Talking to Scott

1 Peter 3: 15-16a

Always be prepared to give an answer 

to everyone who asks you to give the reason 

for the hope that you have.

This verse came to mind today when I thought back on my travels.

About a month ago some of my friends and I were talking about flying. One of us asked the question, “Do you talk to the person sitting next to you or do you try your best to ignore them?” I said I tried to talk to them, if they were interested. Some of my other friends said they don’t like talking because then you are stuck next to that person and they will expect to have a conversation with you the whole flight. I thought this was interesting but let it slide as we moved into another topic of discussion.

Well, the last few days have been days of travel. Mandy, my last roommate, is getting married a few days before Christmas, so I decided to attend the wedding and then spend Christmas with the fam. So on December 7^th, I flew from Ukarumpa to the capital, Port Moresby on the Kodiak owned by our mission. That same day, I took a Virgin Australia flight from Port Moresby to Brisbane, where Mandy and I  stayed overnight with some friends.

The following day I flew Qantas to Sydney, followed by my LONG flight from Sydney to LA (12 hours). This was not the end though. My last flight went from LA to Dallas, TX where I am currently. After 2 (or technically 3) days of flying…I’m exhausted!

Now that I have had some time to recuperate, my discussion with my friends came to mind again. Did I talk to someone on the plane(s)? Why?

In fact, I did talk to a guy on my first flight. His name was Scott and he works in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Australia. He was quite friendly and actually initiated the conversation. There was a little baby that cried for at least an hour and a half and she must have woken him up.

He asked, “What do you do?”

I said, “I am a teacher in PNG. I have lived there for nearly two years now.”

This spurred on many more questions. Why would I work in PNG? Why would I allow others to support me? Why wouldn’t I start up a company of my own to help the Papua new Guineans?

Then he found out I was dating and he asked more questions: Do you live together? What does he do? Why don’t you both start up a company and help the economy? You’d really save on plane tickets if you earning your own salary.

I answered the best that I could. I am always surprised when people ask me these kind of questions, mostly because I feel so strongly about the way I live my life and the way I interact with Alan. Although I am on the mission field, I am often working with other believers and with children. Explaining support raising to a believer is one thing…but explaining it to someone who lives there life to increase their income, retired early, and buy more toys, is quite a challenge.

But I tried. I explained how I raise support, how I live in PNG by faith - that God will continue to provide. I explained that I trust in God’s constant protection over my life and those around me. I explained that God put a desire in my heart to teach overseas and he enabled me to come to PNG.

You should have seen his eyes…

Somehow the conversation changed. He said, “I can see that you believe in God, you’re a Christian and I am too. I put my kids in a Christian school...well it's a Catholic school, but it's the same thing. So what do you think about Muslims?” I was confused how we got to this topic but I continued to listen. He went on about his frustrations, his confusion, and other things he was feeling. He shared a bit about his family and his job. He asked quite there was so much evil in the world. The whole time I was thinking, “Shouldn’t I be saying something?” and yet I continued to listen. Finally…he came to the heart issue, he believed there was something bigger out there, something that controlled the universe but didn’t really know what it was. He said he liked evidence, science, and to know how things work together. He needed facts not feelings. Something he could touch, he said. Then he stopped and I knew it was my turn. What do I say? He asked so many questions.

“Why do you believe there is something bigger out there?” I asked, feeling so inadequate.

The more he talked the more I realized he had a lot of questions. I assured him, when he asked what Christians believe about such-and-such, that I can only speak about what the Bible says and what I believe. I explained that the Bible gives hope, encourages love and relationship, believing the Bible and believing in God is a choice…it’s not forced upon anyone, it’s a gift.We talked about how God brings judgement when we die, he is the ultimate judge. But that means that everyone will be judged some day.

He went back to his topic of interest and I sat there a bit discouraged. Frustrated at myself for not having anything better to say. Then I thought about Alan. He would likely have encouraged Scott to go to the Fixed Point website http://www.fixed-point.org/ . So that’s what I did.That's really all the time we had.

After circling Brisbane, we finally landed. I said farewell and went through the terminal. There was so much I could have said and yet what is done is done. I am thankful for the opportunity to talk to Scott and I pray he will go to the website. Maybe something I said will stay on his mind and encourage him to search for himself.

We are not perfect people. We are tired, busy, selfish and lazy at times. I didn’t talk to everyone I sat next to on my last three flights. I tried with one lady but she wasn’t interested, I was tired and lazy for the long flight, and my final flight I couldn’t even keep my eyes open. I think God wants us to engage. Connect with the world around us, even if we stutter when we speak. Remember the reason for the hope that we have.