Johnny I do remember Christmas eve of 2007. It was a wild night, the icy cold temperatures were well established. Sorin and I were trying to get the last Christmas shoe boxes delivered before we joined a group of carolers to serenade the main street of Arad. Our last stops were in the village of Zimandu Nou about 15 miles outside of Arad. There were 5 families we had been spending time with in this village over the past 3 years. Our last delivery of the night was at Daniel and Olivia’s house and as we had done at each of the other 4 houses we visited in this village already, we climbed awkwardly over the fence with Christmas shoe boxes for each of their 8 children. Then returned to the van to head home no one having seen us come or go on this cold night. We were excited to have finished our rounds for the day knowing each child would have a gift on Christmas morning. It had been a long day but a fun one having given out over 100 Christmas boxes just that day. As we got into my apartment and filled our cups with something warm to drink my phone rang. It was Daniel calling.
“Yes?”
“Anton you came by didn’t you?”
“Yes”
“When you came I was at my neighbor’s house, my neighbor asked me what we had gotten for our children. I told him we had not had money to get them anything but I told him I knew God loved my kids and would provide for them. My neighbor scoffed. But when I got home and found all those gifts sitting outside our door I didn’t even go inside I went right back to Gregor’s house and told him to come and see just how God had provided.”
It was great to hear Daniels excitement about what God had done for his family and to see him giving God the glory and not trying to look at me, “the delivery man” with thanks as though the gifts had come from me. Those boxes were from God I was just the mailman.