His name translated in English is Ezekiel so thats how I'll refer to him here. My team met Ezekiel 2 weeks ago when we arrived at our ministry site here in India.
He is a man of small stature and only 19 years old but his servants heart challenges me everyday. My first experience with Ezekiel is of him carrying my 50 pound bag up this narrow steep stairway to the room we are staying in. I never asked him to he simply saw me struggling and picked up the slack. since then I have seen him do the same for every member of my team and for the pastor that we are working with.
When our van is full he sits crunched up in the back hatch.
When he notices our water jug is getting low he brings it with him to fill it up.
When we all get out to go do ministry or go eat he stays in the van with our stuff.
When we leave our room for the day he stays behind to make sure all of our things are locked up in the room.
And after church today we fit a record number of 16 people in our 8 passenger van and there was Ezekiel, now standing in the back hatch holding onto the bars on either side of the van with his head hitting the roof with every bump we rode over so that everyone else could have a seat. And he's still has a smile on his face.
The examples are endless. We thank him every chance we get for his thoughtfulness but he just grins puts his head down and goes on about his work. And many times once we are all loaded in the van headed to another village to minister you'll find ezekiel in his own little world praying out loud in his native tongue to the Lord. I am so grateful for his attitude and example this month.
I tell you this not to glorify Ezekiel and his serving but to glorify God and the work that He has done in him. Because a life of joyful serving is not from ourself. It is a work that the Lord has done in someone… usually by trial. I don't know what Ezekiel's life has consisted of but I would venture to guess that it has involved hard things and in that He has learned the joy in a life that is wholly focused on God. It has definitely challenged me this month, but I am so grateful for it.
