We stood at the London, England, train station looking groggily at the departure board. We had just finished touring the streets of London, and were heading back to Birmingham where our cozy beds awaited us. But we would not be seeing our pillows for quite some time. The adventure was just beginning. It would be one that will forever remind me of the magnificence of the Truth.
A missed train
There were only a few other people milling about the departure gate. We were too weary to think about why people weren’t traveling back to Birmingham on this beautiful Thursday night. We were just thrilled to be sitting down at last. As we talked about the exciting experiences of the day, a young man sitting on the bench next to us asked if we were from Canada. He picked up from our accents that we were definitely not English women. We introduced ourselves and learned that this stranger’s name was Kam. He was interested in knowing how one person from Michigan and another from Canada could know each other so well. God was definitely giving Myriam and me an awesome opportunity to talk about the Truth. Paul talks about such opportunities in his letter to the Colossians, “Withal praying for us, that God would open us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ” (Col. 4:3).
God opened that door for us. We talked about our shared youth weekends and the Truth in general until after midnight. Finally, we all decided to see what was holding up the train. We went to look at the departure board again to make sure we had gotten the right information.
The problem was obvious. We had looked at the arrival board by mistake. Kam had done the same. We looked at each other, faces filled with exasperation. Myriam and I did not know what we were going to do, but we felt this was happening for a reason. It was comforting to have the conviction that “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Rom. 8:28) running through our minds. We gave a prayer asking for God’s guidance and protection and then tried to figure out what our next step should be. We all three decided to find a place to sleep at the train station because the next train was not departing until 6:45 that morning.
Preaching at midnight
Myriam dug her Bible out of her book bag. Timothy tells us to preach the word and be “instant in season and out of season” (11 Tim. 4: 2,5). This was one of those times when we really felt “out of season.” We were tired, crabby and cold. Regardless, Myriam was determined to preach. This may be our only opportunity, we reasoned. We continued our conversation about the Truth and shared with Kam how having a deep relationship with God can really give one’s life meaning and purpose. He was genuinely interested. It was so amazing. We were soon joined by another young man who said he did not believe in God. He, too, listened and had many questions. This was a time when we really needed to take heed to the words in Peter 3:15, “to sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” It was such an incredible thing to be placed in a situation where we had to do just that. Not only did we feel as though we were strengthening them, but it definitely allowed us to feel stronger about our own personal convictions.
After about two hours of talking about the Truth, we were informed by an employee of the station that it was shutting down for the night. The next thing Myriam and I knew we were out on the streets of London. Kam stayed up all night to make sure that we were okay. We could tell he was special because his actions were truly Christ-like despite his lack of knowledge.
The seed takes root
Around five in the morning we were let back into the train station. We were filthy, tired, but also very uplifted from our earlier conversations with Kam and the other young man.
We eventually hopped on the train at 6:45 and headed back to Birmingham. The other young man had a different destination but Kam ended up on our train. God was using us as His messengers to “open our mouths boldly and make known the mystery of the Gospel” (Eph. 6:19) On the train we gave him our phone number and told him about the lecture that was taking place at the Handsworth Ecclesia that night. We told him if he was interested in coming to please give us a call and we would come pick him up. We finally reached Birmingham and said good-bye to our new friend, not knowing if we would ever see or hear from him again.
As soon as we got home we changed our clothes and crawled into bed. Later that afternoon, we sat in Myriam’s room talking about our experience at the train station. We were so excited about meeting Kam that we decided to pray thanking God for allowing us to meet him and prayed that, if it was His will, Kam would call us. We prayed together and knew it was in God’s hands. About two minutes after we finished praying, the phone rang. We looked at each other with a look of wonder. I think our thought processes were identical. What if it was Kam? I picked up the phone and heard his voice. I was filled with such joy. Our prayer had been answered!! He asked if we wouldn’t mind coming to pick him up because he was interested in coming to Bible class. That evening was seriously one of the most exciting of my life. I could not believe it: the same young man that we had met at the train station not even 24 hours earlier was now with us in the car on the way to Bible class.
Kam ended up really enjoying class that evening and expressed true interest in coming out to more ecclesial events. He now attends the Handsworth Bible class and Sunday morning meeting every week. He has said that he has never been happier in his life and has recently inquired about baptismal classes. Kam is living proof of what a relationship with God can do. It fills a great void and provides us with a true inner peace, hope, and purpose. It is truly a remarkable thing to see how God’s love can truly transform someone’s life.
In season and out
We are all “ambassadors for Christ” (II Cor. 5:20). It is, so to speak, a job with benefits that far exceed the pension plans and promotions of our earthly jobs. Being an ambassador for Christ can be a part of the biggest promotion of all time — a place in the Kingdom!! It is such a blessing to share God’s love and His plan with others. I once had the impression that the only true mission fields were in Jamaica, Africa, Vanuatu, etc. But mission fields are everywhere. They are all around us as we live our daily lives. School is a mission field and so are our places of employment, even a train station.
God’s incredible power is clearly seen in that He causes situations so that we will be blessed with opportunities to share the Truth with others.
When one remembers a trip to London it is normally Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace that come to mind. But, because of the wonderful Truth which God has so graciously allowed us to be a part of, I will always remember my trip to London as the day that changed lives, the day Kam met the living word of Truth and we met an opportunity to confess Christ before others.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One