Normally I am the biggest Dr. Pepper fan that you could imagine (as many of you already know). Since I’ve been on the World Race I have supplemented Coke in order to get my caffeine fix, since DP isn’t really an everyday find in most other countries. That being said, several of my teammates and I became frequent visitors to the small store next to our “appartelle” (the place where we stayed). They sold snacks, drinks, cigarettes, shampoo, etc. We would go there for the Coke.
The lady that runs the store the majority of the time, Judith, latched onto us almost immediately. We got equally attached to her. One o the first times we talked to her, John asked if we could pray for her. After being completely taken off guard that somebody would ask her that so quickly, she agreed. John held out his hands for hers and she cautiously took them and we prayed.
Within the next couple of days, Taniuska and I went back to buy more coke and before we left we asked if we could pray for her again. This time she was much more eager, agreed quickly, and immediately stuck out her hands for us to hold! This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship! 😀
Over the course of the next 3 weeks, we talked to her about her family, her faith, and what it meant to be a “born again” Christian. (She already knew, but did not feel like she could convert from Catholicism because of her husband.) She was disappointed when we would not come to her store for a couple of days, and would be so anxious to see us the next time that we did come! Although she did not make a decision to be “born again”, I believe that Judith was impacted and that seeds were DEFINITELY planted in her heart.
The last day we were in Bohol, we went to her store and brought her a picture of our team. For probably a full minute of two she spoke so quickly and excitedly in Visayan (her native dialect) and could not even calm down enough to speak English! She told us that she wanted to tell us so many things, but could not express them in English. She cried, we took pictures together, prayed together one last time, and then she went of in Visayan for another few minutes trying to express to us (I think) how much she loved us and how thankful she was to have met us. I pray that God is going to change Judith and her family for His Kingdom.
