Last night I rode in a taxi that has been 46 times round the earth!! It belongs to Adolpho, a dear Christian man in the church. His taxi has done 600,000 km!!! True!! He has been taking us places whilst the combi is out of action. I hope he has changed the tyres in that time. I look at them, and see quite a lot of tread. Phew! These must be new (ish!)It is certainly never dull in a taxi around Arequipa. Adolpho clearly believes his life is safe in the Lord´s hands! We drive across junctions, over bumps, round roundabouts with carefree joy and conversation. A few narrow misses barely make any difference to his joyful chatting and laughing! All the time Roxy, Mellie and I (in the back) are smiling and praying that the Lord would truly keep us!!
Seriously though, Taxi drivers barely scrape a living out of this work. After fuel and registration costs, they may take home only 30 Soles ( 8 Pounds ) per day!! He probably has never handled a 200 Sole note (about 50 Pounds) like the picture. But it is work.
Adolpho will begin work at about 5am and work until 8 or 9 pm. He has been driving for 10 years (with breaks of course!), to help pay for his daughter's education. And yet, he is a beautiful example of a joyful Christian. He is kind, generous and would gladly help us in any way he could. He does not expect payment, although Anthony persuades him to recieve a fare from us each time.
The church is full of people like this. Most are poor, having very little prospects so far as this material world is concerned. But they are full of joy, kindness, generosity and love. The answer is obvious: they have experienced the amazing love of the Lord Jesus Christ, who forgives their sin, meets all their needs, and promises them eternal bliss with him forever! We in the west can learn so much from these dear Christians.
The evangelistic meal went very well last night. In total there were probably about 85 people there, around 1 third were new to the church. After hymns and an evangelistic message, there were games, and a free meal. Preaching in English, with Anthony translating, is not easy, but we got into our stride. It is a very different way of preaching. You have to keep brief sentences, and discipline yourself to pause regularly. But the Lord will bless the preaching of his word.
The food here is filling, and often tasty, but I went to bed thinking of the Monty Python sketch about Spam. "Spam and eggs, Spam and chips, Spam and Spam... etc." Only change spam for "Potato and Rice!" You get the picture. Mr Montezuma pays me a visit today, so that is one reason I am looking forward to being home, to have a settled tummy. Oh yes, and some spam fritters.
This morning I preached at the church with Anthony translating. My theme was, "Is it worth following Jesus?" The text was John 19, where Jesus sees Mary and John at the foot of the cross. Is it worth following Jesus? Yes... because...
1. He is the Saviour who sees our sorrows!
2. He is the Saviour who meets our needs!
3. He is the Saviour who forgives our sins!
Anthony and Roxy felt the message was well suited to the folks, many of whom face hardships because they are following the Lord, on top of the problems they face being poor and Peruvian.
Alfredo led a time of singing before hand. He is clearly a gifted man, whom Anthony feels may soon be preaching and possibly the Lord may use in Ministry. Anthony is praying and waiting for Alfredo to hear that call himself.
Afterwards, Ronnie called me up, to give me a beautiful present from the church, six place mats, of various Peruvian animals, hand stitched on a black background. The folks here are so generous. Lots of folks ask when I will come back? I say, I don´t know, and that there are probably others who will be in the queue before me for the next visit!! It has been such a blessing being here. Took lots of photos. Sorry I cannot put them on the website yet, due to my camera's memory card being the wrong size.
This afternoon, all the family are coming over to celebrate Anthony's birthday. It is actually tomorrow, but everyone will be working. Actually, whilst coming to church this morning, Roxy´s sister Miriamme, and her husband Julio were involved in a nasty car crash. They were driving along a main road, when a bus pulled out in front of them. Their car may well be a write-off. Julio's face was swollen and he had a cut lip, but thankfully, no serious injuries. It serves as a reminder. Anthony thinks that part of the main road is always dangerous... and then he reminds me it is the road we travel on to get to the Airport on Wednesday!
Tomorrow, Alfredo and his wife have invited us for breakfast. And another sister invited us for evening meal on Tuesday. In between these I have to fit some final present shopping into my busy schedule. Plus some siestas...
Well, got to go, lunch is served...
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