Newspapers to Bibles?

There is always something interesting about coming across a local newspaper, but more so, what exactly is on the front page and the highlights throughout it.  Well, here on the outskirts of the Market in Antigua, Guatemala, it was really only two things in the paper on this particular week – deadly road accidents, and of course, soccer.  Soccer is very popular here, especially to our shoe shine friend named Thomas.

As Henry and I came to visit some of our shoe shine friends, we first came across Thomas.  He instantly grabbed two plastic seats for us to sit with him; he wanted to share something with us.  This day was a slow business day for shining shoes, so there was plenty of time to spare.  As we sat with him, he wanted us to read the newspaper that he has been slowly reading through.  Thomas only had three years of elementary school, and then became an everyday shoe shiner to make a living, which can be a day to day struggle at times.

As we were talking with him and sharing our lives, he then soon started to share more about his life.  He told us that one of the younger shoe shine boys was showing off his bible to him (bibles that we gave earlier), and Thomas started to read it, but the younger boy soon took it back as his own.  Henry and I were excited about his next question – “Do you have one for me?” Thomas asked.  And we gladly said “YES”.

(These bibles are New Testament bibles that also have some testimonies of sports players who follow Jesus Christ throughout the world.  For example, Drew Brees [football], Juan Carlos Valeron [soccer], and Kaka [soccer].)

Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you…If those who are evil know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”  -Matthew 7:7, 11