HELPING FAMILIES in BOLIVIA

Migratory for Many Centuries; They Live in ‘Settlements’ 

MENNONITES

They migrated from Germany to Ukraine, to Russia, Canada, Mexico and the South American Continent. There are approximately 160,000 Mennonites living in Bolivia today; people who are continually on the lookout for a place where they can live a life completely separated from the ‘World’, where they can live according to their own rules and traditions.

Although they actually do learn short texts from the Bible by heart from a very young age, their day-to-day lives are strictly regulated by self-imposed rules. They are recognisable by their being uniformly dressed and by their speech; they speak a form of Low German no longer widely in use and which is easily distinguishable from Modern German. They reject the use of any kind of technological developments, from electrical power to mobile phones. 

The make their living from farming the land and breeding livestock, in keeping with methods used in the eighteenth century.

Their outward appearance is one of a bland and unhappy countenance. Joy and laughter are not permitted.

Familie Rempel
Familie Rempel in Bolivien

Nikolai and Tanja Rempel are working towards alleviating the miserable plight of these people. At the beginning of 2024 they and their children moved to a location in the proximity of a Mennonite Settlement, near Santa Cruz in Bolivia and have been living there since.

 

Living near to the Settlement has brought them into contact with the Mennonites and with their systematic network. A network of religion, tradition, fear and a rigid system of control. Hearing the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ and experiencing freedom through Him transforms lives, changes their bleak outlook and ends subordinate dependence.

 

In the area close to the Settlement there are also numerous Bolivian families living in a perpetual cycle of poverty and ruination.

The Rempels offer not only practical aid. The whole family has a hands-on approach; their home is always open to neglected children who can experience the love of God’s fatherly heart restoring their lost identity.