Today
this journey begins and I’m so excited to see the people that God
puts in my path. I can’t wait to pray for them and not only hear
their stories, but be changed by the constant renewal of the Gospel
in the lives of God’s people. So I prayed God would direct me today.
Oh boy, did he…
MattithYahuw
Ben Yisrael, formerly Jamien Jackson of New York, was not at all who
I expected to run into. I was in the middle of Barnes and Noble and
I tried to fight when I heard God telling me to sit down. I’m not
sure if it was the intimidating 280 pound frame, dreadlocks, full
beard, tattooed arms, and gold teeth, or if it was just the fact that
everyone else looked so safe, but I hesitated. Within a matter of
minutes, I knew God was the one leading my path.
MattithYahuw
has just recently legally changed his name after a huge
transformation occurred in his life. He was a former truck driver
with a pastor as a father and minister’s wife for a sister, but
something never settled with him. There was something more than
Sunday mornings and pot luck lunches, so he strayed from his
upbringing and came South. But one night, when his partner was
driving, he fell asleep and had a dream. In his dream, God told him
to stop “just making it� and dedicate his life to studying the
Word of God and teaching those that don’t regularly get to hear the
Bible taught. There’s a reason his heart was never truly settles.
Now, most of his days are spent in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot,
teaching whoever will listen to the promises of the scriptures.
One
huge element of being an effective teacher is never relinquishing
your position as a student. While he feels strongly about his
doctrine and theology, God is continually shaping and forming his
teachings. I was amazed to see him digging through his books, and
hanging on every word I spoke to him. MattithYahuw is living a life
of obscurity and one that probably doesn’t make sense to even his own
family, but in two and a half hours (which felt like 15 minutes) I
could see the hunger he had and I was inspired. I asked him to share
the Gospel with me and we ended up going back and forth talking about
the love of God and the work of Jesus.
Who
knew that this intimidating, scruff looking black man would look so
much like a brother after just one conversation?
It’s
truly crazy how beautiful the love of Christ can be. I may have to
make it out to the Piggly Wiggly one of these days…
The blog will soon be moving to a new location. But until then, keep posted on here and I will let you know when the transition happens…
