Receiving Better Than Serving?

During our time in Aucayacu, we as a Peruvian/American team made and served lunch to the people of Barrio Primero de Mayo. Those that cooked the Estofado de Pollo had many firsts: seeing el mercado Peruano, de-feathering chickens, sorting rice, and cooking in pots big enough for children to play in!

Everyone in the neighborhood was invited although not everyone was there. I decided to make the rounds and make sure everyone knew we were about to serve lunch. I found many people still in their homes and invited them and anyone else who was there. While running from house to house, I found Vicki and her children on the road. Vicki lives in the chozitas at the end of the road. About a year ago, her as well as about 12 other families decided to invade the land and put up their own shack to live in. I reminded her about the luncheon and she said she was heading that way. She said there were others from the chozitas that wanted to partake in the lunch, but felt ashamed. Even she said she was worried that if she showed up, people would not give her any lunch and would ask her to leave. I made sure a chair was added to the table so that she had a place to sit and a plate in front of her.

Those that ate the delicious lunch tried so hard to insist that we sit and eat...we were the invitados and they were supposed to serve us. Adults filled the tables and they were given full plates and glasses of refreshing cocona juice. The children waited patiently (as patiently as they could!) for their turn to sit and partake in the meal the Americans cooked. This may have been the first time the people in this neighborhood were served instead of serving others. At every house we went to visit, they brought out something to eat or drink. But, it is not common that they be the ones served...the idea was radically foreign to them.

As we sang a song the final day, I was reminded of the fact that accepting the sacrifice of Christ's death means receiving something and not doing anything. It means someone else did something for you. I wonder if that fact is difficult for them to comprehend. I wonder if the mere fact that they cannot earn or do this for themselves is hard to accept. Sure, they believe in God, but that is so often because they go to church and do what is right. What happens when the relationship becomes personal. What happens when they receive that revelation of righteousness - the fact that God loves them SO MUCH that He sent His Son to die for them so that His sacrifice would ransom them from the impending death that would correspond with their sin.

This lunch was only a start. It is our desire that they comprehend the sacrifice of Christ not only in fact, but by faith.