You have rainbows in America?

Our friends here warmly welcomed us back after our summer away in the US. Coming back this time was extra sweet because of our friendships He’s given us with the villagers! Nid,* a dear friend of mine, stopped by on her way to fix her pig pen. Inviting her in for some fruit and a visit, I pulled out a book of photos I had put together and we started swapping stories about all that had happened while we were apart. When we got to a picture of our family visiting the Grand Canyon, I was trying to explain just how big it was, and how famous of a landmark it is, and why people come from all over to visit it. The picture I had of it didn’t quite do it justice, so I ran into the other room to grab a wall calendar that had pictures of AZ, professionally taken that I thought might do a better job of helping my friend see the beauty of it than my little picture or my feeble attempts at explaining could. What she focused in on, however, was a rainbow in the picture. “Oh, you have rainbows in America, too?” she asked.

Little did either of us know at that moment that her simple question could lead to such an incredible opportunity…one that my family and many, many partners and friends have been asking for alongside us. In the 3 years we have been here we’ve been asking for open doors to share truth. We’ve seen very little interest so far in our friends’ lives when we have been able to share about things of importance. It’s been discouraging at times, and we’ve wondered how long it will be before anyone wants to know more about this great Creator we’ve told them about.

When she asked her question, I could have easily have missed the opportunity to share with her. I could have very simply answered, “Oh, yeah, rainbows are everywhere,” and then flipped the page to the next picture in my photobook and continue on. But, FATHER had so much more in store. He put it on my heart and gave me the words to share about the first rainbow and Who made it. He gave me the words to take my friend back to the beginning of the Story, to share about the Creator of the World, the deceiver, the problem of s1n and why a flood was needed in the first place. My friend listened more intently than anyone ever has up to this point. So, I kept going. Father kept the conversation flowing as naturally as could be. I didn’t even realize until later when I was eagerly retelling my husband details of the conversation just much He had allowed me to share. From who the Creator is, to who His enemy is, to creation, the fall, the separation, a place of judgement, and Father’s great love, it all just came, one story after another. After talking together for well over an hour, I shared with my friend that this is just a tiny bit of all He’s given us in His Word and there is so much more I could tell her about. “Have you ever heard any of this?” I asked her. “Never. I’ve never heard this before!” She went on to tell me she’d really like to hear more, to be able to understand it, and more than that, she’d like her daughter and her relatives to hear too! I was floored. This is exactly what we’ve been asking for. We’ve been asking, but with only seeing the non-interest on our friends’ parts, it seemed like what we were asking for was next to impossible. Father knew providing this conversation would be such a boost of encouragement to us. May we not grow weary in pouring into our friends lives! HE is able to do the impossible, and He can use the things we least expect to open those doors… This IS the work He is doing. He is doing the impossible. We just get to be a tiny part. To Him be all glory.

*named changed to protect the individual

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