Sunday, August 9, 2009

There's just something about Lin that makes you smile!


You guys remember Lin? I first wrote about Lin on July the 10th (The story is in the archives if you would like to learn about how we met). The first time I met her I just knew there was something special about her. You might remember that the day I met her I was running later than usual to carry the cross, and I was frustrated about my late start. As the story goes, it was God's plan all along for me to be late that day so that Lin and I could meet.

On July 10th, I sat with her for about 20 minutes and briefly explained the story of Jesus and an overview of the Bible. At that time she was not very familiar with any of it and she was curious to learn more. On one of the days following our first meeting, I delivered to her some of Rachel's homemade brownies and a neat little Bible with a question and answer section in it that explained a lot about what we believe. At that time I expressed to her that I desired to meet with her again to learn more about her and so that she could meet my family. She explained that she was having to work two jobs and that she did not have much time to socialize. Due to the fact that I knew she was very busy and I did not want to intrude upon her, I just reminded her of our offer to get to know her better and I backed away.

On August 6th, around 11:00 p.m. my phone rang out with a text message. It said, "Hey, this is Lin, I am sorry that it has taken so long, but I am off of work tomorrow and I would like to meet your family." Needless to say, I was ecstatic. I quickly responded back, "That would be great!" So we made the arrangements to pick her up and take her to Chick-fil-a around 10:30 a.m. She said that she would love to meet us for a little while but she needed to meet some other friends around twelve or one.

As the next morning rolled around it was time to pick Lin up. We had cleared a spot in our tightly packed van for her and she was finally able to meet Rachel and three of our boys. She was very excited to see us and immediately hit it off with the kids. Lin quickly became the highlight of the week when she opened up her purse and took out cute little stuffed animals that she had purchased for our children.


Once we arrived at Chick-fil-a I suddenly realized that she might not have ever eaten at this kind of establishment, and thinking further, she may not even like the food. So I curiously asked her if she had eaten there before and she said that she had not. She had not even eaten that kind of food but she was excited to try something new. As we shared that first meal together, all of us quickly realized that we enjoyed each other's company and we all asked many question and had discussions about the differences in our cultures. Rachel and I found out that the people in China, for the most part, are very disciplined in their eating habits, even to the point of how they structure each meal so that they can use their body to it's most effective capacity. They eat very light in the morning and drink salt water to purify the body of impurities they gained through the night. They eat a bigger lunch and usually a light supper. It was all so interesting to see how their culture is so much different than ours. Needless to say we laughed and had great conversations about many things including our faith.

As the lunch time ended, Lin expressed that she did not have anything to do until later that evening and would like to spend the day with us if we were able to. We did have other things planned, but we quickly rearranged our schedule to spend as much time with her as we could. Due to the fact that she has had to work two jobs since she has been here in Gulf Shores, she has not been able to go much further than a block or two from her home. She has no transportation other than a bicycle, so we quickly came up with a few things to do so that she could see much more of this area.


We loaded up and the road trip began. We headed into Orange Beach and were initially going to take her to a place called the Wharf, but we were close to the church we are attending so we swung by there first. I wanted her to see the place and I wanted to check out a huge sign that I helped the children's pastor build. As you can see it was a very large sign and so we took a picture of Lin while she stood in front of it.

Then it was off to the Wharf. The Wharf is a really nice resort area that houses many quality restaurants, "Guy Harvey" stores, and a marina with million dollar yachts. As we toured the place we just enjoyed our time with Lin and shared our lives with her. After an hour or so of walking around and getting to know each other it was time to move on.


We then headed to a place commonly called "the pass". The pass is a beautiful spot where the Intercoastal Waterway hooks up to the Gulf. It is basically a channel with beautiful beaches and a large bridge that passes over. Lots of boats pass by and people go fishing there all the time due to the fact that many different fish use it as an avenue of travel. We curiously looked out over the water and enjoyed the cool breeze flowing through our hair as we looked on.

Once we left there Lin wanted to see where we are living. So we started off for our house. We had to explain to her that we don't have a lot of things and actually we live quite differently than most Americans, but she still wanted to see our place. While on the way we stopped off at a place called "Daylight Donuts" just down the road from our condo. Lin had never had a donut before so we knew we would be doing her a dis-service if she did not have a good ole American donut before she left our country in a few weeks. We bought them and waited until we got home to eat them. One of the highlights of the local donut shop is that they have a pond near the store that is home to a six foot alligator named Sammy. While there we stepped over to the pond but was unable to see it.

We finally made it home and showed her around the place. Lin did not eat a lot while at Chick-fil-a and actually she expressed that she does not eat or drink a whole lot anyway. When it came to the donuts it was a different story. I decided not to embarrass her by taking a picture of her stuffing her mouth while she ate those delicious donuts, but I will add that she wanted not only the one we gave her, but she eagerly wanted a second one.


As our time slipped away we knew that it was getting close to the time to take her back home. On the way to her condo, we stopped off at a boardwalk nature trail that overlooks the marshes. While on the boardwalk we did see one wild alligator with it's mouth poised open for any unsuspecting animal that might become it's dinner. Needless to say that was a sight that she will not soon forget.

Just before we left her for the evening we expressed our joy to finally spend some time with her, and she did the same. We were right around the corner from her place and she decided that she would just walk home from there. As she walked away, after saying bye to all of us, I could not help but pray for her and wonder if we would get to see her again.

Saturday we received good news from her, again via text message. She requested to go to church with us this Sunday and we arranged to pick her up. As she attended the service she was very impressed with the music and the spiritual aspect of the service. She stated that she had been looking through some of the questions and answers in the front of the Bible that I gave her. She also expressed that she was going to take the sermon notes home from today's message and look over them later.

Once again we had a wonderful time expressing our faith in God to her and were excited to share a wonderful church service with her. I know that the seeds that have been planted in her life will not return void. It is no accident that we have met and will hopefully continue to get to know Lin better. We certainly do enjoy her company, and of course we want to help her find the true meaning to life through our Lord and Savior. She has expressed that she is quitting one of her jobs so that she can enjoy her stay here more with the little time that she has left. She said that she is interested in attending more of the church services and activities with us. She would also like to spend more time with us.

I can't express the gratitude that is in my heart for all of you that have supported us. Not only has a wonderful new friendship begun, but we have had another opportunity to share Jesus Christ with someone that may not have heard it if I had not been carrying the cross on the day of July the 10th. Think about it for a second, through the act of carrying the cross through Gulf Shores, we are helping to reach China with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The simple fact that Lin has experienced the sight of one man carrying a cross down a city street will resonate throughout her world in China. That is an awesome thought! As we set out on Friday to share with Lin, I knew that we did not have much money to survive on in the coming days. As we shared our lives with her that day, I could only trust that God would honor what we were doing with her.

I must say that as the end of August rapidly approaches I am only able to trust God for the provision for us to continue our mission. I pray that God will lay on each one of your hearts, and even those that I do not know, to support this ministry. We have no other means of monetary support so we are counting on God to supply all of our needs. Please search your hearts to see if God is calling you to help support us. We are currently praying for 350 individuals to donate $10 a month on a regular basis. This will cover our monthly expenses and will give us a little extra to take care of the unexpected expenses and advance the ministry forward.

At the end of August I plan to take a long walk with the cross and I will expound on that later.

Some really big news, one that many of you have been waiting for is that God has worked out a special event for us to be involved in on Labor Day weekend. About two months ago God gave me the vision to see seven crosses carried in a single file line through the beaches and streets of this city. It was to happen at one time, and as the crosses were carried through the city, supporters would be stopping along the way to pray for people and witness to them. Well, I must say that God has put most of it together for me. Through a few connections that I have gained while carrying the cross here, currently I have been able to coordinate at least five crosses to be carried at one time on Saturday of this Labor Day weekend. I am trying to find a few more people to help with the walk and that might be interested in carrying a cross with us. It will be an awesome sight and will bring the presence of God to this place like never before.

God is truly moving in this place and He is truly moving through the obedience of this ministry. Please join us and be a part of what He is doing here. Please consider supporting us financially and any other way you feel called to do. As you give to this ministry, remember that you will be blessed more so in return.

Spread the WORD!!

Barry

Our mailing address is:

Cross Bearing Ministries
C/O Barry Jones
1517 Regency Road, #66
Gulf Shores, Alabama 36542

For Donations make a check payable to:

"Cross Bearing Ministries" and mail it to the address above.

Phone Numbers:

Barry Jones (334) 590-1043
Rachel Jones (334) 730-3457

Email: barryandrachel@hotmail.com

No comments:

Post a Comment