Learning from a Humble Man

 

At our pastors' retreats, one of the most humble men left the deepest impression. I'll refer to him as Pastor R. He was a member of the Terrenos Indian tribe and lived on the FUNAI reservation in Mato Grosso do Sul, in Western Brazil. Pastor R. spoke with a resolute faith and a quiet demeanor that indicated his cup was full and running over. He knew he was led by the Lord, even in the most difficult situations. Before he finished praying, my eyes were always brimming over with tears.

Pastor R. is now with God, rejoicing with the saints in glory, awaiting the day of the Great White Throne judgment when the Lord will judge the living and the dead. Perfect justice will be done, unlike the years during which injustice was all too often committed against the Terrenos Indians. 

Decades before, a humble Christian worker, sent out from North America, shared the word of God in one of the Terrenos villages. As a revival swept the tribe, and as household, after household came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, some men resolutely set out to kill Pastor R. One day they arrived at his home at sundown and stated, "Tomorrow, at this time, we are coming to kill you. We don't want your message!"

Pastor R. and his wife fell on their knees. They knew the men were paid to murder, something that was all too common in that part of Brazil, three hours from where we lived. They spent the night in prayer, interceding for the men who were  paid to "put that pastor out of commission."

The next afternoon, these two saints waited for the gunmen and when these men arrived, Pastor R. met them at the front door of his small, rural, two-bedroom house. "I know you are going to kill me and my wife," he said, "but would you grant me a final request. Please let me die on my knees. I'll kneel down, then I'll pray, and then you can kill me."

With the request granted, he fell on his knees. With hands spread out to the heavens and with tears pouring down his face, he prayed, and prayed, and prayed. He asked the Lord to show his mercy to these three men. He wept for their wives and children. He asked the Lord to be gracious to them. Then he prayed some more. He asked that Jesus Christ, who had taken his sins and forgiven him, would now forgive the men who were about to kill him. 

Finally, he was out of words, and he opened his eyes. Sometime during his prayer, the men had a change of mind. 

Pastor R. told this, and many other stories. Always his conversation with the Lord was that of a child, maybe five or six years of age, just talking naturally with his Heavenly Father. No fancy words. No planned sentences. Just a free-flowing conversation. Many retreats came and went at Piraputanga, the lovely camp on the edge of the verdant Pantanal, (Brazil's beautiful, gigantic swamp), but what stands out for me were the prayers of a humble Terrenos Indian pastor who walked, really walked, with God.