The final week in Peru was reserved for Parent Vision Trip (PVT). This is an opportunity for parents to join us in the field, see what our lives have been like for the past nine months, do ministry with us, meet our teams, and see their sons/daughters after what probably seemed an eternity. I was very fortunate to have both my mom Elaine and dad Jim join me in Chincha, Peru, last week – they have both been very supportive of me through this whole journey.
I invited my parents to write a guest blog about their experiences during PVT – here is my dad’s:
My PVT experience began with my luggage going to New York instead of Lima. It took three days and nine frustrating phone calls to American Airlines customer service to finally get my suitcase delivered to Chincha. My roommate loaned me clothes in the interim. During those three days of minor inconvenience I thought I was getting a very small dose of a World Race experience!
A few days later, my wife Jill told me that she had paid a premium to move me closer to the front of my flights back home – she thought that there would be a smaller likelihood of losing my luggage that way. I remember telling Zach that I appreciated the thought, but that I would not have paid $55.00 to get a seat closer to the front. Little did I know the eventual impact of this small act of kindness!
The flight from Lima to Miami was uneventful and I sat in Row 22 instead of 37. The next leg was from Miami to Charlotte, and finally Charlotte to Columbus. My seat assignment from Miami was moved from 23D, up to 7E, which turned out to be a middle seat instead of an aisle seat. Oh well, I thought.
The man to my left busied himself with a magazine and the twenty-something girl to my right leaned against the window, earphones in place. I read my book.
When beverage service came by, the girl ordered an apple juice which I passed to her. “Where are you headed?” “Boston, for my uncle’s funeral,” she said. “I’m sorry” I replied. The girl then asked where I had been and I explained about the World Race and the PVT trip. She was keenly interested, and asked follow up questions and I was able to share quite a bit about the Race and the PVT visit.
Eventually I asked if she goes to church. “No. I was confirmed when I was younger, but don’t go to church.”
We talked more. I gave her my testimony on how God saved me in a dramatic way at the age of 43, and how my life was transformed. She hung on every word.
She then asked, “How do you even read the Bible? Do you just pick it up and start reading it?” I reached in my bag, grabbed my Bible and asked if I could read to her. “Yes, sure.” I read a little from the Gospel of John and then Psalm 23. She intently listened.
I shared more of the good news of the Gospel, and how it could affect her life. I went through “the Roman Walk” (3:23, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-10, 10:13) which is a great summary of the Gospel.
“By the way, what’s your name?” “Molly.” “Molly, you seem extremely interested in all this. You probably sense the presence of Jesus. Do you want me to find a church near you? If you give me your email and the name of your town, I can try to find one for you.”
We talked more. “Molly, some people when they hear the Good News they have an immediate desire to become a follower of Jesus. You may want to think about this and see what you want to do…..it’s a big decision.”
More sharing. She continued to be extremely engaged. “Molly, if you want, we could pray a prayer, and you could invite Jesus into your life.” “What kind of prayer?” she asked. I said an example prayer.
“Do you want to pray that now, Molly?”
“Yes.”
And as we made our descent into Charlotte, she accepted Jesus into her life!
It was exciting and joyful for both of us. I prayed a blessing and I’m praying that she gets connected to a church family in North Miami Beach.
What a wonderful ending to my World Race experience! And how awesome that God would use the experience of lost luggage to have my seat changed to a middle seat so I could sit next to someone who was ready to hear the call of Jesus!
