My legs hurt a little.
This morning, we walked up hundreds and hundreds of steps (I'm not exaggerating) to get to the community of San Marcos. That's where Victor lives. Victor is in his 40's, never been married, no kids...he lives with his father and his brother and his brother's family. I met him on Sunday, when we walked up to San Marcos for the kids' program in the morning.
Back in February, when a missions team came to Cuzco to help Ricky and Tracie get things started, Victor came to one of the presentations
they did, and he decided then that he wanted to know Jesus. Ricky started doing a Bible study with Victor every Tuesday morning and they have been meeting together ever since. Victor's knowledge of God has grown and his desire to live for God has grown as well. He has learned that following Christ is not just following a book of rules...but that it's a relationship. It's learning to be in communion with Jesus and grow in a relationship with Him, in order to learn how to live as He lived. Victor is going to be baptized next Tuesday, in the river.Praise God for Victor and his courage to stand up to his family who continually tell him that his baptism will be an act of betrayal. He needs, and will continue to need, a lot of prayer. But hopefully his baptism will be an example to the people like Victor, who wanted to give their hearts to Christ a long time ago, came to a few Bible studies with Ricky and Trac
ie, and have since been pressured into changing their minds by their families who don't want them to be a part of this church. It's so sad. There is a huge spiritual battle going on right now for Cuzco. Pray that God will open the eyes of the people here, so they can see that they have been blinded by the devil. And please pray for Victor and his family.By the way...not kidding about the steps. Hundreds of them. Seriously. I mean, that's a lot of steps. You know?
posted by Amy at 9:09 PM
15 Comments:
How did your knee handle those steps?
my knee is doing much better now, thanks for asking. It still looks a little gross, but it doesn't hurt at all anymore. My muscles hurt though.
Suck it up, you big baby! Maybe you need to come and train with Auntie Jules ... run some of those charming KC hills. HAHAHAHAHA!
Hang in there - glad things are going well.
Today is Dad's b-day. Miss him. (sniff)
xox :o)
Of what is baptism understood to be a betrayal? Another church? Catholicism? A local cultural faith?
It's the catholicism. There is another older lady, Maria Belen that used to come meet with Ricky and Tracie for a bible study...she had grown up catholic and had NEVER read the bible. and when she started reading the bible, and getting involved with the ministry here at Ricky and Tracie's house, her daughter got very upset with her and told her she should not be going to this other church because she is catholic. (nevermind that being catholic here means you just say you're catholic, and never touch a bible or attend a church or pray!). So Maria has stopped coming. And sometimes, when her daughter is home, won't even come to answer the door when Ricky and Tracie drop by to say hello and see how she is doing.
Take care not to chastise other religions. A single person exercising particular faith habits DOES NOT an entire religion make. Relationships with God are very personal, and the religion/church you choose should be the one where you feel comfortable with the form of worship and the evolution of your spirituality. I could be wrong, but I believe we all have the same goal for our after-life.
Tolerance, Ames. Tolerance.
xox Your Catholic Auntie Jules
i am not chastising catholicism. i realize that there are tons and tons of catholic people who have beautiful relationships with God. what does frustrate me is people who confuse other people in the name of religion. so many people will have nothing to do with Christ because of Christians who are hypocrites. I have been that kind of Christian, and I have seen the damage I have done. It makes me sad to know that Maria is afraid to embrace any kind of relationship she might have with Christ because her daughter (who does not practice her own faith) puts so much pressure on her not to abandon that "faith". That, I will not be tolerant of. In myself or in other people.
I guess Catholics are OK. :-) It is just some people's "practice" of Catholicism, or maybe lack of, that gets in the way what should really be going on in there hearts. Having said that, I guess that applies to every religion. The only reason these Peruvian "Catholics" are such is because their parents told them so, not because of any spiritual discoveries they have made on their own. Or at least these few that Amy has encountered. I like the "relationships with God are very personal" line. That sums it up and can point to the fact that some people are afraid to MAKE it personal and they hide behind what their culture tells them they are instead of finding out for themselves what they can be.
Just a note on Catholicism (especially in Latin America):
When Catholicism came to the new world, in order to be more accepted by the native people, they would blend with the local religion already present. Because of this, we see a lot of spirit and even devil worship within the Catholic church in Latin America.
And because the governments, since their inception, were steeped in Catholicism, this was a way to control the people. If you accepted your country's certain flavor of Catholicism, then you were considered patriotic and a good person. But to go against this is to betray not only the faith, but also your country and your people. Mind you, this has become, not a way of having a relationship with God, but rather a religion defined by a list of do's and don'ts, what is culturally acceptable, and what is not.
Hope that helped.
Guess I found a good way to get the Morrisons going! Ames - I wasn't picking on you (honest ... you know I luv 'ya and admire what you're doing). I'll grant you that there are many Catholics (and Christians and Mormons and Jews and ... and ...) who are only "subscribing" to their religion because of family history, not LIVING it by any conscious choice. For me, joining the Catholic faith was vested in the comfort and spirituality I find in the sacraments, tradition and family emphasis (operative word "joining" ... which, in my parish program, was a 9-month sponsor-guided journey exploring the faith and my own spirituality, and then making the decision to be confirmed or not). I realize that exists in other churches and religions, but if the experience doesn't elicit a response in your heart and a corresponding relationship with God, then what good is showing up every Sunday? I think we're all on the same page ... perhaps reading different fonts, but as I said previously, we're all looking toward the same end result, right?
Keep doin' what you're doing -
Love ya, love your show -
Jules
PS Your Grandpa Mo was Catholic
PPS The real reason I'm Catholic is because I heard that God only hears your prayers if it hurts (that's why we kneel) ... KIDDING!!!!
Will do, about the prayer.
I think the above discussion is a good, if incidental, commentary on the Protestant tendency to treat faith as a primarily intellectual matter. That is, a matter of simply making the best, most rational, most truth-oriented decision, and sticking to it. In reality, we make all our decisions, including faith decisions, by including the emotional, family, cultural, national, etc. aspects of self. Helping a Peruvian convert may not be a mere matter of belief and will, but may require special support to allow change in the face of pressing familial, cultural, etc. concerns. It's for this reason that the cross can be such a scandal and stumbling block--not merely because it is irrational, but because so much of life is at stake. And Christians (and I've not quite hammered this one out yet) have to learn not only how to exhort belief, but to learn how to meet the unique challenges faced in a new believer's context. We provide not only a new belief, we provide a new family, a new creed, and a new comfort.
Amy, I'm praying for strength in your legs and heart. Be safe and have fun!!
This is interesting stuff. Denise reminds me that when I witness to another, understanding the context of that other person's life is important to the process. And my understanding (or lack of understanding) that context likely impacts the outcome (I had to add "likely" 'cause I do believe God can overcome even me ... that's right, even me!) ... when He's working on the heart of another). Love you, Blondie-Girl
dude...... dad just blogged.
puedo ver atraves de lo que has vivido, que estas siguiendo la voluntad de DIOS, espero que sigas trabajando fuerte para poder cumplir su promesas, que DIOS te bendiga, y espero que DIOS nos entrege otro momento para volver a trabajar juntos, thank for you work, se despide pablo.
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