I wish I had a camera on my head! I literally can’t make this up. Last night we went to the laundromat just thinking we would have sweet conversations with each other, a sweet piece of cake and possibly get some work done. We did that and then decided to get some good ol’ KFC because it was right next door. Half way into our meal a lady walked in with a shopping basket full of chips and snacks. We knew she was headed to us, to ask us to buy what she was selling. This is normal here. Often we say “lo siento” or “no gracias” or both. This means “I’m sorry” and “no thank you”. Yet this time we had a different response and it led us to have a totally unforgettable night.
(Meet Rosa one of our newest friends)
The woman who approached us was darker skinned meaning she was most likely a Venezuelan refugee working to provide for her family after being displaced from her home country. Again, this was normal and something we knew to look for and be aware of. She asked if we wanted a snack and we said, “yes” but also we had more for her. We wanted to talk and pray for her. She was open to receive our translated message and although we prayed for her in English, this led her to share her testimony with us. We couldn’t understand everything but what we did understand was that she often is overlooked on the street. She is often told “no gracias” and “lo siento”. She is often walking all day with little result to her need. She doesn’t have a lot of clothes and some of her children are still in Venezuela. As her eyes began to well with tears she admittingly told us that yesterday she was walking up and down the street and felt the need to walk into KFC. She didn’t want to as they do not like when street sellers come into establishments. Yet she chose to trust God in this, she walked in. When we spoke to her she felt her trust in God mattered, that He saw her. My teammate Morgan was so moved as to buy her family KFC and give her an outfit from her newly cleaned laundry. We all bought some cookies and were gifted some chips in return for our generosity and more importantly for seeing her. We chose to listen to God’s stirring in our hearts that she is a standout not a swindler, that she is in need and will not be solely enabled by our support. We were able to invite her to the ministry and we are praying she comes this weekend. She asked us to take a photo with her and so that is the photo you see above.
The revolving door spun as she went out and another needing soul came in. We didn’t expect anyone to come talk to us but a young teenage boy came in with 3 lollipops. His smile could light up a room and his age was a testament that he shouldn’t be working. Yet here he was with a need we simply could fill and invite we didn’t hesitate to share. How could we say no? Some of our teammates have lollipops daily. So there we were able to meet both his physical need and invite him to the ministry where he could get all of his needs met. His face lit up as we shared with him that there are many kids that attend the ministry. We again are praying he attends tonight or in the morning.
As he left, I watched him out the window, examining the paper we had written for him. As he left the view of the glass windows and my eyes moved back towards the inside of the establishment, another young man outside the glass window grabbed my attention. He was holding a stack of cash, I had no idea what he wanted until he pointed to the cash and my friend explained what he wanted. His cash was Venezuelan, not usable cash. He was trying to sell it to us through hand gestures as he sat at a table on the other side of the glass. Morgan had met him on the street once before. His eyes were kind and his smile was bright as we exchanged gestures. Again we felt led to leave him with the contacts of the ministry and an open invitation to attend. We are hopeful he too will come to meet us again at the ministry for church tomorrow..
At this point our curfew was sneaking upon us and we were finishing our meals. Our Uber driver arrived and we were full of the Spirit, full of life and full of laughter. Upon entering we rehashed a few of the details and spurred on our hopefulness for all to attend. And then we greeted our Uber driver. And just like that the rest of the ride was fun of laughter, Spanglish and interest in who he was and where his heart was at. Although not a Christian, he was open to communicate his perspective. He shared with us he doesn’t have many friends but uses Sunday as a day of rest. He offered friendship to us and we offered attendance to the ministry for church on Sunday.
In my entire life I’ve never experienced such reception of an invitation to strangers and to church. Honestly because I’ve never put myself in a position to share it so freely and so quickly before. If sharing the gospel is as easy as being open to talking to strangers at KFC, on the street, at your work, or in your community, why is it so easy to keep our doors shut to such friendly conversation? I don’t have the answer to this but my prayer is that my heart and my eyes remain open to God’s mission to invite others into a conversation they may need and may never have without us. Additionally, I pray this spurs you on to do the same.
