It All Started With a Simple "Excuse Me."

As I was relaxing, waiting to board my connecting flight from Panama City to Lima, a man walked up to me and said, "Are you an American?" to which my response was, (I doubt verbatim) "Yes I am." He then gave his reasoning why he thought thus... "Out of all the people that passed in front of me getting off our last airplane, you were the only one who said 'excuse me.'" I didn't quite know how to respond or what to say, so I think I said something like, "Oh. Thank you. I try to be as polite as possible" (or something to that affect).

Then began quite an interesting conversation. "Are you a Christian?" he asked, to which I replied, "Yes I am."

(The following dialogue is not, as I said previously, verbatim. However, it is the theme of the conversation in a nut-shell.)

"Oh, what kind?" ... "I'm Apostolic Pentecostal."... "That's neat, I don't believe I've heard of that before. I'm..." (I can't rightly recall; I believe he said 'Evangelical Christian'. Don't quote me though.). Then he said, "Are you going to do missions work?" My response, "Yes, I will also be teaching at a 'Christian' school to pay for my trip."

I then asked what he was doing in Peru, whether he was a missionary or not. He said that He had wanted to come to Peru and do missions work, his wife is originally from Arequipa, but he didn't feel like it was the Lord's will for this time. He and his wife live currently in Huron, South Dakota. We talked some more, then his wife came and got him and they returned to their seats. Moments later we found ourselves seated directly across the aisle and one row apart from each other. We began talking again. He asked about the church I would be attending while in Lima. I couldn't remember the name, but I told him I was pretty sure we had a church in Arequipa. Since he and his wife would be staying with her brother, Alonzo, there in that city for the next three weeks, they might like to visit the church during that time. He gave me his brother-in-law's phone number and I said we'd contact him with the church information.

This was a couple weeks ago that this happened. Just a few days ago, Pastor Jaime Alva (to whom I gave Alonzo's phone number) came up to me and showed me a picture on his phone which he had received from the pastor in Arequipa. "Do you recognize these people?" he asked with a smile. "YES! That's the guy on the plane!!"

The picture is of Bob and his wife (middle) along with, I think, Alonzo and his wife (left), as well as the pastor of the church (right) and his family (back). I guess when they went the first time, they liked it so much that they've been going to that church steadily this whole time.

Bro. Jaime told me that they were going to have to return to the states for a short time, then would be moving back to Arequipa and were planning on making that church their church. I was/am super excited that I have been so blessed as to play a small role in someone, possibly an entire family, being led to truth. I look forward with great anticipation to seeing the final outcome of that one initial, seemingly "small-talk-ish", conversation with Bob in the Copa Airlines terminal. And to think it all started with a simple "Excuse me."

When I relayed the story to my brother he said, "It's amazing a far a little manners will go!"

I don't know if you were thinking about this when you taught us boys to say "please" and "thank you", but I am eternally grateful to you Papa and Mama for teaching us how to be good witnesses even through our manners.

I love you.

Jarron