Don Enrique has told us
that when he first started working at the mission church
a little over three years ago, people who lived by the
church would throw rocks at him and Ethel when they
arrived for services. We thank the Lord that we don't
have to dodge rocks now when we visit Solidaridad.
There has been a big change, and Don Enrique attributes
it to the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of these
people. They have seen that the church is about serving
and helping and when they see people wanting to help the
children, their hearts were softened.
There
are three special people that I want to write about;
Felipa, Carmen, and Alejandro. Since I only have a
picture right now of Alejandro, you'll have to wait a
while to read about the two women.
I first
met Alejandro last July when we were at Solidaridad
helping with Vacation Bible School. It was my job to
run "sports." As you can imagine, in Mexico when you do
sports you do soccer. Down there it is called football.
There
are no playing fields in Solidaridad, so I had found a
fairly flat but rocky spot at an intersection and had
declared this to be our soccer field. The field was
technically in the street, but I don't recall one time
having to stop play for traffic.
As I was
using my "Spanglish" to try to divide up the children
into teams and get the game started, Alejandro rode up
on his bicycle. After he watched my efforts for a few
minutes, he asked in his limited English if I wanted him
to help. I accepted his offer and with a few words he
got the action started. He and I chatted some while the
game was being played. He struck me as being friendly
and curious about what this American was doing in this
place. All week he was kind of hanging around.
I asked
Don Enrique who he was and he told me that he was the
father of two of the little girls who come to the
church, Lluvia and Carla. They live right across the
street from the church. Alejandro had been with the
rock throwing group, but I don't know if he actually
threw any rocks himself.
Don
Enrique told about how Lluvia, who is the older of the
girls, ( I think she is 11 now) had come to him some
time ago and reported that her father (Alejandro) had
told her she could not go to the church anymore. Lluvia
was concerned because she is a Christian and knows she
should go to church. However, as she told Enrique, he
had taught her to honor her father and mother. What was
she to do?
Don
Enrique suggested that he have a talk with her father
and he did. After talking with Alejandro, Lluvia and
Carla were allowed to continue attending the mission
church with Don Enrique. But Alejandro and Clementia,
the mother of the girls, would have nothing to do with
the church.
It was
obvious to me that by hanging around the church as much
as he did last July, Alejandro might be having a change
of heart. When we were in Solidaridad in APRIL'S and
January, we saw Alejandro around and he was very
friendly to us. However, we never saw him attend the
church. He'd show up before or after services and then
disappear.
What a
thrill it was for Helen and myself when we attended
services at the mission church in April to not only see
Alejandro in attendance, but he was playing his guitar
and leading the praise singing. Sometime between
January and April, Alejandro had become a Christian and
was now fully participating in the church services.
Here is
a picture of Alejandro with Carla and Lluvia. I took
this after the Sunday service when I first saw Alejandro
in church. That is the mission church behind them. The
Bibles that the girls are holding were gifts from the
Chapel By The Sea.
Helen
and I thank the Lord that we have been privileged to see
Him do some remarkable things.
