from. We had never heard of Waraka, a village located four hours over the mountains and into the next valley. Upon learning we were missionaries, the man was intrigued and invited us to visit but warned us of a recent murder involving an outsider, advising us to wait until emotions calmed.

Meeting the Waraka People

On my first attempt to travel the unknown road into Waraka, I decided to take my motorbike, reasoning that the rainy season often washed out mountain roads—suitable for donkeys, but not for trucks. An hour into the trip, my clutch lever broke, making it impossible to continue. Weeks later, with better information, prayer, and a reliable truck, I reached Waraka. I spent the next two days teaching them about a God they had never heard of—who is more powerful than the spirits they feared. Only one family seemed interested in what I had to say, and I only visited once more before our furlough.

An Unfinished Church Plant—and Praying

When we returned to Bolivia, our focus shifted to installing an FM radio station and, as a family, regularly visiting a different village in another unreached area. Both ministries took most of our time, and I never returned to Waraka—a church plant as “unfinished” as my workbench.

Eighteen years passed, and occasionally I prayed for this village, visible from the mountaintop where the FM radio tower broadcasted Radio Tembiqe 24/7. God continued to work, and just recently I heard some incredible news.

A middle-aged woman named Maribel, who had been listening to Radio Tembipe, came to know the Lord. Feeling convicted about not being married to her children’s father, she decided to get officially married and contacted the radio station to see if someone could baptize her. A team of Bolivian believers traveled to Waraka and was astonished to find that 53 others had also put their faith in Christ and wanted to be baptized with Maribel. A church is being organized!

God Completes His Work

I still get emotional when I think about how God works to finish what we have not. He wasn’t kidding when He said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) Even when it seems like God’s work is unfinished, we can be “confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

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