Five minutes on Sky Train

I enjoy riding on Sky Train. Usually people stay inside their bubble with their thoughts, their cell phones or their laptops.  Conversation is often quite limited.  So I take the opportunity to engage people in conversation.   One day I sat down beside a young Asian man.  He coughed, so I asked him if he was OK.
"Yes, I'm just run down.  I've been too busy.  I need to slow down."
"What have you been doing?", I asked.
"I go to college and then I volunteer a lot."
"Volunteer?  Where do you volunteer?", I asked.
"I volunteer at two churches!", he exuberantly replied.
"So, you are a Christian then?" I queried.
"Yes", he replied.
"Wonderful!  My name is Harry.  I am a Christian, too.  And so is my friend here, sitting beside me."
"My name is Wen. I am from Singapore."

I didn't see any need to ask him what churches he volunteered at.  It was enough that he was a Christian.  He made an observation that Christians in North America seldom come right out and declare that they are Christians, and that they seem to hide their faith.  I informed him that there are probably quite a few Chrtistians that he is not aware of because he hasn't asked.  Wrong challenge.  He immediately turned to the couple sitting across the aisle from us, they were both in their late fifties I would estimate.

Wen pointed at the man and asked, "Are you a Christian?"  The man nodded and said, "Yes."  Then Wen pointed at the woman and repeated the question, to which he received the same reply.  Well!  That was almost too much for him.  There was lot of laughter and surprise that here on Sky Train were 5 Christians, sitting together, and we wouldn't even have known it, unless we had started the conversation.

Sometimes it is a good thing just to start the conversation with someone instead of focusing on our own little world that starts with "i" - iphone, ipod, ipad, "i don't care".

Sometimes just taking an interest and asking a question lets a person know you care.  Try it.  LIfe will be full of surprises!

Well, this is new for me...blogging.  I got a one hour introduction looking over my wife's shoulder as a friend of hers walked her through the maze of setting up a blog.  Now it is a learning curve.  Nothing is easy when you begin, but taking the first step is the first hurdle.  Then practice and more practice until you finally know what you are doing.  I think I will enjoy this.