Personal Glimpses

 

I got to celebrate my birthday in style this year.  Mari had invited me over for breakfast, and I was surprised to be greeted by none other than a mariachi band!  Since this is a significant birthday here from what Mari said (yep, the big 60) she wanted to make it memorable, and she did.




Church was next on the agenda, and I had a great time teaching the lesson for Children’s Church.  With all the other things I am doing, I don’t get to spend as much time working with the Children’s Ministry at Iglesia del Camino, but I love the time I do get to be with the kids.

After church, Dick and 9 of his boys took me out for lunch.  The neatest thing happened on our way there.  As we were walking down the street, a lady from church who was passing by in her car called out the window, “What a neat family!”  And I realized that, though none of us are biologically or legally related, we are just that, a family.  While these guys will never replace my kids and grandkids, they sure do make living away from them easier. 

 This is Miguel praying the blessing before we ate.  I can’t tell you how it touches my heart when these teenage boys un-self-consciously come to our Father in prayer.

A first for me this year was getting to “preach” in a Guatemalan church.  This was nothing planned, at least not by us.  Dick and I had been visiting up at Lake Atitlan, and  we decided to stop by and see Jessica’s family on our way home.  (Jessica had been in the malnutrition project at Hermano Pedro for almost a year, and we’ve become very close to her family.)

When we arrived at their house a neighbor told us that the family was at church.  We were a little surprised by this, since it was late Saturday afternoon, but decided to go an join them for worship.  We walked into the small church this poor community had literally built with their own hands, and were immediately blessed by the beautiful simplicity of their worship.  No instruments, no speakers, no sound system, just loving hearts raised to honor our Father.

When the time of worship ended, Virginia, Jessica’s mom who had been leading the prayer time, went over and talked to another lady seated at the side.  They kept looking at me, and I thought maybe they would ask me to say a few words in greeting.

Imagine how surprised I was when Virginia came to me, saying that their pastor had not shown up this evening, and they believed God had sent me to speak to them.  Would I preach? 

I looked at Dick, and he reminded me he did not speak Spanish.  I reminded him that I had translated for him before, and together we managed to piece together something of a sermon.  Frankly, I don’t remember much of what was said, but have to trust that God was able to make something out of our poor ramblings.  If I ever had any “delusions” of wanting to be a pastor, I think this took care of it.  And I have a much better understanding of the directive:

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 
                                              (1Peter 3:15a)