Surprising Moments in Surprising Places
This past week I was able to celebrate my twenty-fourth birthday, and with that, Daniel and I ventured for the first time into the city with no one accompanying us! (It was a big step for us.) We ubered over to a restaurant where we ordered in Spanish all on our own, albeit with a little difficulty. However, on the way back, our Uber driver noticed we were struggling in Spanish and was able to speak to us in a bit of English while we did the same in Spanish.
After some casual discussion, I noticed he had a black sticker on his rearview mirror that said “Trust in God.” In very broken Spanish, I told him I really liked the sticker on his mirror. Smiling, he then responded saying it’s his favorite phrase, despite not being religious. Many times we are asked why we are going to the Dominican Republic because it is a Christian nation; however, there are many people who know and believe in a god, but they don’t practice a faith. With this in mind, Daniel, our driver, and I all talked about faith, how he believes in God, and that Jesus is the Son of God, but he doesn’t believe in the Holy Spirit. Daniel conveyed that we, as Lutherans, believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our driver continued to talk in Spanish and, unfortunately, we didn’t a majority of it when he spoke quickly. However, we still communicated sincerely about our faith and heard more about his and why he came to his personal conclusion.
Later, he told told us about his family who lives in the United States, except for his father who is in the Dominican Republic. Although our driver has the option to live in the United States, he stays in Santiago to take care of his sick father and does so by driving as an uber. He told us more about how incredibly dangerous the roads are and all the accidents that occur, making his job rather dangerous. After our twenty-minute drive, we stayed in the car to talk for about five more minutes before I asked if I could pray for him, his father, and his safety. He immediately said yes, and although I prayed in English, he was still incredibly grateful, and we can trust that the Lord will work in his heart. Afterward, I offered that if he ever needed a church, there was a local Lutheran congregation called Pueblo Nuevo where we go. He told us he goes to church when he is with his mother in the States, but in the Dominican he doesn’t. However, because he enjoyed practicing his English with us and was grateful for the prayer, he mentioned he might try to go to Pueblo Nuevo on a Sunday. We are so grateful for our driver’s kindness, first with his willingness to speak in English, and then his kind demeanor as he smiled and laughed with us while we struggled to communicate.
As missionaries, we don’t always see the fruit of our labor. We may never see the driver again. However, we can trust in the Lord and all that He promises. Some verses we discussed with our driver after noticing the sticker were Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Today Daniel and I set out, rather anxiously, to go into a country we knew little about. However, the Lord turned it into an amazing opportunity to spread His Word and an encouraging reminder as to why we are here, and I pray that one day we do get to see him again, either on this earth and prayerfully in heaven.
Please continue to pray for the work in the Dominican Republic, for more opportunities to spread the Gospel, and for our driver and his family.
Daniel and I at a restaurant called “Deck” for my first birthday in the Dominican!
(Fifteen days after landing!)
