After spending a few days in Alaska I have determined they have the best coffee ever. I have been drinking at least 3-4 cups a day. That is party due to the lack of sleep and partly because the coffee is just so good. Since we had a 3 hour drive in the morning Don and I decided to fill up with some Kaladi Brothers Coffee. I am going to endorse Kaladi Brothers as one of the best coffee shops not only because there coffee is good but also because we told them we were from Ohio and they gave us free coffee! Check out www.kaladi.com. With coffee in hand we made the journey from Soldotna to Anchorage. We made many stops along the way to take pictures and marvel at God's creation.
On our journey Don and I prayed, read and discussed scripture, and at some points didn't say a word and just enjoyed the splendor of our King. About half way through our drive we saw a guy and girl (prolly late 20s early 30s) hitchhiking. I didn't think twice and just kept driving. Don was like "why didn't you pick them up?" I went on to tell him how dangerous picking up hitchhikers can be. Then his compassionate side came out and felt for those two people trying to get a ride. He explained how we could have shared Jesus with them and enjoyed the journey with them. As we continued driving I started to think about this and really started to wrestle with the thought of missing out of an opportunity to share Christ with someone. Once they get in your car they can't go anywhere so they have to listen. I came to the conclusion that I acted out of selfishness. I was thinking of my own comfort and enjoying MY journey that I was on. I was being selfish and not wanting to share it with others. I had all the thoughts in my head like, "what if they steal something?" "what if smell?", "what if they want money?" Instead I should have been asking questions like "I wonder where they are going?" "I wonder what they believe about God?" "I wonder if they need help?" "I wonder if God has brought me across their path for a reason?" About an hour later we pulled into a awesome little restaurant called the Bake Shop. As we were pulling in I saw the two hitchhikers walking down the road. They got a ride and reached their destination. After seeing that they made it OK I thought I would feel better about not picking them up but something inside me felt like I missed an opportunity for God to use Don and I. During times like this God continues to work on my character.
We arrived at Dennis & Celesta Richardson's home in Anchorage in the afternoon. Dennis is out Moose Hunting and just when we got there Celesta got the call that he shot a moose. She was going to cook some moose burgers for dinner but Don was not about to eat anything from a moose. It was great to spend some time with Celesta and their kids Seth & Sarah. We were able to talk about many different ideas of ways to serve during our mission's trip next summer. There is a huge need at their Church and lots of opportunities to minister to some very hurting people.
We also were able to connect with Mary from Cook Inlet Academy. CIA is a christian school that serves the Soldotna & Kenai area and is where most of Pastor Larry's grand kids go to school. She invited Don and I to come speak at chapel and to talk to the staff and some parents about discipleship. We will be going there on Wednesday morning.
I have completed my third cup of coffee for the day so it must be time to get to bed. I wanted to leave you with a Psalm that Don and I read today.
"Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from beginning to end, you are God."
- Psalm 90:2
No comments:
Post a Comment