My husband and I recently returned to Jamaica for a vacation. On the last night of our trip, we were invited to attend a dinner where some of the resort management staff were present and ate with us guests. Long story short, one of the management trainees was sitting next to my husband and I. I believe he was Jamaican as well, although he could have possibly been from one of the other islands. Let's call him "Ed" for his privacy.

As dinner progressed, the conversation went from the usual light chit-chat to more substantial conversation. Ed was very personable, and at one point started to ask my husband and I our thoughts on politics (he had found out we were Americans from Texas). The others around us were English. The discussion of politics wasn't complete without a few comments on religion, and that's when Ed made the following statement: He said, "Speaking of religion..." He was raised Seventh Day Adventist (if you aren't familiar, there are threads in Apostasy about SDA), but says he doesn't like "organized religion." He mentioned believing in God and that he prays to God every day, thanking God and asking God to help him each day. I do not know how much of his beliefs are rooted in SDA, but it appeared as though he was starting to form his own beliefs about God, faith, etc. He then proceeded to ask us (mostly my husband who was doing most of the talking at this point) what our thoughts on God and religion were.

Here we were, at a resort and one of the staff asks us about our "religion". That never happens! We didn't have a Bible convenient, which is why it is important to have scripture memorized and to be prepared to witness in any situation! Ed asked us questions about what we thought about Heaven and Hell, sin, etc. My husband told him that our only salvation is through Jesus Christ and that there is a real Heaven and Hell and that we are all sinners. Ed seemed to already have some beliefs or understanding about sin, the Holy Trinity, and salvation but also seemed to have some beliefs that were unclear or "off" as well. However, Ed's eyes lit up often during our conversation and was very passionate and open about hearing our witness. One of the things that Ed said toward the end of the conversation was that he "believed we were there for the dinner together for a reason."

The dinner was soon coming to a close and the conversation came to a natural end. We left the resort the next morning and didn't get a chance to speak with Ed again. I hope and pray that some seeds were planted in Ed's heart. I do believe that Ed is very open to hearing God's Word. I pray that Ed meets other Christians who can witness and share with him. I pray that if he is not yet a Christian (I just don't know), that he will be one day. Will you join me in prayer for Ed?

Meanwhile, some thoughts: I do want to get some good tracts to keep with me at all times and probably some small Bibles or NTs to pack when we travel. We have this young man's real name and know the resort he is training with and where they may place him at the end of the program. We're going to be praying for him and maybe someday go back and speak to him again. My husband and I would love to do a missions project in Jamaica; our church in MD has done some missions there. Also praying for opportunities in that direction, too.