Saturday, January 24, 2009

Of Rats and Senores

Adreana and I returned home from our time back in North America and were warmly welcomed by a committee of rats. The warmth came not from the rodents but from the weather and the band of furried brothers had taken up residence in our washing machine. Every day they enjoyed a free continental breakfast as they munched on the buffet of veggies and fruits that have grown up out of our compost and gladly helped Risky, my dog, finish off his chow. A kindly and attractive techinician came and carried off our washer, returning it the very next day. We are grateful to be able wash clothes again, especially since we were using our neigbours and his machine is also on it's way out.

Speaking of rats, about half a year ago, Senor Orlando showed up at my door. He was vending bags of sweets and looking for old shoes and broken down electrical appliances in an attempt to generate support for a home of boys from the streets. He was amicable and even spoke of a missionary couple that I know from Youth with a Mission. He even wore an official (albeit faded) name tag pinned to his shirt pocket. Every couple of weeks, Orlando would show up, we would chat and I would hand over any odds and ends that would help his ministry. A couple days before I left on my most recent trip home, Orlando mentioned that their centre also did wood work and if we ever needed furniture made that we should contact them. Adreana and I have been talking about getting a book shelf for quite some time. I mentioned it and before I knew it, he had me contracting him to build it for us. I gave him 200 bolivianos and told him that he could deliver it when I came back in January.

A couple days after my January 5th return, Senor Orlando rang our bell. It was a cheery reunion as we sat on our patio and caught up. He told me that they had been 100 bolivianos short on the shelf but that it could be done and delivered by the next day. I was also invited to a program that evening for 200+ people which addressed the dangers of drugs and life on the streets. However, the presentation was a DVD and they didn't have a player....

I never would have handed over my DVD player if it weren't for the scripture that I had been meditating on when the doorbell buzzed. I had just finished reading and underlining (in red pen) Romans 2:13, "For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous." In conjunction with that, I was thinking about how we should give freely, without restraint, and how when someone asks something of you, you should give it without expecting anything in return. With this verse in my mind, I was asked by a man, whom I only knew in passing, to lend him my DVD player. Needless to say, we won't be watching any movies this weekend and our books remain stored in bins and mildew.

Although it gets me really miffed to think that I've been conned, I believe that if I hadn't given what he asked for, I would have been wracked with the sense that I fallen short of righteousness...especially considering the immediate context of verses that I had been meditating on. Perhaps, Senor Orlando will still return and I will have been wrong about his rat nature...then again, the cell phone number he gave me is a direct line to someone whose name is not Orlando.

The rats are still around but between shovel beatings and poison, we will exterminate them. I have faint hope that Senor Orlando will return and if he does I have entertained thoughts of giving him a righteous slap on the face....just to be honest.