Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Farm Workers Treat Their Manager and Fellow-employee to a Feast

For the past few years my friend Chris has worked for a nursery farm on Long Island. During the height of the growing season, about 28 other employees, mostly seasonal workers from Central America, also report to Chris. As a follower of Jesus he tries to share Christ's love and treat each of his fellow-workers with respect and dignity. In Chris's words,
In my broken Spanish, throughout the day I'll do my best to show genuine interest in their lives, getting to know them, and asking about their lives. Most of the guys send a lot of their earnings back to their families, so I also ask them about their wives and children. Sometimes I'll try to share Christ's love in practical ways by giving them a ride home or picking them up a fast-food sandwich. But we always end each day by looking each other in the eye as we say, "Gracias Dios por un dia más," or "Thank God for another day."
One day two of the men, Gonzalo and Daniel, wanted to show their appreciation for me, so they decided to splurge on a special gift. They pooled their resources and took me out for a special dinner—a $7 Value Meal at the local Burger King. By spending $3.50 a piece, Daniel and Gonzalo were giving me a sacrificial gift. The week before they gave me this gift, a storm had cut their work hours and their income in half. But that didn't deter their generosity.
Honestly, throughout my life I've been treated to some special meals and I've received some expensive presents, but that was one gift that I'll treasure forever. During the meal in Burger King, Gonzalo and Daniel treated me like a king. I never knew fast-food burger and fries could taste like a foretaste of the heavenly feast.
source unknown

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