He sat down next to me on the train and said a quick, “Hi.” I responded with a quick smile and a “hello,” then turned back to study my surroundings. It was our first time on a train in the Philippines and the crowded car offered lots of opportunities for people watching, one of my favorite sports.
After about a minute, the man next to me turned and said, “I heard someone say you are Christians from Canada.” He obviously had overheard my squad mate, Jason, who was sharing about our trip with someone else on the train. In fact, the whole train car could hear Jason sharing! 🙂 We later found out we were supposed to be very quiet on the train. OOPS! I told him that yes, we were Christians, but that most of us were actually from the United States. He started sharing about his conversion in 2006 and about his church, which he actively serves in. Within a couple minutes, he introduced himself as “Ronald” and handed me a business card.
Ronald told me about his family, including his wife and two sons. We prayed for his younger son, Aaron, who has been sick. Because Ronald’s work is so far away, he only gets to see his family one day a week. He wants to move his family closer to his work, but at this point doesn’t have the money.
As Ronald prepared to leave the train, he pulled money from his pocket and reached it out to me, sharing that he had been planning to buy a bicycle part, but that God had planned this meeting and he believed he was supposed to give the money to me instead.
His generosity astounded me! Here is a man, who couldn’t even afford to give his family a house close enough to his work so that he could see them every day, but wanted to support missionaries, so much that he sacrificed his needs and his plan for the day.
Please pray for Ronald. Pray that he would be doubly blessed for the way he blessed me. Pray for his son, Aaron, to get well quickly and the fever to leave him. Pray that Ronald will see God each day and continue to work for Him and listen to Him.
