The Revival

04/07
The Revival



The revival is in its second night. The music is great. It has a Latino beat, mixed with a Caribbean steel drum flavor and a little polka thrown in. The music is very unique to say the least. The music has stopped and the preaching about the rapture has continued from the previous night. I’m sitting next to Michael so he can interpret the message. He reemphasizes that Christ has come and opened the door for us to go to heaven by dying on the cross and removing our sins. We must believe and accept this free gift in order to go to heaven. It would change our lives. We would no longer lie, steal, fight, or kill. There would come a day when the villagers would knock on their pastor’s door and the pastor and his family would be gone. Michael, Rocky, and their family, as well as the missionaries would be gone. Some of their families and neighbors would be gone. God would have taken them all to heaven. The only ones left behind were those who had heard the word of God but refused to listen and believe. The sermon was very powerful. The sound system, which had worked flawlessly, has now failed. The lights, powered by the generator would suddenly fail. The old witch doctor stood in the back of the church waving his hands while chanting and casting spells on all who attended. I t seemed like an epic battle of good versus evil. Rocky and several others now head to the back of church to confront the witch doctor and pray over him. Within minutes the sound system and lights are back on, the whole time the preacher has not missed a beat. The ministers and elders now pass through the pews laying their hands on the people while praying with them. It is now time for an alterThe alter call brought David to the front kneeling on the hard unfinished concrete floor crying with his face in his hands. This man will have an incredible testimony. It is because of his savage attack on a man from another village, where David had sought revenge on a man for raping his uncle’s wife, that this nearby village considers Pinalito savages. In the incident David and Rejulleo chopped the offender into little pieces and spread his remains between the 2 villages. Several weeks ago, some kids had broken into the missionary house and stolen food and money. Stealing is a way of life out here. The parents usually congratulate their kids for there being able to outwit whomever they have stolen from. They only become angry if the kids are caught, this would show that their kids were not smart. Some of the villagers had put the blame on two of David’s children. Supposedly the oldest daughter had helped her brother through the windows. We discussed among the missionaries how we would handle the problem when we found the guilty party. Some of us, including myself, thought we should confront them and administer some form of punishment. Others thought we should bless them with a sack of rice and beans, kind of if they ask for your shirt give them your jacket too. I realized that my attitude was all wrong and as it turned out our missing items would be a lesson for me and a blessing. We had a meeting with all the missionaries and Michael and Rocky explained that is why we are here. If these people were already Christians there would be no need for us being among the Mayans. We needed to show the New Testament Christian way of handling these sorts of issues. I was pretty ashamed of my Old Testament ‘A Tooth For A Tooth’ attitude. As it turned out we are leaving the church service and David’s oldest daughter, the one who was suspected of having pushed her younger brother through the window to steel our things, had her hand cut with a machete and David is now bringing her to the clinic to have Michael suture her hand. Michael and Rocky shared their joy in their friend David’s decision and so glad that they would now be able to see him in heaven. David said he knew it was the devil trying to get at him with his daughter getting her hand cut directly from departing the service but he would push his chest out and stay strong in his new found faith.
Keep David and his family in your prayers. I’m sure there will be plenty of attacks on them in the coming weeks.