Dear friends and family,

Home Assignment is when missionaries return from the field to their sending churches and prayer teams to report all that God has done during their previous term and what plans exist for the next term. It is challenging to sum up years of ministry in a way that captures the fullness of what we have lived. But it is a blessing to return to a church eager for news about what God has been doing! 

Our family, like most missionary families, has many emotions on Home Assignment. Below we give you a glimpse as well as some prayer requests as we prepare to return to Bolivia. Thank you for praying for us and Bolivia! 

In Him,

REFRESHING: A day after arriving, we stood staring at the ocean reminded of how huge God is. We've shared dinner tables with like-minded friends. We've seen God’s hand moving in the lives of His people here. We've been reminded of the road we traveled. In all of this, Home Assignment is deeply refreshing. It helps us put aside our concerns and fears and fix our eyes on the Savior who makes everything worth it.

FUN: We’ve made pools in a desert wash, walked the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas and made sand castles by the sea. Home Assignment gives us these rare opportunities to enjoy nature. The most fun, though, has been being with friends and family and sharing moments with the people we’ve been missing.

TIRING: Home Assignment is tiring. It was our shortest total flight time yet, but 13 hours was long. Zolah lost a tooth but gained some wings! The hours rattling around in the big white van while driving between California and Arizona and places in between were enhanced by a new addition to the family. 

CONFUSING: Picking out sauces at Chick-fil-a triggered reverse culture shock. Remembering not to kiss people on the cheek takes effort, as does getting to places on time because this actually matters here. At each house Zolah asks me whether we can still drink water from the tap and flush toilet paper down the toilet. We’ve had seven “homes” in two months. Home Assignment is confusing.

ENCOURAGING: Almost every day of our Home Assignment someone tells us, “We’ve been praying for you.” When in Bolivia, we can feel far away and detached from life in the US. But it is amazingly encouraging to be with those who stand in the gap for us in prayer and remember us despite the distance. We've been so blessed by people who have taken us in, had us for dinner, played with our kids and made us feel loved. Below are photos of us sharing at churches.

Our time in the US has been full of encouragement and joy as we've shared what God is doing in Bolivia. We are grateful to be reminded of how powerfully God works through others and how good He is in every place and circumstance. Thank you so much, friends and family, for praying and being part of what God has planned for Bolivia!

Prayer Requests

  • BOLIVIA: for the government and this year's presidential elections.
  • THE CHURCH: for unity and boldness for the Bolivian church
  • SIM BOLIVIA: for wisdom in formulating the 2020-2025 strategic plan
  • MISSION MOBILIZATION & SENDING: that the churches of Bolivia would grow in understanding of God’s passion for reaching every nation with the gospel and that God would use the Perspectives course and the Seminary classes to raise up missionaries and missional churches for His work.
  • US: for wisdom in focusing our time and energy where God leads.
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Copyright © 2019 Osvaldo & Timara Arancibia, All rights reserved.


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