Post 22 Easter celebrations San Joaquin style

A week after the trip to Puerto Siles, Jim made another trip to San Ramon, together with three companions, paddling the canoe. 

He had good opportunities for visiting the homes with the Gospel, holding meetings for the believers, for the children, and a Gospel meeting in their little church with about 50 mostly young people. Arrangements were also made for some necessary repairs to the church property there.  It was good to see improvement in the work since the previous visit.

Easter celebrations

The celebrations for Easter in San Joaquin reminded us of a pantomime.

The proceedings commenced with the blessing of palm leaves, for Palm Sunday and a procession around the Plaza.  The Army, school children and town authorities, as well as the rank and file, officially attended all these religious processions for the week. 

We didn't quite understand the order of events, but on the Wednesday and Thursday nights of Easter week there were processions around the Plaza with images and lighted candles.  It seemed that they considered Thursday to be the day of the crucifixion.  The events of the crucifixion were enacted with their images.  

On Friday a group of the native men of the town, about twelve in all, danced around the streets to the accompaniment of a whistle holding sticks on which were miniature representations of a ladder, a rooster, the nails and crown of thorns. We were told that these men were the "Jews" who took the body from the cross.  

Friday night there was a procession around the Plaza with the body in a coffin, little booths having been erected at regular intervals, decorated with lace, where the procession stopped for a time. The whole night was then spent at the church as a "wake" for the dead Christ.  

At about 9.30 am on Saturday there was a terrific volley of rifle and machine-gun fire - this was the resurrection - followed throughout the day by frequent revolver shots, feasting, drunkenness and revelry such as one finds it hard to imagine if not experienced personally.

Just after the initial volley, native folk could be seen rushing around the streets with rifles, supposedly the Jews and soldiers looking for the persons who robbed the grave of the body of Christ.  

Some few hours later, a procession went past with a small effigy of Judas standing on a miniature oxcart.  This was taken to the Plaza where on each corner it was halted and "Judas" was given a good whipping.  

During the night it was hidden, then on Sunday morning it was hunted for and finally burned in the Plaza.  The head of this procession was dressed with a cloth draped over his head, two long white feathers stuck into it, and he did a sort of a devil-dance beside the image of Judas. 

The members of the procession had baskets to receive gifts from all and sundry for the relatives of Judas - the gifts being alcohol and food to give them a good feed!  

Saturday night and Sunday saw the same spirit of drunken revelry in all parts, so much so that we held an indoor meeting on Saturday night instead of the usual outdoor one.  

The whole business made our hearts sad, as we considered the true significance of Easter and realised more than ever the corruptness of such a religion.  

Of course, we were considered a very insignificant lot with a religion that did not put on any of this show - in fact as Jim passed a group of fellows in the Plaza, one of them said "Evangelista ... they don't believe in God"!  

How we thanked the Lord for the little group that came along each night of the week, to study the Word and sing His praises - some yet unsaved, others just weak believers - but all with a desire for the things of the Spirit. 

Nineteen were present at the Sunday night meeting together with six children.  So we urged our prayer-partners to keep on praying, knowing that the Lord was working in the hearts of these people, and we longed to see a group of clear-cut, witnessing believers.  We knew that "Our God is able".

Church growth and development

Towards the end of April we were beginning to see a small increase in regular attendance at our meetings, the room being full with about 20 inside as well as others standing around the door.  

Some public confessions of faith in Christ were made, and there was the consequent continued opposition, while the atmosphere in the town was hard towards us.  

However, it was encouraging to see the interest of a small group of children who were coming each Sunday afternoon to a Sunday School I had started on our back verandah.  This meeting was held out of sight in order to protect them from other children spying and informing their schoolteachers.  

A lad called Ernesto, aged about 11, attended the Sunday School and made a decision for the Lord.  On two consecutive Monday mornings he was caned by his schoolteacher for not going to the catechism class at the Catholic Church on Sundays.  Jim spoke to the school inspector about the matter, reminding him that the Constitution of the Republic of Bolivia granted liberty of religion, and he promised to look into the matter.

Besides this constant opposition to the Gospel, the devil made a decided attack on the testimony of our small group of believers.  

A young woman came to the town from Haucaraje and, professing to be a believer, took an active part in our prayer-meetings and seemed well-taught in the Scriptures.  However, before long we found that she had started living with the sergeant major who had a room next to our meeting-place, and whose wife was away sick in Cochabamba.  

When she was unrepentant, we had no option but to advise the believers that because her life was not consistent with her profession of faith, she no longer had any part in the work. 

Morality all around us was at an extremely low level, but the Lord had said in His Word that He had come to "seek and to save that which was lost".  It came home to us very forcibly that the reason for our being in such a strange place was that right there He was seeking His lost sheep, and had appointed us the task of directing them to the Shepherd.