HORSE FACE

Many years ago, when I was much younger, my dad received an urgent call from one of the churches outside the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Seem like a member of the church donated the money to purchase half of the roof for the building.

Years later, this man got upset with the pastor and threatened to leave the church and take with him half the roof. In vain the pastor apologized and tried to convince the brother not to leave the church and take the roof with him. In desperation, they called for my father.

The meeting was held in the church building and the congregation was present, as well as all the leaders of the church and the man in question, as well as the pastor and my dad. They presented my dad with all the details of what had happened and several members expressed their concern. Finally, my dad was allowed to speak. His first words were: “where is the horse face that wants to leave the house of God without a roof?” No one expected a pastor to express himself with such strong words.

The silence was finally broken when the culprit stood up, sobbing, asking God to forgive him, as well as asking forgiveness from the brethren and the pastor and promised neither to leave the church nor to take the roof.

My dad has a way with words.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I don’t know why, but every Christmas I get melancholic. I do not remember having ever a “bad Christmas”; nevertheless, I cannot help it but feel melancholic at Christmas.

I have been remembering Christmases of my childhood, especially those spent in Italy, when I was 10 years old or so, when I lived with my grandmother Aurora.

At that time, she lived in a big 4 story house known as “villa Aurora”, in Brénnero St. number 11, in the city of Sondrio, in the north of Italy. I remember the huge garden and the snow coming down thick in such a way that it produced an unusual silence.

When the gifts were given, as she usually did, she gave me books! I considered that an improper gift for Christmas. All my friends got toys and interesting gifts, all I got was books. Year after year it was the same. I remember feeling cheated. Who gives books for Christmas to a 10, 11 years old boy? Only my grandmother would have such a “brilliant” idea!

As the years went by, I understood the strategy of that wonderful and intelligent woman. With her Christmas gifts, I was able to travel 20.000 leagues under water; I went to the center of the earth; traveled from the Alps to the Andes. I met wonderful people like King Arthur; Ivanhoe; the count of Montecristo; Robinson Crusoe and many others.

Her gifts started a passion in me for reading. I cannot go thru a day without reading a few pages from a favorite book that will take me to the next level that will make my imagination travel faster than light, that which will inspire me.

Thank you, Grandma Aurora for giving me a Christmas gift that never quits. The toys my friends received are all gone by now, but your gift lasts thru the years.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

A LOVE STORY

“I met her on a Sunday, we talked about going for a walk, I asked her name and many other things”, are the words from a song by Leo Dan.

Her long hair, the way she always smiled, full of life, full of energy. Wherever she went, her presence was like a light that shined in the dark. It was very difficult not to be aware of her presence.

When I knew her better, I noticed her positive attitude, her intense love for the Lord and her calling to the ministry, which was like a fire in her bones.

It was easy to fall in love with her and after dating a few months, I proposed marriage. On the 18th of December 1971, Sharon and I went before the Lord to ask His blessing over our marriage.

36 years later, I am so grateful to the Lord for this beautiful and courageous woman.

God blessed us with three incredible children. Bruno was born in the highlands of Bolivia, while Italo Paul was born in the Canary Islands and Sandra was born in Texas. They all serve the Lord faithfully and have given us 4 grandchildren: Isabella and Anthony, they are the children of Bruno and Heather; Annabelle is the daughter of Italo and Amy and Cesar Alfonzo, Sandra and Cesar’s son.

As the years went by, Sharon became my constant companion. The harmony, peace, balance that I feel in my heart when I am with her, the great time we have together, cannot be replaced by nothing else.

She is the mother of my children; the grandmother of my grandchildren; she is my wife, but most of all, she is my best friend. She is my soul companion.

Thank you Lord for this wonderful 36 years!!!

MY FIRST CHURCH

Looking thru some pictures, I found one of the first church that with a friend, Edgar Garcia Rocha, started in 1966. The building was in a street by the name of Pedro Domingo Murillo, in the city of La Paz, Bolivia. I was 16 years old.

The building we chose used to be a butcher shop. The walls, floor and even the ceiling was stained with blood and other stains that we could never figure out what they were.

It took us several days to scratch and paint. The place had to be spotless, as it was to be a place of worship. We “borrowed” some benches from my dad’s church. He was the pastor of the Evangelistic Center of the Assemblies of God.

God hides from us His plan. His plan is always greater than our imagination. We launch out in obedience and faith, without being able to see the total picture.

Time went by and finally I had to go to the States to study. I looked for somebody to take over the church and found a Peruvian minister that was in La Paz at that time. He agreed to pastor the church. For several years I sent money from the States to help him. I met Sharon and we got married and never returned to that particular church, even thou we went back to La Paz after graduation.

Twenty years later, in a missionary conference in San Antonio, Texas, I met the superintendent of the Spanish Assemblies, with headquarters in California. I did not recognize him, but he recognized me. He hugged me and greeted me with great joy. I kept thinking: who is this man? He said: “my name is Daniel Támara” and proceded to identify himself. He realized I did not recognize him. He said: “I am the one that took your church when you left for College. For three years you supported me. Today, God has blessed me and prospered me here in the States. I want to thank you for opening this door of opportunity. I am in the ministry today because of you.”

When we serve the Lord, we are part of an adventure that we do not know how it will end. There is nothing like the adrenaline rush of serving God!.

THE DAY AFTER

A friend of mine came to see us in several occasions when we lived in Las Palmas de Gran Canarias, Spain. He is a great preacher, very intense in his presentation, always giving the 100% of himself.

Nevertheless, the day after preaching, he would fall in a deep depression. He would lock himself in his room,in the dark. I used to question what it happened to him, thinking that it was too much of a mood change.

Year later, I was understanding what it happened to him. In fact, I have begun to identify myself with his feelings. It's not that one is older and therefore, less strong, but the spiritual load its begins to be heavier. One is more sensible to the Spirit and the presence of God in the service on Sunday demands more of a physical effort.

Little by little, Mondays have become days in which I need to remove the adrenalin from the previous day.

It has never been easy for me to preach. It has always been a process of much preparation, of many hours of study, research, reading, to be alone with the Father, to look for His face, to discern His voice.

I believe in the excellence behind the pulpit, to be prepared in all, which includes obvious and firstly, in the spiritual thing, but also that God demands of a preacher to be properly prepared.

Today, our congregations are more and more sophisticated and require of a solid diet of spiritual food. We do not change the message, but we must be well prepared for the presentation of the message so it is understood by the audience.

So, on Monday, it is probable that I will not answer the telephone, that I will not be interest in going out, and that I will not have any intentions in meeting with somebody.

It is my day to digest the sermon, of reliving the service (very much like a soccer player relives the game played last weekend), of self-criticism and beginning the hard task of preparing the following message for my congregation.

THE DISEASES OF SOUL

After months and months of work and waiting, finally the book LAS ENFERMEDADES DEL ALMA (The Diseases of Soul), has been published and it's possible to be acquired in evangelical bookstores or Amazon.com.

It's not easy to express the feeling of having my first book published internationally, in addition, it has a great prologue of my good friend Dante Gebel.

The book is made up of a series of sermons that I have preached in my church in Santiago de Chile, that addresses issues such as: depression, procrastination, fear and other issues related to the diseases of the soul. Obviously, it is not a psychological treaty on how to treat a patient who suffers such diseases, but it's a spiritual treaty that shows us what the Bible teaches  on how to heal from an illness of the soul. I hope you can purchase one, otherwise it will be my pleasure to send you one.

Well, this it is my first attempt in blogging, I do not have much idea of what I am doing, but as my children constantly tell me: "Dad, we are in the XXI century. You got to get updated.  So, I requested help to a great friend of mine, Claudio Gutiérrez, who has designed this blog for me, and he's teaching me so that I can learn how to handle it. Thanks, "uncle" Claudio. Be patient with me!.

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You also can acquire a copy of "Las Enfermedades del Alma" in www.zondervan.com (eng.)