Thursday in San Cristobal

A little more info about Chamula. Even after hearing the claims about executions there from numerous people here, I was still a little skeptical. But over breakfast this Sunday morning, Isai told me of some specific people they know who have been burned to death there for teaching against the local Aztec/Catholic/weird religion there. In fact Delfino Urbina, an area preacher, and father of Isai, was at the checkpoint skirting the city one time, and had a Bible in his car. The men at the point noticed it, and discussed among themselves whether they should take Delfino, as theythought he might be part of the group they had recently burned alive inside the meeting place they had constructed (Delfino kknows enough of the indigenous Tzotzil language to understand them). So, okay, there is real stuff going on there!

I am going to have to write shorter entries to catch up! I have had so little unscheduled time this week, we are busy from about 9 am to 10 pm. Not that I am complaining, it’s actually been wonderful. There just isn’t much time to write and get to the internet café to post what I’ve written. But I have about 45 minutes now between the Sunday morning assembly and lunch with the brethren, so I’m writing.

Thursday was the beginning of my preaching to the whole assembly here in the San Roman church San Cristobal. The day began with breakfast at the home of Isai’s mother, wife of Delfino Urbina. Delfino, by all reports, has been a good and influential man here in San Cristobal, teaching and preaching. For the last two years though, he has been working with the new church in Palenque, about 5 hours from here, though his home is still here with his wife in San Cristobal.

Between breakfast and lunch, I worked on final details for my lesson, but mostly (with Elver’s assistance) on getting the power point presentation translated into Spanish.

(I made only videos instead of photos on Thursday and Friday, and they take way too long to upload, so here´s a picture of Elver coming out of the building where is studio apartment is)

Then we had a lunch appointment with a couple who live here, but are members of the church in Larrainzar. After lunch, only a little time remained before the evening assembly. Meal schedules are a little different here. Breakfast between 9 and 10, lunch between 2 and 3, and supper after the 6:00 evening assemblies, at around 8:30 or 9:00.

Although I preached in two other churches earlier in the week, and also studied the men from here in San Cristobal, Thursday evening was my first opportunity to speak to the whole San Roman congregation here in San Cristobal. It was the beginning of a three-lesson series on elders. Thursday night I spoke about the need for elders, and the need for men to be planning early, forming their character from a young age so they’ll be ready to serve in later years. Added to those thoughts, I began a discussion of the characteristics required for serving as an elder – a discussion which would continue at the ends of the next two lessons in this series. Each night I chose a topic in connection with elders, and then also discussed a few more characteristics.

Following that 6:00 assembly, we had supper at the home of Anslemo Diaz and family. There was a very large platter, piled quite high, of what I would have called flautas as per my eating in the home of Margie Arellano, but which here they called tacos. After supper, another guest, a preacher from near Mexico City who was visiting with us, began singing, and of course various ones slowly joined in, and about 5 songs later, all 15 or so of us were singing song after song. I hated to leave, but needed to have a private conversation with Delfino for a bit, so he and Elver and I went across the street to his house, and his study. Following that helpful conversation, I could hear that everyone was still singing across the street, so I went back and joined them for quite a while longer. Isai, the 22 year old therapist I described earlier, was singing some tenor and bass, the first I’ve heard that among Spanish singing brethren, so I really enjoyed sitting next to him and joining him in that.

Finally got home, and did some work on the next evening’s lesson and power point translation. Got to bed well after midnight, as has been the case each night.