Gregg and I were greeters in church on Sunday. We make sure visitors get our information pack, make them feel welcome and get them to any classes they need for their children.
I enjoy meeting people and normally like this job. I greeted two couples today that have attended before but that I had never seen. It can be awkward when you welcome them and they tell you they have been coming for a few weeks, but if you go about it in a way that "we have never met" and you introduce yourself then find out if they are new or not you normally don't offend anyone. Most people thank you for greeting them even if it is after they have been attending awhile.
Anyway, I had the privilege of greeting Josh on Sunday. By the way he was looking around he had obviously never been to our church. I asked him if he was from the area and his answer immediately made it clear he was not. Josh is from Australia! I had a nice little chat with him and invited him to go in and find a seat. He asked something about where was a good place to sit when Jordan walked up to me. I introduced him to Jordan and they sat together.
Always one for an adventure, I asked Gregg about inviting him over for lunch. It is beyond me why we would invite a complete stranger... and why he would come, but we did and he did! And what a great time we had!
He has been traveling the states for a month with a friend. He is now on his own heading to Indiana for college (He is going to college for teaching). He has no plans and no timetable for the next week or so. He just happened to stop at the turnpike exit by our church and decided to attend this morning. He is a young Christian but he has certainly been studying. He came to Christ because of a girl he met. He wanted to date her but since he wasn't saved, she wouldn't date him. After several months he found that Jesus was the only way to eternal life and after several more months he got back in contact with his now girlfriend. Her family has been instrumental in his growth.
We talked about sports, animals, education, families, travel, speed limits, food... what a great time! We had a simple lunch of sandwiches, applesauce, veggies and dip and chips. He laughed when he saw the bag of chips. Evidently, in Australia their bags are much smaller. He was very happy to not eat another fast food meal.
He said he was startled when a deer crossed the road in front of him... had it been a kangaroo, that would have been normal! haha! He also couldn't believe the boys didn't know what a wambat was. They have crazy animals but he admitted we have crazy plants. They don't have poison ivy in Australia!
He told me he was sponsoring a child in a Cambodian orphanage. I thought that was really neat because I'm still reading through my book on Cambodia and enjoyed exchanging the information.
I am so glad God allowed our paths to cross. I know my kids benefited, Jordan was a good host at church and road in the car with Josh to our house (Josh is used to driving on the other side of the road!). Dinner conversation was out of the ordinary. We ask questions, you ask questions... I like that my kids can see that... there was actually no awkward silence moments either. Aaron and Eric packed him a snack bag for his travel out to Ohio tonight. (So much for unsocialized homeschoolers☺)
I hope we made his first church service in America memorable... and that he enjoyed his time with a "typical" American family (we are so not that!)... but mostly I hope he saw the love of Christ.
