Jose Gavarrete wanted to wince when the young man at the bar stuck a cigarette in the small hole left in his mouth.
Surgeons had sutured the rest of his lips shut during the surgery after the car accident, but that wouldn’t stop him from smoking.
And even though he and his friend wrecked their convertible after driving drunk, that didn’t stop the young man from returning to Gavarrete’s bar to drink again.
When Gavarrete saw him return, the deep gashes and missing skin on the man’s face reminded him of “a creature from a horror movie.”
More frighteningly, Gavarrete quickly realized, the young man reminded him of himself. “In a strange way, that face felt like a gruesome depiction of my own life … I saw my emptiness and discontent mirrored in those hollow eyes.”
To every other patron at the night club, Gavarrete appeared fine — and successful. He had emigrated from Honduras to South Carolina, and after investing in his brother’s night club, he was earning enough to indulge his lusts.
But Gavarrete wanted peace.
Then one day, Gavarrete’s brother Fidel called and invited Jose to meet two siblings, whose brother had traveled to Fidel and Jose’s home town.
Intrigued, Gavarrete drove two hours to meet these siblings and a third person, who later invited Gavarrete to dinner with his family, who later invited Gavarrete to their church.
Gavarrete agreed — again and again — and one particular Sunday, he noticed CDS of free sermons. Intrigued, he collected some and listened to one on his way home.
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Most young men Roman Troyer’s age sought success in the business world, but Troyer and his siblings had attended several missions conferences, and partly because of the teachers there, Troyer declined a job with a successful construction company to serve as a missionary in Central America.
“I think it’s fair to say that it was largely the influence of the (conference) teachers that helped him make the choice to become involved in full-time mission work,” Troyer’s brother said.
One day, Troyer stopped in the town of Tambla in Honduras. While there, he decided to visit a restaurant, where he a woman whose brother had moved to the United States. Intrigued, Troyer later told his own siblings about this brother: Jose Gavarrete.
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Denny Kenaston learned to mock Christianity from childhood, and when his aunt and uncle visited one day to share the Gospel, Denny “sent them away humiliated from my mocking.”
As Kenaston grew, he continued to study famous atheists and their faith, but one summer night, he gazed at the stars blazing above him, “and I said to myself, ‘I wonder if maybe there is a God.’”
That thought first convicted Denny, and then it “consumed” him. Finally, he decided to learn the answer.
But first, he needed a teacher.
Kenaston’s aunt opened her door after she heard a knock.
“Aunt Pearl,” Kenaston asked her, “I want to find out if there’s a God. Do you know of any good books I can read?”
She did, and about two hours later, Kenaston cried, “God I give up. I’m a sinner, and I know I’m going to Hell. Will you please save me?”
Over the years, Kenaston learned from many other teachers, and his faith matured. Eventually, Kenaston, his family, and several other families felt moved to combine teachings on a holy lifestyle with a desire to teach others. Eventually, that desire transformed into a teaching ministry that helped inspire Troyer to travel to Honduras. And that desire inspired a sermon ministry that provided free CDs for searching souls, such as Gavarrete.
“Through those teachings, and through those preachings, the Holy Spirit brought conviction to my heart,” said Gavarrete, who eventually returned to Honduras as a missionary.
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When Christians learn to study the Bible, it will change their lives.
When Christians learn to teach the Bible, it will change the world.
But Christians don’t necessarily need to enter a classroom or step behind a pulpit to teach. Like Kenaston’s aunt or Troyer’s siblings, Christians can teach through each everyday interaction.
As the Apostle Paul writes, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach,” he also writes.
As students begin a fresh school year, I pray these stories will encourage believers to answer the call to teach.
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