Las Plumas does not even figure on my GPS data base. It is a little sheep-shearing town in the heart of the Patagonian desert. The inscription on the church's cornerstone marble plaque reads (in Spanish):
This temple is dedicated to the memory of Reverend Harold F. Steward of Richmond, California, USA and to the God of love that he served.
April 11, 1999.
Funds from Harold Steward's memorial and from Richmond Hilltop AG, Pastor Jim Heden, provided all the building materials. I drew up the simple plans and all the labor was provided by voluntary brothers. Jim and Debbie Heden flew down to dedicate it to the Lord.
Tuesday night, just as I was concluding the service, there was a total blackout in the town. No one seemed the least concerned and we finished under candle-light.
The brothers have built a little house out behind the church where I was to stay. The night was cold and windy and a wood fire in the black iron cook-stove kept me close to its welcome warmth.
The town of Las Plumas may not be important enough to figure on my GPS data base, but it certainly does figure on God's data base.
He knows the name of every one of these little ones and cares about their eternal souls and those of their parents as well. Our "Good Shepherd" goes out into the desert to find even one lost sheep.
Ralph
