Samaritan’s Purse helps families in the mountainous region of Palca, Bolivia, maintain a consistent source of food and income.
Felix and his wife, Sofia, were used to scraping together a living for their three children from the mountainous fields of Palca, Bolivia, despite harsh rainy seasons and frigid temperatures. The precarious conditions meant experiencing several lean months trying to make ends meet between harvests.
When a Samaritan’s Purse agriculture project in the area gave them the opportunity to receive training on crops that can grow at various times of the year with the use of a greenhouse, they embraced the knowledge and put it into practice.
We helped Felix construct a greenhouse, providing some cement, steel, nylon, and seeds. He combined the construction materials with locally made bricks to build a covered area to protect his plants from too much rain or cold.
That has made the difference in the family being able to grow lettuce despite chilly temperatures and enjoy a healthy, sustainable source of food and income.
Turning Point
When members of our Bolivia agriculture team first shared the Gospel with the family, they had many questions about it because it was new to them.
Felix waves from outside the greenhouse that Samaritan’s Purse helped him to build and trained him how to use year-round.
When tragedy struck, that caused them to re-evaluate the true meaning of life. Felix, Sofia, and one of their children were in a motorcycle accident. Sofia sustained a broken leg that became infected.
That meant that Felix needed to take on Sofia’s share of the household and crop work in addition to his own until she recovered.
Our team, along with members of a local church who we have trained in evangelism and discipleship, visited them regularly to pray and read God’s Word together. The family was searching for hope amid a trying time, and they found it in Christ. For Sofia, what started as prayers for healing turned into a prayer of belief in Jesus to heal her heart from sin and make it whole in Him.
“When you change your mind to God, He changes everything, and it is a totally new way of living. Now we are following God as a family,” she said.
For Felix, giving his life to Christ meant embracing a Savior whose love is boundless.
“We found God during that time, and we learned that He cares for us,” Felix said. “We just had to call on Him. We were able to begin again in Christ.”
“When you change your mind to God, He changes everything … Now we are following God as a family.”
The family has become an active part of the local church. Our agriculture team continues to visit the family to advise them on the progress of their greenhouse crops, as well as to encourage and disciple them in the faith.
Wanting to share the joy in Christ they’ve experienced, the couple visits neighbors to share their testimony and hope in Jesus, like others did for them.
Passing It On
A single father named Jaime hadn’t had much luck growing and selling vegetables in the challenging conditions of the Palca mountains. He needed to support his teenage child and his parents.
Jaime and his mother are grateful Samaritan’s Purse helped him to build and develop their greenhouse into a viable source of food and income.
We helped his family build a greenhouse and trained them in the kinds of crops they could grow to have a yield during the year regardless of the weather.
“Samaritan’s Purse took the time to help and train us, so now we know the best way to raise crops,” Jaime said.
Filled with gratitude for how God provided for him and his family, he wanted to share that with others.
Jaime’s trained several families in his community in the agricultural techniques he’s learned to raise crops successfully. Most of all, he’s shared how they can have eternal hope by trusting in Jesus Christ.
“I want to be able to help them, share the Word of God with them, and teach them,” Jaime said. He often uses agricultural references from the Bible to explain God’s loving provision both now and for eternity, such as Psalm 126:3,5—“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad. … Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.”
In remote, impoverished parts of the world where there are no grocery stores or corner markets, people must grow their own food in order to survive. By providing families with tools, seeds, and training, Samaritan’s Purse is helping them reap a plentiful harvest so that everyone is well fed. Your gift can help families grow corn in Bolivia, rice in Cambodia, sorghum in South Sudan, or meet other similar needs around the world. As God’s Word promises: “If you extend your soul to the hungry …You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail” (Isaiah 58:10-11).
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