Jack Voelkel
Narciso and Udalia Zamora, Peruvian missionaries (part 2 of 2)
Part 2: Cross-cultural Missionaries
One year representatives of the Church of God discussed their desire to plant their denomination in Ecuador. The pastors of Colombia and Peru were charged to enter from the north and south, respectively, but after two years there had been no response. The Zamoras felt the urging of God to fill this need. Narciso made an exploratory trip to Ecuador, passing from Guayaquil to Quito, to a jungle community, and then back to Quito, where he met some believers looking for a leader. They invited him to speak that night, which he did, and then everyone went home. However, he was unable to get transportation because of a local bus strike. As a result “I decided to wait until morning under a bridge. There I sat all night, with my Bible and satchel full of tracts” (p. 110). At dawn the next day the strike had been resolved and he found his way home.
He rented a small room six by nine feet, borrowed two sheets of plywood to sleep on and a steel drum to put water in. He only had enough money for one meal a day, while paying the rent. His wife sent him funds, while continuing to lead their church back in Peru, and selling books to support them all. In this way the Church of God denomination in Ecuador had its humble beginnings. Within three months, convinced that the Lord was prospering his ministry, he returned to Peru. The Zamoras sold everything they had, and after working through all the complications of securing documents, moved to Quito.
One of his key laymen, Hugo Silva, offered the congregation the use of his shop, moving his implements on to the street. The man commented, “these are my priorities: First, God; second my family; and then myself” (p. 114). In a short time the Lord blessed Silva and he was able to purchase another piece of land for a larger shop.
The church grew, a little financial help came from abroad, and soon the congregation had its own property and the members constructed a building with their own hands. Without asking, people donated food for his family from time to time, and one of the members gave them their first refrigerator. The church could only pay their rent, and being foreigners, they couldn’t work officially. However, the developed a little business of making covers for Bibles and with these proceeds were able to both take care of their personal needs and travel to other parts of the country to evangelize, preaching in markets and parks, and going from house to house, distributing tracts and holding Bible studies.
In time, Narciso was called to open the Church of God denomination in Chile, and following the same patterns he had developed in Peru and Ecuador, evangelized, cultivated believers, and developed several congregations.
Suffering for JesusAs I have read the account of Narciso and Udalia, I am impressed with their persistence and tenacity in pursuing God’s call on their lives in spite of seemingly insurmountable difficulties. They have basically supported themselves by any means possible, often with inadequate nourishment. As a result, they built self-supporting, self-propagating, self-governing churches of committed laymen and women, who learned to rely on God rather than outside help.
Their ministry has involved much suffering. Soon after being married, while running an evangelistic campaign which kept them away from home all night, they returned to find their apartment had been literally cleaned out by thieves; all their possessions stolen. Working in the jungle was a constant battle with huge, hungry mosquitoes. While on the road, sleeping in abandoned huts, as soon as the lights went out, the cockroaches would swarm over him. He often had to walk in the rain without shelter, cross swollen rivers without bridges, and face the constant menace of bandits, scorpions, and snakes.
Once Udalia had to travel alone with her baby son, and at night found all the hotels were filled. Going to the police station, they said, “Lady, you can’t sleep here with us men. The only place we can offer you is a jail cell.” She spent the night sharing Jesus with the only other occupant, a needy woman. Udalia has suffered physically from malnutrition and infirmities of various descriptions, including a painful liver transplant. Yet, Narciso’s only comment has been, “I praise the Lord Jesus for always being with us, walking by our side, glory to God. Jesus said, ‘I will be with you even to the end of the earth’”. Their two sons, growing up in the pattern of constant moving and physical privation have had their struggles but both are now serving the Lord full time.
Future PlansAt the time of this writing, Narciso and Udalia are making their plans for 2008. Their goal is to establish a school to prepare missionaries who will plant churches across Latin America. They have already received invitations from Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru to develop this project. They continually look for the least evangelized cities where they can plant a church and then develop a school of missions.
In the Prologue of his autobiography, Narciso gives this advice: “To all who want to be ministers of the Word and are called by the Lord: pray, study the Word and commit yourself to entering the battle. You can’t expect a crown if you don’t enter the race. Jesus is King.” Then he quotes his favorite verse:We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned\; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Cor 4:8-10) (p. 3).
Bibliography
Zamora, Narciso. Walking Man. Trans. Donna Schillinger. Release date: October 2007. [Visit www.thequilldriver.com to pre-order. Available in e-book after May 25th at www.ebookmall.com].
Photo of Narciso Zamora, courtesy of The Quilldriver.
Some questions for Reflection
1. What attracts you about Narciso’s experience? What frightens you?
2. Note the means God used to bring him to faith. What helped him grow as a Christian?
3. How did Narciso establish his churches?
4. How did he train his laymen? What principles for student work do you find in these patterns?
5. What has it cost the Zamoras to follow Jesus?
6. What challenges has the Lord given you through reading his experiences?
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