OK... finally spending some time updating you on my lunch with the traveler's from Massachusetts. I had lunch with them and just got to know them for about 90 minutes. They were heading out of town shortly after lunch, but showed just as much interest in me as I did in them.
Their names are Chris and Mary. They are both 17 years old, amazingly, and no, they are not runaways or in trouble with the law at all. In fact, they talk to their parents/grandparents/siblings quite often and spoke very fondly of all of them. I couldn't believe they were that young, honestly. They were very good conversationalists to be so young.
They had been on the road since August. They just decided that if they were ever going to tour the country this way, now was the time. They had traveled to Ohio and back to Massachusetts previously over a short time span and had been exposed to the road/hitchiking/strangers so they knew what to expect for the most part when they decided to hit the road again. They have no time limits nor destination limits. They are actaully headed to Austin for the winter, or at least for a while, then back to the east coast - Florida/Carolina's area, before heading out to California. No real plan though.
They have actually been staying with some people here in OKC for about two weeks. These people picked them up in Indiana and they were headed home to OKC so Chris & Mary came all the way with them and ended up sleeping in an open room they had. They moved around to a couple different houses during the time here, but still within the same group of people with no ties to any of them prior to being picked up on the road.
I felt quite odd at times honestly. I felt like I was playing 2o questions with them, bouncing from one subject to the next. One thing that was a little odd was the way I felt the waitresses treated us. Their were a couple different ones that waited on us and I'm not sure whether she was just having a bad day, or if she didn't like Chris & Mary, but that's the way it came across. They really liked it here in OKC, and plan on stopping back by when the remainder of their travels brings them back through the crossroads of America.
Although I do feel this was a God moment, nothing overtly religious happened, but both their families are pretty liberal and that's how they grew up, so through our conversations there were numerous opportunities for me to share about volunteering for churches and that I had just quit working for a church and some of the "outside" events we have been involved in through Mars Hill, so I think that was really my purpose was just to introduce them to "christ follower's" that aren't judgemental, or condemning. They had told me about not-so-good experiences in the south with "christians", but they were not hurt by them, just felt sorry for them kinda.
All in all, I was happy to get to know them, and hope to see them again. I think they felt the same, and they have my number in their cell in case they ever come back through. I look forward to planting some more seeds should God grant me that opportunity.
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