Bolivia Update

Since the start of this year, Bolivia has been shaken by political tensions and deep economic uncertainty. For many, daily life has become a struggle. As the presidential elections approach at the end of August, people are praying for peace and justice, though expectations remain cautious.

The economic crisis is severe. The official bank exchange rate offers 6.95 Bolivianos per euro, while local exchange offices sometimes give up to 16 Bolivianos — a staggering difference that makes daily life and bookkeeping extremely difficult. Paying with credit cards is nearly impossible in the cities and in the villages where we serve there is also often no electricity, internet, or even pen and paper. Fuel shortages can delay our medical journeys for days. On top of this, frequent protests and road blockades hinder our expeditions to remote areas. If you’re interested, you can click the following link to learn more in depth.

Yet the need is urgent. In La Chiquitanía (the Bolivian Amazon), the Chaco (bordering Paraguay), and across the Andes, countless forgotten villages have no acces to medical care. With your support, we can reach them with life-saving help.

In the face of uncertainty, we cling to God’s promise: He cares for us even during the most difficult times.May Bolivia be granted peace, wise leaders, and renewed hope by Him.

For more than 35 years, I have been following God’s call together with my wife and our dedicated Bolivian medical, logistical, pastoral, and creative team. Our motto was still: “To go where no medical doctor comes.” This way, we brought medical care to villages, not only in the medical field, but also in the field of lasting hope.

This spring, heavy rains and landslides made the Andes villages unreachable — the paths along the Río Pilcomayo were completely washed away. Yet later in the year, we were able to return and continue serving. Our monthly expenses include purchasing thousands of medicines, paying staff salaries, and maintaining our DM vehicles to traverse rugged terrain.

Even now (July–August 2025), we press on through the cold of the Andean winter. Thankfully, winter also means the dry season, making travel a bit easier. With virtually no outside help, our work can literally save lives by treating the many diseases before they become serious, or even deadly. The relief and gratitude in the eyes of the many children (and adults) repeatedly confirm how indispensable our help is here. They know that our team has been sent by God.

Thanks to your prayers, gifts, and faithful support, this work has continued unbroken for 35 years. Our gratitude — and that of our Bolivian team — is immense. All glory to God, who calls, guides, and strengthens us to make His love tangible in the most remote places.

P.s. We needed to end our work in Haiti in 2023 due to extreme violence. The primar driver of this mass displacement is an unrelenting Haitian and Colombian (drug-related) gang war. The situation became extremely unsafe. These armed gangs are striking Haiti with terror, (including a lot of sexual violence), torture, killings and kidnappings of missionaries & volunteer workers for ransom. Also our local team needed to fled. In the two years leading up to mid 2025, approximately 1.3 million people were internally displaced in Haiti due to escalating gang violence and insecurity, a record high since mid-2025. Nearly half a million people fled to the US without papers or with papers that needed to be resolved. Much prayer is needed for Haiti, which rarely appears on the news.