Am I a pastor?

Posted on the Oulu Chaff Blog and on Jacob's Blog.

I was returning home yesterday from a meeting at about 10 pm, when, quite close to my residence I saw an African man standing at the pedestrian crossing, map in hand, in a biting blizzard, obviously trying to find some address.

I pulled up the car and asked him where he wanted to go.

His hand and the map were shaking in the bitterly cold wind making it impossible to understand where he wanted to reach. I asked him to jump into that car.

The X on the map was too large to tell what the exact address was, so I asked him whether he had the phone number of his friend. He pulled out a phone and found the number - but as he had no credit in his phone account, he could not dial. So I asked him for the number and dialed.

The house was not more that a few hundred metres from where we were.

I dropped him off and handed him over to his friend who had come down to greet him.

In the process, I asked this young man where he came from - which was Ghana, and his name - which was Peter!

He in turn had only one question for me - which had me in splits of laughter - Was I a pastor?

I assured him that I was not, but I was a participant of CHAFF, which is where common folk in Oulu help one another!

What did this act of kindness cost me? 5 minutes of my time and one phone call charge!

Was it worth it? In my humble opinion - Certainly!

Have you done your good deed for today? :-)

Our last meeting on Sunday concentrated on problems of newcomers to Oulu, especially education and housing. I have some excellent flats at Puolivälikangas for rent, so contact me if you are interested - and fast!

Remember to inform Ildikó (or me) if you will be attending the dinner at the Ravintola Marrakech the coming Thursday (13th December) at 18:30 hours. Registration is imperative.

Also do remember the English Language Christmas Carol Service at the Oulu Cathedral, this Saturday, 8th December at 16:00 hours. All are welcome.