World Race protocol is that you are always with someone, wherever you go! Well, in one of the rare times where this protocol wasn’t followed I managed a few hours by myself. In the morning I got an email about a job interview that afternoon. To prepare I was trying to remember all the education terminology that I was supposed to know as a teacher as I painted a fence at our ministry site. We had no internet at our ministry site so I made the 15 minute walk by myself to a restaurant where I could interview via Skype. After the interview, I was walking home and pondering some of the questions that were asked of me. One questions stuck out in particular,
“Is teaching about relationships or math(I was applying to teach math)?”
My answer, “To be honest, relationships.”
Walking back I wondered if I gave the “wrong” answer to that question and also thinking I had offered up way to many abstract answers. I then walked by a man in his yard and said, “dobro dan,” which means good day in Serbian, and he said something to me that I didn’t understand(this is very ordinary for racers) and I just walked on until in a louder voice he said “Food and Water?” Turning around I was like “No, I am good thanks.” Then I looked at myself and realized that he thought I was homeless, or at the very least a backpacker who had it real rough. I had a two-month old beard, was walking around lost in thought like a deer in headlights, had rips in both knees of my pants, a homemade crocheted hat, and a paint covered thrift store sweater. So being a quick thinker, I said, “yes,” because food and water did like a good way to share the gospel. I sat down and this man brought me food and water and we shared a meal and some stories. He had grown up in the Orthodox Church in Serbia and still attended. Orthodoxy is often considered a culture in Eastern Europe and there is very little emphasis placed on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This man, however, truly was living out the gospel as he reached out to me. Unfortunately, our time together got cut short by a phone call and a family emergency. I don’t even think I had the time to say “Thank you.” The point of sharing this story being that this man lived out the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 25:40, as Jesus proclaimed, “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it for me.”
Thank you friends for all your support! Month 11 of 11 started yesterday in Panama! We are declaring month 11 as the best month yet!
