Why Calvin was a little late

Why Calvin was a little late

Calvin Burgess is a man who owns and operates a large farm in Kenya. He agreed to travel with us to Liberia to speak at the crusade and tour the country, looking for opportunities to build sustainable projects.

Saturday he once again left out in the morning to see the land and people. Calvin was scheduled to speak at 6 pm, so he wanted to get back by 5. The praise singers were leading the people in worship, so Dax and I went outside, in front of the stadium, to wait on Calvin. We sat on some steps and waited. Dax got up to go talk with someone. I stayed waiting on Calvin. He was late.

I was looking around at the people milling about outside the stadium when I felt a nudge. A young boy, who turned out to be 14, had slid up beside me. He wore a Texas Longhorn Tshirt. He said “I want to be your friend”.

This is common in Liberia for Americans. We are all viewed as rich and a good source of money. If you go to Liberia, most people you meet will want to be your friend in hopes of getting money. This little boy wanted to be my friend.

I asked him his name. It was Joseph. I began to tell him about a friend he could have that would be the best friend he ever had. I told him about Jesus. Soon I was surrounded by 8 or 10 young boys, all huddle around me, listening closely as I told them about Jesus. They couldn’t get enough. They stayed and stayed as I talked about God and His Son.

Then I asked them if they wanted to ask Jesus into their heart. I asked them if they believed that Jesus was God’s Son who came to earth, died on the cross for our sins, and was raised from the dead. I asked them to repent of their sins and ask Jesus to be the king of their lives. Five of them did. One of them was Joseph.

I believe they meant it. I am convinced that Joseph did. And he did become my friend, spending time the next two days with Brook and I. He told me he had gone home and told his family about Jesus. He went to church and told his pastor he had asked Jesus into his heart. He couldn’t keep from smiling.

After he spoke, Calvin began to apologize for being a little late. I stopped him, smiled, then told him why he was a little late. God had planned that Joseph and his friends hear about Jesus. The stops to fix the car Calvin was using weren’t wasted time. It was just the time God needed to let some young Liberian boys hear about His Son.

Thank you God for making Calvin a little late.

Kris