My time with J

I have been on the World race America for a little over a month now. Within the last few weeks a ton has happened and I haven’t been as good at updating you all as I want be. So I’m going to try and catch you guys up on what happening. First, let me start with my time in Asheville… 

 

So, the first week of this trip we lived in homeless shelter in Asheville, North Carolina called Western Carolina Rescue Mission. This week we simply lived life alongside the incredible women that stay there. Some of my most favorite moments of this trip so far have come from this first week. During our stay there, we were awake at 5:00 in the morning and at breakfast by 6. Then it was out the door. We quickly realized how exhausting the day can be when you have no place to go but no place you can be either. We helped with a discipleship program offered for some of the core people at the shelter. We shared testimonies and did activities with an incredible group of women I’m so proud to call friends. 

 

One of my favorite moments from that week (though I could write many blogs from this time alone) came from time spent with a man I will call J. On the first night of our arrival at the shelter, news spread quickly that a group of missionaries would be staying there for a few days. I sat down to eat my dinner at a table with J. J was an older gentleman around my father’s age. As we ate and talked, I stepped out in faith and asked J if he believed in God. J did not. We talked momentarily on the subject and then changed topics onto what there was to do around the shelter the next day. I asked J if he would have lunch with my teammate, Amber, and I the next day. He hesitantly agreed and we agreed to meet him the next day. 

The next day we go to lunch and have a great time. J reminds me so much of a family friend that passed away last year while I was in Panama. The snarky attitude and “grumpy old man” persona that he playfully uses made me feel right at home talking with him. That day at lunch, J brings up the topic of Jesus and faith. We again debate, and agree to disagree. 

This is how our talks about Christ go during the week, though a friendship begins to form between us. J helps teach me some stuff on the guitar and gets to show off his skills as a musician. I wish I could have learned more from him while I was there cause he had so much knowledge. 

As our time was drawing to an end in the shelter, I once again found myself having lunch with J. He says, “I’m going to ask you a question but I don’t want you to answer it yet. Just think about it, and answer it later.” I agreed and curiously listened to what he had to ask. He asked me, “How can you believe in a good God when there is so much pain and suffering in this world?” I told him that I would indeed answer his question, but that I would go think about it first. 

I went to a coffee shop and got to work. I was asking people around me, googling, and reading through anything I though that might help me answer this question. As I was looking through the apologetics books I currently have on my phone, I ran across one of my favorites. I quickly skimmed the chapter names and found exactly what I was looking for. I did a quick internet search and found a bookstore in town that just might have the book. My teammates were already planning to go get gas and run a couple of errands, so I asked if they could swing by the bookstore and see if by chance they carried the book. I was in luck!

The next day at breakfast, I walk over to J. I hand him the book open to the chapter titled: If God, why Evil? That entire chapter is written like a conversation between an atheist and a christian answering the very question he asked in a way that I could never have explained. I told J that even though I wasn’t a theologian or able to fully answer his questions, it didn’t mean they weren’t valid and don’t deserve an answer. As I handed him the book, he laughed (in a good way) when he read the title of the chapter. J agreed not only to take the book but to read it. Within that book are the answers to many different theological questions similar to the ones we had been debating all week. 

J did not accept Christ while we were there. Honestly, I don’t know if anything will change J’s mind of Christianity. I don’t know if J will even keep his word and read the book, but I do know the Lord is reaching out to him. I do know that J is a big part of why I was supposed to be at the shelter and why I left Georgia early. My time with J was so special to me and I’m so thankful the Lord placed him in my path. 

I still pray for J and for his heart. I hope one day he chooses to follow Jesus, but if that never happens I will still love him and cherish the time I had with him. 

 

That’s just a glimpse into the time we spent in Asheville. I have many more moments where i was so humbled and blown away by the love and compassion showed to us while we lived there. I will try and post again soon with more ministry and stories from these past few weeks, but I wanted to ask for you all to please be in prayer with me for funding for this trip. I am currently about 40% funded at this point. I still have a little less than $5,000 left to raise. I ask that you please prayerfully consider supporting me. If you are not able to, maybe you know a friend who might be interested in supporting me. I am so thankful to each and every one of you who have supported me along the way. Last year was absolutely incredible and this year is shaping up to be the same. Your donations are helping me to go and take the light of Jesus to people right here in the states. If you want to donate, just scroll to the top of this page and click the donate button. Thank you guys! Until next time, GOD BLESS!