Lessons Learned on a 24-hr. Train Ride

Our team rode a train from Danang to
Saigon. Our seats were basically a wooden park bench, without any
cushion, that should have only fit 2 people on each side. The train
was completely over-booked and some people who purchased tickets had
no place to sit. The workers eventually brought out little plastic
chairs and crammed 6-8 people in a space of 4. The bathrooms were
hideous, the sinks outside of the bathroom were full of puke, and
there were roaches crawling around our feet. Not the most comfortable
situation for a 24 hour ride, but G-d used it to teach me many
things.

One, as Paul said there will be times
of abundance and times of want, but it is important to be content in
every situation. How do you find contentment in a time like this? The
answer is to pr-y, pr-y, pr-y and dwell on the positive rather than
the negative. Kelsi helped us with this, by recording us saying why a
24 hour train ride was worth it (video to come). Although I have been
in a spiritual desert lately, I was able to read a lot of the Word
and G-d spoke to me like crazy. My B-ble looks like a college
student’s notes after a lecture. There are so many words written in
the margin and things underlined. I read 1st, 2nd and 3^rd
John and learned that G-d only really asks us to do one thing. Yes we
need to love Him, and by loving Him, we obey Him. So what has He
asked of us? To love others the way He loves us. As long as we are
doing that one thing, we are in right standing with G-d, and there is
no need to strive or have self-condemnation. This was a very big
revelation for me.

Two, Josh was missing for quite some
time. When he finally came back to our seats, he told us that someone
he was talking to, had decided to commit their life to Chr-st. How
awesome is that, Josh lead his first person to Chr-st in a closed
country, where it is illegal to evangelize. This totally made the
trip 100% worth it : )

Three, we got to see the reason why
G-d is close to the poor, and the kingdom of heaven is theirs. There
were people sleeping under tables and in the aisles of the train.
They never once, got angry, complained, or treated each other
unfairly. Instead, they shared their floor space, and allowed people
to put their legs or feet on them, just so they would be more
comfortable. Even though these people were strangers. There wasn’t
much food to go around, but they still shared whatever they had with
us and with others. They even gave Justine and I some money so we
could buy a plate of food to share, because we didn’t have enough.
Talk about the love of Chri-t radiating from these people, and who
knows how many of them, if any, were believers. It makes me think of
how poorly, as a believer, I have treated those in need around me,
when I was back in the states. I pray that when I go home I go out of
my way to take care of those around me, strangers or not. They are
all G-d’s creation, and He said whatever we do for these least of
these, we have done for Him.