Sail to Spain?

Saturday morning began drizzly. The pastor and I drove out to 10 de Mayo, eyes half shut. He had just flown in from Cancun in the middle of the night; I had woken up at 5:00 in the morning to drop my wife’s car off at the shop. The pastor’s late-80s, front-wheel drive Plymouth Voyager managed the slippery mud with American precision. The main road was washed out, which took us into an unusual back-road traffic jam. We were determined, however, to make it on time to the monthly children’s meeting. A full turnout brings seventy-five kids, but our expectation of a small showing came true—we maxed out at fifteen kids and ten moms. I spoke with the kids and wonderful missionary, Ruth, gave a talk to the moms.

Afterward Ruth commented to me that she liked the community of 10 de Mayo. I agreed. Despite graffiti, trash, and general poverty, it has a certain pueblito feel. Our next week’s meeting, however, is another thing. Terrazas del Valle is not my favorite place, as I confessed to Ruth. To my surprise, she agreed. I assumed she had seen so much over the years that it was old hat working in rough areas. And maybe it is, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a complete joy all the time. She confided in me that at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow she was headed to an even tougher area for her. “I feel an oppression there,” she said. “I have to gear myself up to go in.” I promised her that our Sunday-school class would pray for her upon initiation. This morning we did. Brother Chuy and Sister Florinda lifted up Hermana Rut (as she’s known) in prayer.

During worship, Brother Sanchez mentioned Jonah’s lack of desire (put lightly) to head to Nineveh. Instead he tried to escape to Tarshish, which is commonly accepted as Spain. Who wouldn’t want to take a trip to sunny España rather than the wicked city so large “it took three days to see it” (Jonah 3:3)? But the Lord had His plan for Jonah—a mission trip he would have rather sidestepped.

I guess my future’s planned out if I sail to Coronado Island next Saturday, rather than head to Terrazas del Valle.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 15th, 2006 at 7:59 pm and is filed under Missionary Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.