A lady recently came here from a western nation and told us this incredible story. I know I can't remember it word for word, and this is the very short version,but as she shared it with us, there was hardly a dry eye in the room. It so speaks of the Hugeness and Kindness of God.
This friend has been working in Kabul for the past three years and has grown to deeply love that nation. She has learned the language quite well and has been involved in different roles there. After a difficult year, she went back home to be with her family and to take some rest.
One night she was driving in her car, crying out to God and asking Him what her purpose was in life and if He really had a plan for her to be in such a difficult nation. The year had been filled with so much pain and hardship, with little visible fruit. She was frustrated with many different situations and needed some hope and encouragement.
She went to help her parents at some Church service and after a while, she told them she was going to get something to eat. She went on the main road and went to one of the first restaurants she found, a place selling kebabs. So she goes inside and much to her amazement a man from the country in which she works, is working behind the counter. She starts talking to him in his own language and he is so surprised that a girl with yellow hair, so far from his homeland, knows his own heart language. They talk for a while and she gets some food and leaves.
As she was driving in her car again, there was a desire in her heart to bless him and encourage him. She wanted to tell him about the love of God, but was scared and didn't know how to. She remembered that she had a delicacy from his home place, some very old, quite smelly, curd. I guess they keep it for a year until it gets just right. Needless to say this stuff could not be found in her home country. As she was praying for him, she decided that she would go and give him this curd and also bring a Bible in his heart language.
So some days later, she drives back to the kebab shop and nervously enters, searching for the young man's face. She begins to talk to him and asks if he likes this curd stuff. His face brightens and he said "Yes, I love it, but I haven't had any for five years." She produces this large bag of the precious curd and he is awestruck. She then asked him if he went to school and of he could read. He said that he hadn't gone to much school but that he could read his own language. She nervously offers him the Bible, not sure what his response will be, but as he takes it from her and opens it, he nearly starts crying. He told her that he was the only Christian in his family and he had been praying for a Bible for a long time. Needless to say, as she left that place, both of them had been greatly encouraged that there is a God and that He hears our prayers. What are the odds that thousands of miles away from his homeland, God brought a simple girl, who could speak Farsi, bring him his favorite food, and bring him a Bible that he was praying for, that he could understand.
One of her main points and encouragements to us was that we live our daily lives and minutes for that Day when we see His face. There is a day when we will see Him face to face, and there will be people from every tribe, tongue, and nation surrounding His throne. We need to make our daily decisions and choices with a perspective of eternity and the beauty that awaits us there. It's all gonna be worth it.
