Ruth, Our Hero

I arrived at El Montaña in the rain, dashing for the nearest porch.  Two women from the Bible study were there, chatting while they waiting for me to arrive.  After passing around cheek kisses and asking after family the following conversation ensued.

Rafaela:  I read the book you told us for this week.

Becky:  Really? And did you like it?

Rafaela:  Oh yes, it was very good and I read it for three days, so I know it.

Nory:   I read it too. I liked it.

Rafaela:  Do you know the story? How this woman goes to another land, see, and she marries and has sons who also marry.....then, I don't know how, her husband dies and then her sons die. (Pause) What could she do? She decided to go home, to her family, to the place where she was born, where she could live. But her two daughters, the wives of her sons... Ruth was one and what was the other?

Nory shrug:  It doesn't matter because she left.

Rafaela:  Yes, she left. At first they wanted to stay with Naomi, but Naomi said go home. What are you going to do, wait for me to have more sons so you can marry them? (Laughs) Imagine that, the old widow having a baby and her daughters-in-law waiting for him to grow up!

Nory:  That is funny!

Rafaela:  So other one left. But Ruth stayed! She was a good girl, see.

Nory:  Yes. She wouldn't leave her old widow mother-in-law. [Note: taking care of family, especially the elderly, is a Dominican cultural value.]

Rafaela:  She fell on her and cried.

Nory:  And she said, can you believe it, Where you go, I will go, where you stay, I will stay, where you die, I will die. And that was enough, so they went.

Rafaela:  Yes, where is a person to go when they are in grief and alone in the world. The only place is to go back home where you came from. Yes, and I am sure it was long, but they went, see.

Nory:  And Ruth, the darling, went with Naomi. How could Naomi go alone? She was an old widow. You can't leave an old widow alone.

Rafaela:  But the other one did. So they got home and they were poor. How could they find food? It was good to be home, but they had to find food, they had to survive. It ain't easy. I even think, what would I do if my husband died, and I have these children to feed. How can I earn a peso and leave them, but how could I send the boys out to get a peso? It gives me chills, so I pray for it not to happen.

Nory:   But it happens. You know how it was with me. You never know when your husband can die. I was so alone when he died suddenly. (Her husband died of lung cancer about 1 1/2 years ago) Only God knows what will happen. But look how he took care of me, just like Ruth. My daughters have good jobs and one is nearby. And now I am past the lonely hard times because of Jesus.  God will take care of you.

Rafaela:  So Naomi and Ruth had to find a way and Ruth went to the fields. You know they gathered the extra little bits, like what falls behind. [In the DR there is a somewhat similar custom, in that produce that hangs over the property line can be gleaned by a neighbor.]

Nory:  And there was a generous man, he was rich...Boaz, who made sure to tell his workers to leave extra for Ruth to pick up. He was part of the family, so he was good to her. So she worked for both (Ruth and Naomi) and they did it. Then Ruth was very clever and went to find him in the night and put his robe over her feet. So Boaz asked another man if he would take Ruth and when he said no, Boaz took her and they were married. Then everything was good. God knew how it would be.

Becky: Yes, God knew how it would be and He provided for them. That is what He did for you too. Your heart was broken and you went through so much when your husband died. But God knew.

We went on to talk about hardships in life and how God knows, how he provides a way. We also talked about one woman's concerns for her teenagers and her hopes that they will be good children like Ruth was. This led to talk about protecting our children, giving them rules and protection from outsiders who try to lure them into drugs and alcohol. I shared some examples of how my parents had taught me Christian values and protected me when I was young. Dominican parents are protective, but sometimes in the rural areas, children are given too much freedom to roam and so aren't supervised as their mothers are working hard at home or outside the home and fathers are either working or often hanging with their buddies drinking.

I have been meeting with these women weekly for most of the year.  Most of them have grown in their faith and Rafaela accepted Christ along the way.   This fall I have changed both the focus of our study and the method of study.   All the women in the study read, it is not their preferred learning style.  They learn much better from interacting and listening.  So I have begun to focus on stories in the Bible that communicate faith lessons.  As illustrated above, the story of Ruth really captured their hearts.  When this happens, they remember the Bible and I believe God brings His story into their hearts.  I have been encouraging the women to share these stories with their children and family.  Only God knows what kind of ripple effect this may have in the community.