Testimonies

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who
have been called according to his purpose" Romans 8 : 28

Who are we?

Chicho and Rachel Tube Oniava

Working in the Freedom Kids ministry
with the Totai Foundation in
Trinidad-Beni, Bolivia.

Home Church:
Cartsbridge Evangelical Church
Busby, Glasgow
Scotland

I was born and brought up in Glasgow, Scotland in a Christian family. I
grew up in Cartsbridge Evangelical Church in Busby and always went to
church and Sunday School but I made the decision to accept Jesus into my
heart and have a personal relationship with him when I was 11 years old.

I have always been interested in working with children and I started
sponsoring a little boy in Rwanda when I was 13 and was most
unimpressed when my dad wouldn't let me go to Rwanda to look for him
during the war!! I visited Romania with my dad when I was 15 and visited
an orphanage there and always had underprivileged children on my heart. I
know that God always had a plan for me and that the desire I had to work
with children was a desire He had put in my heart and that he knew that
Bolivia was where I would end up long before I ever did!!

When I was younger I became ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and was
unable to go to school for 2 years when I was 15 and 16 years old.
Through that difficult time I was encouraged by friends and family and by
many people praying for me and I know it was those prayers that got me
through my exams so I could get my Highers and go to university.

I first came to Bolivia over 7 years ago to visit a little girl that I sponsored at
La Palmera school here in Trinidad-Beni. I had wanted to be involved in
mission for many years and in 1999 I came to Bolivia for a month and was
involved in various activities, such as teaching English, helping out at
camp, devotions with the children, and visiting the prison and the children
who lived there with their mothers. I went back home to continue my
studies but couldn't forget Bolivia. I went back the next year for a couple of
months over my summer holidays but really felt that God was wanting me to
stay and work specifically with the children in the prison. I took a year out
of university and came back to help out in the woman's prison. One
memorable day was when the women made a special lunch for me for my
21st birthday so I had quite an unusual 21st celebration - in jail!!

I finished my economics degree in 2003 and knew that a job in high
finance, which is what most of my classmates were looking for, just wasn't
for me. God had given me a real burden for the children of Bolivia and with
the support and backing of my church, I came back to for 2 years and
moved from the woman's prison to the men's prison.

During that 2 year period, my Spanish improved greatly and I was able to
communicate with the children and families on a much deeper level and
was able to build friendships, talk and laugh with them and share with them
the importance of trusting Christ and the new life that he could give them. I
really learned how to rely on God since I was so far away from home, in a
different culture, with a different language and so many heartbreaking
situations to deal with on a daily basis. Psalm 62 :1-2 was a great comfort
to me. "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He
alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall never be
shaken"

In August 2005, I got engaged to Chicho, who I met at church here a`couple
of years ago and who worked alongside me for the last 6 months of my 2
years.

We went home to Scotland just after Christmas last year and we were
married in my home church, Cartsbridge on th 21st January 2006. (to see
wedding photos, click here) We spent 4 months in Scotland, speaking in
various different churches about the work God has called us to and
seeking prayer support for the children and families we work with.

We've now been back in Bolivia for a couple of months and are excited to
see God move and change lives! It's such a privilege to be involved in the
Freedom Kids ministry and to know that God is in control and will do
amazing things here if we trust him and let him use us for his glory. A verse
that has always encouraged me is Philippians 4 : 13 - "I can do all things
through him who strengthens me" Nothing I do here is in my own strength,
but is Christ working through me. He gives me the love, patience,
perseverance, energy and motivation I need to serve him each day.

Out for ice cream!

My name is Chicho, I am 22 years old and am the third of seven children.
I am from Trinidad in the Beni region of Bolivia. I was born into a
non-Christian family - my parents weren't Christians and it looked like they
never would be. I didn't have a good understanding of who God was until I
was 9 years old. I didn't understand what it meant to have a relationship
with God, even though my parents were now believers and we all went to
church together. One day during a church service, I made the decision to
accept the Lord into my heart and then I took the next step of being
baptized a few months later in a camp.

After that I thought that was all that I needed to do and I started to get
involved with gangs, doing things that I shouldn't have done, like go out
looking for people to annoy in the street, dancing in the street, smoking
and drinking.

But one day something happened to make me realise that God was
speaking to me. At home, we didn't have anything to eat and the bank
was going to repossess our house. We hadn't eaten anything for a whole
day, when a friend from church sent us a huge piece of meat - the leg of a
cow! It made me realise that even when I'm doing the wrong thing and not
involving God in my life, He is still with me. I decided to change and serve
the Lord.

In 2003, I met Rachel while I was working in construction and a year later I
started to help her with the prison kids' work. When Rachel was ill and had
to go home for 3 months, I was in left in charge of the children. I wasn't
very good with them and didn't have much patience, but with time I started
to get to know them and care about them. I began to get more involved in
the work in the prison from then on and God has been touching my life
through the prison children.

At the end of December last year, I left Bolivia to travel to Scotland to get
married and to spend 4 months getting to know Rachel's family, friends,
and to be involved in her home church, Cartsbridge. On the 21st January
2006 I married Rachel and now the two of us are back in Bolivia to work in
the lives of these children, with the hope that they will come to know the
Lord and his love for them. Please pray for us and the children.

Rachel Tube Oniava

Alan Maicol (Chicho) Tube Oniava