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A letter from Chenoa Stock in Bolivia

September 2014 - Interpretation Assignment Announcement

BEING SENT

Interpretation Assignment 2013 - East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PA

 

Interpretation Assignment 2013 - Northminster Presbyterian Church, St Louis, MO

 

Interpretation Assignment 2013 - St Andrew Presbyterian Church, Decatur, AL

Saludos calurosos (warm greetings) from the almost springtime of Bolivia! A change is upon us and I will not hold back my joy. I am no longer wearing three layers to bed at night, I can work in the office without wearing my fingerless gloves, and I can walk around my house without wearing a hood. A springtime transition, indeed.

I, for one, am excited about the months ahead amidst this seasonal transition and for the months of work that have brought us to this point, both locally and internationally, with our presbytery partners. As a mission co-worker, my calling takes me to walk with our global partners ‘far’ away. But every once in a while I am called back and asked to share their stories with those ‘near’ neighbors of churches, friends and family. With YOU! You who support us so willingly and openly with your correspondences, contributions, and prayers for safety, strength and encouragement.

From November 9, 2014, to February 2, 2015, I will be on my second half of Interpretation Assignment to share with churches, presbyteries, and other community groups about how God’s love is supporting our mission for environmental justice in Bolivia. (Due to visa restrictions, I can only be out of country for 90 days at a time.) If I have not visited you yet, we can start from the basics of the Joining Hands program, my role as Companionship Facilitator, and our Bolivian network, UMAVIDA (Uniendo Manos por la Vida—Joining Hands for Life). If I already visited last year and you would like to hear more, we can continue where we left off. All is possible! I can adapt my presentation to share in whatever context would be relevant to your community’s interests and experiences.

Please contact me by email (chenoa.stock@gmail.com) or through Skype (chenos) as soon as possible to schedule a visit. In order to be a good steward, I am scheduling visits according to my base locations, and on a ‘first-come-first-served’ basis. If you can help me connect with other churches or interested groups in your presbytery or synod, I would be grateful! I will be based in Pittsburgh, Pa., from November 9 to December 3, will then pause during December to travel to Peru for our Joining Hands Youth Congress and holiday, then be based in St. Louis, Mo., from January 12 to 30, returning to Pittsburgh for the last Sunday, February 1, before traveling back to La Paz.

Just some notes for our planning together:

Evaluation and Planning Workshop with Dr. Serrano (St Louis University) - Oruro, Bolivia

Though participating in the Sunday morning worship service is possible through a Sermon, “Minute” for Mission or Children’s Message, it is also beneficial to have another space for sharing in greater depth and focus and learning together about the work and mission in Bolivia. These months in the U.S. are completely dedicated to this sharing and interaction with you all, so midweek engagements are also possible.

Some other possibilities could include any of (but not limited to) the following spaces:

  • Sunday school (any age group)
  • Preaching
  • Special church event (potluck or otherwise)
  • Confirmation class
  • Youth group
  • Young adult group
  • Men’s or women’s groups
  • Prayer breakfast
  • Retirement home or nursing home
  • Classroom (elementary, high school, college, seminary)
  • Campus ministry
  • Mission committee meeting
  • Presbytery or synod meeting
  • Church camp or vacation Bible school

A note on expenses:

Evaluation and Planning Workshop with Dr. Serrano - creating a map of the communities affected by mining activity - Oruro, Bolivia

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) pays my salary while I’m on interpretation assignment, so I neither need nor expect any kind of honorarium. My food, lodging, and travel expenses are not covered, however, and I will need your support in meeting those needs.

We can discuss specifics as we plan, but please know that I will try to group visits by region and share the cost of airfare or car rental among several churches or organizations where possible. I’m also happy to work with you if you have frequent flyer miles to donate for airfare, a borrowed car, bike, metro pass, etc., available for transportation within the area. If you would like to invite me but cannot provide for my travel, please consider working with other churches or groups in your area to combine activities in the same week and share costs. If that is not possible, let me know and I can look for other ways to cover those expenses.

One area of our work that I will share during our time together is UMAVIDA’s ongoing environmental justice campaign and the possibility of carrying out a health study with the affected communities. In July we had the pleasure of yet again hosting Dr. Serrano, a professor of Environmental and Occupational Health of St. Louis University. Dr. Serrano has had a longtime relationship with the Joining Hands program in both Peru and Bolivia. Over the past years he has made multiple visits to Bolivia in order to learn more about our campaign around environmental justice and water contamination from mining activity in Oruro, Bolvia, as well as to carry out workshops with our partner organizations. Throughout this time, UMAVIDA members have learned to trust and confide in him as a colleague and friend. This most recent visit in July was to carry out a workshop with the Oruro communities to evaluate and discuss the need for creating a human health study for communities affected by the Kori Kollo mining activity. As 26 of us sat around the table to evaluate the evidence we already had, the need for gathering more information, and the commitment to keep moving forward, there were words of honesty, despair and hope.

Don Jaime Caichoca, an engineer and leader of an UMAVIDA partner organization in Oruro, CEPA (Center for Ecology and Andean People), spoke about the groundwater contamination from the mine after a large and deep pit was dug and filled by the waters of the nearby Desaguadero River. These waters were subsequently contaminated and have been endlessly filtrating the surrounding communities, but curiously nothing was mentioned in a recent government environmental audit of the area. Don Jaime stated: “When the communities downstream now dig a well we no longer find freshwater. All of the groundwater is contaminated. Completely salinated.”

Though stories like this were heard, there were also affirmations. Doña Maria, a community member and leader of the community group, CORIDUP, stated her concern for the country’s current situation since the passing of a new Mining Law, with which many are not content, and the upcoming presidential elections on October 12. She shared that, even though these events impede us from carrying out certain actions, our working together for this struggle “is very important for me, or maybe more than important, it’s a light as well; and I would like to thank you [Dr. Serrano] and the institutions [UMAVIDA, CEPA and CORIDUP] that have made this workshop possible.”

After this full two-day workshop we were all sent out with a commitment, tasks, and a shared mission to continue working on this campaign for environmental justice.

Just as Jesus sent his disciples out to be with the poor and marginalized and to recognize their wholeness, so must we walk with our neighbors, both near and far, to struggle for justice and help them to recognize the life abundant God calls us to and that is a gift to all of us.

Thank you for your faithfulness in supporting me with your prayers, notes, and financial gifts. They are truly essential for my being here and making my work possible. I look forward to sharing the story with many of you in person within the next couple of months!

As we journey together in this seasonal transition, I would ask for your prayers, thoughts and good energies for a few things:

-       Healing prayers for health

-       Traveling mercies and prayers for an upcoming delegation of our U.S. presbytery partners of San Francisco and Cascades (Oregon) as they come to Bolivia, September 16-27, to visit, plan and be in community with us

-       Prayers for the planning team of the Regional Gathering of Mission Co-Workers in El Salvador, October 18-25

May we all enter this season of change with open hearts. May we be aware of the times when we are sent to share the story of love and justice, both near and far. And may we recognize the beauty and wholeness of all God’s creatures.

Peace,
Chenoa

For more info:

Photos:  https://picasaweb.google.com/chenoas

The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 55
Read more about Chenoa Stock's ministry

Write to Chenoa Stock
Individuals:  Give online to E20335 for Chenoa Stock's sending and support
Congregations: Give to D507547 for Chenoa Stock's sending and support

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