March 10th
Today has been a most wonderful day. I attended the optional language lesson, where only me and another student showed up. It was an informal time of chatting and good fun. I learnt a great deal about Gorillas and Chimpanzees, even though I should be an expert, having two sisters at home (just kidding). Our teaching assistant Katsutoshi Ohno was more than willing to help. Though his level of spoken English may not be perfect, his sincerity comes across in much louder tones. It is evident that he enjoys his work, and speaks with great passion.
The other student, Seajay was someone I didn't expect to find at the class. I have to admit that despite my best efforts, first impressions (often wrong) still get imprinted in my mind. When I first saw Seajay, he came across as a rather large specimen of the American male depicted in the movies. Clad in leather jacket and a cap, it was easy to dismiss him another jock in a school full of them. Boy was I ever so wrong.
I spoke to Seajay today, and we spoke, and spoke, and spoke. For that one moment, I was invited into a journey that was fascinating and filled with the glory of God. It was the journey of Seajay's life. He was a successful businessman by his late twenties, very successful by any standard. He had it all - cars, houses - anything material one could strive to have. One would expect him to live happily ever after.
I found it amazing that Seajay would speak to me with such honesty, that there came a point of time in his life that he knew he had nothing at all. That on a quiet night, he would look to God on the steps of Old Main, and find a Saviour who would save him. It was the most beautiful moment, I can imagine. As Michael Card put it "to look into your Judge's face, and find a Saviour there". Too often we as Christians live a life numbed to God's leading. We fail to see how the ways of the world have made us dead, rather than alive. We stop being dependent on the Source of all Life.
I see in Seajay's eyes the wondrous joy of a new life, and I see a seed being laid for this new life to triumph over the old. He takes so much joy in learning, and he absolutely loves the University - the hustle and bustle of a people going about obtaining knowledge. I have found someone who feels exactly the way I feel. It is an amazing work indeed the Lord has done. I stood in the presence of the handiwork of the Most High. No power on earth could change a soul like that. I stood in awe.
It is a reminder to keep the Lord in the centre of my life, to constantly seek Him, and search Him out. To not take for granted His grace and goodness. To redeem the time, like the bible said.
Seajay and I spent the whole afternoon together, and he brought me to the most beautiful places on earth. Being cooped up in my dorm room for the past three months, I was beginning to think that Tucson was the size of the campus. Tucson is indeed beautiful. We went to Mount Lemmon, the southernmost ski resort in the United States, and there was snow. At 8000 feet up, we could see for miles, with the peak of other mountains peeking over the clouds far out in the horizon. There was pure white snow on the ground, and children making snowmen and playing with snowballs. The green of the fir trees, the deep blue of the sky, and the stark white of the snow. It doesn't look much better than this. We sat at a cafe at the top of Mount Lemmon and got some pie to eat. Seajay said that the pie alone was worth the trip. After one mouthful, I had no doubts about that. Chocolate laced warm pastry. My mouth waters even as I type it out. With vanilla ice-cream! We almost froze to death sitting outside in the cold eating that pie. The sun was setting, and the temperature fell real quickly.
The wonderful thing about Tucson is this : twenty minutes drive down the mountain, the temperature was a nice comfortable 23 degrees Celsius, and we drove with the convertible's top down. Where else on earth do you get such diversity?
It really was a most wonderful day. The mountains, sky and snow were great, but the wonder of God's creation in Seajay was awesome.
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