In December, just two weeks before I left for the World Race, I was disappointed to find out that a part of my engine needed replaced and I was not able to drive my car. This was incredibly frustrating because I still had to get back and forth to work every day. However God did supply a way. My little brother had just bought a new truck which meant that his old one was sitting in the yard insured to the end of December with no one to drive it. It was a God thing but not one I was eager to recieve.
When I first jumped into the beast, slipped the key in the ignition and fired up the engine a sound so loud it made my heart skip a beat errupted all around me. Music blared, the engine roared and my quiet dignity crawled into a corner and wept. There is simply no reason for one vehicle to make such a racket. I did all I could to make the truck sound just a little bit less obnoxious but nothing really worked.
The sound system, subs etc. were not installed when the beast came rolling off of the construction line they were my little brothers contribution to the truck. For reasons a sensible person cannot even imagine he was excited about how loud they could go and even more delighted to find out that his sound system was loud enough to make the truck vibrate. Driving with him was an ear shattering experience for me.
However, I have noticed that nothing goes wasted in the Kingdom of God. Every experience blends together smoothly to add to a larger purpose. On the 25th of February the University of the Nations pulled out all of the plugs and had a special Valentine’s Day dance. We were expecting a cd player and a couple of awkward kids dancing to a few old DC Talk songs and once again the World Race blew away our expectations.
Our jaws quite literally dropped when the truck pulled up with 8 massive speakers complete with subs and began blasting music loud enough to shake the entire school building. Our 150 students plus about 50 people from the village went dance crazy and didn’t stop until we turned the music off 2 and 1/2 hours later. It was sheer, ear shattering insanity complete with buckets of sweat and belly aches from the laughter.
Besides the over the top music our students got to hear about the love of God and several of them came to the front asking us to pray for them. Among those students was one particular boy who spent quite a lot of time translating for our team. Roselette told me that he wants to teach English and judging by the time and dedication he puts into his studies I know that one day he will get to do exactly that. Yet I can’t help but pray for a much bigger purpose for his life.
Teachers have the power to change nations through the love and the time they spend on their knees in prayer for their students. Teachers who dream bigger dreams and actively believe for bigger and better things than their students are even capable of dreaming for themselves can inspire growth and change in the most unlikely places. Places like a dusty little village with a basic 4 classroom school. It is that kind of influence, that kind of love, that I pray God will bless him with as he pursues teaching as a career.
Party on Cambodia! Party on…
PS: Chris, I think I heard God calling you to Cambodia. 😉
