Collecting Cans and Touching Lives

The can and bottle drive on Saturday morning went super well!  Lauren and I headed out at around 10am to collect cans and bottles in my subdivision.  We covered six sections of houses and got a total of $43.40 in cans/bottles plus a $5 donation.  Here are a couple of highlights:

Highlight #1:  I had a lot of really great conversations with people about my GAP year while I was waiting for them to get their cans and bottles together.  They asked all kinds of questions, and I answered them as best I could.  I was just really happy that so many people were interested in knowing more about what I’d be doing in Ireland.  One woman and her daughter actually talked to me for about 5 minutes.  They had just taken a family vacation to Ireland so they had a lot to say.  They seemed very enthusiastic about me spending a year there, and they even had some tips on how to pack for the weather!  They ended up giving me two big bags of cans and bottles, so that was awesome.

Highlight #2:  I had a bit of an interesting experience at another house that I went to.  When I rang the doorbell, a woman and her son both peeped out the window at me.  The woman opened the door, stepped out onto her front porch, and closed the door behind her.  I thought this was kind of strange, seeing as she practically shut the door on her son's face, but I tried to ignore it.  I told her that I was going to spend a year in Ireland doing mission work and that I was collecting cans and bottles to raise money, and at first she looked confused.  She asked, “Where are you going?”  I told her Dublin, Ireland, and then she asked, “What kind of donations are you looking for?”  I told her “Cans and bottles…empty pop cans or pop/beer bottles,” and she told me she didn’t have any at the moment.  I thanked her and started to back away.  She, however, took a few steps toward me…off the porch and onto the walkway.  I thought, “What the heck is this woman doing?  Following me?”  She then asked about the shirt I was wearing (see picture).  I got the shirt at a Christian bookstore, and it has Psalm 7:17 on it.  She said “What is Psalm 7:17?  What does it say?”  I stretched out my shirt and read, “Sing praise to the name of the Lord most high!”  She said, “Wow.  That’s pretty cool.  I like that shirt.”  I suddenly felt awkward and not sure what else to say, so I thanked her and told her to have a good day.  I almost feel like going back to her house and telling her more about Christ.  Maybe she needs to know Him?  Please keep this woman in your prayers.

Highlight #3:  Lauren and I split up and covered different sides of the streets to save time, and Lauren had an interesting experience with a woman she talked to.  Lauren approached a woman at her mailbox, and apparently this woman had something else on her mind and came off as really rude to Lauren.  She snapped and said she didn’t have any cans or bottles, so Lauren started walking to the next house.  Within minutes, I observed (from across the street) this woman running down the sidewalk toward Lauren.  She was saying, “Excuse me, excuse me!  Miss?”  When she caught up to Lauren I saw the woman say something and hand something to her.  When Lauren and I met back up she told me how the woman had been rude, but had come back to apologize for her behavior and give me a $5 donation for my trip.  Wow.  If that isn’t the Lord’s doing, I don’t know what is.  I think the Lord must have convicted this woman after she spoke so harshly to Lauren, so she felt the need to apologize.  That doesn’t happen often, and I know it was a work of God.  May the Lord bless this woman’s convicted heart.

Overall the can and bottle drive went really well.  We didn’t get as much money as when Ashley and I went last weekend, but we definitely had some good conversations, and I think that’s what matters most.  People’s lives were touched, and they touched my heart in return.