Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: CALL (01/14/16)
-
TITLE: Africa, Man | Previous Challenge Entry
By Bonnie Bradlee
01/21/16 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
"Africa!?" I asked, "Why are you going to AFRICA?!?"
"On a mission trip with my church."
I sat in stunned silence. Acquainted since high school, and more recently growing in friendship, I didn't know Scott even attended church, much less was involved enough to participate on a mission trip. And that is how we began conversing, how God entered the bar and made His presence known to me.
Our conversations began with a simple exchange of understandings and beliefs, his understandings and my beliefs. Through these conversations I began to realize that when it came to the subject of God I knew very little. Some days our conversations were simple, at surface level, and others days we went quite deep. However, with each conversation, be it with Scott or his wife, my curiosity grew.
One conversation involved fundraising and Scott's reluctance to ask others for money when he could easily afford the trip on his own. I explained to him the idea of others being able to participate vicariously through their giving, and even started him off with the first $5.
Then came the actual trip. I was fully invested in this adventure of a lifetime Scott was participating in, far more invested than my measly five dollars should have rated. I know, now, that God was pulling me gently along a path toward Him, or perhaps not so gently. But then, all I knew was that I couldn't wait for him to get back so I could find out what went on.
Upon his return, though it was nice to know Scott was home safe, there were no real details of the trip forthcoming. Scott's wife had informed me that the families had been told not to press for details because mission experiences were so foreign it sometimes took a while to be able to talk about them. Eventually we spoke at the bar and he would try to tell me some Africa stories, but interruptions always came as others would ask if Scott saw monkeys or elephants while he was in Africa. After many such interruptions, week after week, I pretty much gave up on the idea of getting any good stories.
One evening, after yet another failed attempt at having a serious conversation about the trip, Scott invited me to a spaghetti dinner at his church. He said he would be talking about the trip after the dinner. I told him that I had not voluntarily set foot in a church in nearly 40 years and I did not intend to break that streak for spaghetti. He coaxed, I hedged. He cajoled, I refused. As he made what was probably going to be his final pitch, once again, someone came up to us, more than a little inebriated, and asked, "Hey, Scott, did you see monkeys and elephants in Africa?"
"Okay, I'll go."
On the night of the dinner, we went together, Scott, his wife and I. It was a good thing because I was too nervous to drive. The evening nearly ended a short time after we arrived when Scott spoke the fateful words, "By the way, we have a Saturday night service so the pastor is going to speak first." Somehow I managed to keep the foul language inside my head and make the rational decision that it was too far to walk all the way back to my own car. And so I stayed.
Scott told me the pastor was "really cool," and that I would think he was "talking just to me." Again, I managed to keep the profanity in my head, but just barely. A short time later, sitting in the sanctuary, surrounded by strangers, (except Scott and his wife), the pastor was looking straight into my eyes, speaking words straight into my heart, and tears streamed down my cheeks.
To this day, I do not remember what message the pastor preached that day. I do know that it was the first time I heard God call to me, the day my life changed forever.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
I would have liked to see you separate the paragraphs a bit more, it was a bit hard to read. I enjoyed your story.
You did a great job on nailing the topic. You kept my attention the whole way through. Keep writing - and God bless.
Wing His Words
God bless~