On Christmas Eve, Peruvians gather at the home of one of the family members. It is a time of excitement and joy. Around 11:00 p.m. the family has a big meal that usually includes turkey or a young roasted pig. A fruit cake is also served at the end of the meal for dessert.
Since Peru is largely Catholic, most have a manger scene in the corner of the living room in their home. At midnight, they place a tiny baby figurine they call “baby Jesus” in the manger. While they celebrate the virgin giving birth to Jesus as the Savior of the world, very few actually know the Savior. Salvation is obtained by obeying a set of rules established by the traditional church. It is a work-based attempt to please God in order to obtain forgiveness of sin. Repentance is an emotional and temporary sorrow that is only for the moment since there are no real desires or plans to forsake sin.
The few who do know Christ as their personal Savior by faith through grace are so different from the average person. Their lives are transformed.
We are praying for and working with our landlords so that they can come to the Light and receive salvation by faith. We celebrated the Christmas meal with them in their home. As Blanca put baby Jesus in the manger, we thought of how wonderful it would be if they would invite Him into their hearts.
After this, we went outside to see all the fireworks. Lima was lit up in all directions as beautiful colored lights sprinkled the dark skylight while loud bursts of explosions filled the air. We enjoyed the fireworks display and then retired for the evening at a little before 1:00 a.m. This was Ruth’s first Christmas in Peru.
Carlos is a young man who loves the Lord and wants to serve Him. My associate pastor recently began training him to help with the programming of our radio ministry. To do this type of work, you have to love computers. It involves sitting in front of a monitor for hours while you set the computer to run all the messages, announcements, and music at their proper time. Carlos learns quickly and enjoys the work.
