I am starting a ministry snapshot/portrait series as a way of documenting my time on the Race. I will highlight one person from each country of ministry. Their photograph will give a glimpse into part of our ministry for the month. I am taking inspiration from the famous Humans of New York project, while making it my own.
Chris, one who is becoming free from the addiction of drugs.
He was only in our lives and ministry for a little over a week. When Radiant Vibes first met Chris, he was reserved. Direct eye contact was not held for long. He was withdrawn and overwhelmed as a group of five enthusiastic girls tried to get to know him in a language that he did not understand. His answers through our translator were brief and surface level.
We don’t know how Chris first became ensnared by drugs. Conversations revealed that he had progressed from smoking cigarettes to smoking marijuana to using heroin. He was using heroin for only about a week before he decided to stop and reach out for help.
It is not an accident or coincidence that Chris decided to come to the drug rehab center the very first day that our team showed up for ministry. A few members of Radiant Vibes have backgrounds in which either a loved one or themselves were addicted to drugs. Testimonies–and card games–became the common ground on which a friendship began to form. He could see that our care and love for him was genuine. During that week, we included Chris in as many activities as we could. We took him out to coffee. We climbed a pyramid in the center of town with him. We played soccer with him. We ran into him at a lake on the other side of town on our day off. We sang songs with him. We did short Bible studies with him. We played even more card games with him. We talked with him. We prayed for him. We laughed with him. We rejoiced when he came to a church service with his sister.
In a perfect ministry situation, this is where I would say that Chris accepted the Gospel and was freed from his addictions. Ministry in real life is not always perfect. Chris had to make an unexpected trip back to his hometown and will not be back in Tirana until August. We never even got the chance to say goodbye.
We all wish that we could have told Chris how much he means to us. We all want to tell him that he is loved more than he could imagine, not just by us, but by our Heavenly Father. We all wanted the opportunity to spend more than a week with him. A week was enough for our hearts to forever be connected to his story. Chris is no longer just a quiet guy who we met at ministry.
Chris is our brother.
