My friend – don Julio

A big smile, extended hand and a “Buenos dias hermano” in a rather high nasally voice greeted me as I walked through the gates to Carachipampa Christian School in July 1997. I smiled and shook his hand – not knowing a word he had said. Little did I know that this gentle, gracious and humble man would become one of my most valued friends during my 14 years in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Julio grew up in a 5 house pueblito called Plia Verde. Like most of the Quechua families living in the shadows of Mount Tunari at over 5000 meters above sea level, Julio’s family had a little plot of potatoes cultivated at 45 degrees on the rocky mountainside. He took turns with his sisters caring for the family’s sheep and llamas. After harvest, he would help his family bury some of the potatoes in mounds of earth serving as a year-round refrigerator. Some of the choice potatoes were stepped on to remove the moisture and stored under ground as “chuño” for soup and fiestas all year long. The rest of the crop along with wool from the sheep and Llamas was loaded on the backs of llamas, and Julio would start on a 2 week walk to Indipendencia. The money he would get from the sale would be used to buy batteries, salt, pasta and other things not available in rural Bolivia.

Julio was always a leader with strong convictions and a rashness to follow those convictions without much evaluation. As a young adult visiting the cathedral in the big city of QuillaCollo, he heard of the apostasy of the evangelicals. Like the Biblical Saul, Julio requested and received documents authorizing the destruction of evangelical churches and those who claimed to be evangelicals. Leading a group of young men, he headed home to do his part in maintaining the Truth.

On this mission, Julio met 2 people that would transform his life and passions for the next 40 years. Flora was a beautiful Quechua teenager, singing with 2 other girls to the accompaniment of several guitars, churangos, and an accordion. The gang of hooligans was at one of the first pueblitos they were determined to “clean out.” What Julio didn’t realize was that this amazing young woman was singing in an evangelical meeting. A stormy relationship developed between ‘beauty’ and ‘mission’. Beauty won after Julio met the other person so influential in his life – the personal, crucified and risen Lord who would capture every corner of his life.

Julio graduated from the QuillaCollo Bible Institute with a life-long passion to see his beloved Quechua people gathered at God’s throne. He and Flora married, bought a small plot of land in the country near the Bible Institute and their church, the Carachipampa Church (UCE). Soon after, the government developed a whole city around his home for miners displaced from Oruro. They raised their family along with sheep that Flora would use for wool and meat, chickens and a variety of fruit trees Julio came upon as gardener for Carachipampa Christian School. On weekends Julio, Flora and their children would board potato trucks, trufis and even taxis to visit pueblitos all over the mountains between QuillaCollo and LaPaz, Oruro, the Chapari and wherever Julio was invited to preach, baptize, perform marriages, counsel and develop leaders – all in the evangelical church he had once received a commission to destroy. Julio helped start Nuevo Sinai, a church serving the mixed Quechua and Spanish speaking community in QuillaCollo. Their home was always open for folks coming off the mountains to trade in QuillaCollo. Julio and Flora took in several children from families in the mountains who wanted their children educated.

On that July day in 1997 when don Julio greeted me, I was looking into the eyes and shaking the hand of a true hero to many, many people all through Bolivia – a humble gardener, but a mighty warrior in God’s kingdom. A year later my wife Lori agreed to let me help don Julio in his life passion of ministry to the Quechua. We started a ministry called ACTS 29 – doing our part too continue Jesus’ Great Commission described in the 28 chapters of the Acts of the Apostles and continuing to this day.  I had a small Toyota Land Cruiser that we used and eventually turned over to the ministry. From gifts of folks in the US, England and Australia, we bought another bigger vehicle and built a Ministry Center on don Julio’s property.

Don Julio’s son Ruben followed along in the Quechua sandals of his father. He graduated from a Mission’s school in LaPaz (while working full time as gardener for Carachipampa Christian School – taking the place of his retired father) and married a wonderful young lady from Oruro, Shirley. At the dedication of their daughter at the Carachipampa Church, Ruben and Shirley – along with his parents don Julio and doña Flora dedicated her to missions. Don Julio and Ruben have participated in Missions Conferences at the International Church (CIC) and led teams from the CIC on mission trips into the mountain pueblos – don Julio’s family. They continue to lead mission trips with their home church, Carachipampa,

My friend – don Julio. A dreamer, visionary, leader, prayer warrior, Bible scholar, wonderful father, loved by folks all through Bolivia. We miss you my friend! But you’ve engraved the image of the living, loving, risen King of Kings into many of our lives – mine for sure. There is a lot of don Julio living in lives all across Bolivia and even the world. Farewell dear friend!