We have safely arrived in Panang, Malaysia. It’s green, lush, beautiful, covered in tropical plants, hot and humid (and there are Christmas carols playing in the coffee shops – White Christmas, Let It Snow – so weird!)
Our first two days here were spent volunteering at a Christian training center for disabled adults. This is where I met Owen.
He’s 14 years old and being “forced” by his mother to work at the training center on his summer break from school. We sat next to each other while we sorted plastic parts from old cassette tapes. I was instantly drawn to him. He had this kind of tough-guy teenager attitude that I just find endearing. It reminds me a bit of my brother and his friends when they were in high school. I adored spending time talking with them (and subtly, or not so subtly, giving them advice about everything).
I spent the next 4 hours or so asking Owen questions about just about everything, and answering his in return. As we began to talk I felt a love for him that I couldn’t explain as anything but from Jesus. I began to ask God what questions to ask him that would open up his heart (and found out later that the other girls at our table were all praying as well). We talked about everything – family (he hates his parents & his baby brother breaks his stuff), fun (he loves to dance), girlfriends (he has one), school (he doesn’t like it, but wants to go to University and be successful), the disabled people he works with (he thinks they’re weird). Where the “old” Joni would have had a piece of advice for everything or a critical attitude at times because of what he was saying, I just listened to him with love.
Please join me in praying for Owen and the seeds that were planted. It hurts my heart to know I will most likely not see him again, but I trust him to the One who loves him more than I ever could and who sent me to sit next to him that day at the recycling center.
