Stories from all over our city & beyond

The Northwest Young Adults have been going to McAlister’s Deli every other week after church for the past few months this year.  We’re a pretty decently sized group, and we take over a small section. Over time, we have become regulars, and the employees there have come to recognize us. (We’re not Cheers yet…, but they know my order.)  

After a few weeks, one of the employees … asked us where we were coming from. I said that we go to church and come to McAlister’s for lunch after church. Since then, he has told us “God bless” when he gives us food and when we leave.

On March 20th, three Young Adult guys went to McAlister’s (technically the off-week). It was a nice day, so we sat outside, and [the same server] came to serve us our food. He asked me, “What church do y’all go to?” I admit there was part of me that felt a bit awkward, but I said we go to Northwest Bible Church. There was a pause, and I asked him if he goes to church at all. He said that he didn’t, but he believes and is “Christ-conscious”. I asked him what does Christ-conscious mean, and [he] gave us a short explanation about he doesn’t believe in religion or rules, but how we need to have the spirit of Jesus inside us and make our decisions like He would make them.  I probably missed an opportunity to go further, but I genuinely thanked him so much for sharing with us what he believed and being vulnerable. I also thanked him for really serving us and other people well.

It made me realize that we can have intentional conversations in the places where we are regulars – not just with our friends or at our divine platforms – but wherever we happen to interact with people. Also, it was really fun to have an intentional conversation that was not necessarily initiated by us, but just answering questions and just showing interest in people to engage. It was spontaneous. Who would have thought that lunch after church would generate curiosity or build a relationship that could start a surprisingly easy to start conversation about Jesus, and hopefully lead to more?!

In late February, I took my first trip out to visit my family in Phoenix since my dad had suffered a stroke last summer. I was there for 16 days altogether last July, watching Dad slowly die. Memories of this experience were flooding back now, and part of me did not want to talk to whoever sat next to me on the plane. But I told God I was willing to have a conversation about Jesus, and left it in His hands. At first the man who sat next to me, an older Asian man, was pretty quiet. I made a couple of conversational gambits about the weather, etc., to which he responded only briefly. I felt the Lord telling me, “Don’t push it. Just let it be.” So I was quiet for a bit.

And then he started talking. He was on his way to LA–even though his daughter and her family were at his house in Dallas, visiting from New York City. He was on his way to LA because his sister called to say that their mother was dying. “I think she is just waiting to see you, and then she will go,” his sister had told him.

“Now I know why I am sitting next to this man,” I thought. We had a lovely conversation, all the way to Phoenix. It turned out that this man … was a believer. His mom was, too. He is Filipino, and had become a Christian as a student in Manila when someone from Campus Crusade for Christ had told him how he could have a personal relationship with Jesus. Just like me, though for me it was in Louisiana. His Mom was a woman of faith who had had a powerful influence on his life, but was now in hospice and going home to Jesus. Just like my dad was last July.

[This man] has a PhD from DTS, and pastors a Filipino Bible church in Richardson. I told him that I had prayed about who I would sit next on the plane. “The last time I took this flight, I was in your shoes,” I said. He replied, “God put you next to me on purpose.” Before we landed, I prayed for him out loud, asking God to give him a special time of saying goodbye to his mom. It was a privilege to be able to encourage a fellow believer as he walked the same road through the valley of the shadow of death that I had so recently walked. You never know where these conversations about Jesus will take you, but they are worth the journey.

I had a videoconference with a work colleague based in Bavaria, Germany.  After hearing him talk about the numerous health issues he and his extended family have faced in recent months (COVID, post-COVID symptoms, leukemia, etc.), and told him I was going to commit to praying for him and his family. His countenance changed quite a bit after I said that, and he seemed pleased that I pivoted the conversation in that direction. I am praying that this will give me the opportunity to dig deeper into spiritual dialogue with this colleague in the future.

[My friend] and I visited with our waitress … about her faith journey. [He] has been building a relationship with her over the last several weeks.

Spoke to a waiter at Chili’s about Jesus. My friend gave the waiter a large tip and the book of John. Great conversation!