Our first week in our apartment, I was on a mission to make apple crisp. Like money, apples don't grow on trees here. I couldn't find them in the market, but I did find some at a stand on the side of the road near our house, sold by a nice man name Celestino and his nephew, Bryan.
I also happen to run down this road about every time I run, and most times we drive anywhere. (Due to the (lack of) city planning in Guatemala, there's really only so many options when it comes to roads.) We've said hello (in its Spanish forms) a number of times as we've driven by/ran by. One time when I was doing some reading (and honestly feeling kinda lonely) in the park behind his stand, up walk Celestino and Bryan to say hi, and we talked that day for a good 30 minutes. It sounded like he was pretty cool with talking with me to help my Spanish. He told me he sells apples every day; that he's never been a part of a church and doesn't know that much about God because he's always been selling every day of the week. You don't make much money selling apples, you see. Celestino and Bryan came to dinner for Chicken Parmesean a few weeks back. Since then Bryan has had to return to his parents in San Marcos (5 hours away) to go back to school. For some reason, I've felt like this is something special. It's not everyday you see a 5'4" brown man with salt n' pepper hair walking around with a 6'2" white boy. But Celestino was also kind, honest, unassuming, humble. He also talked slowly, which makes folks like me very happy.
Celestino came to church with us today. Apple-selling had been slow all week and he didn't have that much product left to sell, he said, and he'd expressed some interest in meeting people from the church I had told him about. He lives real close to us, in a room he rents for $100/month, so we walked to church together with our friend Joe, who is very white, very tall, very skinny, very thoughtful, and much better at Spanish than us.
After the both songs, "How Great Thou Art" and a "Holy" chorus, Celestino was wiping his eyes afterwards. The sermon in the first few verses of Ephesians was simple and true, emphasizing the holiness and faithfullness of God, and the grace and peace that come to us through Christ. After service, he was welcomed and hugged and could talk with my churchmates better than I could.
During lunch, Celestino was overtly grateful. For having heard preaching about Christ that wasn't like a couple other churches he remembered from before. They weren't asking for his money. The people at church saw him as an equal, they spent lots of time talking to him even though he was poor. He asked about baptism, and Joe told him a lot of good things about it. I was real encouraged that he told us he wanted to understand more from the Bible, and didn't want to go to the baptism class next week. Which might seem weird, but his decision showed a) he wasn't a pawn, just following the assumed path of Christianity and b) he had a real desire for God, which just as good as someone who gets baptized, a lot of the time.
He had been scraping every hour selling apples, waking up at 3/4 in the morning to get his apple stock for the day and never taking a day off. But he told us during dinner he had decided that he was going to not sell on Sundays anymore, was going to come to church because there was goodness and riches in God that were worth more. He was going to trust God with this one. How beautiful are the hearts of the poor.
Oh yeah, and Celestino spent pretty much all his money at the end of the year to help his nephew, Bryan, pay for the books and notebooks and everything he needed for school in San Marcos. Bryan has 8 brothers and sisters so money's pretty tight there too. How beautiful when poverty doesn't stop generosity.
How beautiful that the only reason we take the time of day to notice and talk with Celestino is because of the current emptiness of our own lives. There is time and space for God to work.
How beautiful that our unqualified-ness to communicate well in Spanish makes Celestino a giver of something valuable to us--Spanish conversation. We need that and he can provide it. We are not the benefactors here. He is one of our best teachers.
I also happen to run down this road about every time I run, and most times we drive anywhere. (Due to the (lack of) city planning in Guatemala, there's really only so many options when it comes to roads.) We've said hello (in its Spanish forms) a number of times as we've driven by/ran by. One time when I was doing some reading (and honestly feeling kinda lonely) in the park behind his stand, up walk Celestino and Bryan to say hi, and we talked that day for a good 30 minutes. It sounded like he was pretty cool with talking with me to help my Spanish. He told me he sells apples every day; that he's never been a part of a church and doesn't know that much about God because he's always been selling every day of the week. You don't make much money selling apples, you see. Celestino and Bryan came to dinner for Chicken Parmesean a few weeks back. Since then Bryan has had to return to his parents in San Marcos (5 hours away) to go back to school. For some reason, I've felt like this is something special. It's not everyday you see a 5'4" brown man with salt n' pepper hair walking around with a 6'2" white boy. But Celestino was also kind, honest, unassuming, humble. He also talked slowly, which makes folks like me very happy.
Celestino came to church with us today. Apple-selling had been slow all week and he didn't have that much product left to sell, he said, and he'd expressed some interest in meeting people from the church I had told him about. He lives real close to us, in a room he rents for $100/month, so we walked to church together with our friend Joe, who is very white, very tall, very skinny, very thoughtful, and much better at Spanish than us.
After the both songs, "How Great Thou Art" and a "Holy" chorus, Celestino was wiping his eyes afterwards. The sermon in the first few verses of Ephesians was simple and true, emphasizing the holiness and faithfullness of God, and the grace and peace that come to us through Christ. After service, he was welcomed and hugged and could talk with my churchmates better than I could.
During lunch, Celestino was overtly grateful. For having heard preaching about Christ that wasn't like a couple other churches he remembered from before. They weren't asking for his money. The people at church saw him as an equal, they spent lots of time talking to him even though he was poor. He asked about baptism, and Joe told him a lot of good things about it. I was real encouraged that he told us he wanted to understand more from the Bible, and didn't want to go to the baptism class next week. Which might seem weird, but his decision showed a) he wasn't a pawn, just following the assumed path of Christianity and b) he had a real desire for God, which just as good as someone who gets baptized, a lot of the time.
He had been scraping every hour selling apples, waking up at 3/4 in the morning to get his apple stock for the day and never taking a day off. But he told us during dinner he had decided that he was going to not sell on Sundays anymore, was going to come to church because there was goodness and riches in God that were worth more. He was going to trust God with this one. How beautiful are the hearts of the poor.
Oh yeah, and Celestino spent pretty much all his money at the end of the year to help his nephew, Bryan, pay for the books and notebooks and everything he needed for school in San Marcos. Bryan has 8 brothers and sisters so money's pretty tight there too. How beautiful when poverty doesn't stop generosity.
How beautiful that the only reason we take the time of day to notice and talk with Celestino is because of the current emptiness of our own lives. There is time and space for God to work.
How beautiful that our unqualified-ness to communicate well in Spanish makes Celestino a giver of something valuable to us--Spanish conversation. We need that and he can provide it. We are not the benefactors here. He is one of our best teachers.