Some of you may remember the family that came to join our tiny mission after listening to Christian radio in Ocosingo (read the related blog entry: The Paradox of Christian Radio). The family has continued to be active in the life of our mission, even though they were literally put in the community jail by catholic leaders when they refused to pay towards the catholic fiestas held there. Since then, we have been in prayer for them to be strong in their faith and trust in God's protection for them.
These folks never cease to amaze me! Even though they had been jailed for not supporting the traditional catholic church in their village (Campet), they requested that the mission offer a VBS for children in their area. We had a small group coming in last week, so we decided that bringing 5 Americans along with a few Mexicans from our mission would not be too noticeable and that one day of VBS might be a good way to start. So off they went.... Nancy Samples and her group of 4 Americans along with John, Jan, Geyner and several members from our mission church.
Although the family thought there would be 100 children, only a few showed up. They enjoyed puppet shows with Bible stories, songs, games and arts & crafts activities. John noticed that he kept hearing whistles blowing in the distance from different directions but discounted it. Apparently, the whistles represented the village warning sign that something bad was happening.
Before the VBS was over, the community leaders came to apprehend the family (including their children) and questioned them about the activities going on at their home. 3 members of our mission went with them, and John, Jan and the other members of the group waited back at their house and prayed. The end result was that the family was required to sign a document saying that they would not have any future church-related activities in their home and that they accepted the terms of restricted visitation by members of our mission (no visit longer than 15 minutes and no use of the Bible during any visits). They signed reluctantly and were released.
During the VBS, several children and families were deeply touched, and two families from the same community joined Sylvia and Francisco's family at the mission for worship yesterday.
We are humbled by the faithfulness of these new Christians who are willing to risk continued persecution as they stand firm in their belief in Jesus Christ and firm in their commitment to the church. We are bewildered by a catholic community (albeit a traditional catholic community) that sees the Bible as a threat. Please join us in prayer for these families, for the people of Campet and for those who seek to support them and help them grow in their faith.
Monday, July 28, 2008
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