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A travelling salesman for Jesus
CHILE — Ivan Karmelic has come a long way in his lifetime. Today he is an evangelist partner of the Chilean Bible Society but he was born far away in Yugoslavia, in 1914. He was not destined to stay there long, however, and in 1929, at the age of 15, he came to live in Punto Arenas, in Chile’s southern tip. In his adulthood, he worked as a travelling salesman and his life became one of constantly touring the cities of Chile. So when he became a Christian, more than 20 years ago, without thinking twice he simply began distributing the Word of God as widely as he distributed the goods he was selling. It was his wife who encouraged him to draw close to Christ. On Saturdays, when shows featuring popular evangelists such as Jimmy Swaggart came on the television, she would call to him to stop gardening and come and watch. Later he went to the meetings which took place in the house of one of their neighbours. The neighbour happened to be the head of the Anglican Church in Chile, Bishop Colin Basley. With the bishop’s teaching, Ivan’s knowledge and experience of God grew – and his desire to serve, because he thought of how much of his life he had ‘wasted’ before becoming a Christian. Ivan is still travelling today, at the age of 92 – but these days he goes by bicycle, giving out tracts and Scripture material to people that he meets. And he never tires of talking about Jesus. Recently he made a long journey north, stopping at a series of towns en route. He had only got half way when the Scripture material he had taken to distribute ran out. But he found a Christian bookshop where he filled up his case so that he could continue his journey and keep on talking about Jesus. (WR406/15 - 11.06) [1 photo] |
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