I watched his life change right before my eyes.
He walked into my classroom bitter, angry and lost. He walked out with a new appreciation for life.
But I am getting ahead of myself; let me set the scene for you.
My team and I spent the month of May in one of the strictest states in Malaysia. We were not allowed to speak of God, the Gospel, or our faith. We were there as “volunteer English teachers” for the month. Giving away our true intentions in Malaysia could have shut down the center we worked for, and worst case scenario: put us in jail.
Needless to say, my team entered into this month a little unsure of what was to come of it. So we did all we could do, pray. We prayed for the town, we prayed for our students, and we prayed that we would make an impact. We wanted everyone we came in contact with to notice something different about us, and even though we couldn’t tell them, that difference was Jesus.
Have you ever had a doubt that prayers would be answered? I went into this month expecting the least. However, it only takes a few days on the World Race to realize your expectations rarely come true.
My teammate, Anika, and I were in charge of a class with two, teenage boys. Our contact warned us that these boys didn’t talk, had very low self-esteem and rarely participated in class. We definitely had our work cut out for us, or so we thought. Thirty minutes into the first class we were all laughing and talking like we were old friends. We talked about the countries we have been helping and the poverty and hardships we have witnessed. We finished up the class with an impromptu Badminton game.
When we dismissed them, one of the boys, Sachvin, hesitated at the door. He looked at us both, smiled and said, “Thank You”. Not thinking much of it, we said, “Your Welcome!” and gave each other a high five for a successful first class. What we didn’t know was the change we had both just witnessed.
Kumar had told us that night that he had never seen those boys smile before, ever. The following week, Sachvin’s mom came into the center to “find out what was up”.
As it turns out, Sachvin’s father had recently died. Since his death, Sachvin wouldn’t talk to anyone, not even his relatives. He walked around angry and had a subdued attitude about life. He never smiled, and never laughed.
That first class changed something in Sachvin. After showing him videos and pictures of the work we were doing around the world, he realized he wasn’t the only one suffering. He told his mom he had a whole new outlook on life.
Coincidence? Nope! God knew we were coming to that center. He opened Sachvin’s heart up just in time for him to hear the message. Sachvin doesn’t know Christ, but he now knows His love. A seed was planted last month. I may never know the rest of Sachvin’s story, but I am learning that’s okay.
That’s the World Race. We are put in people’s lives just in the right moment, for just the right time. The rest is up to God.
