The Joy of Service to Others
After living and working off and on in Central America for many years one runs across the term “caudillo†in Spanish. The definition of this 
work is like a “strongman†or a strong political leader. Latin America and namely Central America has had a number of Caudillos over the years and many of their names might be familiar to you. There was Augusto Pinochet of Chile, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna of the Alamo fame from Mexico, Fidel Castro of Cuba, Anastasio Somoza of Nicaragua, Manuel Noriega of Panama and one of the most well known in Latin America was Ernesto “Che” Guevara.Â
This list of Caudillos could go on and on but the point being made is that we seem to remember the strong dictators and the revolutionaries of the period but the names of God’s who’s who in Latin America are lesser known and their names don’t resonate with stories and images of what they accomplished for the kingdom.
Such names as Jim Elliot and Nate Saint of course are recognized as their martyrdom was made into a movie entitled “The End of the Spearâ€. They died as martyrs for the Gospel in the jungles of Equator in the late 1950’s. There were also Harry and Susan Strachan who were early missionaries to Costa Rica. They later founded the Latin American Mission. Lastly there was Cyrus Scofield who founded the Central American Mission in the early 20th century. It was in Nicaragua where I first worked with Churches that his mission had founded and were struggling during the Sandinista period of Nicaraguan History. It was in northern Nicaragua where the pastor of a large church had told me that the first two missionary couple to that region has been either killed or poisoned. Their names recorded in God’s who’s who but we may never know who they were.
In light of the caudillos mentioned above I find it interesting that Jesus said in Matthew 23:11-12Â that those who serve others would be the 
greatest in the Kingdom of God and those who didn’t would be the least important in His Kingdom. Interesting then that some people have accepted fame and glory in this life in exchange for true greatness in the life to come.  Click here to read Jesus quote.
It was Jim Elliot who quoted an earlier missionary who said that, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot loseâ€.
In closing it was Jesus who said in Mark 8:34-37 that “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?
