June 9, 2005

Valley Forge, Pa. 6/9/05 – Mario and Iris Morales, American Baptist International Ministries missionaries serving in Cochabamba, Bolivia, are urging all American Baptists to join them in prayer for the Bolivian nation following large and sometimes violent demonstrations this week in La Paz, the capital city.

Mario Morales told International Ministries staff on June 8 that there also have been demonstrations and roadblocks in Cochabamba, where they serve at the seminary of the Bolivian Baptist Union. Morales stressed that the situation in Cochabamba up to that point had been unsettled, but not a matter of deep concern. He noted, however, that the constitutional crisis in Bolivia could swing quickly and dramatically in the next few days, either back toward peaceful conditions or further into chaos or even civil war.

The Morales family, International Ministries staff and their Bolivian partners are monitoring the situation closely. Missionaries of International Ministries have served in Bolivia since the mid-1980s, working with the roughly 300 churches and 28,000 members of the Bolivian Baptist Union. The BBU traces its roots to the work of Canadian Baptist missionaries over a hundred years ago.

American Baptist News Service