40 Years behind the Lens: Bob’s Favorite Shots

Bob Bushong, Support Staff, 

with Rachel Elwood, Support Staff 

January-March 2016

I’ve been with WGM since 1975 in a number of roles, but one of my favorites has been field photographer. I’ve gotten to see and record some amazing things: history in the making, faces that will never leave me, and testimonies of God’s great love. It’s been great to see how God can use my camera as His tool to tell His story.

Meredythe Scheflen took us to this overgrown sugar cane field near Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and insisted that one day it would be a university. She served tirelessly as a missionary in Bolivia for decades, and today, Bolivian Evangelical University is the largest private university in Bolivia with over 2,000 students enrolled.

MORE: Go to www.ueb.edu.bo to learn more about the ministries at BEU.

I felt like a real daredevil, practically hanging out of this Cessna to take photos of our Wings of Peace aircraft. This photo is especially meaningful because a few years later, WGM went through one of the most difficult chapters when a plane was lost in flight, along with its seven passengers.

GO: 

Through compassionate, education, family, and 

youth ministries, WGM Bolivia is reaching out to those aged 29 years and younger with the love of Christ. Discover how you can help share Christ’s love in Bolivia at www.wgm.org/bolivia.

It was a privilege to watch Dr. Ernie Steury work with patients at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya. He was the first missionary physician at Tenwek and truly laid the groundwork for it to become one of the leading missions hospitals in East Africa.

GIVE: While Tenwek’s medical services are patient-fee funded and usually affordable, these services are also made possible through donations from ministry partners like you. Donate at www.wgm.org/tenwek.

One of the best things about having taken photos on our fields for so long is that I’ve seen nationals develop into strong leaders. Reuben Lang’at (right) was doing his student missions internship to the Maasai people when I took this photo in the 1980s. He is now a WGM board member.

PRAY: Pray that the Lord will touch the hearts of qualified personnel to partner with WGM’s vital educational ministries around the globe. Training pastors, church leaders, and missionaries for Africa is a wonderful privilege.

I will never forget this little girl. She and her sister were

about the same ages of my own two daughters at the time, 

and I remember thinking how easily their lives could have been flipped, and it would have been my own kids who were struggling to draw water from a well.

GIVE: Poverty affects both the people of Bolivia and the church’s ability to serve. World Gospel Church of Bolivia needs funds to support pastors, improve church buildings, and fund missions. Partner with World Gospel Church of Bolivia through giving at www.wgm.org/wgc-bolivia.