“You Changed my view of Americans
I like your Christianity
You give me hope about relationships (purity)
Next time you need a tattoo call me and next you visit please call me…” -Neco
Transitioning from Europe to Asia has been very busy and much has been happening personally. For this reason it has been awhile since I’ve blogged. Much has happened lately. It has all been super fun and growing. Me and Team Boundless have been in Bogor, Indonesia, for the last 2 weeks. We are currently working with refugees and it has been a wonderful experience. This time has been full with laughs but also moments of heartache. I will soon post a blog on this, but I really wanted to make sure I posted a little blog on probably one of my favorite days on the World Race.
We flew out of Istanbul, Turkey, to head to Asia but we had 3 days in Turkey. Being in Turkey was a huge culture difference. It was a wonderful weekend for me. After the longest bus ride to Turkey, that morning me and a couple from the team went to Church. We were greeted with paid breakfast and just open arms. That Church gathering was full of familiar songs and some good preaching and teaching. It was super encouraging to meet new friends and share with them our lives. The next day we all slept in a lot. We also met people from our hostal and hung out with them. Then came the day that I decided to get my tattoo.
Everybody had their own plans so I decided to venture of into the city to get my tattoo. I researched to find some places and I began my journey. Before I go on any further God already knew how this day was going to happen. I started working and prayed, “God, may I be interruptible today and share Your love with anybody and especially my tattoo artist. I pray for Your grace and favor to be with me in my prices for my taxi, tattoo, and all the other things in between. You aren’t a genuinie in the bottle but You are my Good Heavenly Father. I love You, I trust You. Amen.” I really said this prayer as I walked. Walking through Turkey was fun and usually I enjoy having somebody with my but I was really enjoying this adventure just me and God. Well this is when thing started getting tricky.. I couldn’t find the locations I wanted. I knew the whereabouts of this one place called Shadows Tattoo Piercing, but it was super nice and expensive. I knew I didn’t want a cheap place but I thought I could maybe find a place that could work with my budget. Well I looked and looked and couldn’t find it. As I passed the shadows tattoo piercing I felt the nudge, “Go.” So I go and man.. I’m so glad I did. I immediately was introduced to Neco and he was their translator and info guy. He was a tattoo artist himself but with this business he was just the guy that made everything happen. He was the connector, the talking piece, the info, scheduler and simply happy host guy. As we sat down we immediately began to connect as I talked about my tattoo. He was picking up what I was putting down and I just started passionately talking about the reason for my tattoo. As we talked I knew I needed to get my tattoo here regardless of price. He knew what I wanted and I knew they were going to make it right. Plus, I felt something in this guy. Well pretty much the rest of the day looked like me talking to him in between his working with other costumers. They told me I wouldn’t be able to start on my tattoo for a couple of hours so I decided to just hang around there. Neco shared with me his story and I shared with him mine. Hours passed by and I was really beginning to enjoy meeting Neco. This guy carried so much compassion and passion for life. He knew and believed in God but was confused about a lot of things. But hearing him talk about his reasons for lots of things were rooted in this thing called “God is starting to do a shift in this man.“ I knew at that moment my role was going to be an encourager and help water the seed that has already been planted in him. I shared the gospel with him and he was so receptive to it all. We then just talked about other things in life. Towards the end of the night I knew I needed to eat before getting a tattoo so I went to get food. Neco decided to come with me and recommend an original place. We went and I was planning on buying him food but he instead bought me food. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of God this weekend. It was just amazing for him and I, 2 different people and culture and everything come together and enjoy a meal. At that moment I knew John 3:16 was real. It hit me so hard. I knew that God wanted this man to be His beloved Son through Christ Jesus. Well long story short we went back and I got the tattoo. The whole process was amazing. I gave the artist, freedom and empowerment to take my vision. God also showed me leadership principles in that, which was cool!! But yeah… so I got discounts on my tattoo and found out the artist stayed way past her shift because of her excitement for my tattoo. God gave me some words for her and it was amazing how they were spot on. The whole process went great. We said our goodbyes and I got a super super cheap deal for my taxi because of him. As I was going home I realized all of my prayers that I made during my walk were answered and man was my heart full and it was it fun. The next morning I knew I needed to go see him. Time was not on my side but I knew I had to see him. So I left and was stressed for time and the traffic but I felt God nudge me, “Don’t be anxious, I’m with You. The way you are pursuing Him is the way I pursue you.” I felt peace and was like let’s go. So I get there and he actually wasn’t there but I called him and he quickly rushed over to work. I planned to take him out for coffee but he insisted to take me out. Again, wow. We talked and talked and said our goodbyes. This was the hardest goodbye I had to do on this World Race. There’s a verse that Paul says in Thessalonians, “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” Man.. this is really what I felt. The day when I went back I felt God tell me to give him my Bible. Neco was so encouraged and excited to read the Gospel of John. Oh yeah.. we talked about Jesus and theology and this guy was hungry for it and it was cool to see his honesty and his growth of process of who Jesus is to him.
All in all the reason why that day was so special was because I got to meet a new brother. I got to share my life and encourage him. He got to share his life and encourage me. We talked about God, our beliefs, our hobbies and we were different but able to share a meal and enjoy what we had. I learned not to want to change somebody but simply love somebody and because of the love that I had for them they were changed and actually asked me to tell me everything I wanted to tell him. It was incredible.
I found my tattoo guy and he’s already working on other designs for me. Haha. It was such a special time in Turkey. Oh… I made it just in time to not miss our flight!! Through the weekend in Turkey I received the generosity of God between that church, my team, and Neco.
I know God has a plan for Neco and the girl who was my tattoo artist. I’m super thankful and grateful to be part of their story now.
