MCC is celebrating its 50th year here in Bolivia. Last week there were about 30 people visiting on their way to Mennonite world Conference which is happening this week in Paraguay. On Thursday here in the plan we hosted a roup of 17 people who were wanting to check out some MCC projects. This group was a mix of folks from the Argentinian Mennonite Church, some North American ex MCC volunteers and one Cochabambina (from Cochabamba, Bolivia).
Friday there was a “cultural night” complete with churrasco (steaks on the grill; a favorite treat here in Santa Cruz) as well as two folkloric dances brought by the youth group and the natural medicine workers from here in plan 3 mil.
Saturday was the big day with a program and lunch at “Eventos Mary” a local which, whenever I would mention it to any Bolivian, the reaction was raised eyebrows and the exclamation, “wow, it an EVENT then”. Two people from our neighborhood gave speeches; Mauricio about the popular libraries program and the Friday afternoon ladies who presented a wall hanging whose blocks were made in class (I was the teacher that day). I was quite proud of both speeches, as there were 300 plus guests, it was a bit of an intimidating crowd.
Also in the program, there was a slide show with images from each decade that MCC has been in Bolivia. It has been interesting to step back and look in broad strokes, at the history and development of Bolivia and MCCs program here. I’ve really been learning a lot about how one needs to understand the history of a place (or institution) in order to really get down to understanding the present, and to know how to create a vision for moving forward. I personally am left with a sense of gratitude for those who support MCC and those who have given me the opportunity to be a part of this dynamic program.
