My Squad got the privilege of going to an additional country between our 9th and 10th months of ministry on the Race!! 3rd Generation U Squad spent Holy Week and Easter Sunday in Playa El Tunco, El Salvador.
We spent the week doing ATL (Ask the Lord). Every morning we would come together to worship and pray. Then we would go our separate ways, doing our best to be sensitive to how God might lead, guide and direct us to serve and love the community there; being a light and an expression of love and peace to those we met.
We stayed right on the beach so most of our days were spent there, enjoying the beach and the waves, meeting locals and tourists. Early on in the week I decided to sign up for a surfing lesson with a friend of mine.
Meet Ronald. He is a man of few words. He is El Salvadorian and all he has ever known is life in El Tuno. He was my surf instructor for our week spent there on the beach. He was a phenomenal teacher. His knowledge of the waves blew me away.
As I was out there laying on my board, Ronald treading water alongside me, instructing me with every wave we met, I just stared at him. Mouth gaping open. He reminded me of my Good Teacher, Jesus. He [Jesus] tells me how to handle every wave of life. Every challenge, every circumstance. So naturally, right there on the board in the ocean, I asked him if he knew Jesus, with a smile spread wide across my face. After all, he reminded me a lot of Him in some ways. He said, no no. He explained that what he knew was what he was doing; the waves, the beach, surfing, the tide. He knew what he saw and what he lived.
Ronald came to church after myself and my Squadmates invited him for our Easter Sunday service on the beach. What a joy.
…& he brought his daughter.
I do not know where Ronald’s heart is in relation to God or to Jesus, but I do know that he experienced genuine love and friendship through his interactions with myself and others on my Squad during our week there. We shared the Truth we know with him. I choose to believe that little encounters like these do matter and can be eternally significant.
