Stranger In The Night 1/2
It’s been several weeks since my last post and I hope and pray that you all are being blessed through your circumstances. Today’s post is a story that I experienced many years ago, but it reminds us that we are always in God’s care no matter the circumstances. I thought I had posted this story before, but then I discovered I hadn’t, and I really wanted to share it.
My mother encouraged me to write this story for the Lake Union Herald and they published it in the September 1990 issue on page 4 (click here). She was so excited that both of our stories were accepted. I dedicate this post to my wonderful, cheerleading mother who passed away Nov. 4, 2009 at the age of 82. Here is the expanded version without the magazine format limitations. May you be strengthened by Jesus’ promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Christmas 1982 I went with my parents to Belize, Central America where they were hosting a Maranatha College group to build a church and school. My parents and I had been there a year or two prior prepping the property and gathering supplies. It was hot and challenging work, but more fun this time around with other people that were my own age.
After one long hot day, I happened to be walking back to the girls quarters by myself. It was around dusk and I took my time, thinking about the day. Then a foreign thought came to my mind. I wondered what it would be like to be a student missionary. I recognized that thought was foreign because I “knew” all missionaries were weird and I didn’t really want to be like them. I certainly had been around several and that lifestyle wasn’t for me, period. However, that foreign thought percolated and grew.
As a sophomore at Andrews University, I decided to explore the possibility and before long, I signed up for the student missionary program. I wanted to go somewhere far away and tropical, and Indonesia needed people to teach English. I wasn’t sure about the teaching, but the location and climate ticked the boxes.
So, I took the required classes, applied for the proper documents, and raised the money for my round trip ticket. By June 1983 I was on a plane heading off to the other side of the world for my one year adventure. We landed in Tokyo for a one week orientation. After that, we stopped in Hong Kong, and Singapore, finally reaching Jakarta, the capitol of Indonesia. The English Language School was located in the downtown area of Jakarta, but our compound was beautifully situated in the suburbs.
It was the year I turned 21 and before the journey ended, I would circumnavigate the globe. Since I was privileged to travel this far, there were many opportunities to see and experience a variety of unique things. However, the one experience that has stood the test of time is the night we met “The Stranger.”
Our one year gig was going well until March of 1984 when our stay was terminated by the government. All missionaries from all denominations were to leave, as I recall, due to religious/political reasons. There were about 13 of us in Jakarta and we were wondering where and what we would do now. All of us had to be out of the country by the end of March.
However, Denise (another student missionary/teacher) and I wanted to finish our missionary term that ended in June. The President of the Southeast Asian Union College came down from Singapore to Jakarta to recruit the student missionaries. The others decided to do something different, but Denise and I decided to go to Singapore to study at the Adventist College for one quarter, before heading back home in June.
While at the college, we joined the choir so we could tour with them through the eastern part of Malaysia, finishing in Penang. From there, Denise and I decided to head out on our own and travel north to Thailand. After an 18 hour train ride, we finally arrived in Bangkok on a very hot morning.
We visited the Bangkok Adventist Hospital and obtained directions to the Ekami Adventist English Language School where we would stay during our visit. On the third day at the school, Denise and I wanted to experience the city. All day we roamed the streets, sight seeing, and shopping until it began to get dark. We were exhausted from all the walking, heat, and pollution, and ready to get back to the school for a cool shower and bed.
We boarded the city bus we thought was right and hoped we would see the bus stop where we were to get off. Darkness had over taken us and we had difficulty seeing the landmarks by our bus stop. We finally got off when we realized we were the last two people on the bus, and the bus driver seemed to be quitting for the night. Now what do we do?
If you have ever been in a foreign city, you will notice that everything begins to look the same, especially at night. My watch said 11:00 p.m. We were so tired and confused, but we saw a Ford dealership and decided to sit on the ledge by the closed up door area. It was somewhat oddly comforting to be sitting under the Ford sign as I was from Michigan, where the Ford Motor Company had it’s headquarters. As we rested our wearied bodies, we pondered our situation.
Here we were, two young American girls, close to midnight, totally lost, who didn’t know any Thai except for one or two words. We couldn’t take a taxi, we didn’t have the money, the busses had apparently stopped running, and no other types of transportation were in sight. The only thing to do was to pray and ask for God’s help.
So after we prayed, I told Denise that I would ask the next person who walked by if they spoke English. Just then, a young, Thai, business man in a suit appeared, walking down the side walk from our left. I froze up and chickened out about asking. However, just before he passed by, I suddenly blurted out, “Do you speak English?” These words came up from my gut and out my mouth before I realized what I was saying. I think Holy Spirit was prompting me. The business man said yes.
Wondering to myself how well he really spoke English, I took the chance in asking if he knew where the Ekami School was located. He said in beautiful English with a slight Thai accent, that he did know where the school was located. He told us that he had graduated from that school and would take us there. As I looked into his eyes as he was talking, all my fear vanished, and I felt relief. It was at that point it seemed like we were in a dream (like when the angel freed Peter from prison Acts 12:5-17).
The three of us got on a bus, and after a little ways, we got off that bus and boarded another one. I don’t remember talking while riding either bus, but he paid for the fares. He took us right to the street where the school was on, and asked us if we knew our way from there. We said we did, as we could see the school entrance just a block up the street, and we thanked him very much for his help.
As we parted in opposite directions, I half heartedly said to Denise, “I wonder if he was an angel.” We decided that we would quick turn around to see if he was walking the other way. He couldn’t have gone far, but he had disappeared. We didn’t think much about it, but we felt glad we had thanked him, just in case he had been an angel.
Thinking back over that night, I decided the odds were too great for this encounter to have just been coincidence. As I remembered, the busses had stopped running, but we had just taken two different ones. Furthermore, few people walked the streets at that time of night. Most respectable people were sleeping at home! Besides what are the chances in a city the size of Bangkok that we would come across a graduate of a relatively small English language school in the middle of the night!
In addition, we could have been in a very bad part of the city, and the man could have taken us anywhere, and we wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it. In retrospect I’m rather unnerved by our naivety and not being better prepared. On the other hand, I remember feeling very safe with the man.
I guess the possibility exists that he wasn’t an angel, but I like to think that God had His eye on us. He promises in Hebrews 13:5, “For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And one of my favorite chapters in the Bible for praise and protection is Psalms 34. Psalms 34:7 says, “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”
May you always remember that your angelic entourage is there to assist, protect, and minister with you. Knowing that God will never leave you nor forsake you, you will be embolden and blessed so that you can bless others In Jesus Name! Now go forth bold, blessed, and brilliant today through your circumstances! Thank you for sharing, subscribing, and commenting below.