This happened in my office in Ruston yesterday...

[RhythmDawg]

I realize there is a mixture of beliefs on this board, and that perhaps this board is not a place for religious discussion...maybe...but I really don't care. This made my Friday and I wanted to share it with you:

Our newest team member, Samantha, is our frontline phone answerer in our Ruston location. She received a phone call yesterday from a gentleman who identified himself as Tony. He asked if she had a few minutes to talk because he had a problem and needed to talk through it. Tony began asking Samantha about how to deal with stress and other mental and emotional issues, prompting Samantha to inform him that we are not a hospital and ask him if he would like her to get him in touch with some sort of medical assistance, as we are a medical billing office. He declined and said he just needed to talk to a stranger, “because it is easier to talk to strangers than it is family or friends.”

Samantha spoke with him about techniques for stress relief, but began talking about prayer, heaven, and what Jesus means for those how come to a point in life where they feel like Tony was feeling yesterday. By the end of the call, Samantha had led Tony to accept Christ. She encouraged him to get his hands on a Bible and to get into a church. She offered to help him find a church in Ruston…to which he responded, “well, I’m in California and dialed this number randomly.”

In Samantha’s Sunday School class this past Sunday, she said they prayed for God to give each of them an opportunity to experience Him this week. She got her answer.

How powerful is that? You never know when you will have opportunities to respond to God. Don’t ignore them.

[StrayDawg]

Regardless of how anyone feels about religion, this guy got the guidance he needed and it might have saved his life. Way to go, Samantha!

[TYLERTECHSAS]

Thnaks so much for sharing this story and to Samantha for not being afraid to share the "Greatest Story Ever Told".

[Tech77]

I realize there is a mixture of beliefs on this board, and that perhaps this board is not a place for religious discussion...maybe...but I really don't care. This made my Friday and I wanted to share it with you:

Our newest team member, Samantha, is our frontline phone answerer in our Ruston location. She received a phone call yesterday from a gentleman who identified himself as Tony. He asked if she had a few minutes to talk because he had a problem and needed to talk through it. Tony began asking Samantha about how to deal with stress and other mental and emotional issues, prompting Samantha to inform him that we are not a hospital and ask him if he would like her to get him in touch with some sort of medical assistance, as we are a medical billing office. He declined and said he just needed to talk to a stranger, “because it is easier to talk to strangers than it is family or friends.”

Samantha spoke with him about techniques for stress relief, but began talking about prayer, heaven, and what Jesus means for those how come to a point in life where they feel like Tony was feeling yesterday. By the end of the call, Samantha had led Tony to accept Christ. She encouraged him to get his hands on a Bible and to get into a church. She offered to help him find a church in Ruston…to which he responded, “well, I’m in California and dialed this number randomly.”

In Samantha’s Sunday School class this past Sunday, she said they prayed for God to give each of them an opportunity to experience Him this week. She got her answer.

How powerful is that? You never know when you will have opportunities to respond to God. Don’t ignore them.

Thanks for sharing this. This is encouragement to all us Christians to do what is commanded of us.

[tenacious_dog]

Be warned. If I ever make the move to having an office in Ruston, I may be going after Samatha. Sounds like someone I'd like working for me.

[RhythmDawg]

Be warned. If I ever make the move to having an office in Ruston, I may be going after Samatha. Sounds like someone I'd like working for me.

Noted.

[techman05]

My post didn't come through this morning for some reason. That is awesome.

[ChuckK3]

Conviction has just set in, my friend. Great story and wonderful outcome, Rhythmdawg! I heard a pastor one time give an account of being on Highway 2 between Lisbon and Homer in a driving thunderstorm. He said it was raining so hard he could barely see to drive and came upon what looked like an elderly man walking along the shoulder. He immediately pulled over and asked the old black gentleman if he needed a ride. The man, soaking wet, got in the passenger seat and they continued toward Homer.

A couple of miles down the highway the old man said, "you a Christian, sir?" The pastor said, "I am. I'm actually the pastor at _______" Silence... then the old black man spoke again, "You know, sir, God rewards the effort, not the outcome. The outcome? Well, that's the Lord's business." The pastor, startled, wondered where that came from, since nothing in the conversation prompted that unusual statement. The pastor had been struggling at his church, hadn't seen any movement, attendance was on the decline, and he was feeling ineffective in his calling. But how did the old man KNOW this? Was his body language THAT obvious?

The old man spoke again just outside of Homer, "...if you don't mind, sir, just let me out here." "Here? it's still raining like crazy. Can I take you into town?" "No sir, this is fine." So the pastor pulled off of the highway, and the old man got out into the rain again. "God bless you sir. And thank you for the ride." He closed the door.

The pastor turned to wish him well and thank him for the encouragement...placing his hand in the old man's seat. The seat was dry, and cold.

He was convinced until the day he died that the old black man in the thunderstorm was a visit from an Angel. Perhaps, just maybe...Rhythmdawg, Samantha was visited also.

[marketdawg]

I stopped to help an old, very large black woman change a flat on her decrepit station wagon; way south of Shreveport on my way back from a duck hunt, one morning. She gave me a huge hug after I finished and said, "Thanks your soul sweetheart...Your mammaw loves you". My mammaw had passed away the week before. I always wondered....