Woah. This past week FLEW by! Our days consist of waking up early and leaving before 7am, walking to school (total in a day we walk about 4miles), teaching English to sweet kiddos (here’s a picture of some of them ), walking back to our hostel for lunch, walking back to the school, teaching until 4:30pm, then coming back to the hostel and getting together as a team to talk about the day and having team time, dinner, then sleep unless you have security/pool cleaning duty then you have to stay a wake for a while. From 6am to sometimes well after 9pm we are on the go. I’m not complaining. I’m grateful. There’s no way we can do these consecutive long days without energy, joy, patience, gentleness, and love, which thankfully God has an endless supply of! We can’t do anything without Him and these long, tiresome, and sometimes challenging days put us in a position where we have to depend on Him and constantly ask for His help. It is a gift. It’s not always easy to see the blessings He gives in the moment. This week I learned that when I choose God instead of other comforts (like Oreos), really cool things can happen. I become more receptive to encounters, I can be more present, I can be more open and honest about how I’m feeling, I think of others more and not just myself.
One day last week I decided to walk to school earlier than normal. I had my headphones in and was feeling very joyful. I almost got to the school and I see a car. It’s facing the wrong direction. It’s in the road and the car is on. It’s parked. It’s obstructing traffic and motos have to carefully drive around it. The driver was passed out with feet up on the dash.
I walked right by it … slowly as I took it all in.. and slowly kept walking wondering what to do. Immediately I thought, “not my problem, I’m going to be late to school, maybe this is normal?” But then as I kept walking, I felt what I’m calling a “Holy Spirit tug”. You know that moment when you’re pretty sure you know what the right thing is but you don’t want to do it because there are so many unknowns and it might be an inconvenience.. and you can choose if you do the right thing or choose not to. I can’t say I always make the right decisions and don’t know what I’m doing half the time, and can’t take credit for any of the good stuff, because that’s all God, but thankfully that day I listened to His guidance, even though it initially didn’t feel like it.
So I stopped, made an “Agghh” sound and turned around.
Across the street there was a mom and two children staring at me. I walked across the street to talk to them. I tried to ask about the car and they motioned to me that the driver had been drinking. So I walk back across the street and I knew I had to wake him up. Where he was parked wasn’t safe for him or anyone else on the road.
So I started knocking. And knocking. AND knocking on the car window. The driver slowly opened his eyes and then went straight back to sleep.
At this point, I was committed, so I just kept knocking (I had to get creative at this point – I was knocking different rhythms and dancing around- gotta have fun with it you know?) I was hoping one of my teammates was going to ride by on a bicycle to help me make a decision but it just wasn’t time yet I guess! Eventually he opened his eyes for reals and he looked VERY confused that a white girl was at his window smiling and knocking. He rolls down his window and I try to tell him he’s in the road, suggested he move off the road, I offered to help.. but I don’t think the driver understood anything except for being in the road. He tried to put his seatbelt on and couldn’t, so then he just put the car in drive without looking at the busy road ahead (that he was on the wrong side of) and took off!
So at this point. I flipped. I thought “no!!!! I did the wrong thing! He’s going to kill someone and it’ll be my fault because I woke him up!!! Ohhhh my gosshhh! God please don’t let him hit anyone!!!!”
Luckily he didn’t hit anyone, but it was a very close call, more than once! He drove a bit up the road and pulled over. So I start running after the car.
This is when my teammate Kaysha is riding a bike to school and sees me running the wrong way. All I can manage is “I’ll explain later, I have to chase this guy!”
So I sprint to the car and realize how crazy I probably look and start laughing and knocking on his window again like Hey, it’s me again!
We were able to have a longer discussion thankfully this time, but it was still a struggle due to the language barrier and he had a ways to go before he sobered up.
To sum up our convo, we exchanged names, I encouraged him to take a nap now that he was out of the road, he tried to explain to me that he could drive, I tried to explain to him how it’s not a good idea, we had a water drinking competition, he told me that I was nice, I told him that it was Jesus not me, I told him I really hoped he wouldn’t drive, I prayed for him, I told him I had to go to school but really hoped he wouldn’t drive because he could hurt someone else or himself. I explained how I used to be him. I used to drink and drive. That I could’ve hurt someone else or myself but because of God I never did. I told him I used to drink but because of Jesus I have over 2 years of sobriety and don’t have to drink anymore. He asked for a way to contact me and gave me his info. We spoke a little more briefly and I had to say goodbye and trust God that he wouldn’t go anywhere.
I messaged him later that day and asked if he had gotten home safely.
I didn’t expect him to remember anything, let alone me. So I wasn’t holding my breath..(okay okay, I still was)
So later in the day I got a message! He said he couldn’t remember anything except that he had met me and that he lost control of his car before he saw me! He told me he didn’t end up driving again after he saw me, he went back to sleep for a while and then drove home and got there safely (answered prayer, thank you Jesus).
So… I pray that I will get to see him again but that if I don’t that God can use those seeds that were hopefully planted that day in our conversation and hopefully conversations to come!
So, I’m learning that the more we depend and trust in God the more He will use us, which is terrifying but beautiful at the same time!
If I would’ve just walked away and said “NOPE not MY problem” who knows what would’ve happened and also I would’ve missed such a cool opportunity to meet someone who struggles with the exact thing that I used to. It was crazy! God is so cool! It’s memories like these that are gems and are an encouragement to keep going and that He really can use us if we are willing.
Verse: “For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was przeached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.”
1 Peter 4:3-6
Questions: Is there a time you wanted to say NO to doing the right thing but did it anyway and God showed you something incredible? What was it?
Be interruptible today!! It’s so worth it!!
