Recently, a-41-year old gentleman named Fabian, who lives alone, attended our services in Mendoza.  I happened to make reference to an extremely popular and religious idol shrine very highly venerated by thousands of adherents of the state religion.  My brief comments revolved around an article that appeared in a national secular magazine that, amazingly but correctly, identifies the Difunta Correa (which means “defunct Mrs. Correa”) as “a pagan myth”.  I indicated my amazement in the fact that this secular publication has no connection with any religious organization.  What I did not know was that Fabian was an ardent worshiper of the Difunta Correa.  At invitation time he made no move to receive Christ as his Savior.  Before leaving services Fabian mentioned that this was the first time he had ever thought about the Difunta Correa being “a pagan myth” (in spite of its obviously pagan nature).

This missionary visited Fabian in his home which is really only a house since there are no signs of family life.  He related that after leaving our services on his way home the previous Sunday, he descended from his bus and went into his usual parish church for Mass all the while meditating on his blind devotion to Difunta Correa, a pagan myth.  At the end of Mass someone handed out small three-sided cardboard mini altars containing a colorful picture of the Difunta Correa. He was told to place it on a bedroom dresser with a candle before it and recite his Rosary.  So he assembled his brand new mini altar on his bedroom dresser beside the TV, and after placing a lighted candle within the cardboard mini altar, went to the kitchen to boil water and begin cooking spaghetti noodles for his lunch.  While stirring his noodles, he glanced over his shoulder to observe a fire that had started in his bedroom.  He left his boiling noodles and rushed into the bedroom to discover that the candle had tilted against the cardboard mini altar, setting it ablaze and igniting the curtains also.  He had to make a quick decision between extinguishing the fire or rescuing his TV set.  He decided to extinguish the fire.  However, when he ran into the bathroom he discovered his bathroom bucket was missing leaving him with no way to carry bathroom water to his blazing bedroom.  He decided to use his noodle water from the kitchen which was very handy.  He lost no time straining his noodle water to save his spaghetti and with noodles and all, doused his TV, his curtains and his brand new mini altar.  He managed to quell a major disaster with two or three more pots of bathroom water.  I wish I could have seen his mini altar and bedroom strewn with spaghetti noodles and bathroom water all over the walls.  Fabian had to trash his new mini altar and curtain remains while the TV was charred by the flames and decorated with spaghetti noodles. Fabian observed I was having difficulty containing my laughter any longer and joined in a hearty laugh with me.  Fabian felt God Himself had set fire to his PAGAN MINI ALTAR and with that it was easy to lead him to Christ. That is what it is all about.

Don Nevels, Argentina