Revival in Bolivia and the Role of Julio Cesar Ruibal Since the end of the arrival of protestant missionaries

to Bolivia at the end of the 19th Century, conversions had been scarce. It is until after the Bolivian revolution of 1952 that radical social changes happen and there is more openness to non-Pentecostal and Pentecostal churches to penetrate relatively closed rural areas and which were receptive to hearing the Gospel.1 The establishment of Pentecostal missions occurred after the 1920s but their growth had been slow. David Grams, an Assemblies of God missionary, describes how in 1952 when initiating a visit to the highlands region of Bolivia, in one of the meetings they had a special spiritual experience where some congregants were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Previously the Amigos (Friends) mission had passed on a small congregation to the Assemblies of God, since the Amigos missionaries had been in the region without much success. At that point this small congregation was requesting a pastor, and there were no trained workers at that moment, however, a young man, Andrs Condori, who happened to have received the experience of the infilling with the Spirit at that meeting, in miraculous ways responded to the call to become a pastor. According to his testimony, he and his wife saw an angel telling them to go and pastor the church. Immediately, Condori sold his bull (at that moment a highly valued commodity) to respond the call and put a lock to the doors of his humble home. After pastoring for two months, Condori went to visit Grams to inform him that he had 30 new believers ready to be baptized. This work eventually grew to reach the surrounding areas.2 Despite there are several accounts in which there were indications of a vital Church reaching out. However, there are no major episodes of a mass movement as it would be seen a couple of decades later. A very important breakthrough occurred with Julio Cesar Ruibal. As a young man, Ruibal had traveled to the United States to pursue medical studies. In 1971 he went to a Kathryn Kuhlmans meeting at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles where he was healed and became a believer. Not too long after that he went to another Kuhlmans meeting and he along with hundreds of people were not able to make into the auditorium. At that point Ruibal feeling guided by God to pray for the sick outside of the building, call on the people and started praying and at least 40 people were miraculously healed. This episode started Ruibals ministry. As Ruibal went back to Bolivia at age 19 in 1972, he started sharing the gospel with friends and family, signs and wonders started happening and soon the new converts started writing songs in Spanish, since Ruibal didnt know much of the national churches and of the traditional songs they sang. Rapidly the group grew from 20 to 50, to 100 and in few months they had to rent auditoriums, and soon after even small stadiums to hold 6,000 to 7,000 people were becoming small. Attendees were attracted by the incredible signs and wonders taking place.3 Ruibals wife, describe some of the miracles:
1

Gilles Riviere, Bolivia: El Pentecostalismo en la Sociedad Aimara del Altiplano, http://nuevomundo.revues.org/index6661.html?lang=en#tocto1n2 (accessed September 2, 2009). 2 Historia de SemtadEl Alto, Seminario Ministerial Teolgico de las Asambleas de Dios de Bolivia, http://www.geocities.com/semtadea/historia.htm (accessed September 2, 2009).
3

Everett Wilson, La Historia del Pentecostalismo Latinoamericano. A Summary of Ungidos Para La Cosecha del Tiempo Final written by Julio Csar Ruibal (Miami, FL: Editorial Vida, 1999), 26-28.

One of the miracles involves a woman with bone cancer. She was bedridden and her upper leg could not be moved for lack of bone. Her sons asked Julio to pray for her. He led her to the Lord and then prayed for healing. Then Julio felt the Lord telling him to lift the lady to her feet. He helped pull her up and she stood. God had replaced the bone eaten away by cancer! Another type of miracle took place in Santa Cruz, a city with a warm climate. On this particular day the multitudes were waiting for the meeting to begin, but it was a very hot day and some began to faint and ambulances would carry them away. Seeing this, Julio was moved with compassion for the people and prayed that the Lord would change the weather. The Lord sent clouds from the north to confirm that it was the Lord bringing relief. (Normally that area would get cool winds from Antarctica in the south, but not from the north.) Also the Lord sent a light mist that proved to be a type of air conditioning. This was so outstanding that the secular newspapers showed pictures of the clouds and reported the miracle.4 The beginning and development of the massive campaigns also report miraculous events. Ruibal describes how on one occasion was invited to pray for a member of the cabinet of Bolivias President Hugo Banzer Surez. The officer was bedridden after being in a car accident where his back had been damaged and was paralyzed from the waist down. Immediately after having shared the Gospel with him and prayed for healing, the man was healed. As a result, few days later, Mr. Banzer sent for Ruibal to bring him to the Presidential palace. There, the President and his wife made a commitment to follow Jesus and offered any help needed to preach the Gospel. Ruibal asked for means to do the work and Mr. Banzer facilitated permits to use the largest stadiums, radio and prime TV time in the only TV station at that moment with a 1,000,000 audience, his personal plane, and even called for mayors in key towns to help organize meetings to hear the Gospel.5 Despite of the Presidents political views in the following years after 1972, Presidents Banzer actions that year were instrumental for the preaching of the Gospel. Besides the campaigns in Bolivia, Ruibal also preached in Peru and Ecuador with similar manifestations as in Bolivia. The political environment at that time, however, did not allow for massive crusades in these countries and rather Ruibal was the focus of persecution by different factions including the police of Ecuador. Nevertheless, miracles took place and large numbers of people received Jesus as their personal savior. One peculiar healing occurred in Ecuador when the police brought before Ruibal a mentally handicap man who also was deaf and mute, and with body deformities. This man was used by the police as a last resource to dissolve protests. If gas, or police dogs would not help to dissolve a protest, this man was sent yielding a long stick strong enough to cause serious damage on those who would be hit by the man. The initial intention of the officers was not out of concern for the man, instead, they wanted to prove Ruibal as a liar. However, as he was lead by the Spirit, Ruibal put his hands on the mans head, who at point would grunt as an animal, and the man immediately received his hearing and his countenance changed. Many policemen did not believe in the miracle but as they learned
4

J. Lee Grady, The Marks of Genuine Revival, Charisma Magazine, http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/churchandministry/Grady_Revival_A.aspx, (accessed September 2, 2009).

Wilson, 28-30.

about the reality of what was happening they believed, and one of the higher ranking officers repented and decided to become a believer.6 The move of the Holy Spirit in Bolivia during this time was sovereign, although Ruibal is very notorious in this period, Gods grace was being manifested in different ways. An account of a New Tribes missionary reports that one day they encountered a group of people, natives of the area, waiting for someone to come to them and talk about God. These group had not even heard about the campaigns or the miracles taking place but were experiencing a deep burden to hear about God.7 This visitation of the Holy Spirit upon Bolivia opened ample doors for the Gospel and brought growth to the Church. Eventually, Ruibal, along with his family moved to Cali, Colombia, ministered there for several years, and on December 13, 1995 he was murdered by one of the Colombian drug cartels. He was 42 at the time of his death.8

6 7

Ibid., 34-35.

Ibid., 30.
8

News: Prominent Bolivian Evangelist Murdered, Christianity Today Magazine, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1996/february5/6t2099.html, (accessed September 2, 2009).