Nov 6, 2024 It’s Never Too Late

It’s never too late to give your life to Him.

We saw that firsthand just how true that was in Bolivia. On our mission trips, we make an effort to spend time with the local community where our evening meetings take place.

It’s an opportunity for both our team and the people we serve to connect on a deeper level. These visits give our team members a chance to get to know the individuals and families they are ministering to and to form lasting bonds.

We always encourage team members to approach these visits with no plan other than to connect. We ask them to spend time simply being present, to ask about the life and daily challenges of the people they are visiting.

There are no time limits; some visits last 20-30 minutes, while others can stretch into hours. In this case, Brian, Terri, and D ended up spending nearly the entire afternoon with Gregorio and Demesia, an elderly couple living in the neighborhood near their meeting site.

They spent time in meaningful conversation, listening, and sharing life stories. We got to learn about Gregorio and Demsia’s joys, struggles, and everything in between.

Gregorio shared with the team a deeply moving story about an accident he had years ago, which resulted in multiple surgeries and ongoing health struggles. His body had never fully recovered, leaving him in constant pain. Demesia, too, shared her own challenges. With age, she had become frail and found even the simplest tasks difficult—walking short distances, weaving, and washing clothes were now beyond her capabilities.

“We used to go to different churches,” Demesia said, reflecting on their spiritual journey. “But we never went to a Seventh-day Adventist church because someone had to stay behind to take care of the animals and watch the house on Saturdays.”

Despite attending other churches, Demesia explained, they had never felt ready to take the step of baptism.

But that changed when the team and visited them and prayed with them.

“After D prayed for us,” Demesia continued, “he told us, ‘There’s a reason you’re still alive. It’s because you need to be baptized. You need to bring God into your hearts.’ That’s when I knew—it’s time. We can do it.”

As D prayed for them, something remarkable happened. Both Gregorio and Demesia felt a powerful presence, something they described as a touch from the Holy Spirit. “We felt something inside us shift,” Gregorio recalled. “It was like the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now is the time.'”

The next day, at the ages of 88 and 90, Gregorio and Demesia made the life-changing decision to be baptized for the first time.

For Demesia, the transformation was immediate and profound. “Since being baptized, I’ve been able to do everything!” she exclaimed. “I can wash clothes, walk without pain, and move things around. It feels like I have a new body, free from pain. I’m so grateful I listened to the Holy Spirit.”

This visit with Gregorio and Demesia was a powerful reminder that through prayer, patience, and an open heart, their lives were changed—and so were ours. It reminds us that age is but a number, time is but a construct, and all the matters is making the decision.

It’s moments like these that make our mission trips so meaningful, reminding us of the hope and healing that faith can bring into even the most challenging situations.

Click to view the Bolivia mission trip gallery