God's Timing is Perfect!

I have to share this awesome story of what your prayers are making happen. God is so good! Last Sunday night my friends and I decided to go ice skating. Once we got to the ice skating rink there was a hockey game going on so we decided to hit up Walmart. When we were checking out I noticed the guy working at self check out looked like he was from Africa, but I didn't want to ask him, and offend him if he wasn't. So I watched him and noticed that instead of just standing behind the podium and waiting for people to ask for help, he was going up to everyone in the self checkout lanes, taking their receipts for them and handing it to them with a big smile. I knew then, he is NOT American.

I went up to him and asked him where he was from and he told me he was from Sudan. I got very excited and I explained my love for Africa and that I have always wanted to be a missionary there. His face lit up and we began talking about his life. After about three minutes his manager came up and told him it was time for his 15 minute break. I knew this was the Lord and a great opportunity to share the truth with him.

He told me that he grew up during the war and that his dad died in the war. I asked if he knew of the invisible children, the night walkers, and he said " the lost boys? Yes, I was one of them." Right there I wanted to cry and hug him. I told him how I heard about the war and the lost boys in college and began praying for these children and getting the word out by going door to door. My sister and I decided to do a triathlon to raise money to help these children and their families. Never would I have thought I would meet one of them! I have to admit it took everything in me not to squeeze and hug him right in the middle of Walmart. I think I scared him a little with my excitement.

He then began to tell me that the UN found him and a group of boys and took them to Kenya for safety. He hasn't seen his family in 20 years, he is 27 now. In Kenya, is where he first heard about Jesus and began believing in God. Before the war he said you were not allowed to be anything but Muslim or you would be punished or killed. His family decided to believe in nothing and his grandparents were witchdoctors. He doesn't know if they believe in God or not, but chances are they don't.

He said he goes to a catholic church here and a red flag went up in my mind. I told him that I have friends that are catholic and they believe differently than I do about what it means to be a Christian. He gave me a worried look and said, really, well can you tell me what you believe it means to be a christian? AHHH!!! Yeah, that's right. I was jumping out of my skin! I shared through Romans and used illustrations. I can't say it all flowed because I couldn't really think straight I was so excited!

To God be the glory! If he understood anything it was the Holy Spirit. His manger kept coming back and telling him his time was up and he said OK please one more minute. He was hanging on to every word, which made me more excited. I wrote down the verses for him and my email and told him to look them up tonight and remember what I had told him.

I then looked him straight in the eyes and told him it was not by chance that I talked to him, but that God sent me. He wanted me to tell him that He loves him and has not forgotten about him or his family. He began to tear up and look down. I promised him I would pray for him and his family and would get many others to as well. He had to go, he thanked me and we left Walmart so moved by what God had done.

I shared this in front of everyone here, and told them to pray. The past couple of days everyone has come up to me and told me they saw Akot and told him his friend Amy told them to pray for him and they were. He has been very grateful but I am afraid he might be getting overwhelmed now by all the people coming up to him. Someone just told me today he told them he is writing me a letter, hopefuly it doesn't say, "Please don't tell anyone else about me. I am getting tired of all these people I don't know coming up to me." (Haha)

Please pray for him and the other guys that live with him that are also from Sudan. There are about 7 that work and live together. Pray for more opportunities to share, opened eyes to these opportunities God has before us, a boldness, and the Holy Spirit to lead and move. To God be the gory! Amen!