"It's Helmut, remember me?"

A few weeks ago I (Brad) was on a flight from Düsseldorf to Miami.  I was spending time with my Mom and my Aunt who had a stroke.  I really wasn't in the mood to talk.  I just wanted to rest, watch a movie or two, read a bit... but I was sitting next to a retired man who struck up a conversation with me in German.  I recognized his Viennese accent, so I asked him where he lived, and to my surprise he told me the 5th district, the same district as ours.  

Helmut and I spent the next couple of hours in conversation about life and faith and Austria, and I invited him to our Easter service, which he said he would like to attend.  I gave him my business card, and he said he'd contact me, but after I had been back in Vienna a few weeks, I still hadn't heard from him.  Then two days ago the phone rang, and a voice on the other end said, "It's Helmut, remember me?"   

We agreed to meet at his favorite cafe, just three doors down from our apartment building, and so yesterday we picked up where we left off on the plane.  At the end of our conversation, I was struck by what Helmut said to me, "Thanks for talking me about faith and God.   I don't have anyone else to talk to about these things."

For all those who say that Europeans are unresponsive or even antagonistic to the Gospel--especially the older generation--don't tell that to Helmut.   Really, God has led us to more than a few people who are hungry for something, they just don't know what it is. Pray for Helmut and the many others who come across our paths, for us to be able to communicate the good news to them, and for ears to hear.