Fall 2019 Blog 5

Fall 2019 Blog 5:  Never Know who You May Meet I am going to make this blog short and sweet so that I can get working on the blogs I will be sending from my fall MLO to Sisak, Croatia.  I will be visiting Stefan and Arie and making connections for our spring MLO.  Just like this blog that is going to be short and sweet, meeting people that cross your paths in life can be so short that you fail to see the connection God intended for you to make and the blessing He wanted to give you through that “Chance” meeting. Well, on my recent trip to Indianapolis to visit my ailing 90 year old father who had to have emergency surgery to remove MRSA from his left elbow, I met several individuals that were placed there by God to encourage me and make connections for future possibilities.   In the matter of those 7 days, God opened some neat Godcidences around me that I will be forever grateful. My Bible study WoW Brothers always pray for the seat-mates that will set next to me, asking that they would be open and receptive to talking with me. They know me all too well, and know that I always pray God will place someone next to me that I can share Him with. On this trip I actually asked God to expand that reach to include my Uber drivers as well.  Since 'Ubering" was going to be a new experience for me, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to get to know someone new.   Well, God gave me the chance to meet Kayote from Nigeria, my driver in Indianapolis. He is a young family man from a city not far from Iloran, Nigeria where we went last October and plan to return this December. He couldn’t believe there was baseball in his home country and it was a pleasure to share the love of Christ with him. He is finishing up his technical degree and his wife works in the medical insurance field.

While I was there in Indianapolis spending time with my father (who was first in the hospital and then rehab) and enjoying celebrating my mom’s 88th birthday with her, I was able to drive up to Michigan and attend the POWER UP Sports Chaplaincy Conference.  The conference was hosted by Our Daily Bread at their Grand Rapids, Michigan headquarters. It was so refreshing to spend the day listening to Chaplains talk about their lives in sport from colleges to professional teams. In fact, CBS College Basketball Announcer, Clark Kellogg was the guest speaker.  It was a pleasure to hear his testimony. There were over 60 in attendance and it was neat to expand past friendships as well create new ones.

After a sweet time with my folks and with my dad out of danger, I headed home to Houston.  At the airport I met Kyle who is a salesman for Toyota Forklifts. As we were talking he gave me some great advice on what would best handle our needs for moving and packing equipment in the new warehouse.  He was such a great source of information and actually gave me his card, telling me to contact him when it was time for us to get a forklift so that he could find us a great deal for the ministry. Kyle is not a believer and in the beginning didn’t have a whole lot of good to say about those who are believers, but as we got to know one another he opened up and shared his background, and I could see the source of some of his resentment.

Lastly, meet Peter from Uganda, my Uber driver when I returned home to Texas. He is a doctorate student at UH in finance and his desire is to take what he learns back to his country and help provide hope. As I was sharing what HiS PRINT was all about and where God has taken us, he immediately asked if he could pay for a shipment of equipment to go to Uganda and personally invited me to stay in his house if we would follow the equipment and come do follow-up camps. When we got to my house, he got out and we talked for a while before saying our goodbyes and hugging each other’s necks. He asked for my card and I look forward to the day we will reconnect. Let the Godbumps grow!!

I appreciate everyone’s prayers and financial support. Have a wonderful God filled day and the next blog will come from across the pond while on my fall MLO to Croatia.  Blessings. HE DID IT!  David