A Coffee Break That Turned Into Something More

     In my last blog I told you all about the first time my team and I went to an Albanian village an hour outside of the city of Vlora. We spent the day talking with locals and cleaning out a home that had been abandoned for almost a decade. After that long and fulfilling day we all loaded ourselves back in the car and headed back to the city. Little did we know there was more to this day than originally planned.

     On our way back to the city we stopped at a cafe for a quick cup of coffee and a bathroom break; it was only meant to be a 10-15 minute stop. My team and our Airbnb host Lucas all sat around a table to talk about the day. It quickly turned into a deep conversation about good and evil, psychology, and life in general. This “short stop” turned into a 90 minute conversation. We got to share about our beliefs and why we were in Albania with this man that had originally had no interest in religion at all. While he identified as a muslim he more closely identified with an agnostic belief system. He believes that there is some kind of higher power but it does not affect his life at all really. 

     During our talk with him he would pose philosophical questions and challenge our views on how we should or shouldn’t treat people. Lucas is a very smart man who has very ambitious dreams for his future that I believe he will achieve. While most of us were answering his questions honestly they were also our quick immediate answers. 

(Photos taken at the Vjosa River, the last wild river in Europe. We stopped here on our way to the coffee shop.)

     His question was, “if someone had just killed a family member and that person was drowning, would you save them?” This question is hard to answer for anyone but, for Christians a lot of us would have the quick answer of “of course we would save them because even though they hurt me they are still loved by the Lord.” Most of my team had that answer and we explained why we believe that. We explained that we believed that because the Lord saved us and we want to be more like Jesus so we would save that person even if they hurt us. While that answer is true it was not what he wanted. He kept doubting our answers or ignoring them altogether until he asked one of my teammates (Kaitlynn Heil) that hadn’t answered yet. She contemplated the question for a while then the perfect answer streamed out of her mouth. She said that like the rest of us she tries to look more like Christ everyday but, what was different from her about her answer was that she explained that to be more like Christ you must try to make little decisions everyday like him too. To look like Christ is not only about the big choices but the little ones too. She explained that while making a big decision like that would be agonizing she would hope that she would emulate Christ by saving them and having a basis of Christ-like decisions in the little things it would help when it is time to make choices in big things. 

     After her answer Lucas was speechless. He was appreciative of her answer and loved har honesty. After a few more minutes and many more philosophical questions later we were about to leave. We were able to share about our faith and how it has changed our lives. He listened, he actually listened. We were able to give him some book recommendations and he said he was interested in reading the Bible! (The Lord is WILD!) 

     After this coffee break turned philosophical discussion ended we hopped back into the car and the adventure continued. While in the car another one of my teammates (Renee) asked to hear Lucas’ story. He wanted to hear her story first. She told her testimony and all the while he listened intently while she spoke. After she finished he had teared up. Her story had touched him and she was able to explain to him what the Lord has done in her life. He was speechless again. He expressed how he had no idea how much hurt she had gone through and how she could have such an amazing outlook. She just explained how Jesus truly changed her life. 

     This whole day was miraculous but, especially this part of the day. It was the most unplanned thing but that is what made it so perfect. Lucas is searching for something and I know that the seeds that were planted that day are only going to grow more and more. My team and I are so blessed by him and all that he is willing to do that I know if he meets the Lord he can get even more done for the kingdom! We were able to show the love of the Lord through our own stories to this man that desperately needs it and it was such a blessing to be a part of these moments. 

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:13