“Heyyy pretty ladies.”
His voice was silky and intentioned. He drew down his shades and could not have looked us up and down any harder. He had a dip in his step as he drew closer as if it gave him desirable swag.
“Where are you all from?”
He was hitting on us.
It was the end of our rest day.
I was over getting hit on. We had already been hit on by several Jamaican men that day, and the day before, and honestly, for several days prior to that. I have never felt as pursued or somewhat disrespected by men as I have in Jamaica and by that point, I was over it.
But, Jesus tells us to be interruptible. Remember when He was walking to heal the woman’s dying little girl in Mark 5 and then paused to find and acknowledge the afflicted woman who touched His cloak?
So I answered him.
“We’re all from different states in the U.S. Where are you from?”
He tells us he is from Ocho Rios.
He asks us if we are college students. He looks us up and down a few more times. My skin crawls.
I tell him, “No, we are Christian Missionaries”. To be honest, in my selfishness I do so hoping he will lose interest in us and walk away.
He doesn’t.
Instead, he asks us to tell him all about what that entails. I, not taking the hint from Holy Spirit, asked him what He meant (Still thinking he is hitting on us and is going to turn it into something inappropriate somehow). He then asks us to tell him all about Christianity.
I paused. I asked the Lord to soften my heart.
I asked him if he believed in God.
He answered with an enthusiastic yes and added that Jesus had to die for the world.
I asked him if he knew why He had to die. He paused and then said he didn’t know.
I asked him if I could tell him. He eagerly said “Yes, please.” His entire demeanor softened. I started from creation and walked through the Gospel. He input knowledge he had from growing up in a Christian school.
Amidst our conversation, it was clear that this man desperately desired God to be Lord of His life and believed Jesus rose from the dead.
The Lord had been pursuing him for a long time.
So right there, on an “off” day next to the beach, Anthony AKA “Koye” accepted Christ.
What a beautifully God- orchestrated encounter.
That is the thing about “off” days though. There is no such thing. 2 Timothy 4:2a tells us to “preach the Word: be prepared in season and out of season…” (emphasis added).
We need to “ALWAYS be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks [us] to give the reason for the hope that [we] have…” 1 Peter 3:15a (emphasis added).
God would have met Anthony whether through my teammates and I or through other means.
I am so glad I said yes that day.
May we always be aware and interruptible.
