Dogwalking & Mother Teresa 6-10-10

So, a lady I work with got a dog last week, which she's been keeping at the store. As both of our bosses are on vacation this week, it's just the two of us left holding down the fort. And since I don't know anything about the actual store I work in, I have been promoted to dog duty, in more ways than one...

Today I came into work late, having stopped by the church this morning to record some music. (This fact is only relevant when viewed in the grander scope of the day, or my life as a a whole.) But, as God in His infinite wisdom, always seems to do, had placed me right when/where I needed to be.

I've been working on raising money to go to India, to help some of the world's poorest widows and orphans know a little bit of God's love. The fund-raising process has been a slow go so far, and the human part of me was beginning to doubt God's calling me. But I received a word of encouragement from an unlikely place last night, helping my spiritual, trusting side take the lead. I had also received a generous donation from a friend only minutes before, so I was pretty ecstatic at the time.

Continuing on. I checked my email this morning to find a message telling me I had received another donation. So I immediately began typing away at a response message with excitement and gratitude. And when I went back to my inbox, there was another message, with yet another donation. By this time, I was through the roof with excitement. I was double-checking the sender's email address when I noticed a message from a friend on Facebook, "Pray I have a good day at work, because half of my money is coming to you tonight." ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?! When God steps up to bat, He ALWAYS hits it out of the park.

I was frantically trying to respond to this new wave of generosity, but just when I had gathered some coherent thoughts, my co-worker brought her dog, Little Orphan Annie downstairs for me to walk. "OK," I said, as I stopped what I was doing in order to give both of them a much-needed break. And we headed to the park.

Right before we crossed the street, Annie stopped and began barking, for no apparent reason. I wondered, "Can she see an angel or something?" as I've heard animals have a perception for spiritual things like that. But I didn't see anything, or anyone, save for a police car that wasn't there the last time we had gone to the park.

Once in the park, Annie quickly went about her business. But I, for some reason, wanted to keep walking. And so we did. Apparently, someone else wanted to keep walking at that very same time, and we met mid-stroll on the sidewalk. I found out that she was part of a group of bicyclists on their way from Yorktown, VA to Oregon. They had found our small town park to be a suitable overnight resting place before embarking on the next leg of their ride. 4200 miles in 3 months. Pretty intense. I told her I'd always wanted to do something like that, and that I was trying to get to India this summer for a mission trip. She referred me to Sarah, another member of her biking group, who had done that very thing years before. I thanked her, and we continued on our way. I never did get her name. I'm bad about that...

We met Sarah behind the stage building. She was easy to recognize, due to the fact that the others were all men. So, I asked her assumingly, "Are you Sarah?" And so our conversation began.

I mentioned to Sarah about her friend I had just met, of hearing about her time in India, and about my own intentions of traveling there this summer. The excitement was nearly palpable, both in her voice, and in my spirit. She went on to tell me of helping at an orphanage in Calcutta, staying in the Salvation Army shelter during her time there. I was fascinated. And then she drew the big gun: 'It was 1981, and I was helping Mother Teresa. She walked up to me a couple days before she flew to meet President Reagan, and said "You'll be here when I get back, won't you?"' I guess so. Even though Sarah was out of money, and getting ready to fly home in a few days, some generous soul felt the need to keep her there for a little while longer. He funded Sarah for two additional weeks, hotel and all.

Sarah, whom I finally introduced myself to halfway through our conversation, proceeded to tell me of the amazing stories connected to her time in missions, both in India, and her native Thailand. One thing that really stood out to me was her desire to connect people together. She did this by taking pictures of all her supporters, and the items they donated. Once she got to her ministry site, she distributed all the donations to the people in need, whether clothing, food, seeds for planting, or money. She took new pictures of the people receiving the gifts, and sent them back to the original donors, thus directly connecting the giver and the receiver. An idea I will not soon forget.

God is good. All the time. And He is at His best (or so it seems to us) when we cannot see behind the curtain. He is always on the move, doing great and mighty things. But are we moving with Him? I hope this inspires even 1 person as much as it has inspired me. "I just want to touch you. I just want to make you move." God bless.