Meeting a Friend Along the Road

from Elliott
I had not seen my friend Lusizo in a while so I was excited when I turned off the tarred road onto the rough dirt road on the way to visit Pastor Andile last week. Lusizo was walking along the road so I hopped out of the truck for a chat. It had been almost a year since I had last seen him but he had told me that he was going to work on a nursing certificate at a small hospital about 60 kms from where I found him. He was on a school break visiting family so that is why he was on that road that day.

I met Lusizo last year. He is probably 20 or so and had been a student for a couple of computer classes that I was offering. I share scripture in each class and he was always eager to participate during that part of class and often spoke to me afterward about the message and his hopes for the future.

As we stood by the road he told me all about the nursing program and the practicum at the hospital that followed each semester. I got excited because he was so enthusiastic and not just about what he was learning. He said, “I do not have a computer so I have not been able to use what I learned in the classes but someday I will use it. I learned something more important. God showed me that I CAN LEARN even something as difficult as computers. Before that I did not have confidence and was not sure that there was a purpose for my life. I learned in the class that God has a plan for me and with his help I can get a good job as a nurse and help other people.”

Wow, just what I wanted to hear that day. I don’t think I felt a bump anywhere along that road; I was so excited I must have floating over the rough patches!