Where’s the suitcase?

After a great few days in Nicaragua with Servants With a Heart and a team of Jenkins Restorations employees and their families, I met up with Elisabeth Munford to do branch visits in Lakeland, Florida and then Atlanta, Georgia.

One of reasons I really wanted to go to Nicaragua with Servants With a Heart and Jenkins was because I used to be in the foreign mission field. I thrived on that environment, seeing God work and feeling his presence as he made things happen. In the US, we are more insulated so I have intentionally sought out situations where I have greater dependence on God and can feel and recognize him moving and working. This trip seemed like a perfect fit.

One evening as we were sitting around after a busy day in and around Managua, Lance (another Jenkins trip participant) asked us, “When was the last time was you asked a friend to pray for him or her? When was the last time you asked a stranger?” That hit me. Now back to my experience after returning home…

I met Elisabeth in Miami and then we flew to Atlanta with only carry-on luggage, but at the gate, they asked for volunteers to check their bags on the full flight. We both offered, landed in Atlanta, and my bag landed on the carousel; however, Elisabeth’s did not. As we watched the carousel slow to a stop, we recognized the inconvenience…we had someone waiting for us in a truck outside, and we both knew the hassle of dealing with missing baggage. Elisabeth waited (just in case the carousel started up again!) and I took her claim ticket to the office of lost luggage.

It’s easy to imagine the scene: five women sitting behind the counter and a line of angry customers waiting to tear into them. When it was my turn, I handed the lady the ticket, explained the situation, and she asked me if we had looked in the oversized baggage door. I said we had not (it was a small carry-on), and she suggested I go check. As I started to walk away, she said that actually she would call to ask on our behalf. While she was calling, Elisabeth called me to say they DID turn the carousel back on and her bag arrived! The lady behind the counter making the call stood up, said something was wrong with her back, and asked her colleague to “hit her back.” That was my cue. I asked her if I could pray for her.

So right there, out loud in front of all the ladies behind the counter and all the people in line, she put her hand over the counter and held mine. After I prayed and turned to leave, the next woman in line had her mouth literally hanging open.

I am so excited to be caught up in what God was and is doing. It’s all around us but we miss it so often. I want to live my life this way so I don’t miss a single thing. That’s why the bag did not show up!

Joshua Jenkins

Jenkins Restorations