Raised in a Christian home, I made a profession of faith at a young age. However, I was plagued with doubts about my salvation until they were settled on Easter Sunday 1973. Four months later God called me to preach and I entered Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo. I graduated in 1977 with a Bachelors degree, a wife, Barbara, and the first of our four sons. From 1977 to 1984 we worked with the youth at the Bethel Baptist Temple of Livonia, Mi. (Our sending church). In 1984 we surrendered to the mission field and were approved as BBFI missionaries to the country of Bolivia, South America. After deputation and a year in Mexico at the Queretaro Language Institute, we finally arrived in Tarija, Bolivia.

During our first term, we worked for six months with the Bible Baptist Church of Juan XXIII, then God led us to start the Bible Baptist Church of Tabladita. I will never forget our first baptismal service at a muddy river with 14 Bolivians following the Lord in baptism. Placing an emphasis on men and church leadership, we quickly saw fruit as God called nationals to preach. This prompted the founding of the Tarija Baptist Bible Institute. One graduate has returned to his hometown and pastors there; another’s son has been called to preach as the Gospel makes its way into the next generation of believers! We are thrilled at the development of national leadership.

In 1993, due to the health of one of our sons, we returned to the States, and took the pastorate of the Calvary Baptist Church in Hillsdale, Michigan. In 1999 God stirred our hearts to return to Bolivia, and we were re-instated as BBFI missionaries to the country of Bolivia. Since our return we have begun a new work in San Luis, had our first youth camp and restarted the Tarija Bible Baptist Institute. We have been helping in the Bible Baptist Church of Juan XXIII, Mario Ibarra, pastor. (This church has met in our home for the last 8 months while a new auditorium is under construction) We have been helping in our church in Tabladita. Roberto Arias, who was saved as a young man during our first term, now pastors this work. God has also opened doors for a children’s ministry, a prison ministry, and a radio ministry. We are excited about what God is doing in the country of Bolivia!

Barbara's Testimony

I was saved at the age of 12, through the bus ministry of the Fundamental Baptist Temple of Detroit, Michigan, Rev. Louie Hanner. My parents also began attending and accepted Christ. My memories of childhood are mainly of being raised in a Christian home. At the age of 15 I surrendered my life to missions at Camp Chautauqua in Ohio. I became very interested in the Spanish language and felt God would send me someday to a Spanish-speaking country. After graduating from high school, I went to Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO. During my first semester I met Paul and we were married in 1975.

In 1977 we began working with Youth at Bethel Baptist Temple of Livonia, MI. Bethel was a mission minded church, so I couldn't help but be reminded of my call. Paul responded to the call to be a missionary, ironically, while we were at Camp Chautauqua with our young people. In 1984 we were approved and began our deputation. I was shy and reserved, but the Lord used that time to instill in me a sense of confidence and purpose based on His strength. We went to language school in Mexico, where I learned to not only appreciate the Spanish language, but the culture and people.

In 1987 we landed in Tarija, Bolivia, where we filled in for a missionary who was on furlough. This gave us a good introduction to the ministries of a mission. Later that year we heard about a large neighborhood above Tarija, called Tabladita. We were told there was no gospel witness there. We went to Tabladita, claimed it for Christ, and began door knocking (even though we were told door-to-door canvassing wouldn't work). We met the Arias family. They were saved, baptized and discipled, and this was the beginning of the Bible Baptist Church of Tabladita. Today this church is pastored by Francisco Arias' son, Roberto.)

We returned to the states in 1991 for a furlough, but it quickly became apparent that God was closing the doors to Bolivia. Paul accepted the call to pastor, and I settled into life as a pastor's wife, but my heart continually returned to Bolivia. What a blessing when God opened the doors for our return!

Since our arrival in June of 2001, besides home schooling our two younger children (Mark and Mitchell), I have been involved in teaching 3 children's classes. We have a neighborhood Bible Club in San Luis where over 50 children have accepted Christ as Savior. I also have a Bible study with children in the local prison (who live there because their parents are incarcerated and they have no where else to live!); and a Sunday School class in Tabladita. I also teach a class on Method's of Teaching in the newly reopened Tarija Bible Baptist Institute.

The hardest part about returning to Bolivia was leaving our two grown sons and their families. Matthew and his wife Christina, have two children (our grandchildren!) Matthew and Emily. Michael and his wife Sabrina are expecting a little girl in June! We rejoice that both of them are godly Christian young men. Matt has taught teens in a Baptist church in Hillsdale, MI. for the past two years, and Michael and Sabrina are presently at BBC in Springfield, MO. In the missions course.