David's* Journey to Joy

This is the second part of a field story, read the first part here. I felt lost and confused. There I sat, at the bottom of the stairs in some building I had never seen before … but this is where the voice told me to go.

I heard the voice earlier that day when I was a few miles down the road, and something in it made me follow it to this small, concrete building. I was exhausted from the journey. With my injuries, I could only “walk” on long braces attached to my arms. This was difficult for a few feet … and even more difficult for a few miles.

But there, at the bottom of the stairs in my complete exhaustion, I met two men who would impact my life forever.

The men, Will* and Max*, met me at the bottom of the stairs, and we began talking. It became clear to me that these men were why I came to this building. I told them about the bus that ran over my legs when I was young and that even my family wanted nothing to do with me because of my injuries. I had no support … forcing me to scavenge just to survive.

Then Will asked me what seemed to be a strange question. He asked, “Have you ever heard of Jesus?” All I could say was “no” because that was the truth.

Will began to tell me a story … a story about a Man who was God and how He died for me. It was hard to believe that someone would die for me. Even my family gave up on me. But he said it was true, and I genuinely believed him.

As he finished the story, I felt such peace come over me. I had never felt that way before. Right then Will said something else surprising. He said, “David, smile.”

I didn’t even think about it. I smiled. It made sense to smile because I had joy inside for the first time in years.

Will, this American that I just met, told me that my smile was beautiful. And with tears in both our eyes, we prayed. That was the day I met Jesus and decided to follow Him.

I couldn’t remember the last time I smiled before then. But that day I finally found something to smile about—a Savior who loves me more than anyone and an American friend who loved me enough to share Him with me.

*Names changed for security reasons.