Waiting to go home after a long day, my team and I notice an
elderly woman hobbling up to the bus. She asks us a question in Turkish to
which we smile and shake our heads. As she continues to get in line ahead of
us, she struggles lifting herself into the bus. Drea and I hold her back as she
gets on to pay the driver. My team and I continue to get on and take our seats,
while the sweet lady is sitting next to us. 
begins speaking in Turkish. Again I smile and shake my head, and my new friend
turns to watch the buildings pass by out of the window. A few minutes later, she offers the rest of my team and me crackers with the kindest smile. After a
few more stops, a young woman and her two little boys come and sit across from
me. I smile at the little boy on her lap, watching his heavy eyes fight to stay
awake.
Surrounded by so many women who were so kind made me wonder
what Jesus would do in this moment. Would He stand up and shake a Bible,
proclaiming Truth in a tone comparable to how their husbands speak to them?
Would He burden them with another list of rules and regulations just as they
have been given over their entire lives? Would he further oppress these women
whose culture grants them so few rights? Would He just sit and ignore the few
gestures of kindness the women could extend?
Or would he just smile and love them and laugh with them as
they laugh at the strange Americans on their bus, so far from home? Would he
help the elderly lady struggle down the aisle with her bags as she gets off the
bus? Would He hold her hand as she stepped out onto the street? Would He sit quietly in His seat and try to
show the Love of His Father to people who do not even speak the same language?
Over the course of the past few months, I have realized how
much being a Christian is simply being Jesus to the people around us in daily
life. Being on that bus surrounded by beautiful women that I longed to talk to
but couldn’t, I was overwhelmed with God’s love for them. How could I
communicate this without words? How could I show the love of Jesus in me
without speaking their language? I can only pray that the hour I spent smiling
and sharing the little piece of their life on the bus communicated the love of
my Savior.
I hope that over this year, through language barriers, in
and out of the daily tasks of life, I can be Jesus to those around me. I pray
that this afternoon on my way home I was Jesus on the bus.
share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you
had become very dear to us.
