We are very happy to welcome Barney Cserepka to LAM as a missionary. He has an interesting history that he loves to share – be it in English, Hungarian or Spanish!  Barney's Hungarian immigrant parents, Rev. John & Dr. Margaret Cserepka, were called to Bolivia in the mid-60s. As a result, Barney and his sister Kathy spent most of their childhood in remote communities in the Amazon rainforest where they enjoyed some very unusual pets and a “National Geographic” lifestyle. More importantly, it was in Bolivia that Barney came to a living faith in Jesus at the age of 10, a faith that has deepened and matured and that he has a great passion for sharing with others.

Barney eventually found himself back in Canada, where he completed his studies at the Ontario College of Arts and the University of Guelph. He is married to his multilingual wife, Eniko, who is from Transylvania and of Hungarian descent. They have 5 adult children, who are also in Ontario. Barney’s career has included teaching high school, owning and operating several retail computer businesses, and working as a financial advisor.

It was in 2011 that Barney responded to a call to serve God in Bolivia and he began to organize short-term teams to assist with mission projects under the ministry banner of ‘A Touch of Compassion – Bethesda Projects’.  LAM Canada is pleased to assist Barney in carrying forward the vision of this ministry and to continue its worthwhile work of helping remote churches throughout Bolivia to thrive, grow and develop in areas such as new church construction, the improvement of existing church and educational facilities, and from time to time, other community projects such as skills development, feeding programs and medical support.  When possible, the ministry also provides support to national Bolivian pastors for their ongoing work.  Barney plans to continue to organize short-term teams twice yearly in February and August.  Consider joining a team.  A wealth of videos highlighting Barney’s work in Bolivia – as well as his parents’ work - is available on his YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@atouchofcompassion-bethesd9340/videos

Donations for Barney’s ongoing projects in Bolivia can be made via the link below or under our projects menu under “Cserepka, Barney”  Donations are tax deductible.