Lost and Found

Have you ever had that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach at the thought of losing something important?  Charity in Asia shared a story with me recently that I thought you would enjoy.

Charity was at home with her boys while her husband Jason and her daughter Michaela had gone to run some errands – otherwise known as shopping for her birthday.  Charity’s phone rang, and Michaela’s name showed on the display.  Charity answered expecting to hear Michaela’s voice, but instead it was a young woman speaking very quickly.  Charity is still learning the language that is spoken there, but she was able to understand something about her daughter’s phone being found in the middle of a busy road.  Charity’s first thought was that Michaela’s wallet and phone were in the same place.

Charity could not understand where the woman said she was.  So, she tried to call her husband to see if he could figure it out.  But, she could not get in touch with him.  Charity called a friend, and the friend tried to help.  Charity called her husband again to see if he knew the location.  He answered and let her know that he was working on the situation; the woman with their daughter’s phone had called him too.

Later, Jason had the opportunity to explain the whole situation.  Michaela had put her wallet and phone in a zipper on the backpack, but she did not realize that it was just a flap and not a pocket.  The bottom was open.  They had ridden the motorcycle all around town before the wallet and phone fell out.  A few minutes after it fell out, they reached their final stop.  Jason’s phone rang.  He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Michaela’s phone.  Michaela was right there with him; so, he knew that there was a problem.  He struggled to understand the location just as Charity had.  He asked his friend, the manager of the store where he was, for help.  They were trying to explain the exact spot to Jason when an older woman who spoke English well walked out of the store and insisted on helping.  She said that she would go with him and point out the place.  Michaela stayed with the store manager while the other two left to go get the phone and wallet.

When they arrived at the place right down the road, a group of women met them.  One of the women showed him that the wallet still had all of the money inside.  That is a miracle in itself!  When the lady opened the wallet, Jason saw the stack of gospel tracts that Michaela likes to keep with her.  The Holy Spirit nudged his heart.  In a closed country where evangelism is illegal, the Holy Spirit’s nudge is priceless!  

Jason thanked the ladies and even offered to give them a reward.  They refused the reward but graciously accepted the tracts.  By that time, a rather large crowd had gathered.  The ladies all wanted to know more information about the church.  Jason showed them the contact information for the church and the pastor on the back of the tracts.  Then, he wrote his contact information down for the lady who had found the wallet and phone.  Then, they all wanted the information.

A man observing the scene must have thought Jason was a “Thulo manche,” which means “a big important man.”  The observer walked up and demanded money, which is pretty common there.  Jason ignored him at first, and the women told the observer to go away.  Then, the man demanded that Jason give him whatever he was giving those women.  Jason had one more tract.  The man saw Jason giving the women his phone number and demanded that he get the phone number too.  When Jason gave him the phone number and the tract, the man was gracious, polite, and thankful.  The observer now had important information from a “Thulo manche!”  And he even had a phone number in case he had questions about the information.

God can even use a lost phone and wallet as a blessing in disguise!  Only eternity will reveal the number of doors opened that day.                           

If you have a story that you would like to share with us, please e-mail it to me at lo@consfords.com. Please include the name of each family member, your field of service, and a picture of your family if possible.

Until next week, keep your sunny side up!