Grace

This morning a lady with an intellectual disability who I've barely spoken to, who hardly speaks anyway, or reacts or smiles when you do speak to her, she pointed to the seat next to her as I was passing by, an invitation for me to sit with her. As the Bible was read she reached for my hand and held it in hers for all the reading and a bit of the sermon. After the sermon had finished, we stood to hug each other, as we do each Sunday, and to wish each other God's peace. Another lady who also has an intellectual disability tried to hug her and she shied away, saying "Don't touch me! Don't touch me! Don't touch me!". The other lady gave her a piece of her mind for being so rude while I tried to explain that it was just that she didn't want to. Later in the service, at the start of the Lord's Supper, the musicians and people helping were invited up to first receive the wine and bread. The lady stood up too. I touched her on the shoulder, letting her know it wasn't time yet, but she kept on walking . . . to where the other lady was sitting, second in from the aisle. She leaned in, kissed her on the cheek, and went and sat with her for the rest of the service.

☺

Retiro de mujeres

One of the things I've been privileged to be part of this year is the women's ministry team. I haven't really done much, though I did make up for that a bit during the retreat we had a couple of Saturdays ago. It turned out to be a wonderful day, with some fantastic, solid, super-helpful Bible teaching from the book of Ruth; a series of opportunities to discuss its implications with our sisters; and a delicious, even professional lunch provided by an enthusiastic bunch of our brothers.

Hijas de Dios

Let's make it a trifecta of cultural differences. I got Emy to help me translate an earlier version of my vision statement, which included the words "Christian women". Emy was a little confused about what I was trying to convey and after a bit of explanation suggested that something like "women who are daughters of God" would be clearer. Unlike Australia, all sorts of people consider themselves Christian here.

La Virgen

While we're on the topic of Catholicism, I was talking with a lady the other day who works as a maid in a wealthy person's house and she mentioned a ethical dilemma that, as an Evangelical, she's had to navigate. In the entrance of the house are statues of different Marys. The lady I was speaking with said she's agreed to arrange weekly flower displays 'for Mary', but that she won't light candles for her. I like to think Mary herself would be happy with this.

No salva a nadie

Here's a fun example of the influence of Catholicism on Chilean culture.

If you want to find out if something's any good, you can say, "¿Esta cuestión - salva o no?" (= literally "That question - does it save or not?"). And if it's no good, the answer would be, "No salva a nadie." (= "It won't save anybody."). You can use it for films, people, whatever.