One of my teammates gave a sermon titled “Come and See”. She spoke of Jesus’ attitude towards His disciples. They were searching and wanted to know where Jesus was staying. Instead of answering them directly, Jesus said, “Come and see.” So they followed Him and saw, not only where He was staying but who He was and what He was about. Jesus did not say “come back” or “I will show you later.” He simply accepted them for who they were in that moment and immediately invited them to come and see who He is.

Our third service of that day in Madison Campground went a little differently than expected. Around 7:00 pm a man walked up with his Boston terrier. He asked what we were doing as the four of us were sitting on the stage of the amphitheater.

We told him we were about to lead a worship service. He began to ask us questions about Christianity and our response to various events happening in the news. We learned that he was a former surgeon. He spoke of how he was successful in about every aspect of his life, but he was left wanting more. He described it as reaching a plateau. He would work and work for something, but once he obtained it, he was left unsatisfied. He could not stay fulfilled. He told us how he had studied Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and even attended a new-age church for a while.

He had just recently picked up the New Testament, and said it was unlike any of the other religions he had studied. He was searching. His quiet time used to consist of meditation and thinking, but now he found himself praying. He spoke of the imperfect and broken world we live in and how so many people refuse to be genuine because they want to be perfect in the world’s eyes. So much of what he told us was truth, and we were shocked. He told us that he had stepped out of the car because he was searching, and there we were. I was amazed. This man had driven to the park hoping to see, and there we were, waiting at campground so we could lead a service and give a sermon about Jesus beckoning us to come and see. A man still working on fully putting his trust in Jesus turned our teammate’s sermon around and spoke truth into us! This was the first and only time all summer that we had only one attendee at a service. It could not have been more perfect or powerful. On the drive home I cried, overwhelmed by God’s grace and perfect timing.

Jesus shows up in the most unexpected ways.

Becky J., Yellowstone National Park, 2016