Easter in Guadalajara Mexico
Easter is a time of thankfulness and a time to remember what Christ did at the Cross and the Resurrection. It is a time of inner reflection and it should be so. We don’t often get a chance to see what our Lord is doing in other places. Our first stop is Guadalajara Mexico.
The interrupter Karen, who was the local leader of the Christian student union at the college. I was so glad she and a group of local Christians met me at the airport. Pastor Samuel and the others taught me four things before we arrived at the sleeping quarters. First of all, you have to learn to speak with your heart and not so much with your mouth. Some things are universal, a grin is a grin and a nod is a nod. There are some words you might learn, like, desayuno, which means breakfast. I found it very useful to know. Second, the speed signs are merely a slight suggestion. Third, people can do a lot with very little funds. The last thing I learned is that you distinguish Christians from others. Christians were the only ones smiling.
When I first saw the church I thought it had been bombed. I only had the back wall and one side still standing and the wall on the other side was in need of some major repair. Later I discovered they were building the church themselves brick by brick. They made the bricks out the sand pile near the front door. Their goal was a three story building with the parsonage on the top floor and the worship area would seat two hundred. Our worship area was a lean-to that was twelve feet wide and thirty feet long. They fitted fifty chairs and they were full each night. Most of them walked to church each night and some lived an hour away. One of the deacons drove a moped from work to get there. One particular night it was wet and the bus quit running so he got his family to ride with him. A moped is pretty loaded with two people but he had his wife and four daughters on this thing. One had to stand on feet pegs in the rear axle while her sister partially sat behind her.
My favorite worship service was the night it rained. The worship area was not rain proof and in no time we had an inch of water on the floor where we were sitting. The gentleman leading the music didn’t hesitate, he simply ignored the rain. The people kept time with the music by tapping their feet. The splash-splash added a melodious sound almost mystical, I tapped my foot along with them.
At the end of the week thirty-six people had stepped forward and accepted Christ as their Savior. It was not because of me for I had only been selected as the speaker, Christ was alive and doing well, which is what Easter is all about.
– Cliff Hudgins
Find more by Cliff Hudgins here.