Respect is Universal

   On our second full day, the group got split up at the start of the day. Some stayed at the mission house to plant trees while the rest of us volunteered to go back out to the costruction site.  While in a short time we were able to get a lot more accomplished, it was our meeting with Margarito that really defined the morning.
   While working with more stone (Yay Stone!!! Lol), Levi called us over to meet one of the neighbors that have been helped by the church.  While Margarito stood there vulnerable to the judgment of strangers, Levi explained Margarito's path.  In order to earn a living, Margarito gets on his bike each day and rides it for four hours one way so that he can fish.  When done, he rides the 4 hours back home.
   Margarito is an alcoholic. By the grace of God, he is trying to recover from that addiction.  He has quit the drinking, but the demons of his past are hard to escape from. His drinking friends still come around and he has to send them on his way. Sometimes, they make trouble for Margarito, because they don't like his change. Levi explained that one day a lot of guys came to make trouble in a big way and Margarito handled it without resorting to his machete. Apparently Margarito is very skilled with the machete and could have easily killed them all right there without much work, but he restrained.  Putting aside the shock of such a story, the pride of restraining oneself from machete violence, we just saw Margarito standing there trying to be a good man of God in the way he knew how but exposed to us. Levi explained further how this transformation has been difficult for him and he continues to get challenges and trials that want to interrupt his path.
   Now I am not an evangelist. I haven't done such things before, and I have never been on a mission trip before now.  But this man, Margarito, well you could see the weight of struggle in his eyes and posture as he stood there. I felt compelled to share some words of encourgement and share a scripture that had helped me through such times. I told Margarito that by changing his life and staying strong on a good path that he is showing others in his community a way.  He is even showing those old drinking buddies that transformation is possible and one day his example may help one of them, God willing.  I had to run back to the truck to get my bible so I could share this verse, "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation."(Romans 5:3, 4 NLT)
  Levi then shared with us all the verse he has Margarito look to when the devil is knocking at his door.    "So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen."(1 Peter 5:6-11 NLT)
  After that, I led a prayer for strength over Levi.  Then it was back to work. Later, Margarito's wife came by and showed us some of the shrimp Margarito caught and offered to fix us up some. I don't know if it was the moment, the freshness of the catch, the way his wife prepared the shrimp, or all of that, but it was the best shrimp I ever tasted.
   Between Margarito and his wife, the lesson of the day was that respect and smiles are universal and go a long way. For us foreigners to come there and hear and respect his path on life, well.. I could tell that it meant a lot.

God Bless,

Aaron Mason