58
February 1931
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
The Sword of the Spirit in Central America B y W. C ameron T ownsend (Guatemala, Central America)
“^SgNTIGUA, Guatemala, the ancient capital of Cen- JifBI tral America, has been the scene of many strange ]fjspgl sights. One of the most surprising was witnessed by a young lad as he stood leisurely watching several masons as they worked on a water main. What happened was this: One of the workmen began chiding another for having accepted a new religion. The more the accuser talked, the more furious he be
went down to the city to seek Gerardo. On the way, he stopped at his own home to get the book called the Bible wherein he had read the strange words. When he reached the mason’s home, Gerardo gave him a cheery greeting. “Why, hello, Benigno,” he said. “Come in.” Benigno entered, took his book from under his coat, and said, “Gerardo, you must have a book like this.” Gerardo went to a table where his cherished Bible
lay. “Yes, indeed,” he replied, “here it is. I bought it from a colpor teur. several months ago. But what made you think that I had one?” B en igno re counted what his son had told him. Then the two opened their Bibles to Matthew 5: 39, while Gerardo ex plained that God had enabled him to carry out that command. He described his conver sion, how Christ had changed him from a debauched gambler in to a humble follower of the despised Nazar- ene. He told Benigno that Christ had died to
came. Now the man upon whom he was heaping his invectives was a stalwart-looking fellow, quite capable of defending himself, and the lad expected a wild fight to begin at any time. But the man continued at his work not only with compo sure, but with a kindly expression upon his face. Then the other man struck him a terri fic blow on his cheek, which nearly knocked him over. He was not angered, but calmly turned his face and said: “Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the
other also.” When another heavy blow landed on that cheek, the abused man merely mumbled, “I have fulfilled my Lord’s command,” and went on with his work. His enemy then whipped out a dagger from under his belt and was about to inflict a mortal wound on the object of his wrath when other laborers siezed his arm and led him away. The lad went home, marveling at what he had seen. His father was staying on a little farm, part way up the slope of Volcano Agua which towers majestically above the city of Antigua. It was necessary to take him some food supplies, and the boy was glad to go on this errand, for it enabled him to tell his father at once of the strange thing he had seen. All along the way he pondered the words: “Whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” As soon as he had arrived at the farm house, he told his father all about the occur rence. The father thought a minute and said: “Why, I have read those words in the book I bought from a ped dler, but I did not suppose that anyone practiced them to day. What did the man look like?” The boy described him, and the father exclaimed : “The only mason in town who answers that description is Gerar do Villatoro, but I know him to be a man who would fight at the drop of a hat. When he gets drunk, he has been known to whip several men. What has come over him ?” The father’s curiosity grew, and so he left his work and
save him, too. Although Benigno did not accept the Lord then and there, it was not long until he and his family were saved. They joined the little band of believers in Antigua, who, in the midst of persecution, worship God according to the teaching of the precious Bible. Such a privilege was not always accorded to the citizens of that land. For many centuries the Bible was, to them, a for bidden book. But, as a result of the religious liberty ac quired in 1871, and the efforts of Bible societies and mis sionary organizations, the light and liberty of the gospel have been made available. W ork A mong - th e I ndians Gerardo and Benigno belong to the mixed race; Span ish is their mother tongue. But there are about two mil lion dialect-speaking Indians in Central America, few of whom can read or understand the Spanish Bible. They need God’s Word in their own languages. The American Bible Society is now publishing the New Testament in the language of the Cakchiquel tribe, numbering about 200,000. The New Testament will also be printed in the languages of other tribes as soon as the missionaries have completed the work of translation. The importance of this task is apparent when one realizes that thousands of Central American Indians have been converted from na ture worship, idolatry, superstition and vice, through read ing or hearing portions of Scripture in Spanish, a lan-
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