The Race has brought all sorts of surprises and daily predicaments. I used to get stressed when rides were late (or extremely early!), when we got lost, or when there was confusion over money. But now, things don’t phase me. Now, anything and everything goes. And I’m starting to understand that it’s in the random moments, the in-betweens of our schedule, that life has the most to offer.
This month my team was located about half an hour from Chiang Mai, Thailand. We would often take a Yellow Tao taxi from our ministry house in to explore the city, eat American food, meet up with friends, or join the squad for worship nights. So often I had my eyes fixed on the purpose of the trip, putting all my hopes and expectations for the day in my plans. But more often than not, the highlight of the evening would take me by surprise, greeting me in the unexpected and easily-overlooked moments.
Another thing that would happen during these moments is that God’s presence would meet me in a more obvious and tangible way than during any of the “sacred” moments we planned. And the crazy things is, it would have been so easy to miss God in these times.
But he didn’t let me.
The first time God showed up in an unexpected way was a Wednesday night. Sweet Alice, my dear friend and teammate of eight months, was turning twenty-three and I simply could not miss celebrating it with her. My teammate Margo accompanied me into the city so we could share some cherished time with Alice over Indian food and later join the squad for worship. The whole night was awesome and the Lord definitely had his hand in it. I thought the day was basically over and there’d be no more God-encounters for the night.
I was wrong, and he was still at work. The thing about God is that he doesn’t punch in and out for the day. His time card has been going since the beginning and it’ll continue to go for all eternity. That night, one of God’s many jobs was to provide a way for Margot and I to return safely to our home.
We hadn’t planned on staying for worship. We needed to catch a Yellow Tao back while there was still sunlight because we had no address, couldn’t speak Thai, and had never gotten ourselves back from the city. By the time we left it was dark, the Yellow Taos had stopped running, and all the other taxis we flagged down were charging absurdly high prices. I only had 340 Baht and most drivers asked for 700 or 800. We kept wandering the streets looking for someone to take us home, but we were straying farther and farther from the crowded streets. It was getting late, and we were getting desperate.
I finally prayed out loud, “Lord, please send us a savior to take us home. Please take care of us. We believe you’ll get us home.”
The next taxi we stopped had a GPS installed and Margot and i immediately looked a each other saying, “Jackpot!” I stood at the window, peering in with puppy dog eyes and clasping my hands together, pleading with him o have mercy and take us home for 200 Baht. He kept shaking his head, saying he needed more, so I took out my money and showed him that I all had was a little money. I help up 300 Baht and he nodded to me. Then, in a desperate and humorous attempt to barter once more, I held up different bills and said, “What about 240 Baht??” A long silence passed, and finally he looked at me with determination and said, “Let’s go.”
Laughing, Margot and I got into the back of the taxi, which is basically a truck with a roof, and kept our eyes peeled for any landmark that looked familiar. Eventually we thought we were close to home and hit the stop button, but we were still too far off to walk. We climbed into the front seat with the driver and crammed together, holding some of his stuff on our laps. Just a few more minutes passed and we found the entrance to our neighborhood.
As we pulled through the gates I said to the driver, “I prayed to Jesus that he would send a savior to get us home safe, and he did!” A few seconds passed and he looked at me and asked, “You Christians?” We replied yes, and he excitedly told us that he is too! He showed us his facebook picture, a classic shot of him standing in front of a cross by a pulpit, and gave us a business card that read, “Mr. Nock” We were all smiling at one another by this, and before leaving, we prayed over Mr. Nock, along with his family and business. In disbelief, we entered the house, turning back more than once to smile and wave to our new friend.
In America it’d be normal to have a taxi driver who follows Jesus, but in Thailand about 1% of the population is Christian. One percent! And one of that one percent was sitting in the front seat, sent by God to help us in our need.
After that night I started looking for God to show up during the journey and not just at the destination.
And once again, he did.
Actually twice again. Don’t worry, these stories will be short and sweet. One night after dinner at the girls’ home, four of us went into Chiang Mai for a worship night. My teammate, Cass, was leading worship, so we were doing our best to get in on time. But no taxis were driving by. And it was getting dark, so even if a taxi were to drive by, they’d have a hard time seeing us. I waved my arms around in circles in order to draw attention to us, and after ten minutes, a car stopped and offered to take us into the city. They seemed like nice people and spoke fairly good English so we hopped in, asked how much they wanted, and they said, “Free!” They took us closer than a taxi would and we ended up arriving early for the night. God showed up and met our needs again.
The third time this happened, we had been out at the markets for a while. Two of my teammates decided to get tattoos and we found a really clean, friendly place with great vibes. It was a nice evening and through conversation we found out the owner had named his shop after his adorable daughter, Manna, meaning “food from God.” We did our best to represent our God who provided manna so many years ago, but it turns out his agenda that night was to reveal this truth to us. God provided yet another ride to take us safely home on a night that was late and could easily have been very expensive.
This month has been a month abounding in manna, but just not in the ways I was expecting it. In every country I hope to see God move and provide in powerful ways, but all too often I’m looking for manna during ministry or worship nights. The Lord is in those things, but that’s not all he’s in. He shows up in my community, my free time, the new friends we make each month, the beauty of each country, and pretty much anything else he can get his hands on.
And even when I’m up to my ears in manna-moments, I find myself blinded to the movements of God. Some days I go so far as to request quail, because I foolishly think the manna just isn’t cutting it.
But he is kind to me and continues to provide manna when I don’t deserve it. Through all of this, I’ve learned that no matter how far off we are from seeing the point the Lord is making, he doesn’t clock out on us. He’s always moving, always at work, always chasing us and inviting us to eat joyfully from the abundance of his hand. He doesn’t stop being who he’s revealed himself to be due to our lack of vision. He keeps sending manna, and we have the blessed chance to find it daily, in every noteworthy or unexpected moment.
