This morning I went to a men’s breakfast for the men at our
church. I was so nervous. The language barrier is still intimidating. When I arrived I was relieved to see some German
friends from my school. Even though they don’t speak English it felt
comfortable sitting with someone I knew. We were served soup and bread, a
common breakfast here and the soup was onions, tomatoes, fish and lots of spicy
stuff. I like spicy stuff but it was strong enough that I had trouble eating it
and I worked up a good sweat.
The most interesting part was after breakfast we had a bible
study. It was lead by the pastor of our church Pedro. Of the 25 men at the
breakfast I was one of the youngest, most of the men were 50 and older. For the
study we read a passage and answered questions about it. But I was surprised by
the basic nature of the questions. What is the context of the passage? Who does
the passage say Jesus is? What are important things in the passage we should
imitate?
Why were the questions so basic? Here is some background: 40
years ago some of the first evangelical Christian missionaries came to this
area. They began to teach about Jesus and the bible. The first Christian churches
were started. Even 20 years ago there were few Christian churches in the area
and most of the churches were small with less than 50 people. Even though Peru
has a Christian presence and Christian churches this is a relatively new thing.
These men at the study were not born and
raised in the church. They don’t know all the right answers. Even if they came
from the Catholic tradition reading the bible is discouraged here. There is
still a need to teach basic doctrine to these relatively new believers.
Denominations are not important here. Where there are
denominations it causes confusion among the believers. There is no time to argue
about which translation is best, what songs to sing, or what clothes to wear.
People need to know about Jesus. They need to know that faith in Jesus is more
important then attending mass on Sunday. They need to know a relationship with
Jesus is more important than sacrificing guinea pigs or idol worship. The church
is growing here and the central focus is to share the gospel, and teach about
Jesus.
As I discussed earlier this week in school with my Spanish professor
he told me I have a gran responsabilidad (important responsibility). Because
there is a huge need for sound biblical teaching here. It is a reminder: we are
going to Yurimaguas to work with the Shawi people, to help feed children, to
help with pregnant women and to teach agriculture; but more importantly we are
going to share Christ. So as Christians lets focus on what matters; sharing
Christ with a lost and dying world. Es un gran responsabilidad.
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How
then, can the call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they
believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without
someone preaching to them?” Romans
10:13-14
Josh
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