A Divine Appointment in the Lobby of the Best Western

A month ago I received an email from a pastor in Belize who had found my blog post about the hardship of Belize pastors, entitled “The Pastors’ Graveyard.” I was shocked that he found my unknown blog and hugely blessed by an encouraging email from him. His name stuck in my mind: Pastor Love. Since we were coming to Belize City, I knew we might have opportunity to meet, but was uncertain if it would fit “my” schedule. I put him on my list of people to call. Then on Saturday afternoon, only minutes after we had checked into the Best Western Hotel in Belize City, Altha and I spontaneously decided to take a taxi downtown to an Indian restaurant. When we entered the lobby I saw two men at the desk, and wondered if one of them might be our taxi driver—neither was. In fact, the taxi driver was 15 minutes late. But one of the men approached us and said “Are you Dr. Greg?” “Yes,” I said, quite amazed. And before I could even ask “and who are you?” he said “I am Pastor Love.” He recognized me from my picture on my blog profile. He explained that he was checking his friend into a room at the hotel, and that he had not planned to be there for another two hours, but his plans had suddenly changed. We had a beautiful connection while we waited for that “late” taxi! And made plans to meet the next morning when we had another beautiful, divine time of mutual encouragement. It was so obvious God had arranged our meeting.

What a great lesson this was in God's sovereignty, to the smallest detail. I thought we were making the decision to take a taxi to dinner. I thought something was out of order when the taxi driver was late. Pastor Love probably thought he was the one who spontaneously changed the time of their check-in! But all along, God was setting up a divine appointment, 2,000 miles away from our home in the lobby of the Best Western Hotel in Belize City.

The Taxi Driver and the Mennonites

On our third day in Belize, we decided to take a short bus ride to a Trade/Bible School. While waiting for the bus, a taxi driver (Rolando) offered to drive us there for less money than it would cost to take the bus. We jumped at his offer. Two minutes into the 5 mile drive, we asked if he was a Christian (Belizeans are open about spiritual things). His answer—blatantly honest—was “Yes, but only half a Christian.” As you would guess, we quickly reminded him Jesus required 100% from His followers.

Rolando divulged that he had drifted away from Jesus after being hurt by the misconduct of a Christian leader. We hardly had to say a word after that, as Rolando confessed his shortcomings and admitted to changes he needed to make to be right with Jesus. By the end of our ride he was proclaiming we had been sent by God to reveal his “half-heartedness.”

Upon our return to San Ignacio, we saw a ‘traditional’ Mennonite man and woman sitting quietly under the shade of a tree, in their buggy, while resting their horses. [The traditional Mennonites are like our Amish; they are a small but very influential part of the Belize population.] Respecting their privacy, we cautiously approached, and told them we were Christians too. Then we were led to share the “Dying to Live Abundant Life” materials—then gave them copies of our books. They gave us their address with a standing invitation to visit any time—truly a divine encounter! While I do not agree with their biblical interpretation of separation, I have to say I do respect their whole-hearted devotion.

As I thought about these two encounters, I saw God's object lesson. Whether a half-hearted taxi driver or a whole-hearted Mennonite, our prayer should be: “Search me, O God, and KNOW MY HEART; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Ps. 139:23-24 NLT).