Among the guests at the dedication of the Bible Institute of the Amazon Jungle in Tarapoto, Peru was a native named Baasha.
Baasha said he had come to the dedication from a village near the Peruvian border with Ecuador, traveling by dugout canoe for many miles. Had the Gospel somehow been brought into his life so that he understood that students would be trained at the Bible Institute to share the story of Christ with villagers in the Upper Amazon Basin? Who knows? Language barriers prevented in-depth inquiries.
What we do know is that he said that on his journey he had paddled his canoe past the village of a hostile tribe, and that arrows had been shot at him from the shore as he floated by on the river!
The Bible Institute of the Amazon River in Tarapoto, was an outreach project of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Peru, headquartered in Lima. American missionaries, Peruvian pastors and occasional guest teachers were the professors. The purpose was to train men who had been selected in jungle villages and sent to attend classes, to study the Scriptures and learn Christian doctrine, and then return home to teach their fellow villagers. Sometimes visitors to the thatch roof villages would find colorful renderings of Bible stories tacked onto the walls of rooms which had been used as classrooms or sanctuaries.
When the two North Americans attending the dedication service donned sport coats and neckties, Baasha must have realized that the occasion would be special. More formal attire was needed! He disappeared to his room in the primitive student dormitory where he was quartered, and returned to the service in a costume befitting his status as tribal chief – the headband, beads and face paint all attested to his rank.
St. Paul wrote “All of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ (Galatians 3).” We know that our Savior’s innocence is credited to us and the forgiveness he won at the cross is ours through the faith our baptism created. Yes, we Christians are properly attired – for eternity!
(The ELS relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Peru is conducted by the South America Committee of the Board for World Outreach.
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