On an off day we went downtown to a place called the Russian Market to shop. My family can testify that I really hate shopping and would gladly pick any alternative. Thankfully God also knows I hate to shop and provided me a much more adventurous alternative. I walked around the market for 5 minutes, found nothing I wanted (typical), and walked out. Right when I walked out of the market a man with sunglasses and a fedora saw me out the corner of his eye and offered me a beer saying, “Happy New Year!” I looked at him like a western skeptic and asked, “For free?” He said yes and invited me into his Tuk Tuk to hang out.
The day was extremely hot and the beer was so refreshing. His name was Eang Sina and we just got to know each other while avoiding the heat. After I finished my beer I said thank you and left. I walked for about a block before I realized that God had opened a door for me and I was missing out on it. I walked back with the ambition to share the gospel with him. I was able to share the gospel with him and it turns out he already knew it! He followed Jesus and this time he had invited ME to his church. He bought me another beer and we got to know each other better.
I learned that he wanted to be a lawyer but he was not able to finish school because he comes from a poor family. He was earning money as a Tuk Tuk driver to pay for the remainder of his school. He wanted me to meet some of his friends so he drove me down the street. We arrived in a courtyard with an off duty cop and two other men. Eang was the only one who spoke English so I mostly talked to him and took pictures. The cop also let us take pictures with his gun! These random friendships and adventures with people have happened too many times on the field to write about. I’m expectant for more of them to come.
My teammate Emily pointed out to me the other day that God loves us each uniquely and that the way God often loves on me is through adventure. As I meditated about my life on and off the race I remembered all of the amazing adventures God has blessed me with. I didn’t notice so much before, but the times I’m praising God the most is when he is taking me on an adventure. When I’m running on the beach, or climbing mountains, or surfing, or bungee jumping etc. I find myself in unparalleled states of praise and gratitude. It’s crazy to think about how uniquely God has made us and about how he knows us inside and out. It’s amazing how he uses that knowledge to love on us in such individual ways.
