From El Salvador
Dear Don,
Loving greetings in Jesus’ name.
During the 19 years that Jean and I have been living in El Salvador in relative isolation, we have frequently been amazed at coming into contact with English speaking people familiar with our community.
Many years ago, Jean, the boys and I were at a local swimming pool where they enjoyed playing with an Englishman who had come with his wife to visit their daughter, a casual friend of ours. A couple of weeks after her parents had left, the daughter approached Jean and said, “I know this is probably a silly question, but you don’t happen to be a Christadelphian, do you?” It turned out that her mother had seen us giving thanks before lunch and had said to the daughter, “Those people must be Christadelphians. I’m going to go over and speak to them.” The daughter was embarrassed and told her mother she must be mistaken. Her mother let herself be dissuaded while all the time insisting, “Only Christadelphians give thanks like that.” It was only after her parents left that the daughter got up enough courage to approach Jean. Her mother was a Christadelphian and had been told before coming to El Salvador that there were Christadelphians here but didn’t know how to get in touch with us! And so they left without our ever getting a chance to speak to them.
More recently, an Englishmen whom I knew casually asked me why I had come to El Salvador. When I told him, expecting the reaction “Christa-what?” he calmly replied, “I attended a Christadelphian Sunday school as a boy.” It turned out that, as a child in London, he had been evacuated to Yorkshire during the blitz and spent the duration of the war with a Christadelphian family, attending meetings with them. Even after all those years, Fred could speak Christadelphian jargon: For example, he remembered that his host often “took the lecture.” When Fred unfortunately died of cancer a few months ago, the American Methodist pastor of a local English-speaking congregation asked me to do a Bible reading at his funeral service. When I declined, the pastor asked why and! was surprised to discover that he well knew who Christadelphians were and understood perfectly why I could not participate in his religious service.
On another occasion, Jean and I were having dinner with a colleague and his wife from the Canadian Embassy in Guatemala. They asked us why we had come to El Salvador and, when we told them, my colleague looked totally blank but his wife said, “Oh yes, I know who Christadelphians are.” She had once taken a religion course at the University of Toronto and each student had to write a term paper on a religious group chosen from a list provided by the professor. She chose the Christadelphians because she had never heard of them and researched her paper by interviewing several brethren at the Toronto (Church St.) Ecclesia.
The most recent such occurrence happened just a few weeks ago. I represent a Canadian organization called CESO which provides local businesses the services of volunteer consultants who are mostly retired persons. In late January, I met at the airport and delivered to the client company a Canadian chemist named Peter Simpson and his wife, Helen, from Hamilton, Ontario. I have had little subsequent contact with the Simpsons as they are living some distance away. About three weeks ago, Peter called me to report on his project. When we had finished talking business and I was about to hang up, Peter said, ‘There’s just one more thing. What’s your wife’s maiden name?” I thought that was a rather strange and personal question to be asked by someone I hardly knew, but I answered, “Snobelen.” Peter said, “Well, I guess it’s true then.” I asked what was true. He told me his son had mentioned that one of Jean’s relatives taught his children in the Christadelphian Sunday School in Victoria, BC. “Is your son a Christadelphian?” I asked him. He replied that both his sons were Christadelphians. One named Chris had lived for a time with his family in Victoria and Peter and his wife had attended the “ecclesia, I believe you call it?” in Victoria. I understand that Bro. Chris Simpson and his family now live in isolation on northern Vancouver Island.
According to the latest directory we have, the Simpsons’ other son, Glen, is a member of the Hamilton (MacNab), ONT Ecclesia. When Bro. Glen heard his parents were coming to El Salvador, he mentioned there were Christadelphians here and suggested they look us up. Peter asked what our names were and Glen was rather astounded to discover that his father already knew my name well because I was his CESO contact in the country!
Your brother,
Jim Hunter
An Incident from Britain
Every time a visiting brother came to a certain British ecclesia, the same sister met and provided for him. The name of one of the visiting brethren stirred some distant memories in her heart.
As they became better acquainted, she asked him about his background, especially his parentage. It turned out that he had not been born under the name which he now carried. His mother had died when he was a small baby and he had been adopted. He had grown up and received his schooling under the name of his adoptive parents.
When grown, he had joined the army and was in the trenches in France. Ladies in Britain regularly met to wrap parcels for the lads in the trenches. One of these groups included a Christadelphian sister. She always placed leaflets on the truth in the parcels she wrapped.
The soldier received one of the leaflets, tucked it in his pocket and, when on leave in Britain, contacted Christadelphians. Eventually he accepted the Truth, was baptized and became a prominent speaking brother. Now he was seated before this sister.
The sister then related to him that she was familiar with the incident of his birth and of his mother’s death. “I knew your mother, she was a Christadelphian sister.”
The brother was amazed and greatly delighted. “Then, there is hope that I shall see my mother.”
They spoke of the great sorrow of the mother parting with her tiny boy. They talked of how she must have prayed that God would direct and guide his life into the knowledge and love of God. Now they thanked God that the answer to the mother’s prayer had been granted; they felt humbled and renewed in determination to God’s service.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One