Let me set up a scenario for you real quick!
Location: Nairobi, Kenya (Airport)
42 squad mates with packs and daypacks
It’s travel day to Thailand and we’re all exhausted
We’ve been at the airport for three hours, checking baggage, eating lunch and waiting.
I’m in the last line before I get on the plane and I’m mad thirsty. We’ve had to empty our nalgene’s and eagerly wait to go through security to drink WATER!!!
“I’m really thirsty,” I said to Daina and Lindsay. Within moments of me saying that, Daina goes to the duty free store and purchases three waters for us to drink.
She’s so legit, and such a giver its not even funny.
She comes back to the line with a sealed bag of sealed waters and says, “we can’t open them until we get through security.”
So we wait some more and as soon as we get our items through security, I rip open the plastic sealed bag and proceed to take my water out. That’s when it all start to go down.
One of the security guys says,
Security guy: what are you doing?
Me: Uh, taking my water out to drink it.
Security guy: No, you can’t do that, you have to leave the water sealed until you get onto the plane.
Me: What? We just bought it in the shop and its been sealed until I just opened it now. I’m really confused and think you’re not understanding me.
Security guy: Ma’am you can’t drink that water in the lounge, its the rule.
Me: I’m really thirsty and I need to drink it now!!! (at this point, I’m getting really frustrated and mad)
Security guy: You can’t drink it until you get onto the plane.
Me: Are you serious? This is crazy. Ah, I’m so confused and I can’t be breaking the rules. This is so stupid.
I walk away with my friends and start laughing at how crazy that conversation just was. I find myself getting annoyed and still really thirsty. As I’m telling some of my other squad mates what happened and how mean the guy was, I stopped dead in my tracks and said, “I’ll just go over and share the gospel with him.” I didn’t think twice, I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity and I walked right back over there to him, and first apologized for getting frustrated with him and asked for his forgiveness. Then I told him, “you know Jesus offers you water that will never make you thirst again.” He looks at me and smiles. I begin to tell him that its no coincidence I came through this security line and that Jesus is pursuing him. He asked me “why did I choose him out of all the others working”, and that he had backslid from God. I asked him if we was born again and if he knew Jesus personally. He said, “no.” I told him, Jesus wants to forgive you of all your sins, wash you clean and give you living water. I asked him, “do you want Jesus?” He said, “yes.”
I prayed with Gordon (“the security guy”), and he accepted Jesus into his heart right there in the security section of the airport. God’s glory totally fell on us that day, and it was powerful. I was crying, he was crying a little too and we finished praying with joy! He looked different. He was full of joy and his face became softer. It was a beautiful way to end my time in Africa. God gave me a nugget of his redemption all the way to the end, and I’m grateful. He showed me that everybody is somebody to him, even the person that can annoy us needs to hear the truth. I gave Gordon a Bible and some Kenyan contacts that we worked with so he could have some people pouring into him. We hugged and I told him, “we are family now.”
I couldn’t stop crying with gratitude to God for using me in spite of myself, and blessing me with the opportunity to lead Gordon to Him. I email Gordon regularly to encourage him. He’s doing really good, and sounds like he’s soaking up the truth of who he is in Jesus. Please keep praying for Gordon as he loves others into the kingdom and lets God just love him more and more.
