Following the footsteps of our Savior
Thursday afternoon in the hospital chapel: Marcos Acuña laughs and radiates energy as he talks. What he says comes from his heart. For several months he has been traveling through the mountains to visit former Diospi Suyana patients. Marcos is an ex-junky who was released from his drug addiction by reading a Bible. Without the healing power of God, he would probably not be alive, let alone a pastor working at Diospi Suyana.
Social worker Deborah Centner provides a few brief questions and Marcos is quickly is in the mountain world. He speaks enthusiastically of the gratitude of the mountain farmers who are often very happy about his visit. Regularly they also express their thanks for the good experience they had at Diospi Suyana.
About the rigors of his excursions he does not speak. The many listeners in the hospital chapel can only guess what it means walking for hours through the mountains. Heat and cold, rain and hail are his faithful companion. As he enters a hut, he is immediately surrounded by extreme poverty. Of course, he eats what he is offered. Given the lack of hygiene in these areas, he often takes on diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems. But as he takes the Bible and speaks of Jesus Christ, all listen to him.
His life has much in common with the example of his Lord. Eating and spending time with the poor and despised. Driven by pure passion with the best message that there is: God sent his son out of love for us. Whether we live in a shack at 4000 meters above see level or a luxury villa in Europe, there is no better news than this.
