As a part of our new role in Richmond, VA, Jay and I
recently traveled to participate in a pilot project with our training center. We went to New York City, a metropolis of almost 20
million people, where we saw God vividly at work in the lives of individuals. Here is just one example.
Teamed with two colleagues and sent to Chinatown,
we walked the crowded streets and heard only the chatter of Chinese and saw
almost no Caucasian or black faces.
Signs on all the stores were written always in Chinese script and
sometimes in English.
One morning Jay stepped inside a bank to get some money and
I waited for him on the street. A black
man was watering flowers hung high up on the street lamp poles, so I decided
that since I couldn’t communicate with most of the others around me, I would
strike up a conversation with this man.
Sure enough, he spoke very broken English. “Est-ce que vous parlez Francais? Do you
speak French?” A huge smile broke out on
this man’s face. “Oui, oui. Yes!” “What country do you come from?” “Burkina
Faso.”
You can imagine the joy that I felt. And I assure you, his joy was equal to
mine. Eli had been in America for about
one month. He was struggling to learn
English and was somewhat discouraged. In
Burkina his neighborhood was very near our own neighborhood. And then are you ready for this? He is married to the sister of one of my good
friends. My friend and Eli’s wife are
sisters of one of our Baptist pastors.
Eli is a follower of Christ, a child of the King. When Jay came out of the bank, we were able
in a short conversation to give much needed encouragement to our brother.
I’m so happy that I serve a God whose eyes are roaming
throughout the earth, looking for those whose hearts belong to him, so that he
may strongly support them. (2Chron 16:9)
So thankful for a divine appointment in a metropolis of 20 million from
our Heavenly Father who was seeking to support one of His own.
