A story of courage

I want to tell you about my good friend Alfredo. He is a small young man, 25 years old. Two weeks ago we celebrated with him as he successfully defended his thesis and graduated from the Gabriel Rene Moreno University. He has been a leader in our student movement since it began about a year ago. Alfredo has been with us on mission trips and has a heart for leading people to faith in Christ. He leads the fun time at the beginning of our big weekly meetings. Since his father died 12 years ago he has helped his mom raise his four younger brothers and sisters. In the last several years she has been in poor health and has depended on Alfredo's teaching job to bring in most of the family income.

Last Sunday night he called me just before I was to leave on a trip the next day to Uruguay. He was sobbing. His mother had just died of pneumonia in the public charity hospital in Santa Cruz. I told him I would meet him at his house. When I arrived a few friends had gathered to wait for Alfredo and his mother’s remains. I comforted the younger kids and waited with them.

The old Toyota station wagon arrived with the casket and we carried it from the dirt street up the embankment to the house. The kids had cleared out one of the two rooms in front of the house and the morticians went to work. They did all of their work right there at the house. The neighbor ladies asked the kids to get their mother’s best dress and shoes. Someone scrambled to find shoe polish. After about an hour, the work was done and the room was open for visitors.

By midnight there were around 40 people sitting quietly in the yard. I slipped some money into Alfredo’s pocket and prayed with him, then left for home and my trip to Uruguay. I phoned my Bolivian Campus Crusade staff friends to give them the news and they assured me that they would be there to support Alfredo. The service was held on Tuesday and a dozen friends from the student group and dozens from their mother’s church were there.

Jeanie and I went to visit the kids yesterday. Alfredo and his sisters showed me albums of photos they had put together and were doing pretty well. His fourteen year old brother Noah hung around quietly in the background. Alfredo is committed to keeping the family together in the coming years. His sobs have given way to courage as the younger kids lean on him for strength. Please pray for Alfredo, because for him youth has come to a screeching halt. He is the man of the family now.