Preparing for Ministry.

As many of you know, I have just returned from a two week cruise vacation in South America. My brother, Bill, is a college professor and so his available free time is limited and since both of us enjoy cruising, we often try to get away in January between semesters.

I had never been to South America and wanted to see it, particularly, I wanted to see penguins nesting and to go around the Horn, the southernmost bit of land in the world, except, of course, for Antarctica but its entire coast is a northern coast! Due to failing to leave enough flexibility for shore excursions and a storm with 75 MPH winds and 30 foot seas that prevented a landing in the Falklands, I did not see penguins nesting! I did sail around the Horn and through the Straits of Magellan and the Darwin channel.

I also got to talk to the people and got some real surprises. Chile and Argentina are very European. Virtually all of the Native American population was wiped out and there never were slaves from Africa. What really shocked me most, however, was their attitude toward their government. Liberal that I am, I expected them to have a real hatred for the military dictatorships that they had lived under and a real desire for democracy, but a great percentage of the people I talked to—from tour guides to people I met in restaurants to store clerks—looked back fondly at those leaders of the past and had very little to say about those of the present and little excitement about the future. Oh, they could tell you about the current government, but their description of what was happening was very matter of fact. It was those dictators who were fondly remembered for making things “safe” and stable. So long as they or their families were not brutalized, security was more important than freedom.

I hope that we never get so focused on the past, whether it was good or bad, and that we always are willing to risk a little safety to insure freedom!

Rev. Ralph Clarke
Lead Minister.