It’s difficult to know where to start. A lot of people back home in North America are aware of the difficulties Bolivia is facing right now. CNN seems to be reporting that the city is in flames and we’re close to ceasing to exist as a country. For sure it’s true that we’ve just come through three or four days of violence in the city (in the city centre, near the main plaza, as well as in a few of the outlying, poorer communities). Office buildings have been vandalised. Cars have been set on fire or turned over. All of the major roads into the city are now blockaded. Then today, the news arrived that in one of the other lowland provinces, martial law was declared by our President in response to the violence that was taking place there. There’s no question that this is a time of crisis in Bolivia.

But then there’s the reality that as I sit here writing this in a nice, air-conditioned restaurant I’m surrounded by calm, laughing people enjoying a coffee in the warm, evening air. Earlier today there was a march for peace organized by the churches of the city, and I watched as thousands of Christians walked by, singing and celebrating and waving flags (those would be the charismatics, I think…those Pentecostals have seriously nice flags!). If I wasn’t watching the news, I might not even realize that anything was happening in the city. It’s the reality of Bolivian life.

So on one hand, I do want to ask you to pray for Bolivia. It is a serious time. There are lots of shortages of basic items that greatly affect the quality of life here. People can’t find propane for cooking…last night as we drove home from youth group, every gas station had line-ups of hundreds of cars waiting for fuel…some of the markets are short of vegetables and other staples of life for people here. And of course this affects the poorest of the city the most.

But as I said, life for many of us continues unaffected. Obviously we don’t venture near the areas that are most impacted by the unrest. As well, parts of our local market have shut down as people choose to stay closer to home. Like I said, there are shortages of lots of things. I actually had kind of a funny moment on Thursday. One of the guys, Jimmy, and I went to buy a few things we needed for the house. My job is usually buying meat for us. I noticed that the meat market where I shop was closed, but the chicken place was open. I was worried that maybe there wasn’t any more meat, so since there was chicken…I stocked up. Kind of a lot. Then as I left the chicken store…the meat market opened. So yea….we’re good for chicken anyhow…

As I said, it is a serious time here. But on the other hand, political unrest famously has a habit in Bolivia of flaring up and then calming right back down again. A few days after the crisis you’d hardly know that anything happened. So we’re just playing a wait and see game here. I’ve been asking people at home to pray and not overreact to what they’re hearing or seeing on the news.

Some prayer requests….

The most serious event here is the declaring of martial law in the Pando (the other lowland province I mentioned). Bolivia is a country that was run by the military until the early ‘80’s, so most people remember that time and are obviously concerned by the President’s choice to send the military into Pando. I think if he chooses to pull the military back out as soon as things calm down…we’ll be fine. If he doesn’t, I have a feeling that things may escalate.

As well, please pray for calm, rational hearts and minds for the people here. It feels like most of the violence and vandalism (and stealing) has been caused by younger people who are just looking for a fight. Watching it play out on TV, I almost got the sense that it was just a game to them. There’s definitely a confusing message as to why this is all happening. No one seems to be fighting for the same thing. Autonomy…rights for handicapped people…needing a new computer monitor…they all seem equal in the minds of many people who were causing the problems this week. By far the majority of people here would like to see this come to a peaceful conclusion. Santa Cruz (unlike some cities in Bolivia) has never been a place where violence was considered an appropriate solution to a problem. I’ve never felt like I was in danger in the four years I’ve lived here. I still don’t really.

Brazil and Chile are both sending diplomats to help negotiate between the vying groups here, so please pray for wisdom for them, as well as all the Bolivian political leaders. Pray that a peaceful solution will be found quickly, and that things can return to normal.

Ending on a note of praise, I would like to add that God is definitely watching out for this poor missionary! =) As I said, we’re facing serious fuel shortages right now. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, even back last year. As I left my house this morning, I noticed that I had about a half a tank of diesel left and wondered how much longer that would last me. I was helping one of the guys, driving him around to take some pictures for a school project, and as we went past a gas station, I saw the usual long line of cars waiting for gas. But then I noticed that instead of barricades in front of the diesel pumps (indicating they didn’t have any), there was a car parked there. I yelled, “They’ve got diesel!” and pulled a highly illegal U-turn and screeched into the station. Within minutes, there was a long line of cars and trucks behind me that stretched for blocks. I…on the other hand…was second in line! Well…except for some guy that backed up into the pumps from in front of me for some reason. But still…I only waited a few minutes and I had a full tank!

So chicken and diesel…I’m good to go…

Thanks for praying everyone!

PS As I searched for a picture for this entry, I’m already seeing headlines in my Google search that talk about the violence ending and compromises being reached. So that’s good to hear!