Matthew

I was in the Atlanta Airport yesterday, on my way to see family Orlando. I had my laptop open, but wasn't really doing anything on it. A man sat a few seats over brought his laptop over and sat next to me. He was somewhere in his thirties, African-(newly)American, wearing a very nice tan overcoat, and had a wide and endearing smile. He asked if I new how to connect to the internet, and opened his new-looking Mac on his lap. We eventually figured out that the Hartsfield-Jackson charges like five dollars for something for twenty minutes internet, but that's not really the point of the story anyway.

He noticed that my computer's background image was music, something my friend Maressa had helped me choose only a week or so before. He told me he plays keyboard and clarinet and that he directs a choir in Charlotte NC, and that he was on his way to a global choir convention (or something like that) in Orlando.

Ironically we ended up sitting close to each other on the plane, but not close enough to converse.

I ran into him during the ritualistic trek of passengers to the baggage claim, where we struck up conversation again. I found out that's he's from Ghana, in West Africa. I told him I had a friend (Maressa) who studies Ugandan music - he liked to hear that, and said good things about Ugandan musicians.

His story is amazing. He was a musician in Ghana, and had visited America a couple times. On his second visit, he was invited to be the choir director for a Methodist Church in Charlotte. He's now lived here for about six years, his wife and daughter moved to the country four years ago, and He began to talk about how wonderful America is, a professing his love for the country. His big smile grew even wider as he talked about the amazing opportunities available to our citizens, especially for him and his family. He seemed very proud of his English; it was apparent that he was working very hard to learn and improve.

His subject shifted to religion as he talked about what is possible with the power of God. I could see many powerful feelings come over him as he testified to me the power of Jesus Christ. At first I was a little surprised that he didn't ask about my religion, but in retrospect it was nice, really. He was simply telling me the power of his beliefs, not trying to convert me or anything like that.

It was an awesome experience talking to a man actively improving the life his family. It was also great to be reminded of the amazing benefits of living in America, especially with the anti-American sentiments floating in from around the world and even the constant criticisms of our own government coming from the inside. I think we could all benefit from meeting more people like Matthew in our lives.

:)