Guatemala
Crusades (continued-page
3)
by Gene and Jean Easley
El
Rodeo
The purpose of our trip to
El Rodeo was that it was near the home of one of our former Bible school
students who had arranged for us to preach a "vigilia" (Watch
Night) service. Because the
drive was so rough, we had to leave our car at the home of our friend's
brother at the base of the mountain and ride a four-wheel drive up to the
village. Our Oldsmobile was
too wide and too low for the little mountain road.
On the way to his family's
home, our friend had related to us that the four-wheel drive in which we
would be riding had contributed to his brother's backsliding for a time.
In
We left our vehicle in his
yard and loaded the truck with things we would need for our overnight
stay. The trip from the town
to the road where the ascent began up the side of the mountain was a
difficult one even when we were still on the pavement.
That old truck did not have a sign of a spring or a shock left on
it. Even on the paved highway
where there were no potholes, the truck would hit bottom with such a jolt
that it would shake our bones and teeth!
Bro. Easley said later that as he sat there thinking about that
backsliding story and that old truck, he wondered why anyone would
backslide over a truck like that!
The ascent up the mountain
was on a winding, dirt road, only just a little wider than the truck.
Unfortunately, we could look down at the terrain below as we went
higher and higher. We climbed
and wound our way up, up, up to the spot where the Watch Night service
would be held. On the
mountain, we just had time to freshen up before the service began, during
the course of which Bro. Easley was asked to fill in for several other
speakers who didn't make it!
When the meeting concluded
long after midnight, we were given accommodation in the home of the
assistant pastors…sleeping fully dressed in the same room with the whole
family. There was no running
water of any kind, no bathroom, and no electricity.
At sunrise, the family headed for the river to bathe, while we took
sponge baths. That morning,
the pastor commented on the scratching sounds during the night, saying
that the rats had been busy! All
night, I had thought that the noise was chickens looking for worms!
I was very naïve, obviously, but relieved to have the night behind
us.
The decent down the
mountain was an ordeal not only because of the truck's condition, but we
also learned that the wooden block in the back of the truck was to be used
as a braking mechanism. Whenever
a stop was needed (to permit other vehicles to pass in the one available
lane), one man was assigned to jump out of the back of the pickup and
lodge the block quickly under the wheel.
That was the brake! We
all wanted to walk down the mountain, especially I, but the trip was
several miles long.
When we finally arrived at the bottom, needless to say, the old Land Rover was a hero for getting us safely back to our own car. This story has become a favorite of ours and used in ministry opportunities to show the ease with which "things" cause the human heart to fall into idolatry. It was a valuable lesson learned that the enemy uses anything he can to divert our minds from living a Godly life. Today, we seldom see a four-wheel drive without being reminded of a man who backslid over an old 1950 Land Rover.
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