From the July-September 2008 Issue
Light at the end of the Tunnel
Joao and Celeste Nunes
LisbonThe Baptist Church in Tomar was established 62 years ago, through the evangelistic efforts of
a dedicated man, who came to live here with his family. At first they had to face all types of persecution, as the area was (and still is) well in the grips of Catholicism. In those days, in the town, very little was known about other religions besides the one taught in the established church (Catholicism). In spite of his hard work, for many long months the pastor and his small family met alone. No one would dare to accept his invitation to come and hear the preaching of the glorious Gospel he had to share with them.
The name ‘protestant’ sounded like an anathema to everyone, and to belong to that ‘sect’, at that time, meant to be mocked or excluded from society and, in many cases, even rejected by the family to which one belonged. Going to church on Sunday was a habit that, together with confession to the priest, would secure the relief people needed from a week lived immersed in all types of sin.
When we came to Tomar, six years ago, little by little we came to be aware of the awful spiritual situation in this area. Though very religious, family arguments, broken marriages, infidelity, the occult, were and are rampant. In fact, to live doing all these things becomes the normal standard of living to many, many people, so that when we point them to another way of enjoying life, they simply do not hear, or think we live in another world.
Every so often we think of the miracle that accompanies the church’s very existence! One only has to look to the New Testament and see the context in which the churches were founded then, and remember that the same pattern has been applied for the last two thousand years. The apostles had to face a lot, as they went across the Roman Empire with the good tidings of the Gospel. They themselves, at first, had trouble to understand those blessed tidings. They themselves had times of great blessings and days of but little showers, but they always went forth with the work once entrusted to them, counting it a privilege to have the honour of being enrolled in that work.
As we think of the church in Tomar and of our situation, we thank the Lord for the work here and for what the Lord is doing as we start to see a little light at the end of the tunnel. During these six years we have been in touch with people from all sorts of venues, and we have been enriched. At the same time, we believe the Lord has used us to help and encourage a number of people to whom we minister. We have a stable nucleus, both here in Tomar and in Ortiga, for which we are most grateful to the Lord. We have all ages represented, and though we keep losing people, owing to them pursuing better jobs somewhere else in the country and abroad, the Lord always brings people to us, and we praise Him for that.