#88 Fried Chicken and Friendship

Today is the fifth anniversary of my return from Indonesia, so I think it's appropriate to tell one of my favorite stories from my time overseas.

A month or two into my stay in Malang, Indonesia, I went through a period of loneliness. I knew the people I worked with at the Christian international school, but they had all been in Indonesia longer than I had and had lives and friends of their own. My command of the language was poor at best, and I was often keenly aware that I was an outsider. One evening I was just feeling kind of down as I went out to find some dinner. I was lonely and needed a friend, but I don't think I could have put that into words as I walked around the neighborhood. That night I decided I would eat at a new restaurant that a friend had recommended to me. The place was dead when I arrived: I think I was the only customer. I ordered some fried chicken and white rice and sat down to eat near the cash register. The cashier, probably bored out of her skull, decided to make some small talk with me. Outside of the school I didn't encounter too many Indonesians that spoke English well, but this young lady did. (In fact, she was taking English courses in college.) We chatted for a while (the restaurant stayed slow that evening) and got along really well. Before I left, we decided that we would be friends and would try to hang out some other time. As I walked back home, it suddenly dawned on me how God had been at work. I wasn't even fully aware that I needed a friend, but God prompted me to go to a restaurant where I'd never eaten before.  There He lined me up with someone who spoke English, had time to talk to me, and was comfortable making small talk with a foreigner. I had the friend I needed, and we hung out a good number of times over my remaining months overseas. God's work in my life isn't always clear to me, and sometimes I go through long periods where I don't seem to get just what I need. But I will never forget this one night, and hopefully because of it I will never forget that God knows my needs and watches out for me.

Grace and peace,
BMH