November 18, 2005
Sr. Chico, the Postmodernist
The road between Juazeiro do Norte and Fortaleza is hot and dusty. We had just stopped for gas in Russas, one of the larger of the small towns that dot the landscape, when a thin old man wearing a battered leather cap walked up to the passenger-side window.
“Are you going to go by Pedras?” he asked. Pedras is a smaller town, between Russas and Fortaleza. We allowed as how we were going in that direction, so he asked for a ride. We told him we would take him there, and he climbed in the back of the truck.
As we started off, I watched him there in the rear view mirror. I remembered times when I had ridden in the beds of various pickup trucks along similar roads in northeastern Brazil. I could tell, as he took off his hat and wiped his brow, that he was not comfortable at all. I stopped the truck.
“Hey, why don’t you come up and sit in the cab with us. It’s air conditioned.”
“Really?” his weather-beaten face brightened at the suggestion.
After he was seated comfortably, we resumed our journey. He told us his name was Francisco, Chico for short.
“Where are you from, Senhor Chico?” I asked, in an effort to make conversation.
“Bahia,” he replied. “Where do you live?”
“We are moving to Juazeiro do Norte.” His face brightened once more into a toothless grin at the mention of that name.
“I have much adoration for Padre Cicero and Saint Anthony,” he said excitedly, obviously expecting us to share in his enthusiasm.
“Don’t take this wrong,” I responded after a minute, “but we reserve all our adoration for Christ.”
“Ah, you are believers!” he said with equal excitement. “That is the right way to go.”
“But you just said you were an worshiper of Padre Cicero and Saint Anthony.” I said.
“They are all correct,” he explained. He then told us of how, when he had been in Fortaleza for medical treatment, he had spent time with some believers.
“I thought the ‘pastors’ were really great,” he concluded.
About then we arrived at his town, so we stopped and he got out. As we pulled away, he stood there at waved to us, a microcosm of the belief system of this region. The exclusive claims of Christ are completely lost on them.
Posted by Andrew at November 18, 2005 8:14 AM
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Comments
Posted by: Chris Harper at November 18, 2005 11:12 AM
Such a true story and often it is not Catholic doctrine and Evangelical, but Spiritist and Christian; all mixed in the same person.
Posted by: Jason Gardner at November 19, 2005 10:41 AM
What a sad, yet motivating story. We are on deputation for ministry in Jamaica with BMM and are encouraged by your site. Stories like this one remind us of the urgency of our mission. We pray for you!