And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. "Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech." So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:6-9
Imagine waking up to the confused language. Imagine not understanding the people in your home.
I have heard some say "God wouldn't seperate families like that" .
According to the scripture, He did.
Waking up hearing people talking but not understanding what was going on, or what they are saying.
Walking down the street wanting to share your story with someone, but not being able to communicate.
Then, you hear something you understand. They speak the same language as you do. You are automatically drawn to speak to this person.
To find out if the same thing that happened to you, happened to them.
Being in Mexico City reminded me of this great biblical event.
Hearing the bustle of the vendors setting up their market in the morning outside of where we stayed the first night.
The people in the house waking up and speaking with each other. They were not awake when we got there, so they were probably asking who these people were in their home.
This was my Babel experience. I longed for someone to speak with, someone I could understand.
Granted it was nothing like the true babel experience, This is as close as I have come before.
Getting the day started in an American way would be the trend throughout the week. Starbucks!
This was one of my favorite things of the day. We English speaking people, would have Bible study,and talk Theology over the morning "espresso americano" and fruit and yogurt parfait.
I like theology, I have been studying reformed theology.
Call me a Calvinist, but the zeal these men have for the Gospel is worth taking a look at.
Tepito is where we spent the first day of the trip.
I said that we arrived to the city in darkness,
But Tepito is constantly in darkness.
Cops, Federali's, with shotguns and automatic weapons roam the streets of most of Mexico City in abundance.
except for Tepito.
No cops, No Federali's, no shotguns, no protection.
Crime goes on daily. Tepito is a haven for drug lords and mafia boss'
Seven square miles of black market. Illegal merchandise.
You can see the evidence of crime all around.
Marijuana being smoked openly, Junkies shooting up on the side of the road.
No shame in what they are doing, Not trying to hide it, like we do in the States
We go to a park area, with an open air gym, where many of tepito's famous boxers have trained.
The weights are crude, cement that has dried around a bar. Pull Up bars
They are playing Handball against one of the structures.
It seems pretty popular. A good way to start a conversation, If i could speak to them.
We hand out some bibles, One man refuses at first, then gets approached again, and starts talking.
He rolls a joint while the gospel is being shared, and lights it.
The stench of Pot. Right in your face.
Quite possibly a contact high. But that isn't guaranteed.
even with the tough exterior, you can see he is hurting.
he doesn't understand this life. He wants change, but doesn't know how.
I sit and ask questions about the Handball game, Playing the part of a dumb Gringo
Because i am in that city.
It gets some of the old men talking with my pastor. He answers some questions.
we hand them the gospel of Luke and the book of acts. We pray as we walk out that Jesus will draw them in.
I have said it once before, and I have no problems saying it again.
The devil lives on a street in Tepito, and her name is Santa Muerte.
She is an evil presence.
She is guarded by the money changers, and it is high time their table gets overturned.
It completely changes my opinion of wearing a skeletons.
I thought they were harmless. and maybe they still are
but this one is evil. I have never been one to believe in mysticism mumbo jumbo
but this was real.
we stepped on the street where the shrine is, an evil oppressed.
every head turned on the street and looked directly at us.
the money changers signaling each other as we walked down the street because they knew the one we are with, and represent.
They were not happy.
This evil had me shook up for the rest of the day, and late into the night.
Because the next day we were going back.
Faith was questioned. challenged, and decided.
I felt as if we took a step down that street the next day, we were taking a step towards death.
I came to the decision, that if that was the step Christ wanted me to take, I am happy to take it.
When Peace like a river.
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