Already February.

Main Street

Last week I was invited to go to a rural village called El Faísan for church services with a group from a small congregation that meets not too far from my apartment. The pastor, Memo, operates a hand car wash during the day and holds services there on Tuesday and Saturday nights. The trip to El Faísan was by taxi. There were nine of us including the driver in a four-passenger cab.

            The meeting turned out to be a combined service of seven or eight different churches. Each of the pastors was introduced and so was I. I only had to stand up and give my name and tell where I was from. Whew!! However, a little while later, I was unexpectedly called out and asked to share. Can you say invisibility cloak?  There I was standing in front of a packed house with a microphone in my hand, all eyes fixed on me without a clue what to say. Here is an example of being ready in season and out. I opened my mouth and Spanish, such as it was, came out. I actually delivered a decent short message.

            Being Anglo puts certain expectations on a person. The first is that we are wealthy. By the standards of most of the population, we truly are. The second is that we have all of the answers. These factors cause nearly everyone to want to be your friend. It explains why I’ve been asked  to speak by pastors I’ve only just met. Where in the world would a pastor invite a visitor he has never met to preach next week’s message? Apparently here.

It is a burden and a heavy responsibility, but it is also a great opportunity to share the Gospel message. I want to use every opportunity in whatever time I have left here. I have to say that it is difficult to walk away from what looks like so many open doors.

Lunch was served after the 2 ½-hour service. We were offered a choice between chicken and iguana. You know what I chose. You can get chicken anywhere. It was served in mole rojo (red spicy gravy) with frijoles, rice and tortillas. It was delicious! The only problem with iguana is that there are lots of tiny bones to deal with.

On Friday evening, I went fishing again with my friend and brother Manólo. This time we attached the beginning of the net to the navigation buoy that marks the entrance to the Marina and went out from there. I have never been that far from shore without a boat. As we finished stretching the net, a very large yacht left the harbor. I felt like Tom Hanks in Castaway when he got rescued. After the nets were collected a couple of hours later, we went to his house where his wife cooked some of the catch for dinner. You can’t get fish any fresher than that.

I am very blessed to have friends here who are looking out for my well-being. If anything, I am getting too much to eat. The existing classes are going well. I really enjoy them.  It has been the greatest way to get to know people and  let them get to know me. I wish that I could respond positively to requests from others. I am attending at four different churches as often as possible.  This is also a great way to make connections.  

Las Bahias de Huatulco from the path to Monte de Dios