July 13, 2012
Making Friends
We’d barely gotten off the bus, Camille and I, when we bopped
into the first gas station for a bottle of water and a bag of crackers. I’d been praying for weeks that God would go
before us and line up meetings with people we could minister to, contacts and
neighbors and new friends. So we skipped
into this gas station and I started up a conversation with the young lady
working there, asking her which bus line we should take to arrive at our new
neighborhood. Turns out this gal lives
near us, and already knows a couple of the young people we know. I told her we’d come back by and exchange
contact information and visit a while once we were settled in, while I
whispered a quick thank you to the Lord for working so quickly.
Then we made our way to the house, began to clean, and
realized we needed more to drink. Across
the street is a little almacen (a tiny store in the front room of someone’s
house, selling the most basic grocery items), so I skipped over to find an abuela knitting a
table mantel. I’d barely explained that
we would be her new neighbors when she told me about a group of ladies that
walks every evening for their health, and that I MUST join them, “so that leg
of yours will heal up.” (Despite how
much I hate the thing, this cane is a great conversation starter.)
A couple of days later, we dropped back by
and were offered chairs outside the almacen, so we could all visit. The abuela lives there with her daughter and
11-yr-old grandson, and there are a few teen grandsons that visit
regularly. So we were able to get the
low-down on area high schools, colleges, and hang-out spots from these young folks. The adults filled us in on the “need-to-know”
stuff and cultural tips for survival in this unique part of the
country. It’s easy to notice that this
town is totally different than the other two we’ve lived in, so we appreciated
the advice.
Today we headed out to the phone company, where a lovely
young lady helped us. As we sat there,
the conversation turned, as it always does, to why we’re in this country. That’s always a tough explanation because
the word missionary doesn’t mean the same thing here as it does for North
Americans, and most people end up either seeing us as Peace Corps volunteers,
Mormons, or Jehovah’s Witnesses. Or
government spies. So I gave her a kinda
vague explanation of working with youth, sharing God’s love with them and
teaching them about His plan for their lives, and before you know it she was
opening up about all sorts of things. We
had a great time talking with her and made plans to get together soon.
So again, the Lord
has answered prayer and opened doors for contacts and sharing about Him. One of the devotionals we had a month or so
ago dealt with asking God each morning to arrange our day to His liking, to
prepare hearts for Him and use us to bridge the gap between those people and
the God who loves them. I challenge you
to pray this and see how He uses you daily to be a missionary where you
live. Let me know how it goes!
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wow very nice artical :
ReplyDeleteFriends are for ever
Sportsunplug.com
My dear, are you sure you are really "skipping" around?? :) I hope so!!! Does this mean your leg is much better? Have you found a new physical therapy center?
ReplyDeleteSo glad that you folks are making friends and "sowing seeds!" We'll continue praying and we wait to see what's next!
Have a fun weekend (and don't skip too much!)!