Meet William (part two):
As I sat down in the back row of the bus with William, we
quickly picked up our conversation from the Hobbiton bus stop. I got to know more about him and his
family. He has a wonderful mom,
dad, and brother and sister, all of whom he has a great relationship with. We chit-chatted about many things and it
quickly became evident that William is one of the most knowledgeable and one of the smartest
guys I have ever met. He knew
facts about almost everything, i.e. bio-chemistry, aviation (he’s a pilot and
only 21yrs old), ancient history of both America and NZ, and on and on and on. I even told him that God totally
spoiled me because he unexpectedly gave me my own personal tour guide.
quickly picked up our conversation from the Hobbiton bus stop. I got to know more about him and his
family. He has a wonderful mom,
dad, and brother and sister, all of whom he has a great relationship with. We chit-chatted about many things and it
quickly became evident that William is one of the most knowledgeable and one of the smartest
guys I have ever met. He knew
facts about almost everything, i.e. bio-chemistry, aviation (he’s a pilot and
only 21yrs old), ancient history of both America and NZ, and on and on and on. I even told him that God totally
spoiled me because he unexpectedly gave me my own personal tour guide.
In a wonderful way, our conversation turned to discussions about God. I asked him more questions
about what he believes and why. William was so gracious to be vulnerable about his
thoughts and views. I had the
opportunity to share my relationship with God and about how awesome He is. It was a greatly respectful conversation
where we were both able to be warm not cold, open not closed, and vulnerable not prideful. I was so
thankful and in awe of how God would use appropriate wisdom with the words that came
to mind as I was able to respond to tough questions William had about Christianity. I could tell that the words touched his
mind, heart, and inner being. As we spoke, his smile and bright eyes seemed to
reflect joy & reveal his interest in the words of the
conversation.
about what he believes and why. William was so gracious to be vulnerable about his
thoughts and views. I had the
opportunity to share my relationship with God and about how awesome He is. It was a greatly respectful conversation
where we were both able to be warm not cold, open not closed, and vulnerable not prideful. I was so
thankful and in awe of how God would use appropriate wisdom with the words that came
to mind as I was able to respond to tough questions William had about Christianity. I could tell that the words touched his
mind, heart, and inner being. As we spoke, his smile and bright eyes seemed to
reflect joy & reveal his interest in the words of the
conversation.
The bus would stop every few hours along New Zealand’s beautiful
north island. Everyone would get
out to grab a bite to eat, rest, or stretch their legs. Because I had a pretty sore throat
and road nausea, there were some moments where I would jump back on the
bus, sit down, and immediately be so tired that I couldn’t keep my eyes
open. William was insightful enough
to recognize this and he would respectfully allow for quiet time. Nevertheless, while awake, I would pray internally for
strength to keep talking, and surprisingly with ease, conversations would naturally blend
into conversations about God. It was great to talk about the Crusades, issues
of hypocrisy within the church, mysteries such as the age of the earth, and
most importantly the personal experiences we both have had with God throughout our
lifetimes.
north island. Everyone would get
out to grab a bite to eat, rest, or stretch their legs. Because I had a pretty sore throat
and road nausea, there were some moments where I would jump back on the
bus, sit down, and immediately be so tired that I couldn’t keep my eyes
open. William was insightful enough
to recognize this and he would respectfully allow for quiet time. Nevertheless, while awake, I would pray internally for
strength to keep talking, and surprisingly with ease, conversations would naturally blend
into conversations about God. It was great to talk about the Crusades, issues
of hypocrisy within the church, mysteries such as the age of the earth, and
most importantly the personal experiences we both have had with God throughout our
lifetimes.
It then became time for the last stretch of our ride. I did not anticipate this next emotion,
but it came with great reality- SADNESS. As we approached our destination with 5 minutes left,
I was sad when I realized that I was not going to see William again. I felt like our friendship had just developed. As my whole team stuffed our backpacks
with our pillows, ipods, and food snacks, I slowly packed mine. I was resisting the exit walk back up
the isle. I wanted to stay. I wanted to continue talking. I wanted to see William stand up and
shout exuberantly so all could hear:
but it came with great reality- SADNESS. As we approached our destination with 5 minutes left,
I was sad when I realized that I was not going to see William again. I felt like our friendship had just developed. As my whole team stuffed our backpacks
with our pillows, ipods, and food snacks, I slowly packed mine. I was resisting the exit walk back up
the isle. I wanted to stay. I wanted to continue talking. I wanted to see William stand up and
shout exuberantly so all could hear:
“I love
God now, I’ve become a Christian…yaaaaay!!!”
God now, I’ve become a Christian…yaaaaay!!!”
That shout
never happened. The final moment with William was quiet, not loud. As I realized I was the last one of my
entire team on the bus, which was about to pull away, I quickly packed up my
things, and started to stand up to leave.
Very unexpectedly, William, in a pretty serious but warm tone said the
following, “I only ask my good friends this, or people I know or like really
well, but…if I could prove to you that God didn’t exist, would you then believe
in him anymore? Would you then deny God?”
I stopped moving, sat on the edge of my seat, initially caught off
guard, and realized in that quick 5 second span of time what William was
asking. After our 5-6 hours of
conversations, I could see that William wanted to believe, wanted to see why I
believed, wanted perhaps to see if he could one day truly believe himself in
the Christian God. You see,
William said he was an atheist.
His final question, to me, his new trusted friend, I would like to think
was this…”Noe, I want to believe…and if it could be proven to me that God does
exist, I want to believe.” I don’t
know if this was his thought, but I pray this thought one day does turn into
reality for him.
never happened. The final moment with William was quiet, not loud. As I realized I was the last one of my
entire team on the bus, which was about to pull away, I quickly packed up my
things, and started to stand up to leave.
Very unexpectedly, William, in a pretty serious but warm tone said the
following, “I only ask my good friends this, or people I know or like really
well, but…if I could prove to you that God didn’t exist, would you then believe
in him anymore? Would you then deny God?”
I stopped moving, sat on the edge of my seat, initially caught off
guard, and realized in that quick 5 second span of time what William was
asking. After our 5-6 hours of
conversations, I could see that William wanted to believe, wanted to see why I
believed, wanted perhaps to see if he could one day truly believe himself in
the Christian God. You see,
William said he was an atheist.
His final question, to me, his new trusted friend, I would like to think
was this…”Noe, I want to believe…and if it could be proven to me that God does
exist, I want to believe.” I don’t
know if this was his thought, but I pray this thought one day does turn into
reality for him.
I told William my answer, and quickly ran off the bus so
that I would not get ‘left behind.’
My heart was sad though, because I walked away from William, not knowing
what he finally had in his mind and heart.
that I would not get ‘left behind.’
My heart was sad though, because I walked away from William, not knowing
what he finally had in his mind and heart.
William and I will continue to be friends, because he truly
is my friend, not just for a bus ride, but because he is a child of God like
myself. I pray for him, facebook
him, and truly desire to see his heart come alive in Christ. Thank you for meeting William, it
was a privilege to meet him, and share the Love of God with him, literally on
the other side of the World.
is my friend, not just for a bus ride, but because he is a child of God like
myself. I pray for him, facebook
him, and truly desire to see his heart come alive in Christ. Thank you for meeting William, it
was a privilege to meet him, and share the Love of God with him, literally on
the other side of the World.
Enjoy watching the video!
