Remember This Guy? February 24, 2017.
Celestino was born December 10, 1944 en San Marcos, Guatemala. He lived there for 12 years, speaking the local language of Maum. He never knew his father, who died at a very young age 5 yrs en la cama. He left school at 12 years old, headed for Mexico and worked loading and unloading trucks in Tijuana for a few years, before heading down to Tapachula, where he washed dishes and did "advertising and welcoming for a restaurant there. He came back to his hometown at age 15 after an earthquake had devastated the town, and found everything ruined! He went back to Mexico and worked on a ranch near the border before coming back to his hometown. He became part of the guerilla army to resist the government oppression of indigenous peoples in his pueblo and round the country. He never shot anyone though, he emphasizes.
It turned out in order to marry the girl he was going to have to get baptized, so he went ahead with that. But it didn't take too long for the girl to figure out that his life wasn't that of the Christian man he was hoping for. Well, that sent 16-year old Celestino to the cantinas and bars, looking for a beer to cool him off. Without anywhere to turn, he headed for the capital city to look for work.
As a strapping 20 year-old in the city, he started selling things in zone 11. He hooked up with a lady much older than him, but he admits she was a bad character overall. After a little while, he found work as a gardener on the grounds of a wealthier school just outside the city. He couldn't read or write, but he could work with his hands. While there, he met a woman who drove a small school bus for the school. They ended up getting married. Not too long after, Celestino, still affected by his drinking habit, crashed a vehicle that belonged to the colegio while drinking, and was promptly fired from his job. After 2 years of marriage, Celestino and his wife were pregnant with their first child. Things didn't go so well though. His wife had a miscarriage and she also died in the process. Celestino was distraught. He moved out of his place and drank his sadness away. He was about 25 years old at this point; lost, blaming God, and with nowhere to turn.
He had a friend from San Marcos, now living in the capital, in whom he confided, and said friend gave him a job selling sandals. Celestino promised not to drink too much and got to it, but every week or two he would delve back in. He managed to keep his job though, and after awhile the friend gave Celestino some money to start doing the selling himself, because he was tired of managing it all. Celestino got into selling drinking glasses, china, and dishes in a new spot in zone 11. Business was good, and he lived in his buddy's warehouse. After some time of booming business, a new lady from Sumpango started selling in the stall next to him. She was married, but her husband hit her a lot, and she took a liking to Celestino. I mean, who wouldn't? She left her husband and kids to live with Celestino...for 16 years! They never married, never had kids, but they did a lot of drinking together, just passing the days by. Celestino, after some time, moved his selling to Amatitlan, around the lake, and she had her business in Villa Nueva. But then the extortionists got involved. They demanded Celestino for money, and they put a gun to his girlfriends' head as part of the threat. It was around that point that Celestino's girlfriend told him that she couldn't do this anymore and was going back to her kids and her home. Celestino went packing as well, and found himself back in Guatemala City.
Another woman came along, and with this one he did have a child, a beautiful girl named Melanie. But when Melanie was just 8 months old, her mom had the opportunity to go to the states with a coyote, and she couldn't pass it up. So Celestino helped her collect $6,500 to get to the states so she could send money back to help her daughter. This left the daughter under Celestino's care, who bought, milk, diapers, and food for her out of his meager earnings as an apple-seller. Along came the daughter's grandma, and decided the child needed to live with her, not with her father who was always selling (or drinking) and had not the means nor the time to properly raise a child. Now 10 years old, Melanie still resides with her grandma in Chimaltenango. He sees her once a year or so.
Celestino continued in his habitual drinking, never saving any money because it all went to the bottle. About a year ago, he started trying to leave the constant drinking. His nephew Bryan came and visited over Christmas break and helped him at the apple stand. A white guy came by to buy some apples for some apple dessert he wanted to make, couldn't barely speak a lick of Spanish, but he dubbed Celestino his "Spanish teacher" and kept coming by on errands or while coming back from a workout to talk. Celestino talked a lot about wanting to go to the States, and the white guy talked a lot about Jesus, which got Celestino pretty curious.
Over the last year, Celestino has left his apple stand at packed up at home on Sunday a number of times to come to church. The first time he came he was blown away by the friendliness of the people, how they accepted him even though he was a poor guy, the music, and the preaching. Celestino has been a frequent visitor to our apartment for post-church meals and occasional evening Bible-reading. He got Chikingunya a good while back, and fell into some bad drinking and lying about it over the course of those weeks. He completed Pastor Steven's "how to read the Bible" class, even though he can't read (awesome right?). He took us to the Sumpango fair and braved the fastest, jankiest, and scariest ferris wheel we've ever been on. And this month, after a couple talks with myself and Pastor Steven, he decided he wanted to get baptized, for real this time, because it is a symbol of his changed heart, his desire for Jesus, and his intention to trust God with his life.
After he got done telling his story he said, "The story of Celestino is a pretty long one! Pretty ugly, huh?" "No, Celestino. It's not ugly." He looked confused. "You know what a flower grows out of?" "Dirt." he replied. "Exactly," I told him. "And when people see a flower, they don't talk about how ugly the dirt is, but how beautiful the garden is. And so it is with garden that God is growing in you." So at 63 years old, Celestino is making his adoption into God's family official as of February 19. I can tell you he's a very different person. There's more joy, he's so quick and willing to share from what he has. There was that one day at lunch with Dostin when he just started telling us about his whole history (above) that he had been too ashamed of to share before...but now, feeling a lot more free, he just let it all loose, just telling some stories in between bites of chow mien. He's humble, admitting to not knowing very much, but he knows enough about grace to grab hold and let go of his past. The kingdom of God knows no limits. And you never know what's going to come from a determined desire for apple crisp. Thanks God, for writing this one in front of our eyes.
It turned out in order to marry the girl he was going to have to get baptized, so he went ahead with that. But it didn't take too long for the girl to figure out that his life wasn't that of the Christian man he was hoping for. Well, that sent 16-year old Celestino to the cantinas and bars, looking for a beer to cool him off. Without anywhere to turn, he headed for the capital city to look for work.
As a strapping 20 year-old in the city, he started selling things in zone 11. He hooked up with a lady much older than him, but he admits she was a bad character overall. After a little while, he found work as a gardener on the grounds of a wealthier school just outside the city. He couldn't read or write, but he could work with his hands. While there, he met a woman who drove a small school bus for the school. They ended up getting married. Not too long after, Celestino, still affected by his drinking habit, crashed a vehicle that belonged to the colegio while drinking, and was promptly fired from his job. After 2 years of marriage, Celestino and his wife were pregnant with their first child. Things didn't go so well though. His wife had a miscarriage and she also died in the process. Celestino was distraught. He moved out of his place and drank his sadness away. He was about 25 years old at this point; lost, blaming God, and with nowhere to turn.
He had a friend from San Marcos, now living in the capital, in whom he confided, and said friend gave him a job selling sandals. Celestino promised not to drink too much and got to it, but every week or two he would delve back in. He managed to keep his job though, and after awhile the friend gave Celestino some money to start doing the selling himself, because he was tired of managing it all. Celestino got into selling drinking glasses, china, and dishes in a new spot in zone 11. Business was good, and he lived in his buddy's warehouse. After some time of booming business, a new lady from Sumpango started selling in the stall next to him. She was married, but her husband hit her a lot, and she took a liking to Celestino. I mean, who wouldn't? She left her husband and kids to live with Celestino...for 16 years! They never married, never had kids, but they did a lot of drinking together, just passing the days by. Celestino, after some time, moved his selling to Amatitlan, around the lake, and she had her business in Villa Nueva. But then the extortionists got involved. They demanded Celestino for money, and they put a gun to his girlfriends' head as part of the threat. It was around that point that Celestino's girlfriend told him that she couldn't do this anymore and was going back to her kids and her home. Celestino went packing as well, and found himself back in Guatemala City.
Another woman came along, and with this one he did have a child, a beautiful girl named Melanie. But when Melanie was just 8 months old, her mom had the opportunity to go to the states with a coyote, and she couldn't pass it up. So Celestino helped her collect $6,500 to get to the states so she could send money back to help her daughter. This left the daughter under Celestino's care, who bought, milk, diapers, and food for her out of his meager earnings as an apple-seller. Along came the daughter's grandma, and decided the child needed to live with her, not with her father who was always selling (or drinking) and had not the means nor the time to properly raise a child. Now 10 years old, Melanie still resides with her grandma in Chimaltenango. He sees her once a year or so.
Celestino continued in his habitual drinking, never saving any money because it all went to the bottle. About a year ago, he started trying to leave the constant drinking. His nephew Bryan came and visited over Christmas break and helped him at the apple stand. A white guy came by to buy some apples for some apple dessert he wanted to make, couldn't barely speak a lick of Spanish, but he dubbed Celestino his "Spanish teacher" and kept coming by on errands or while coming back from a workout to talk. Celestino talked a lot about wanting to go to the States, and the white guy talked a lot about Jesus, which got Celestino pretty curious.
Over the last year, Celestino has left his apple stand at packed up at home on Sunday a number of times to come to church. The first time he came he was blown away by the friendliness of the people, how they accepted him even though he was a poor guy, the music, and the preaching. Celestino has been a frequent visitor to our apartment for post-church meals and occasional evening Bible-reading. He got Chikingunya a good while back, and fell into some bad drinking and lying about it over the course of those weeks. He completed Pastor Steven's "how to read the Bible" class, even though he can't read (awesome right?). He took us to the Sumpango fair and braved the fastest, jankiest, and scariest ferris wheel we've ever been on. And this month, after a couple talks with myself and Pastor Steven, he decided he wanted to get baptized, for real this time, because it is a symbol of his changed heart, his desire for Jesus, and his intention to trust God with his life.
After he got done telling his story he said, "The story of Celestino is a pretty long one! Pretty ugly, huh?" "No, Celestino. It's not ugly." He looked confused. "You know what a flower grows out of?" "Dirt." he replied. "Exactly," I told him. "And when people see a flower, they don't talk about how ugly the dirt is, but how beautiful the garden is. And so it is with garden that God is growing in you." So at 63 years old, Celestino is making his adoption into God's family official as of February 19. I can tell you he's a very different person. There's more joy, he's so quick and willing to share from what he has. There was that one day at lunch with Dostin when he just started telling us about his whole history (above) that he had been too ashamed of to share before...but now, feeling a lot more free, he just let it all loose, just telling some stories in between bites of chow mien. He's humble, admitting to not knowing very much, but he knows enough about grace to grab hold and let go of his past. The kingdom of God knows no limits. And you never know what's going to come from a determined desire for apple crisp. Thanks God, for writing this one in front of our eyes.