To Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo
At 10:45 a.m. this morning we sat aboard a jet lifting away from Mexico City, soaring high over the mountains that ring this city, known for its remarkable altitude of 7400 feet. Oxygen is not as plentiful there, a reality that can quickly tire out the unaccustomed visitor.
Sitting in the airport, waiting for our flight, we noticed a distinguished-looking gentleman in suit and tie sit across from us. He carried only a book with flexible leather cover and gold-edged pages. I know a Bible when I see one. I wondered what I could do. I wanted to talk with him but what if he understood only Spanish?
I didn't have to wonder long. It was time to go to our flight gate. We got up to leave and I said to him, "I see you have a nice Bible there."
"Si, " he said.
"I am very interested in the Bible too," I said. He smiled. Carol asked him if he was Catholic. He said no.
He understood some English.
"Would you mind if I showed you something interesting in your Bible?" He nodded in the affirmative.
"Please go to Psalm 83," I said. He flipped around through Leviticus and Deuteronomy. "It's in the middle," I said. He got to Psalm 78, turned more pages, and landed at Psalm 87. He flipped back and Psalm 78 reappeared. Then back to Psalm 87. The gold gilt page edges had never been separated before and were stuck together. He blew on the page edges to separate them. I smiled and said, "It seems like I'm taking you somewhere you've never been before." He laughed.
At Psalm 83 I asked him to look at verse 18. "You see it gives God's name there," I said. He looked at it and gave a little shrug as if to say, "So, what about it?"
I said, "Look at Mateo chapter 6." I know very little Spanish but I know Matthew is Mateo. He obliged and I showed him the opening words of "The Lord's Prayer."
"You see, the nombre (name) of the Padre (Father) is very important. It's the first thing to pray about. We need to know that name."
He looked at the verse again and nodded, apparently getting the point. We had to leave but I left him a JW.org card with my email address on it. It was a short conversation but it is always a great pleasure to have the opportunity to show people Jehovah's name in their own Bible.
Not long afterwards we were approaching our destination and through the airplane window we caught our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean ...
Then we descended to the Zihuatanejo / Ixtapa airport ...
Sitting in the airport, waiting for our flight, we noticed a distinguished-looking gentleman in suit and tie sit across from us. He carried only a book with flexible leather cover and gold-edged pages. I know a Bible when I see one. I wondered what I could do. I wanted to talk with him but what if he understood only Spanish?
I didn't have to wonder long. It was time to go to our flight gate. We got up to leave and I said to him, "I see you have a nice Bible there."
"Si, " he said.
"I am very interested in the Bible too," I said. He smiled. Carol asked him if he was Catholic. He said no.
He understood some English.
"Would you mind if I showed you something interesting in your Bible?" He nodded in the affirmative.
"Please go to Psalm 83," I said. He flipped around through Leviticus and Deuteronomy. "It's in the middle," I said. He got to Psalm 78, turned more pages, and landed at Psalm 87. He flipped back and Psalm 78 reappeared. Then back to Psalm 87. The gold gilt page edges had never been separated before and were stuck together. He blew on the page edges to separate them. I smiled and said, "It seems like I'm taking you somewhere you've never been before." He laughed.
At Psalm 83 I asked him to look at verse 18. "You see it gives God's name there," I said. He looked at it and gave a little shrug as if to say, "So, what about it?"
I said, "Look at Mateo chapter 6." I know very little Spanish but I know Matthew is Mateo. He obliged and I showed him the opening words of "The Lord's Prayer."
"You see, the nombre (name) of the Padre (Father) is very important. It's the first thing to pray about. We need to know that name."
He looked at the verse again and nodded, apparently getting the point. We had to leave but I left him a JW.org card with my email address on it. It was a short conversation but it is always a great pleasure to have the opportunity to show people Jehovah's name in their own Bible.
Not long afterwards we were approaching our destination and through the airplane window we caught our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean ...
Then we descended to the Zihuatanejo / Ixtapa airport ...
The pilot advised us we'd be stepping out into 90 degree
weather, a sharp contrast to when we left Montreal.
An airport shuttle brought us through Zihuatanejo and into its suburb of Ixtapa ...
Altogether a good traveling experience. Tomorrow: grocery shopping.
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