Hard Rock Christians

"If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter,"  -  1 Peter 4:16

So we were a couple of weeks into our trip to the Dominican Republic. Our Internet service at the mall was kaput. Every morning we would stop there first to do what we needed to do and then get picked up and taken to whatever activities or appointments we had planned for the day. Several days passed and we couldn't get online.

The manager of the mall told us that the service was being checked, but we knew it would be manana.
Finally we made the decision to utilize the Hard Rock Cafe. We would have access to the Internet, be comfortable, and have a snack, but more importantly it was easy for Yolanda to pick us up on her way home - I can't even begin to describe the traffic in this city of approximately three million people.

The first day we were there for several hours and managed to get a good bit done. The waiters were kind enough to get us a booth close to an electrical outlet and let us plug into their power for the wait station. Late the next day, we returned to the Hard Rock for the final time to access our email before the ride back home for the night.

Our waitress from the previous afternoon walked by several times while we were working. She would smile and keep moving. The time came for us to leave and she walked by and in heavily Spanish-accented English she asked, "Are you Christians?" I wasn't paying much attention and didn't quite catch what she had asked.

I responded, "Can you ask that again?" She replied, "Never mind" and started to walk away. Janet and I both said, "No, please ask us again." She repeated her question, to which we replied, "Yes, we are."

She stated, "I thought so, I'm a Christian too." We talked for a few minutes, asking if she had a church and how she knew we were Christians. She told us she could tell by the way we were working. She walked away and Janet and I continued packing up our notes and computer. We were about to walk off when she came out of the kitchen and called to us.

In tow was the chef who was introduced to us as a Christian. While we were talking to him, through her, they called two or three more employees who professed to be Christians over to meet us. We ended up by asking to take their pictures to show our friends and family back home.

Several times in my life, God has placed another Christian in my path while I was away from home. They have not been ashamed to speak of their faith and share with me. Every time God's timing has been perfect. This time it was to bring joy to me in a meeting with Christians working at Hard Rock. It has been through a meeting with a business owner half way across the country before a long drive home, after a tiring business trip. Every time, God has been faithful to intervene and lift me up.