Life Interrupted Ch:3 Jubalani Eva
On Friday our team went into the squatter camps and gathered as many kids as we could for something called a JK : Jubalani Kids. Jubalani means Happy or Celebrating.
We danced with them (boy did it take me back to my Libby Lu days). We told them about Jesus and we explained why we needed Jesus. We acted ou
t the story of Adam and yup here in South Africa they pronounce it- Eva.
It brought me back to another world… another memory. Another interruption in my life.. another story I should share.
Bangkok. Thailand. A park surrounded by a Red Light District. Two young missionaries get the urge to grab their yoga mats and check out the park.
They make their way out of the hostel, past the America restaurant with the amazing burgers and onion rings they’ve been craving, past street stands selling flowers for Buddhist temples, and fried chicken and an assortment of who knows what roasting on sticks.
Mopeds, and tuc tucs and cars race by. It’s the Asian obstacle course as they pass by their second 7/11 and a sandwich shop, hopping over drive ways, up and down curbs and uneven concrete. They make their way under the bridge that was designed to let pedestrians pass without having to wait for cars, they pass a line at least 50 ft long of Thais waiting for a bus.
They run across the busy intersection, and finally enter the park. It’s nice, but not quite as nice as they expected it to be. Still, the noise of the traffic fades as they make they’re way towards the pond that has runners and walkers from all walks of life making their way around it.
They decide to walk and look for a spot to do yoga, they make their way around the pond and stop when they are about three quarters of the way there. There’s a grassy area, some people are having a picnic, a couple is spending quality time together. There’s a tree to provide some shade. This will do.
The two missionaries lay out their yoga mats and begin to stretch, practicing together but separately.
I am one of those missionaries. I take my time enjoying the sound of the water and the snipets of conversation from runners and walkers behind me as I go through my poses and stretches.
I am just about finished when she sits down on the concrete bench not even 10 ft. away from me. The Lord wants me to talk to her. He tells me to go up to her and talk to her.
I can’t I tell Him- that would be weird.
We’ll take it one step at a time He says. Just roll up your yoga mat.
That I can do. I begin to roll it up and get to a point where I need a flat surface.
I walk over to the bench. I am nervous, Lord do you want me to share with this woman about Christ? What are you calling me to right now?
“Excuse me do you mind if I use this side of the bench to roll up my yoga mat?”
“Yeah that’s fine”
She speaks English; I guess I’ll just go for it.
“What’s your name? What brings you to Bangkok?”
Her name is Eva and she is traveling Asia by herself. Like Leoni she is on vacation time and just wants to see the world. She works for a company that regulates food and she wants more with her life but isn’t sure where she’s going next.
“And what about you?” She asks me.
“Well…
I’m doing this thing called the World Race.”
Surprisingly she’s heard of it. She went online once and was looking for missions trips. She’s a Christian. But as all Christians, she needs to be poured into, reminded that she was created with purpose, made for more, that the Lord sees her and in His due time will respond to her request for something different.
We talk for a long time about the Lord, how good He is. How it’s no coincidence that we’re sitting on a bench in Thailand rejoicing in His goodness together.
Erica walks over, having finished her yoga practice. I make introductions, and then we pray over her.
I will never in a million years deny that at that point in my race – beginning of month 5- I was still nervous I might have to share the gospel with a complete stranger, while wearing someone else’s grungy free table sweatpants in the middle of a place I’d never been before. But I chose to let my fear be my radar for an opportunity to be courageous. In return the Lord blessed me with meeting a fellow sister in Christ and an opportunity to use my gifts of encouragement and prayer.
The memory fades and I’m back in Africa. This past week I’ve knocked on countless doors and invited people to know the Lord, fearlessly, but I wouldn’t be here if not for those first few steps out in faith I took months ago… when the Lord decided it was time for another interruption.
