© 2023 Mora Franco
© 2023 The Urantia Book Fellowship
| Grand World Celebration of the Anniversary of the Birth of Jesus | Summer 2023 Issue — Index | Pasko (Christmas) |
by Mora Franco
Translation by Jack Holloway
Alejandro Ampudia, after visiting libraries u in different cities of his native country, Peru, and donating books to them, traveled from the City of Lima, Peru on to the Peruvian City of Juliaca and from there on to Puno, then to Desaguadero, where he crossed the border into Bolivia, finally arriving at the City of La Paz.
Alejandro arrived at the (August 3-14, 2022) book fair in La Paz on August 3, and returned to Peru on the tenth. Alejandro Ampudia and Ernesto Chicher (Ernesto had recently moved from Santa Cruz to La Paz), tell us that in the first few days there were not many people at the event, but that it picked up quickly and was quite busy by the end of the book fair. The inaugural day of the book fair featured a visit from the Bolivian president, Don Luis Arce Catacora. The president was there visiting the booths that the Bolivian Ministry of Economy and Public Finance had on display.
But guess what? Those booths just happened to be right in front of The Urantia Book booth.
Alejandro saw the president and without hesitation talked with Ernesto and Eddy Aliaga, the third reader who attended the fair, as the idea occurred to him to give the president a copy of The Urantia Book.
They tried to do it, and they very much succeeded. Alejandro, who is tall with a loud voice, approached the president without hesitation, until he was abruptly stopped by the presidential guard. With a loud voice he kept repeating, “Mr. President, sir please, I want to give you a book!” And he kept on repeating this until he caught the President’s attention, and the President told security to allow him to come forward. And so Alejandro, approaching emotionally, handed him a copy of The Urantia Book, managing to say a few words and even to proudly pose with him for a photograph.
Alejandro tells us, “In truth it was the Father who motivated me to insist, and gave me the necessary determination to fulfill this task. I hope the president, or someone in his family, can take advantage of the wonderful information revealed in The Urantia Book.”
Throughout the days of the book fair, the friendliness, kindness, and brotherhood between Alejandro, Ernesto, and Eddy, the three Urantia Book readers who were attending the booth, stood out, hopefully demonstrating to all the fruits of the spirit in action.
Ernesto tells us that thirty-nine Urantia Books were sold at the fair and more than a hundred copies of his own book, Answers of the Fifth Revelation, that he wrote during the pandemic, were sold or given away. He explained that his book, having a much smaller number of pages and a reasonable price tag, was more effective at arousing the curiosity of the more casual or half-hearted seeker of truth. Besides The Urantia Book given to the President of Bolivia, another was given to a young schoolgirl who visited the book fair together with a couple of classmates. In his own words, Ernesto tells us, “The young student asked and asked for and about the book, and while I was talking to her, I felt this plan forming in my mind. At one point in the conversation she shook her head and said, ‘I feel like crying.’ I could tell she was poor and of humble origin, and wasn’t going to be able to afford the book, and suddenly something prompted me to give it to her, so I excitedly handed her the book.”
Between the three of them present at the booth, contact was made with a local bookstore requesting to be regularly supplied with copies of The Urantia Book. Many interested people who approached the booth freely gave their contact information, and an important database was established for future use. These people Will be made aware of future events, such as conferences, Zoom meetings, and study groups.
It should be noted that The Urantia Book Fellowship (a.k.a. the Fellowship), working side-by-side with the Urantia Association of Bolivia, collaborated in this book fair by donating the printed copies and by helping to sponsor the participants.
The three tireless workers expressed how much they missed our dear Norita Ferrel, Area Coordinator for Bolivia, who was ill on this occasion and could not attend. The Urantia Book Fellowship’s International Fellowship Committee (IFC), through the Latin America Subcommittee (LASC), sent Alejandro, our Area Coordinator for Peru, to stand in for Norita. Everyone present sent Norita fraternal hugs, and expressed their wholehearted appreciation for the efforts of each of the Urantia Book organizations to make these book fairs a reality, thereby promoting and facilitating the dissemination of The Urantia Book.
Alejandro Ampudia, in his closing statement said, “We experienced great success in disseminating the teachings of The Urantia Book at the book fair in La Paz, Bolivia. It was a week of learning, full of wonderful experiences. Again, a thousand thanks to the Fellowship, without whose support this would not have been possible.”
It was a week of learning, full of wonderful experiences.
¶ External Links
| Grand World Celebration of the Anniversary of the Birth of Jesus | Summer 2023 Issue — Index | Pasko (Christmas) |