Tuesday at 6 pm I had just returned from picking our kids up from a friend's house. The government had cancelled school due to Irene, the hurricane that really never showed itself in our area, so our kids had a fun day with friends. I sat down and looked forward to a quiet evening with my family. A few minutes later, Pastor Alex called from Buenos Aires saying they needed my help because the sound system, that a team had brought them in July, wasn't working properly. I talked with Becky and soon was on my way to Buenos Aires.
Some History...
In July, a team of teenagers came with the desire to work with teenagers. The team focused in two areas - Los Calabazos and Buenos Aires. One night we had planned to evangelize house to house in Sabaneta, a community next to Buenos Aires. However we learned that two days earlier a young man from Sabaneta had been killed. We wondered how we could minister to the family. So, after an hour of going door to door, we all met that the house of deceased.
Cultural note - when someone dies, the family & community observe 9 days of mourning. In these days, the home is open for visits and each evening a service is held at the house. To be sure we weren't intruding, Pastor Alex visited the house early in the day and asked if we could pass by and share in the evening service. Once at the house, we held a service that focused on encouraging this community and sharing the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.
On my way to Buenos Aires to tend to the sound system, Alex called and told me to meet him at the house that we had visited in July. After the team left in July, they continuted to visit Sabaneta. Now there is a weekly Bible study there and some from the community have started attending church services. And Alex said, "Tonight we want to have a service once again to celebrate God here and share once again, the hope we have in Jesus Christ." After the pickups had arrived with the equipment, we set up and the service began. I called Becky and told her I would be a few hours because a service had broken out in the campo (small village).
As I listened and watched, I found myself praising God for how He is working. We stood in a open patch of dirt between 4-5 houses. Songs of praise filled this little campo. Different men gave testimonies. Carol, Alex's wife, share a poem of God's faithfulness. The amplifier system that had been brought in July was being put to good use as the sound reached way beyond the area. In a country where music gets blasted anywhere anytime, tonight this campo was being filled with God's greats news of Salvation!
We were supposed to be getting hit by an hurricane but God had other plans. Praise Him and praise Him again!
