Bible study in the bathroom
CMS partners in Bolivia are helping people meet Jesus in an unlikely place
Photo: Jenny in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, longs to see other people’s lives transformed by Jesus, just as hers has been.
“Following Jesus is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life,” says Jenny. “For him, nothing is impossible – even for someone who was once lost.”
Words by Amy Church, photos by Victor Villarroel (VictorFrame Photography)
Jenny and her husband Richard found freedom in Jesus from drugs and alcohol. They went on to open a public toilet business, which has grown into a vibrant community where others can find God’s love.
Welcome to Los Pozos.
Life on the streets
Both Jenny and Richard grew up on the streets of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. No school, no stability; just survival.
“We were left as abandoned children,” says Jenny. “We didn’t have anyone to talk to, anyone to advise us or look out for us. So we took to the streets – to drugs, to vices, just trying to live.”
Jenny and Richard met on the streets aged 14, but it wasn’t until many years later that they met again and fell in love. Life was a little better together, but they were still on the streets, still living in poverty and still battling addiction. They knew something had to change.
Life with Jesus
Richard enrolled at a Christian rehab centre, and it wasn’t long before Jenny joined him. From there, they joined a church. Their encounters with Jesus during this time were overwhelming; Jenny has tears in her eyes as she describes the love and hope they found in God.
“Honestly, given the life I led, I felt I didn’t deserve it,” says Jenny. “But God has been so good; he showed me mercy. he reached out and rescued me…. For those who come in repentance, he grants freedom, courage and the fullness of his love and wisdom.” Their faith hasn’t made everything easy for Jenny and Richard – things can still be hard – but it has changed their lives.
Microfinance, macro impact
During their recovery, Jenny and Richard talked often of hopes and plans. They dreamed of running a business – a public toilet, which are often privately owned and run in Bolivia, something that would be useful to the community as well as provide income. They had ideas, passion and motivation, but they lacked the money and skills to get started.
Jenny and Richard spoke with their church pastor, David, who introduced them to CMS partners Andrew and Lisa Peart. And their ideas started to take flight.
Through their microfinance work, Andrew and Lisa provided Jenny and Richard with the mentorship and funding to get their business off the ground. On a practical level, microfinance provides support for ventures. But on a spiritual level, it’s much more. “The word finance is kind of misleading, because it’s not just about money!” says Andrew. “It’s an investment in families, and discipleship,” says Lisa. “And then how that discipleship in families goes out to the community.” They’ve enabled six new businesses to launch so far, including Jenny and Richard’s.
“We never imagined this”
Eight years on, not only is the toilet business flourishing, but a whole kingdom community is growing up around it!
“We’d never imagined we’d have anything like this,” says Jenny. “We run this public toilet, and sell ice, charcoal [and more]. In addition, we host a Bible study and prepare lunches at the end of each month to share a meal and spend time with the people who come here.”
Up to 15 people come to the Bible study in the toilet block every week. “Most people think a Bible study would be in a church or at least in somebody’s house,” says Andrew, who, along with Lisa, still works closely with Jenny and Richard. “They have, like, a central space, and people are coming through to go to the bathroom… and they look at us and are thinking, ‘What are these people doing?’!”
The community lunches happen monthly. A whole team gathers with Jenny and Richard to cook a delicious hot meal for the people who come. The lunches are packed out, with around 100 people each time. Not only is there food, but there’s worship, prayer and time for a talk or testimonies.
Finding community, finding God
The people who come to the Bible studies and lunches have difficult lives. Most grew up on the streets, with few opportunities to progress in life, and have battled addiction from a young age.
“There is great danger here,” says Jenny. “People cut each other, fight and even kill one another. The people feel… scorned. They feel lonely, abandoned, rejected….”
At the toilet block, they find community, acceptance and love. There’s physical help and spiritual support, and it means a lot. “I come here because we’re treated well, they look after us, are friends to us. It makes me feel close to God…”, says Walter, a regular at the lunches. Harold comes often, too: “I come here because I feel loved here, I’m with friends and I like to hear what’s being shared,” he says. “Hearing the Word of God here makes me feel less alone.”
“I see the hand of God in this now,” says Jenny. “I see his power – I see him. He is the One who makes that light shine through us.”
Together, with Jesus
Togetherness is an integral part of this ministry: Jenny and Richard, Andrew and Lisa, helpers like Rafaela. CMS and its supporters, too, are part of this work as we pursue Jesus and his heart for those on the edges of society.
“The difference that CMS makes in this work is, obviously, they enable us to be here…. But you know, the way that it’s done is: ‘we’re together’,” says Lisa. “So it’s about being together and being with Jesus. And then from there we all go out, and we serve and run.”
Jenny and Richard have a sustainable income now, they have hope, they have community. But they’re clear that the toilet block is about mission. And it’s about church.
“Honestly, my greatest desire was – and is – for us to share the Word,” says Jenny. “I have this deep longing in my heart – that what God has done in my life, he would also do in the lives of those who do not know him. I want this to become – well, I’d even call it a church, honestly.”
Only God would plant a church in a toilet. Join us as we follow wherever he leads. Please pray for this incredible work, and give today if you can.
Transformation in the toilets
Rafaela is one of a growing team of local cooks, carers, sharers and pray-ers who help make the toilet block ministry possible. Like Jenny and Richard, these helpers used to be on the streets themselves.
Rafaela comes to every event. She prays with, encourages and listens to people, and cares for their physical needs too – bandaging wounds, cleaning cuts, quite literally washing feet.
“I serve in this work… but I myself came from the same place,” says Rafaela. “I’m still in the process of rehabilitation and transformation, and now I’m helping others experience that too!”
Pastor David leads the local church. “If you can step back and see what’s going on, and how God is using people… who themselves have come from a background of alcoholism and life on the streets… it’s just amazing. I’m just amazed by what God has done and what he is doing through them.”
