who you meet on the road

As I sit downstairs in a blue over sized chair and drink hot tea out of a Clemson mug. I remember how many people I have met in the past month. I would think that since I was in the South things wouldn't be much different, that it would be a lot like home, however things are much different. Every house I go in has its own character, its own traditions, and their own family rules. The only thing that reminds me that we are in the South is the sweet tea offered at dinner and of course the SEC talk when I mention being from Alabama. Roll Tide.


Here are just a few stories about the host I have met along my journey.

I met one family who lived in a big house, a house big enough to house 30 people who they didn't know. They fed us and took us out to do 'fun' things. They only had two children in this large home, but they had a big house to host. They were incredible host. They never seemed stressed or seemed worried. They even housed some of our family members who came from far away to visit. While talking to Lorena, our host mom, one night we asked her where all she had been in the world. As she told us that she had visited all sorts of countries, she said that she taught in Romania for a year and loved every second. We promised each other that we would visit there together someday. She and her husband have such open hearts to people and their callings, they love hosting.

In another town I met a lady who is 80 years old, her husband died 12 years ago and she's lived with her dog ever since. She takes care of herself. Her son is in his 50 and he and his wife joined us for dinner. As we sat around the table for dinner we talked about overseas missions and what it looks like as a whole. My sweet host talked about the Indian reservations and told such heart wrenching stories. She also talked about how their church was cutting jeans to make shoes for Uganda. It was Sole Hope, where my team will be staying when we go. Her son cried while we worshipped with them. I knew that it would be a moment that the family would never forget.

In another town I met three girls who seemed to be about my age. During lunch on the first day I sat with my kiddos at a table and Charles called me over to his table to chat with the girls. They were going to Uganda in June and would be there for the month. They will be visiting none other than Sole Hope while they visit Uganda. We shared our stories about how Africa became a part of our lives. We became friends quick. They left shortly after the concert to go back home, to Liberty University, we talked about living together for college. We know that we will see each other in Uganda. Our goodbye words consisted of us saying "See you in Africa."

I met another lady who showed up at the church barefoot and excited to meet the children. I wanted her to be the host, simply for the fact that we had a common interest- being barefoot. I am currently sitting in her house. She has two children and she lost her husband 9 years ago to cancer. Her story is powerful. She never wanted to do overseas missions and now she knows that when her kids finish college that they will all be in different countries. She told stories of not wanting to go overseas, but knowing that she had to be obedient to the call, so she went and it changed her life.

I met another person whose heart blew me away. I heard about this family from every person in the church, they continued to talk about the Benjamin House. They talked about Bucky and his family. I knew what Bucky looked like, I'd met him the day before. Yesterday, I looked out of a window in our classroom and saw him in a hallway watching a little girl crawl around on the floor. He seemed at peace while he grinned at her. I wanted to know his story first hand, but I was too chicken to ask in that moment. I couldn't bring myself to interrupt, so I decided that if I was supposed to hear their story I would be given the perfect moment to ask. In the next service, he came and stood right across from my table just leaned against the wall, looking at this phone. I boldly walked up and said "Tell me your story" -- He told me about his beautiful wife. He said that when they got married that they promised each other that they wouldn't have children because their sibling were nightmares when they were growing up. They lived their life and loved it. Then one night Jesus spoke to both of them about adoption. Within a year they had their first son from Guatemala, he was a baby when they brought him home. Four adoptions later, they have one child from the Ukraine, one from Louisiana, one from China who has special needs, and one from Guatemala. He told me that when the choir came through in 2010, he knew he was supposed to visit Uganda and during his visit the Lord told him that he would move there. As of March 2016, this family will uproot their life and relocate to Uganda, forever. They will start a home called Benjamin House, this will be a ministry that helps facilitate kids who have families, but their families can't afford them. Their goal is to help kids get back into families and to help the families, not just drop them off in hopes that the child is cared for. I knew I would scare him when I told him my dream is to build schools, but he looked at me with no fear and said-- "I will be in Uganda in July, I am looking at a piece of land and praying over it, join us"-- I nearly fainted. He said you can move there with us.
https://www.benjaminhouse.net

Throughout every person I have met on this tour, I listen to their faithfulness to Jesus and to their calling. With every person I meet I wonder if I will have stories to tell someday if I ever choose to host a choir from another country. I never know what my life will look like, I never know who I will be in 10 years from now-- but listening and learning to new people daily brings a lot more opportunities and I am so thankful for each.