The Day I Met Andrew

Travel pushes you to the extreme and sometimes beyond. There are days when even the sweet elderly lady serving breakfast at the Hampton Inn gets on my nerves. When everyone is annoying me, the common denominator is me. I know that it's my problem and I need to find some time to get alone. Friday was one of those days. The difficulty was that we had lots of shows and set up that day, so I didn't know if alone time would be possible. We came down to the breakfast area of our hotel, and I was ready to just take a few minutes before our hectic day and have a quiet breakfast. As soon as I set my things down, this guy from across the room wearing an orange shirt made eye contact with me. After a recognition came across his face, he began to wave excitedly. I looked behind me knowing that he was waving at someone he knew. Nobody was there and the guy began to approach me. He was probably in his 20's and it became quickly clear that he was mentally challenged. Selfishly I thought, "There goes my quiet breakfast." However, my whole morning, correction, my whole outlook changed when I met this man. He stuck out his hand and said, "I'm Andrew. What's your name?" We began to talk for a while and Andrew had so much joy that it was infectious. Then, he said something that brought tears to my eyes. He said, "I pray for people everyday. Can you write your name in my book so that I can pray for you?" I was too choked up to talk so I nodded my head and wrote my name and then gave the book to Brock to write his name. At this time, Andrew's parents entered and Andrew said, "Mom and Dad, I met some new friends!" We began talking with them. Then, another guy came up to Andrew's parents and said, "I work for a minister named Charles Swindoll and have been in the ministry for years, but I have to tell you. After meeting Andrew, I went up to my room and cried for about 20 minutes because compared to him, I am a hypocrite!" At this point, Andrew's parents began crying, I was bawling by now. Brock came over and said, "I don't know this guy, but I'd like to echo what he said. I'm in the ministry as well." Of course, Andrew was walking around talking to other people in the lobby he had not met yet. There has been a few times in my life when I met Jesus with skin on. Friday was one of those times...the day I met Andrew.