The Joy of Fishing (for Men!)

Amazonian Wednesdays 🌴

October 2002:

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Israel asked Edgar, the taxi driver, “Do you know for sure you are going to heaven when you die?” Edgar replied, “Well, uh,…yeah.” Israel further pursued the point: “What makes you sure?” Edgar insisted, “You know, I’m a good person. I don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t do wrong to anyone.” At this point, I piped up: “But I heard you lying to the police officer back a few miles ago.”

“Oh, well, that was because I would have gotten a ticket if I didn’t.” Edgar shifted uncomfortably in the driver’s seat.

“You see, all of us do bad things every day, and these bad things separate us from God…” With these words, Israel and I launched off into a presentation of the gospel. Edgar gave his heart to the Lord a few minutes later as we continued our drive up the Pan-American highway along the Pacific coast. We were on a tour of Peru with my grandmother who was visiting, but this day was better than all the sightseeing put together.

A few days later, Israel and I were in a doctor’s office to get a checkup on his health. As he went into the inner sanctum with the physician, I stayed in the reception area and struck up a conversation with the secretary, Raquel. One of the wonderful things about the Peruvian culture is their openness to converse with new people they run into throughout the day. Soon Raquel was telling me about her life as a single mother.

I inquired, “When you die, do you feel sure that you will go to heaven?” Raquel shook her head and said sadly, “I have done too many bad things. I know I don’t deserve to go to heaven.” Sensing God’s deep love for this young woman, I shared with her about the sureness of forgiveness and eternal life that was available in Jesus.

She listened so eagerly that leading her to the Lord was like collecting a fish that jumped into the boat. Her beautiful brown eyes filled with emotion and she exclaimed, “I feel different, renewed! I know that it is of God that you have come here today.” Two days later, she was in church with us, raising her hands and worshipping Him with tears streaming down her cheeks as if she had known Him for years.

Space does not allow for me to tell in detail about Rosario, the bathroom attendant who also opened up and gave her life to Jesus a week later during the conference we were privileged to attend in Lima this past month. But suffice it to say that, as these stories show, people all over Peru are white unto harvest, just waiting to be reaped. Pray for us, that we would be effective at taking advantage of this strategic time in history!