Going to the Beach
A simple outing to the beach to build relationships... turned into more than we bargained for.
"Are you ready to go to the beach?" I asked my friend as I walked into the neighbors yard.
"Almost," she replied, "I just need to finish cooking for my grandma."
I smiled inwardly, this would take a while so I settled into my chair and started a conversation with Bibi.
"Don't worry Rachel, pasta doesn't take long," my friend reassured me as she poured a bag of pasta into a boiling pot of water on the open fire on the veranda where we were sitting.
"No problem, I'm just going to go tell Lauren you're almost ready. We still need to go pick up her friend too," I responded.
30 minutes later we left: Lauren, me, our neighbor, along with her little sister and an unplanned stop at the ATM to draw cash.
Lauren pulled up near her friend's house and hopped out to get her while the three of us waited in the car. We saw them coming back, but my friend was surprised.
"I thought I'd be going to the beach with someone I didn't know!" she exclaimed, "but that's my sister."
I looked at her in interesting, but assumed she just meant a relative since family terminology is used in a broad sense here.
As Lauren entered, she tried to do introductions, but my friend repeated what she had said and then awkward silence filled the car as we drove to the beach.
"Oh no," I thought, "what have we done? They don't seem to be on good terms..." I tried filling the silence with casual conversation, but prayed everything would work out.
At the beach we picked a nice shady spot in the sand. Lauren and the neighbor girls went swimming while I sat with Lauren's friend who said she wasn't feeling well. I tried casually asked how she knew my friend.
"Oh, we're sisters. From the same father," she shrugged.
Woah. Not what I was expecting. No wonder things felt a bit strained.
Slowly but surely, with effort from Lauren and I, conversations became more interactive. They started enjoying themselves and we all had a good time.
On the way back, I barely had to say anything. Lauren's friend did most of the talking, but everyone agreed that we should do this more often.
It's nice to be able to hang out with friends our age, but pray that we will be able to deepen these friendships and be intentional to share the Gospel with them.
"Are you ready to go to the beach?" I asked my friend as I walked into the neighbors yard.
"Almost," she replied, "I just need to finish cooking for my grandma."
I smiled inwardly, this would take a while so I settled into my chair and started a conversation with Bibi.
"Don't worry Rachel, pasta doesn't take long," my friend reassured me as she poured a bag of pasta into a boiling pot of water on the open fire on the veranda where we were sitting.
"No problem, I'm just going to go tell Lauren you're almost ready. We still need to go pick up her friend too," I responded.
30 minutes later we left: Lauren, me, our neighbor, along with her little sister and an unplanned stop at the ATM to draw cash.
Lauren pulled up near her friend's house and hopped out to get her while the three of us waited in the car. We saw them coming back, but my friend was surprised.
"I thought I'd be going to the beach with someone I didn't know!" she exclaimed, "but that's my sister."
I looked at her in interesting, but assumed she just meant a relative since family terminology is used in a broad sense here.
As Lauren entered, she tried to do introductions, but my friend repeated what she had said and then awkward silence filled the car as we drove to the beach.
"Oh no," I thought, "what have we done? They don't seem to be on good terms..." I tried filling the silence with casual conversation, but prayed everything would work out.
At the beach we picked a nice shady spot in the sand. Lauren and the neighbor girls went swimming while I sat with Lauren's friend who said she wasn't feeling well. I tried casually asked how she knew my friend.
"Oh, we're sisters. From the same father," she shrugged.
Woah. Not what I was expecting. No wonder things felt a bit strained.
Slowly but surely, with effort from Lauren and I, conversations became more interactive. They started enjoying themselves and we all had a good time.
On the way back, I barely had to say anything. Lauren's friend did most of the talking, but everyone agreed that we should do this more often.
It's nice to be able to hang out with friends our age, but pray that we will be able to deepen these friendships and be intentional to share the Gospel with them.
Comments
Post a Comment