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Opryland Hotel—My Foreign Mission Field?By
Arlen Becton “But
ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall
be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 We all know we're supposed to let our light shine and be a witness wherever we go, even unto the ends of the world. Here's my story of how the uttermost parts of the earth came to me. First, a little background: In August 1994, I was able to go on a Youth on Mission trip to South Africa for two weeks. We toured and attended a youth revival in Durban, as well as Johannesburg. Bus rides took up to 10 hours with the group of about 30 young people. Basically, we tried to get a flavor for South Africa and to fellowship with Apostolics halfway around the world. Ever since then I have had a strong burden for foreign missions, but I wasn’t able to visit another country with a missions team. I did attend two different world conferences (Amsterdam and Paris in 1990 and Greece and Israel in 1995) that strengthened this burden. Since August of 1999, I have been working at the Front Desk/Guest Services Department of the Opryland Hotel. There are about 80 employees in my department out of a staff of 4,500 in a hotel with 2,883 guest rooms and over 600,000 square feet of convention space. It is one of the 10 largest hotels (with a convention center inside) in the world. In Nashville, a city with less than a 4 percent unemployment rate, it is very difficult for large companies to find enough people from the local area for proper staffing of all required positions and shifts. Opryland Hotel has programs with universities in the United States and around the world for six-, 12-, and 18-month internships in many different departments, including restaurants (culinary), housekeeping and front desk/guest services. To become a supervisor, I had to be trained by a number of different supervisors, many of whom were from different countries. This was fine with me as it broadened my experience. In high school I had studied Spanish for three years, so I mentioned to Claudio (Colombia) and Ana (Spain) that I knew a “little” Spanish. They have helped me with my Spanish ever since, and I have returned the favor by helping them with their English. Once, as Ana pointed to her eyebrows, she asked me what the English word was for them. Then I asked her the Spanish word, which is “Seja.” Then we went to the eyelashes. “Eyelash.” “Pestana.” Then we went to the ears. “Ears” “Orejas.” It got funny as we both tried to remember the words and pronounce them correctly. At one point, three of my trainers were from Indonesia. I began to talk to them about church. I boasted of our lively music that I was sure was different that anything they had ever heard before. They soon agreed to visit my church. They told their friends that they were coming with me, and those friends also wanted to come. Lisa and Olivia (Indonesia), Claudio (Colombia), and Prabesh (Nepal) all came to a Sunday night service in August for their first visit. They also came with me to the homemade ice cream party my Sunday school teacher had at his house soon after, as none of them had ever had homemade ice cream before. It was a great opportunity for them to meet 20 others in their age group outside of a church building. My coworkers felt welcomed at both events. After
the first service he attended, one of my coworkers told me that it was the first
time he had ever been to a church in his life. He is a 26-year-old Hindu.
The Hindu philosophy is about as far from Pentecost as one can get.
Two quick examples: · They believe in over one million gods compared to our one. ·
They do not eat any beef, as cows could be their reincarnated
relatives. He has since been back to my church on two different Sunday nights, and he likes it. I believe he will continue to visit, but only God knows how best to break through his philosophy. One Sunday morning three coworkers came to church: Pablo (Argentina), Claudio (Colombia), and Lisa (Indonesia). As they were walking down the hall from Sunday school to the main auditorium for morning worship, they noticed the missions board we had posted with all the missionaries we support from various countries. Pablo (Argentina) asked what the dollar amount under each name meant, and I explained it was the monthly amount our church paid for each missionary. Those three then began to compare between their countries who the missionaries were and how much support they received. Indonesia did not show a specific missionary, but we did contribute money to the work in that country. The missionary family in Argentina showed they received slightly more monthly support than the family in Colombia. Claudio (Colombia) was very concerned about this. I couldn’t help but chuckle. Here I was trying to explain our missionary system to friends who would soon return to these “mission fields” to live their lives. When our church performed the Azusa Street musical drama, Ana (Spain) came to see it. Since the drama is set in the early 1900s of America, the costumes reflected the time period. Ana loved the drama because she thought the costumes were wonderful. The language barrier is always a factor, though my friends use fairly good English. I'm not always sure how much they truly comprehend, but feel confident that the Spirit of the Lord can draw them no matter the barrier. One night after work I went to dinner with Olivia (Indonesia) and Claudio (Colombia), who are both Catholic. They began to ask me the difference between Catholicism and Pentecost. The discussion started out on basic points like their focus on the Virgin Mary and our focus on Jesus as Savior, but continued into the problems in the Middle East. I ended up giving an impromptu Bible study on the end times. They had never heard of this before, but really started thinking about it. All of my foreign friends who have visited my church enjoy the music and expressions of worship. One Sunday night Prabesh (Nepal) was visiting and for some unexplained reason a visiting family had brought in their own tambourine and cowbell to play during song service. (Let me interject that this is not a common practice at my church.) A bit embarrassed, I mentioned to Prabesh that I had no idea who they were or why they felt led to play their own instruments. Prabesh, who is Hindu, simply said, “Yes, but everyone is welcome at your church—none of you would be able to walk into the Hindu temple with me.” I only pray that this impression and future visits will translate into a better understanding of the Lord and a walk with the one and only true God. Becoming acquainted with these different cultures in the comfort of America has given me a greater appreciation and awe for missionaries who dedicate their lives to reaching the lost around the world. The language barrier must be minimal compared to the cultural differences, housing issues, and the difficulties in reaching the lost. I
may not be a full-time appointed missionary to one country, but I thank God for
bringing a multitude of countries to me. Maybe
my efforts are helping reach the natives for them. ninetyandnine.com ã 2000, Arlen Becton -------- Arlen
Becton sings in youth and adult choirs at the First United Pentecostal
Church in Nashville, but Bible Quizzed
in his wild teenage years. When he
is not working to find rooms for guests at Opryland Hotel, he is planning a trip
out of town somewhere to visit friends and bless them with his glowing
personality. |
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