Calm among Chaos

Hey guys,

I was really contemplating which story to share on the blog, a story of God’s grace and love seems perfect. 

We were assigned roles this week for our squad. I was picked for “logistics.”This is a great team, and I’m so honored and excited to get started working. Part of being on logistics is that we handle the money sometimes for our team while on the field. To give us practice in this, as well as practice in chaos, we had a “market” scenario. 

The Mission: Get my team food in fifteen minutes from the most hectic market place on planet earth, the parking lot. 

To put it in perspective there is about eight street vendors, two money exchanges, and about one hundred and fifty plus people in a very small area. Not to mention a van that continued to drive through every few minutes, and three “drug dealers,” two “policia” (Police), and a few “beggars”. 

Going into the market, I feel pretty confident, but I am quickly thrown off when we arrive at the first vendor. I am met with not only a language barrier, but also the realization of having the incorrect currency. I immediately run to the exchange table to try to get an even split of both “Chris Cash” and “Beka Bucks”. 

Thirteen minutes remain: After the money exchange we begin buying, I recognized that all of us being together was too much of a group to move together. I give an even split to 2 sets of guys and we broke off. Boom! First purchase done, pasta. Pow! Another purchase, rice. Another purchase, lentils. I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard, “Are you guys American?”

Nine minutes remain: A couple of what seemed lost Americans on this street and all they wanted was a brownie. “I can make that happen, right?” I proceed to the brownie table to find out I have the wrong currency. “Veinticinco” proclaimed the woman holding up a twenty five in “Beka Bucks”. I only have Chris Cash. At this point the Americans were so thankful for us to be buying them a brownie that we are able to tell them about Christ. My teammate began sharing the Gospel while I go to exchange money. The exchange hut is packed with people throwing their arms everywhere. I hear, “does anyone have Chris Cash?”. Perfect, I make the trade and just as I think we will be able to get this woman her brownie I’m Stopped.

Five minutes remain: Jan (Logistics for one of the girls team on our squad) exclaims, “We were scammed!” “Oh no” is all I can think to myself. The girls need food. I made a quick decision and handed her a few bucks but didn’t entirely think about how much I gave her. I made it back to my teammate who was speaking with the Americans waiting for a brownie. “Cincuenta!” the woman says, as I try to hand her a twenty-five. They raised the price. It’s more than I wanted to pay but now I have committed. I buy the woman the brownie and my teammate was able to pray for her during that time. 

Three minutes remain: I realize I have a twenty in “Chris Cash” and a fifty in “Beka Bucks” left but we have enough food. Still, we need to get more if we can. I send Gabe (my teammate)  with the “Chris Cash” as I try to gather the rest of the guys. I find them and tell them it’s time to leave. They too were able to collect food. Gabe comes back with double portions and spent barely anything because he was so kind to the vendors. I then go to one last vendor, my “Squad Mentor” Luis. They are charging twenty-five “Beka Bucks” per scoop. I ask for two and hand him a fifty. They give me two scoops but he hands me a twenty five back… 

One minute Left: “Did I do the math wrong?” “Did he do the math wrong?” “What do I do?” all these thoughts rushed to my head. Then I realize I did the math right. “How do I tell him he’s wrong when we speak different languages?” I thought. Instead of trying to explain and hold up my team I just hand him the twenty five and say “blessings sir.” And a huge smile comes upon Luis’ face. He was testing my Integrity. 

Time to go! I get to the team meeting point and realize one of the girls team and one of the guys isn’t there. I drop my stuff and rush back into the market. I found them and they were ready to go too. 

Once we were out of the market, we sat down with all that we bought. I totally forgot about utensils, guess we were eating with our hands. I look over to see a discouraged girls team and see that even after I handed them a few bucks earlier they weren’t able to purchase enough for the whole team. So of course we invite them to feast with us and while we had an abundance of food for six people it might have been a stretch for forteen so we pray that God multiply the food the same way Jesus did with the five loaves and two fish. After everyone finished eating, not only was everyone satisfied, but there were also leftovers just like there was leftovers when Jesus fed the five thousand. Even though I didn’t do everything perfectly, or even as well as I wanted to, God provided an abundance.

• Love Ethan