Coincidences?

Wow.. do I have an interesting story to share on this blog! My pastor (Pastor Keith) reminds me that there´s no such thing as coincidences when it comes to the work of the Lord.. so listen closely. Several blogs earlier I introduced to you a few of the initial contacts made by the stateside sponsoring church in Florida. The Almonacid family (Jose and Elisabeth, Keyla, their daughter and Janadit, their daughter-in-law) are believers and we are holding meetings in their home. We are also discipling this family as they are assuming leadership roles while their house church grows and matures. Hold that thought while I remind you of another contact we´ve made here in Matucana..

The other day I told you that I met a young bakery owner who has a shop just across the street from our hostel and I asked to help out in his bakery. I posted pics of Brittne and I making bread, etc. The bakery owner´s name is Salvador and the three of us (me, Brittne, and Martin) have spent quite a bit of time with him, just hanging out and talking. It turns out that Salvador just returned back home to Matucana just last month after spending several years studying in Lima. His brothers and sisters are all older and have left Matucana, so Salvador has been left with the bakery - a family run business for over 50 years. He talked to us about his Catholic background, and that he was questioning many of the Catholic doctrines, and he mentioned with fondness that his grandfather would always read to him from the Bible when he was a boy. While this all sounded nice.. we did not realize the significance of this connection until last Thursday when we were discipling the Almonacid family.

It turns out that Salvador´s grandfather (the one who read the bible to him) was a Christian and started the first Christian church in Matucana. The Almonacids used to live across the street from the that bakery and Salvador´s grandmother is the one who led Elisabeth Almonacid to the Lord years ago!

While I was listening to all them tell us this story, chills were running up my spine. The Lord sent a baker from the states to meet a baker just returning to Matucana who just happened to be the grandson of a early Christian couple in the community who led to Christ the mother of the very family that was initially contacted by the stateside church last October.

There are more details, but the initial impact of this web events made me think of Pastor Keith´s admonishing that the work of the Lord is no coincidence! Without going into all the details, it is clear that Salvador´s grandparents were pillars of the community here in Matucana and were used by the Lord to spread the gospel. Salvador´s father was not a believer and that is why Catholicism became an influence in Salvador´s life.

Please pray for this series of "coincidences" and for our time with Salvador.. helping to prepare his heart for the Lord like his grandfather!

In Christ-
Greg