January 28th 2010,
Austin and I decided to take a couple of days to recover from the long buses out of Brazil and all the hiking at Iguazu. In an attempt to gain an easy stamp in our passports, we chose to relax in Uruguay. A short ferry ride and a $35 nonrefundable visa fee was all that was needed to find ourselves in a sleepy colonial town just across the straight from Buenos Aires.
The next few days were filled with leisurely bike rides around town, and enjoying the local cuisine. Our first experience immediately following the locating of our hostel was our introduction to Uncle Tom. His name was Tom but I do not know his last name and as he was 57 years old, I decided quit quickly to refer to him as "Uncle" Tom. His hair was feathery and wild, he was constantly stroking it back down with his hand, his eyes were bright and wide with excitement, his voice high and raspy, and his figure, well he was very boney and skeletal like.
Austin and I were doing push ups as he crashed into the hostel room, his eyes wide with enthusiasm, and immediately he commented, "Are you guys on furlow? What branch?" We convinced him we weren't in the military and only cut our hair because we were both sick of long hair and had gone a bit extreme in the opposite direction. The next few days we go to know Uncle Tom a bit better.
He is a lonely man who travels around making friends. He is one of the most generous people I have ever met. He has done many things, and experienced some amazing adventures, but Uncle Tom was searching for something. He loved to travel and with his financial success in earlier years, now has the freedom to do so.
I spent many hours with Tom, sharing stories, exchanging travel information, and looking for the opportunity to share Christ with him. I do not think the soil was ready and he seemed much more interested in local seafood and wine than anything else, but I believe he is searching, I sincerely believe that Uncle Tom will give his heart to Christ one day, and we must pray that he has or will do so in the near future.
Uncle Tom taught me some things about myself, others, and the world around me. So here are my lessons from Uruguay learned from Uncle Tom:
1)Always look for the good in people
2)Never set money as more important than people
3)Never lose your sense of amazement in this life
4)Listening will solve more problems than speaking
"For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart I will be found by you." Jeremiah 29:11-14
This does not say 'if' it continually says 'when' so in this verse God declares that He ALREADY knows what is in store for our lives and it is a matter of WHEN not IF we seek Him. I believe God has a very special plan for Uncle Tom's life.
Austin and I decided to take a couple of days to recover from the long buses out of Brazil and all the hiking at Iguazu. In an attempt to gain an easy stamp in our passports, we chose to relax in Uruguay. A short ferry ride and a $35 nonrefundable visa fee was all that was needed to find ourselves in a sleepy colonial town just across the straight from Buenos Aires.
The next few days were filled with leisurely bike rides around town, and enjoying the local cuisine. Our first experience immediately following the locating of our hostel was our introduction to Uncle Tom. His name was Tom but I do not know his last name and as he was 57 years old, I decided quit quickly to refer to him as "Uncle" Tom. His hair was feathery and wild, he was constantly stroking it back down with his hand, his eyes were bright and wide with excitement, his voice high and raspy, and his figure, well he was very boney and skeletal like.
Austin and I were doing push ups as he crashed into the hostel room, his eyes wide with enthusiasm, and immediately he commented, "Are you guys on furlow? What branch?" We convinced him we weren't in the military and only cut our hair because we were both sick of long hair and had gone a bit extreme in the opposite direction. The next few days we go to know Uncle Tom a bit better.
He is a lonely man who travels around making friends. He is one of the most generous people I have ever met. He has done many things, and experienced some amazing adventures, but Uncle Tom was searching for something. He loved to travel and with his financial success in earlier years, now has the freedom to do so.
I spent many hours with Tom, sharing stories, exchanging travel information, and looking for the opportunity to share Christ with him. I do not think the soil was ready and he seemed much more interested in local seafood and wine than anything else, but I believe he is searching, I sincerely believe that Uncle Tom will give his heart to Christ one day, and we must pray that he has or will do so in the near future.
Uncle Tom taught me some things about myself, others, and the world around me. So here are my lessons from Uruguay learned from Uncle Tom:
1)Always look for the good in people
2)Never set money as more important than people
3)Never lose your sense of amazement in this life
4)Listening will solve more problems than speaking
"For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart I will be found by you." Jeremiah 29:11-14
This does not say 'if' it continually says 'when' so in this verse God declares that He ALREADY knows what is in store for our lives and it is a matter of WHEN not IF we seek Him. I believe God has a very special plan for Uncle Tom's life.
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