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{ September 2, 2002 }
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Merphran.
Today is
Merphran’s 22ond birthday.
I met
Merphran in the mid 1980’s, I think, when my mother and I were in the states
during the winter. Therefore, he must have been about 5 years old, while I was
9. He doesn’t remember me then, and neither do I, but I know that I was in his
room playing with his Legos on a snowy night in Morgantown, West Virginia. He
had a castle Lego set.
A few
years later, I barely got to know him further when I started going to Great
Commission Church in La Ceiba, where his dad is pastor. Back then I was 12, and
wouldn’t associate with 8 year-olds.
A year
ago, though, he came to Tegucigalpa, after working as a schoolteacher in the
church school at La Ceiba for a while. After a series of circumstances he came
to become one of my assistants very quickly.
Late last
summer, the Tegucigalpa pastors visited a mega-church in the states called
Willow Creek Community Church, and came back with exciting ideas. One of them
was creating specialized groups around the talents and gifts of people in the
church, so that everyone would be able to serve in their own special way, and
have their individual needs met. Since I was the deacon in charge of a group of
mainly musicians, my group was one of the ones chosen for an experiment: the
ministerial group.
Almost as
soon as he came, Merphran began playing the drums with the church band, and
when the ministerial groups began, he came to my group, along with Gaby, Mari,
and Agustin. His leadership abilities were very visible, so I invited him to
lead part of the group, and Quique the other.
Although
it was too soon for him (we reunited the groups a few weeks later), he once
again is leading a portion of the group, together with Gaby, and David, his
disciple.
As I told
him on Saturday, when we celebrated his birthday, he’s become an irreplaceable
friend. God has carved out a special place for him in each of our hearts in the
group. My prayer is that he will go on to become a pastor, and develop the
character of an apostle.
Return to the Green Room, or to
Day by Day.
email me at aeortiz@iname.com.
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