Not Just a Bird Watching Trip

A friend of mine gently reminded me yesterday that I had promised to update my blog a couple of weeks ago and still haven't done so. So, finally, I'm going to try to do it.

Many of you know that the VanderKooi's are avid bird watchers and that for as long as Glen can remember, he has taken a special birding trip every spring----used to do it with his folks, and now we all do it. The kids have come to really enjoy our hikes, exploring in the woods, and discovering the wonders of God's creation. They are finally catching on to using binnoculars, too, which would have made for good birding this year....IF there had been many birds to see. Our trip to Ohio this year seemed like it was going to be disappointing because there just weren't many birds to see. We arrived on Saturday, and were told that Friday was a perfect day with the trees "dripping with birds." Anyway, we did a few hikes and enjoyed being together, but the birding was for the birds.

On our way back to the car after one final attempt at seeing some birds, what we can only call a miracle happened. To appreciate this, you need a little background information. Last year when we went birding in Ohio, we had heard about an eagles' nest that was about a half-hour drive from the marsh where we were birding. We decided it would be fun to go see it, so we did, and it was truly amazing. There, on the edge of a parking lot, not too terribly high up in a tree, we could see an eagles' nest with three eaglets, and we observed the mother and father eagle flying in and out bringing fish, and protecting the nest. It was beautiful, and I wanted to take a picture, but as I went to take one, our camera died. A kind man from Pennsylvania, whose name is Kurt, happened to be there, too, and overheard my comments about my dead camera and said that he could send me copies of his pictures. He also let the kids look through his MASSIVE lense to get an even better look at the eagles. We gave him our address, thanked him, and were on our way.

A few weeks later, a package came in the mail----several 8x10 shots of the eagles (which were just breathtaking), and a couple of Jehovah's Witness books. Kurt also wrote a rather lengthy note in which he asked us to read the materials he'd sent and to let us know what we thought about them. We saw it as an open door to share the Truth of Jesus. So, we took some time and read the materials, and began to think through our response. Well, time slips away from us, and after a couple of months, we decided we had better get on the ball and respond. We decided to get him a good translation of the Bible and "The Case for Christ" by Lee Stroble. Well, more time passed, and our busy lives, to our shame, kept us from sending that letter. After our trip to Uganda, I set out his address and was determined to finally do it, but it never happened. As we were about to leave for our trip to Ohio, I had a fleeting thought, which I know was the Holy Spirit, that maybe I should take that Bible with me, because what if this fellow from Pennsylvania happened to be out there birdwatching again? So, I took the Bible, tossed it in the van, and we left.

So, on our recent trip as we were getting ready to leave, we were headed to our van, when I spotted him----"Kurt, The Eagle Man", as we'd come to call him. You have to understand that we were in a parking lot filled with maybe 250-300 cars, that we were not even in Ohio on the same weekend as last year, that birdwatchers don't hike on a set schedule, but come and go at random times. So, for Kurt to be heading toward his car, which ended up being parked right next to ours---no kidding!---at the exact same time that we were, was unbelievable. No one else noticed him right away, but I recognized him instantly, and inside I panicked. I briefly thought about how I could avoid him---maybe pretend I didn't recognize him. Afterall, acknowledging him would mean I'd have to appologize for not responding to his kindness, and also, it would mean being obedient to Christ by sharing the Truth and giving him the Bible. But, thank God for kids. While I was contemplating "getting out of this," Caleb wacked me on the behind, and said in his not-so-quiet voice, "Mom!! Look!! It's the Eagle Man!!!" Everyone looked, and sure enough, we all recongized him....and he recongized us, too, because not all that many families with young kids are seen birdwatching these days. Anyway, we thanked him for his kindness, appologized for our delinquency, and then gave him the Bible we had taken along with us and shared why we loved that particular version, and how powerful God's Word has been in our lives. He was truly appreciative and we enjoyed a brief conversation before going our separate ways. On our way out, we decided to stop at one more place to see if we could see any birds and to have a picnic lunch, and Kurt happened to be there, too. We invited him to have lunch with us, so we were able to share more (including about our trip to Uganda). He asked for our address again and said he would love to stay in touch.

All the way home, we all marveled at how we thought we were going on a birdwatching trip, but really, God had a much bigger plan and purpose. For the whole 4 hours home, every once in a while one of the kids would pipe up with, "I can't believe we saw The Eagle Man." It is exciting to us to see that God is pursuing Kurt, and to be reminded of how He lovingly pursues all of us. And it is exciting to see how He will use us, if we'll just surrender to Him---He'll even take a family trip and turn it into a mission trip if we'll let Him.