Thoughts on a Conversation with a Stranger – Part 1

A couple weeks ago, I found myself stranded at an airport in a Nigerian city. I had a heavy box of books to check in, but because my flight wasn’t leaving in the next five hours, I wasn’t allowed to check it in. For some odd reason, there were no seats anywhere to be found. I thought that perhaps I’d find a restaurant or at least an eatery, so I could sit down and have lunch….and also put down the heavy box. But for some odd reason, the airport didn’t have either pre-check-in. And I wasn’t allowed to check in…yet. Sigh. What to do…?

A guy was sitting in the middle of this mass confusion in front of a car on display. I set my heavy box on a corner of his desk and asked him if he knew where I could get some food. He said, ‘No, I eat at home. Every thing costs too much here.’ I explained to him my situation and he offered me his ‘customer’ seat, so at least I could put the box down and rest. (Also I think he liked someone to talk to.) Nigerians are like that, happy to help and happy to talk.

At one point, after hearing that I was a volunteer missionary, he said, ‘I’m not an active Christian.’ I knew what he meant: he was busy trying to earn money to feed his family so he couldn’t attend church as often as his pastor wanted him to. He continued, ‘I think you have to have a special calling to be a missionary. You can’t be free and do as you please.’

I explained to him, ‘Well, in a way, yes. But look at you, you’re here selling cars. You may not have a special calling, but you’re also not free to do as you please. Even the pilots and cabin crew have to adhere to flight schedules and timelines, they can’t show up drunk or on drugs, etc, etc, etc. But it is what they have decided to do.’

The conversation veered into other topics, but as I later thought about it more, there are lots of occupations that work on saving people, even if/when they don’t ‘feel’ like it

• Firefighters
• Paramedics/EMTs
• Doctors and Nurses
• Coastguards and lifeguards
• Even soldiers go and fight whether they feel like it or not
• Teachers save people from ignorance

People clock in and out at office jobs and say, ‘Thank God it’s Friday!’

Though some aspects of this life is hard, I don’t think you’ll find any country or occupation where things are perfect. It’s all in the attitude that you face every day with. I say with St. Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:14, ‘The love of Christ constrains me,’ or in other translations, ‘compels.’

Tomorrow, I’ll focus on another part of my conversation with this man. See you then.