Friday, January 24, 2014

A Special Blessing

One afternoon as I was about my business, two men came by the house looking for me. One was Bro. Antenor Rojas, pastor of the “The Bible Says Baptist Church”. Bro. Antenor runs a radio ministry in town and owns 3 radio stations; one here in Huancayo and another in a jungle town of Pichanake. He also is starting up a radio station in the state of Huancavelica. These are strictly Christian radio stations that pump the waves with the gospel of Jesus Christ 24 hours a day. I was very excited about the radio station in Huancavelica because when I was a young child my dad would take a donkey and a trumpet and travel that way preaching all over the state in many villages. When the brother asked if I could recall any of the villages I mentioned Izcuchaca, Conayca and Laria. He then asked my if I would like to visit these villages.  Of course! So very early the next morning, in the company of this pastor, his daughter and my wife and daughter, we set out on the trip.  It took us 4 hours to get there. It would take my dad a total of 2 weeks to get there and up the mountain and back.

Bro. Antenor Rojas and me

   There is no explaining the excitement I felt as we drove up the mountain.  We could see the trails that dad had climbed. If you look closely to the picture at below you can see the mountain trail. As I drove up this mountain, I tried to visualize my father leading a donkey with his trumpet, his Bible, and sleeping gear.  Another man, Felipe Arias, would accompany him.  I have never been able to find him or anything about him.  They only speak Quechua up here and I know my father spoke absolutely none of it.


As I pulled into the town of Conayca, we got out of the car and sat in the town square for a long while.  The town square was very modern, with electric lights and beautiful construction.   It had only been there four years.  I tried to feel what my father would have felt arriving into this place and pulling his trumpet out and start playing Amazing Grace and watch the people as they would gather around.  There was a myth he would have to put up with and fight called the Pishtaco. They believed the white man would come steal their children and make soap out of them.  How he overcame this obstacle I never knew.


We toured the old Catholic church

building that was built in 1663. They are spending more than $1M on restoration. It was actually built to mark the entrance to a gold mine.

   Bro. Antenor suggested that we should look up some brethren that knew dad. We found a very old lady who could no longer walk. She told us of a white missionary that would come and preach. We asked her if there were any other survivors of that time period. She said that, the last one passed away about 4 years ago.  When she heard that I was the missionary’s son, she cried.
   From there we went to Laria. That was the route dad would take. I drove from Conayca to Laria in about 45 minutes, it would take dad a full day. The church there was empty and no one present. The sad thing was that they were all Pentecostal churches. I would have loved to have met some of the old time brethren, but I guess I will have to wait to get to heaven to do that.  I could not help but weep over the fact that back in 1958 a young missionary traveled so far in such rugged circumstances with the simple prospect to preach the gospel where no one else had ever preached before.
               


   I am the recipient of much blessing because of the sacrifice that my parents made.  I can only try to imagine what it was like for my mother to be alone all those times when dad was gone.  I remember the excitement when dad would come home.  I remember sitting in the living room while dad tried pulling off his shoes and making a big ado about the smell. In those days there was no hot water heater.  Dad would heat the water over a kerosene stove and carry the hot water upstairs to the bathtub and soak for a long while.  All I can say today is God bless you, Dad.  Thank you for carrying the gospel to regions unknown! Thank you for paving the way for me to live this wonderful life. I get to live today because you were willing to pay the price back then. Today there are over 280 churches that exist because of their effort. Let whoever wants to criticize do it, but we do what we do for the Lord.  If we live, we live for him, if we die, we die for him.  Thank you Lord, for this special blessing