A Friday's memoir...

We are currently on the road to Honolulu (yes, I’m typing in the car!) to visit missing church members. It will be a blessing to spend time with them and encourage them in their daily walks with the Lord.
Before we do so, however, we want to spend some time reflecting on the many blessings from this week.
---------------

When I met Joy*, she was looking down at me from her balcony. After 30-40 minutes of talking to her, she told me that she would like for me to come visit her later in the week—not to study the Bible, but simply to talk. I agreed.

When April and I came back to her house a few days later, she opened the door with a shocked look on her face. “This is so crazy!” she kept repeating to herself. She invited us inside and told us that she had just been debating with God whether or not she should call us or if she should clean her house. She finally said, “Okay, God…I’ll let you take care of it.” At that exact moment, we knocked on the door.

Throughout our visit, April & I sensed that she had a lot of spiritual hunger. We silently prayed that God would show Joy her need of a spiritual reformation. God answered that prayer. By the time we left, we had given Joy a Bible study on God’s transforming power, and she signed up for personal Bible studies.

--------------

Grayson teaching a man how to navigate his Bible

“Sure, Bible studies sound cool.” She was a marine—the toughest of the tough. As we talked with her, her roommate laughed at us. “Religious things? Ha—I can’t believe you’re falling for that stuff.” 

When we stopped by their house this week, she was gone. Her roommate had kicked her out and seemed to be in an upset frame of mind. Undeterred, we began to talk to her (the roommate). We spent a lot of time just getting to know her, avoiding religious things and simply talking about her and her family. Also in the marines, she felt very lonely here in Hawaii—all of her family lives in the mainland, and it is hard for her to keep contact with them.

When we finally turned the conversation to spiritual things, we found out that she grew up in a Christian family, but has turned away from believing in God. We eventually asked her if she would like to study the Bible with us, and she agreed!

It was truly a miracle to see the same woman who first scorned us sign up for personal Bible studies. Something so drastic can only come through the same God who changed a prejudiced Samaritan woman into one of the greatest evangelists of her time. Praise Him for His working here in Kane’ohe!

*names changed