Brothers and Sisters, fellow kingdom workers , an update from San Pablo... Since arriving in San Pablo city last November we have made some good and lasting friendships. I want to share with you one such friendship. I met a man who drives a motorcycle/sidecar for a living. A Tuk-Tuk taxi type thing. On average each trip will earn him 20 pesos, around 50 cents in Australian Dollars. On a good day he might make 500 pesos which is equivalent to $12.00 AUD. He helped us with some transportation issues and some good advice on where to go for what. When you first arrive in a new city unexpected, its like being trapped in a bad 70`s style board game. Anyway this man, I`ll call him Oliver for the sake of this testimony is a model of what a father is. Last December we shared lunch one day with Oliver and he told me with a big beaming smile that he had four sons and his wife was expecting a filth, a boy as well. You couldn’t help but be touched with the situation. Here he was , pauper amongst the poor and yet you could see the proud and excited expression on his face as he talked about his sons and especially the expected baby. At that point she was 6 months pregnant expecting in mid March this year. I would see Oliver from time to time and he always gave me one of his big beaming smiles. Anyway on the night of Wednesday 12 March, I had a crisis on my hands about my faith, my position and my very existence in this world. I called Oliver and we shared a pizza and bought some to take home for his family. I poured out my heart partly because Oliver didn’t owe me anything and I didn’t owe him anything and any advice he would give would come from his big heart. And partly, sadly at that point in time I felt I had no one else to talk to. (face to face). I won`t go into the conversation, suffice to say Oliver offered for me to stay with him, a huge gesture knowing his poor and simple existence.Two days later Oliver’s wife gave birth to their fifth son and yet Oliver never mentioned it to me on that night we met. They named the baby Kiel Arvin... Anyway I jump forward five weeks and on Friday 25 of April Oliver comes to my house and he was distressed. The look on his usually happy face was stern and worried. He told me through broken English and translation that his new born son Kiel was in hospital and had been there for a week because he had stopped breathing and had gone into a self induced coma. What little money Oliver had, he had spent it on his wife and new born son, barely clinging to life in a third world public hospital. Oliver asked if he could borrow money to buy the medicines for his baby. We happened to have some money in our tithes box and gave him a small amount by Western standards but a small fortune by local living standards. I happily gave it to him and explained it wasn`t a loan but that it was a blessing from our Lord. As I watched Oliver run out of our house I saw a desperation in his strides that I hadn’t seen for a long time.We visited little Kiel in the public hospital that afternoon and he just slept with heavy and laboured breathing. We prayed for him and I individually prayed for several babies waiting on the hard bench beds in the hallway of our local public hospital. If they were lucky they might only have to spend four or five nights in the corridor , although the rooms aren`t much better. As I left the little baby, asleep and fighting for each breath, the calmness of our Lord settled in my heart and I knew everything was alright. I said to Oliver’s wife, “things are going to be alright.” About a week Later Oliver texted me and said his baby was recovering and that he would be coming home soon. And in the business of life and living,I had temporarily forgot about Oliver and Kiel although they entered my thoughts and prayers in quiet times. And then this morning as a gift from our loving God Oliver, his wife and five healthy boys filled our living room with love and laughter. They also bought with them another mother and baby son whom we had prayed for and praise be to the living God he also had made a full recovery. As Oliver sat on the chair in our living room I watched his four boys come to him for various things, a bottle, a hug, a face wipe, a smile or just reassurance and he did it effortlessly without loosing track in our conversation. Oliver is instinctively a father and despite being poor, happens to be one of the best fathers I have ever seen in action. For me Oliver is the epitome of being a father. Strong, caring, loving, knowing and sharing. I looked at little baby Kiel and he was alive and awake and kicking and I thank the living God for opening my heart as a channel for prayers, praise and thanks. They thanked us but we reminded them that as people we can do nothing and it is only by the Love and Will of God can anything be done. As I write this testimony I cry for Gods tender mercies and miracles in the lives of those he chooses. I cry because, I`m not sure why, but I cry. And I hope you can too. Love Carlos. 09 May 2014 God bless you all.
Posted on: Fri, 09 May 2014 13:02:15 +0000
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