Monday, September 30, 2013

A Money Changer Story


    Today I went to exchange money.  I gave the lady, Lativa; $600 US.  She was really in a hurry and copied my passport, gave me the Omani money inside the folded receipt.  I looked at the rials and then double checked to make sure that the amounts matched and then we left.  I then folded it up and put it in my pocket.  When we were at lunch I pulled it out and started thinking, this doesn't make sense...why only 62 rials, when it should have been more like 230.  I asked my contact if he thought it was right because it didn't seem right to me.  His reply was NO.  So I got the receipt and we looked at it and she had put UAE driums exchange rate not USD.  So it was right for that but not of USD.  So what do we do..They could easily say you counted it and that is that. If they said that, bang I am now $440 short. 

    Well all I could do was pray about it and turn it over to the Lord, kinda like we have done with our house.  So really I had this incredible peace about it.  I just thought that this was a great opportunity for meto show how a Believer would handle the situation and I wanted to be an example.  I was upset with myself, but either way I was going to be a light to this world, I had decided.  Of course, everything closes down from 1 to 5 so we had to wait about 4 hours to solve it.  So a little after 5 we headed into the place. As the afternoon break was happening I was remembering another story of money changers in the Bible and smiled as I thought about the stories and then my situation.

    Immediately upon greeting her, David and I both in Arabic.  She looked up and said, with a HUGE smile; "I am so happy you came back.  I found my mistake right after you left and I was very upset. I told my manager (mudaire) about my mistake and he was very angry with me.  I just hoped you would come back, and here you are."  She immediately got the manager and the situation was made right.  We thanked her for honesty and for her hope we would return.  And of course I told her "Allamik (which means God with you)" as I was leaving and then said a prayer for her.  But she just smiled the whole time.

    After we left I was reminded why these people are so special and so needing the love and truth of Jesus Christ.  And why I love this culture so much.  In America, I would have been told, too bad so sad.  But here honor means so much.  If these people gave their hearts to Jesus Christ..wow what would happen!

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