I pray that I can articulate the overwhelming experience that I was a part of recently, an experience that can only be shared from two perspectives, two powerful perspectives but one emotionally moving situation. There are only two perspectives because on this day, I happened to be alone as I was walking back to the hostel after a one-on-one. Just to be clear, I don't travel alone and I always try to have a group with me. It just happened that this one time, I was the only one around.
As I began my journey back to the hostel I chose to take another way home which I like to do because walking the same trail twice doesn't have adventure involved. I enjoy getting lost and trying to find my way back home. I enjoy adventure and if you continue to walk the same path your whole life how are you ever going to experience what it means to be lost? So, I took a side street in a general direction towards home but obviously out of my way.
Peering into the windows of each business, my eyes were curiously scanning the happenings on the inside. I made my way down the street, noticing the people walking around me. Taking in the different forms of art and architecture that are contrastingly different from what I am used to seeing. As I walked down the street I peered into a dark window and some Nike shoes caught my gaze. I stopped in front of the door, wondering if the sign was reading "open" or "closed." Wondering, if they are open then why is it so dark inside? All I saw was shoes and decided I really didn't need to go into the store so I turned to my right and began to walk away.
A man sitting on the hood of a car begins to quickly shout at me in Romanian.
I looked at him in the eyes and said, "I don't speak Romanian dude."
He hopped off the hood of his car and said with a shout, "Well what language do you speak?"
Jokingly I said, "English."
He began to ask me why I didn't go into his store. I explained that it didn't look open and that I really didn't have a good excuse. So he told me to go into the store. Hesitantly, I turned around and went into the store. It was a really awesome graffiti shop and made me think how much my brother, Aaron, would love the shop. They had special paint just for graffiti, which is an acceptable art form in Romania and it is not considered a crime. I walked in, glanced and walked out. And he asked me what I thought. I told him it was sweet but I am not an artist one bit.
So he began to ask me more questions. "Where are you from? Why are you here? What city are you from in Texas? What denomination do you support?" And as I answered each question, he followed it with another one. I shot up a small prayer and asked God to guide this conversation.
The conversation took a direction when I mentioned that I followed Jesus. That I didn't side with a particular denomination but that I believed Jesus died on the cross for my sins. That He saved me from a past of reckless living and put me into a place of true love and freedom. That Jesus is my only savior and redeemer.
Then he began telling me what he believed. It was extremely similar to what I believe, but he did add a few things that I am not sure are biblical. But man, did he have a true sincerity to hear my words. His gaze never left mine as his eyes almost peered into my soul as he spoke. He spoke from a stance of learning and not a stance of judgment. He didn't have it all figured out and that was fine. He spoke with me about people who I haven't been able to do research on to know what they believe, but that is irrelevant to the magnificent picture I am going to paint for you in this next paragraph.
As he was speaking about what he believed, I interrupted him by saying, "I don't really know anything about the guys you are talking about but this is what I know about the God that I serve. I know that he took me from a place of brokenness into a place of freedom. That he has huge plans in store for me and that he has been using me in unreal ways this year. I have seen a lady who couldn't see, begin to see. I have seen a lady who could only walk with a limp, walk without a limp. I have seen a lady with a bad back, tell me that there is no more pain."
As these words were being spoken, his posture began to come alive. Then he did something that was very suprising. He ran across the street, full sprint and about 40 or so feet away from where we were originally standing. And he shouted at me.
"I don't f@$%ing believe you!"
I yelled back, "I am serious bro. I am not joking."
He returned the shout with, "That doesn't make sense, that is crazy!"
That is when he began to run back towards me, his face was gleaming with life. He ran and placed his back against the wall of the building I was leaning against. And, he began to cry.
I was caught off guard; not expectanting to see a man on the street cry in front of someone he had just recently met. Then I opened my mouth and the words that came out were not from me. The Holy Spirit inside of me began to speak more about these experiences, that I was just a human being, that I wasn't special, and words of truth and honesty.
He kept crying.
The conversation was nearing two hours as he began to share with me more about supernatural things that had happened in his life. Things that blew my mind, but I said amen to what God was doing in his heart. It would have been easy to fight with him in that time, but I let the Holy Spirit work in his heart because I knew my words would only cause him to take a defensive stance.
As the conversation ended and I walked away he said, "Thank you for talking with me. I can't share what I did with most people, but you are different from a normal person. You are different.
You are different. Those three words resonated deep in my heart and they are words that I will hold onto for the rest of my life. I hope my words were powerful to communicate the intensity of this conversation with Daniel. God's supernatural presence showed up with me on that street, and I pray God continues to show up in powerful ways such as this one.
