Some of you may or may not know but I have been in Kansas the last few days. In fact as write I am on a bus home.
So why was I in Kansas? About to weeks ago my good friends Seth and Cyle Paulus asked me if I would like to tag along on their move to Kansas. Not really having the money to spare on a bus ticket (I still have to raise $10,000 for my mission), I told them I would pray about it. Seth said “Deal” and we prayed for God show us His will.
About a week later Seth and Cyle had their good bye party after church that Sunday. Even at their good bye party it did not seem like they were leaving, just felt like we were celebrating them, like it was both of their birthdays or something.
After the party we just kept talking and enjoying each others company and doing as normal, finding all kinds of shenanigans to keep us busy. Then our group headed to grab a bite to eat. In the middle of this wonderful time of fellowship my mentor and friend Nathen Paulus gave me a call. He told me His father just bought a car in Ohio and needed someone to drive it to him. Oddly enough Seth and Cyle were going to move to Kansas the same weekend his father was going to be in Kansas visiting Nathan. And if I drove it out, he would pay for my bus ticket home. I said deal, and took off some days from work.
So Saturday I show up to Seth and Cyle’s and started helping them move stuff out of their apartment in Huber Heights. We worked for a few hours and then, having enough of work, decided to go fishing. It was a nice day for Ohio in January. (Also I told Seth that I have never caught a fish with a pole before and we were determined to have me get a fish! haha).
We headed to a nearby park and casted the lines! But after about a half hour of no bites we (Me, Seth, Cyle, Bradon, and Calli) started exploring. Seth found a tunnel that lead into the lake that had very little water in it, and we just had an adventure. Seth, without fear, climbed into that tunnel, and we acted like middle schoolers and had fun getting messy and not caring. It made me think about how I lived my life until that point. Did I jump in like that? Did I take the time to adventure? I did not. I took the time to be careful and have a safe time. As I watched Seth jump into that tunnel of very cold water, doing something that most people would call him stupid for, through his example, he taught me how to adventure. How can 5 grown adults have fun in a cold wet tunnel? Into mist of that tom foolery I stop and said “God is so good”.
After our very wet adventure, we headed out. Braden and Calli left with a prayer and hugs, this was the last time they would see Seth and Cyle. Me, Seth , and Cyle headed back to their apartment and did the rest of the packing. After we got it all done we headed out. Our first stop was an hour away, Cyle parent’s house, where we would spend the night and have Scott (Cyle’s dad) drive Seth’s car. That leaves me in Bruce’s car (Nathan’s dad) and Seth in Cyle in the U-Haul pulling Cyle’s car. The next morning we headed out after a hardy breakfast and more prayer.
The drive was uneventful, well for the most part. Many hours later we stopped for lunch. We opened the back of the U-Haul and had a little picnic! Our conversation was entertaining as always. We talked about how funny we think it is when churches have something donated to them and have a plate on it that says “In memory of…”. Seth then said this “If anyone did that for me, I would want it to be an action not an item, like to have someone to go share the gospel or something.” Then he turned to me, “Luke, when I die I want you to go to a different country and spread the gospel. Live there, love them, and tell them about Jesus.” I took his hand and shook, and responded, “Deal! I will build a team and head out”. I mean that, too, Seth Paulus. The day you die I am headed out after the funeral to share the same love that Jesus gives us every day that we in no way deserve.
The whole trip was not so eventful, because I know that God sent His angels to watch over us. I was so excited, so when we arrived I hopped out of the car and was shouting in the streets! Then Nathen ran out of the house and grabbed me and said “SSSHHHHHHHH” Apparently shouting in the middle of the street in Wichita, Kansas is not something normal people do, who knew? Anyway we found a place to park the U-Haul and headed inside. The night was wonderful, fellowship, iron sharping iron. One of my favorite things about following Christ is the people you meet along the way. To think this all started because Nathan walked into a coffee shop every Wednesday.
The next day I thought it might be a good idea to get a ticket home. Turns out the bus I wanted to take home was sold out! What!? Bus tickets sell out? Turns out that they do and there is a $20 charge for getting your ticket a few days before departure. I was so unsure of everything at that point, I had total peace about waiting until I was in Wichita to get my ticket home, and now there was a problem! What was I going to do? I had no Idea. So I prayed, then went to my support team, my World Race family. I posted on our group chat what had just happened and put my number up there if anyone had any words for me. And did they come through! Allie called me, it was good to hear her voice (#teammates4realmates). She just listened, I told her what I was up to and what the issue was. She gave me some positive encouragement, but when I tried turning the tables and asking her how things were going she said “Oh no! This phone call is about you, tell me how you reached your first goal!” So I did, and that’s when something cool happened. I told this long story of how God gave me $6,000 for my ministry, how in less than a week God just shattered every expectation I had. I thought to myself as I listened to my own story, “What in the world am I worried about?” She reminded me of His promise. My team was far from done. Next I got a text from Bethany telling me she was praying and that maybe it was God’s will for me to meet someone as I was staying a little longer in Wichita, or He had someone for me to witness to. She gave me hope and further restored my faith in The Lord. Next was my boy Charles! He just gave me words of encouragement and started suggestions on what I could do to see God work in that time. He reminded me to keep my eyes and ears open to what The Lord is saying.
Blessed am I to have such teammates. So what did I do next? I went rock climbing with Nathen and Seth. Ridiculous thing to do considering I was deathly afraid of heights, and knowing Nathen was going to push me to the top of every wall I got on. But I was feeling renewed in The Lord and decided that I was not going to let fear rule my life. Rock climbing was awesome. I pushed myself to new heights! Hahaha. And let me tell you, my forearms hurt so much it was making it quite difficult to type!
Once we got back to the house I got my ticket, I was going to leave the next day at 2:30. That night we went out to dinner, I got to pick Nathan and Miranda’s brain about married life and raising a baby, Scott got a steak, and Seth was about to pass out from pushing himself too hard rock climbing. Yup a good time with the Paulus family.
The next morning was slow going. Scott left via plane, I helped return the U-Haul trailer, felt like forever before we got coffee. Haha. But we did. I said good bye to Nathan (had to go to work) and Miranda. Me, Seth and Cyle got coffee at a local place and sat and did some reading. Seth and I talked about how the Lord was preparing his Heart for the people of Wichita. How proud our father must be of Seth and Cyle, and Nathan and Miranda. To pick up and leave a comfortable life on His word, being obedient in the midst of a world that is not. I know I am proud of them. God has truly blessed me with examples that I must follow.
After that we explored the city, found a furniture store that was dumb expensive, and tried out every bed and chair in the place. Seth was teaching on how to adventure. Haha. Also saw the keeper of the plain! Me and Seth adventured by climbing the rocks around the statue and quacking at the ducks. 2:30 came way too fast and before I knew it we were at the bus stop, all of us just sitting in the car. With 5 minutes to spare, I told them I wanted to pray. As we sat there I was going to start praying, but I could not do it, saying goodbye was too hard. I wanted to pray over Seth and Cyle and tell them and the Lord how I loved them and how proud I was and wanted to bless them, but could not do it. Then Seth took over, and prayed for me. He prayed over me and thanked The Lord for me and my heart.
From the first words of Seth’s prayer I broke down, warm tears streamed down my face, my heart ached with every word that left his mouth. I don’t deserve such prayer over me.
I don’t consider Nathan, Seth, Miranda, or Cyle friends. They are family. Brothers and sisters in Christ, fighting for God, being obedient tools for God to use to save souls. We may be miles apart, but we are together in Christ.
His Child,
Luke
