A Meeting of Wizards

I don’t remember the exact words, but in The Lord of the Rings Gandalf the Grey observes that a meeting between wizards is never a coincidence. When wizards’ paths “happen” to cross, something significant must be drawing them together, even if the purpose is hidden at the time. I have begun to think that the same thing is true of the unforeseen meeting of followers of Jesus.

This evening I was debating about whether to go to dinner here at the guest house where I am staying. The promise of chicken curry and chapate (a yummy flour tortilla-like bread) lured me away from my room and into the dining hall. At the buffet, I hesitantly picked up a chicken-like substance with the tongs when a fellow muzungo (white person) voiced my thoughts and identified it as a nicely cooked piece of fat. A friendly conversation quickly followed, and I invited myself to sit at his table. It turned out that I had joined the company of Athletes in Action. (Those of you familiar with my…er…’passion’ for sports can appreciate the irony of the situation.) AIA is a branch of Campus Crusade for Christ, and this particular group had come to Kenya from Canada. If their accents didn’t give away their nationality, the comment by one that the “”Steelers might win the Cup this year” certainly did. Come on! Even I know that it’s only in golf that you win a ‘cup’! ;-)

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed myself with these Canadian studs. There was much laughter, swapping of stories, and friendly ribbing. After dinner two of the guys stayed at the table with me a little longer, one an elderly farmer hailing from Montana who shared an amazing testimony of how God intervened in his life. (Okay, he was only in his 50’s, but I had to put the ‘elderly’ comment in there in case he reads my blog.) The other fellow was a guy named Jace who bears a remarkable physical resemblance to Leslie’s older brother Rob.

Jace and I continued talking for a long time after the others had left, and it was indeed a meeting of wizards. The stories and struggles we shared were shaped and recast as we encouraged each other from Scripture and personal experience. Jace has an enviable sincerity about him that he carries with humor and humility, as well as a genuine and unaffected openness to God. Our time of prayer together before we parted had my spine tingling and my gut churning, a sensation I rarely experience and one that normally comes when I sense the Spirit at work. A friendship was sparked this evening, and it would be a gift were it to ever have the opportunity to grow.