If you were to ask anyone who has ever met to describe me, they would likely tell you three things: Philippians, spicy food, and my laugh. During my first year at the OGTC, I gained the nickname “Spicy Pancake(s)”. I lived off of pizza and pancakes during that time of my life. I would make pancakes right before class for everyone. Eventually, I no longer had time to make them like I used to, but for a season they were my specialty. Besides being known for my love of pancakes, I was even more known for my love of spicy food. I was either talking about spicy food or eating spicy food. One of the things that weirded people out was my unconventional mixing of hot sauce and regular food.
Eventually, my friend Greg gave me my nickname by combining my love of pancakes and my love of spicy food. What followed next can be blamed on Greg! Because I had been given such an awesome nickname, I felt the need to live up to it by making spicy pancakes!!! I decided on two approaches to make my new dream a reality. The first was to put my favorite blend of spices into my pancake batter. It actually turned out really good and is similar to a Chinese dish. Unfortunately, my roommates didn’t appreciate it as much as me. It was the first day for one of them, and I offered to make pancakes for everyone. I made two batches and encouraged them to try both. The second way was to put Texas Pete Hot Sauce on my blueberry pancakes. This was also a delicious approach that I highly recommend. However, everyone at the table was not pleased with my decision. Greg told me that as the youth Pastor, it was time for an intervention for me. I told him that he was to blame for giving me the idea in the first place.
Another thing that I was know for was my obsession with making my dream of creating a spicy ice cream taco a reality. It started out in my theology class with Pastor Trent. We were talking about two opposing views and a third view that tried and failed to reconcile the two. While describing this view, he tried explaining why it wouldn’t work with the analogy of ice cream and tacos don’t go together and in the same way these two viewpoints don’t go together. While I understood what he was saying, I took it as a challenge and asked him about spicy ice cream tacos afterwards. He has a sign on his office that says “enter only if you have tacos”. It became my goal to one day enter his office with a spicy ice cream taco. I would constantly talk about it. I would have planning sessions on how to make it with my friend and mentor Chris, and I finally made it a reality by convincing my family’s exchange student who was an excellent Chef to make it for me! She named it “the Mistake” and was upset that it actually tasted good because the concept was so absurd. Then, when I got back to school, I started telling everyone about my new creation. I even convinced one of the Church kids of the greatness of the spicy ice cream taco, and he kept on asking me for the recipe.
Unfortunately, I had to tell him no because I gave the recipe to a friend.
Side note: This just reminded me to make a spicy ice cream taco for Pastor Trent. I still haven’t accomplished that goal yet.
These next two stories are some of my favorite to tell! The first one took place in my first year as a student in the park right next to a Church I would help out with occasionally. I loved that park because of the close proximity to the Church and the amount of people there. One day while visiting the Church early, I decided to take my guitar and play it in the park. While playing my guitar, I noticed a group of guys playing basketball near me. Upon seeing them play, I decided to join them. After a while, I went back to the Church to see if it had been unlocked to get some tracks. I had about 30-40 minutes left, maybe less, to get these tracks to them before the service started. When I arrived back at the park, I found the guys under the pavilion having a cookout. When I got closer to them, they started yelling for me to preach Jesus to them because it was hotter than hell over here. They were burning up. The reason for this reaction was because they were having a hot chip challenge. In this challenge, you would dip a hot chips into different hot sauces. Me being the lover of hot foods that I am, saw an opportunity to share the Gospel with them while also enjoying one of my favorite passions in life! So I immediately asked them “where was their hottest stuff?” When I said that, they told me that I was supposed to be preaching to them, not joining them in hell. However, they quickly became excited about me joining them in their contest. When it was my turn, I dipped a chip in all three sauces and ate it. I then laid a few chips in the sauces to soak while I preached. It was very delicious and very, very, very, very hot. Unfortunately for me, I made the mistake of doing this on an empty stomach. I regretted that poor decision very much. After eating the first chips, I was able to preach for five minutes on Romans 5:8 and some other verses. Those were some of the longest five minutes in my life. My mouth felt like it was a volcano spewing lava out, my eyes were burning and tearing up, my stomach felt like knives were stabbing me, I was hiccupping now and then, and my mind felt sluggish from the pain. Thankfully, although I was in immense pain, God allowed me to endure my poor decision to the end. This five minute was the most agonizing message that I have ever preached, but it was so worth it. It allowed me to become part of the group. (It is also on YouTube and Instagram somewhere. If you can find it for me, please let me know.) After the five minute was over, I made the poor decision to eat the soaked chips. I immediately regretted it because of the pain. (This is also on YouTube somewhere.) After I ate the chips, they finally revealed what the hot sauces were: Mega Diablo, Ghost Pepper, and something else. When everything was finished, I was able to exchange numbers and was invited to the next event. Afterwards, I rushed to the Church and some of the ladies there gave me milk and cookies to help with the pain.
This second story was one of the most exciting moments in my life! It was a special night for one of my friends, and we went to Wild Wing Café. While we were waiting for the food, one of my friends saw that there was a hot wing challenge on the menu. It was a challenge to eat 18 of their top 3 hottest wings in 6 minutes or less. The record was 3 minutes and 15 seconds. Winners would get their meal for free, get a free shirt, and get their picture taken to be posted on the wall. After being dared to do it by everyone, I decided to attempt it. The three wings were Carolina Reaper, Braveheart, and another wing I forgot the name of. When the wings were brought in, I noticed three things about them: they were massive, they were steaming from being brought straight out the oven, and they would be very messy to eat. Once I started, the everyone in the restaurant started focusing on me and chanting my name. It was very grueling to get through, though. I was literally melting the roof of my mouth. My face was numb. I accidently touched my eyes. I was able to push through, though. Some of my friends were a big help by handing me my napkins and water. My time ended up being 3 Minutes and 45 Seconds. While I didn’t beat the high score, I was told that my wings were bigger than the guy who set the record. After the challenge was complete, we were able to share what we were training to be and share the Gospel with the staff!!! Looking back, this is definitely one of the memories with my friends that I will cherish for the rest of my life. While I was suffering (my mouth was bleeding for 3 days afterwards), they were sharing the Gospel. After I was done suffering, I was able to join in with them. There is nothing like being able to share the Gospel alongside your brothers in Christ! (Side note: I went back on my Birthday with Greg and beat the record! My final time was 3 Minutes and 7 Seconds. In reality, it was more like 3 Minutes.)
While some of the stories that I shared may not have evangelism directly in them, there are two lessons that I would like to share that I have learned from them. The first is that personal evangelism is more than the occasional handing out of a track or door knocking out of a sense of duty. It is a mind set. A way of life. In the first two stories, I talked about how I was constantly talking about spicy food, eating spicy food, and looking for opportunities to get other people excited about spicy food. I also would make spicy ice cream taco disciples. There is a saying that when you love something or someone, you will feel it in your heart, think about it, talk about it, and act on it. I can confirm that this saying is true. Just like I did for my love of spicy food, the same can be said for my passion for personal evangelism. It is in my heart. I am constantly thinking about it. I am constantly talking about it, and I am always looking for ways to live it out. This needs to be how we approach personal evangelism. If your life has truly been changed by Jesus Christ, then there should be a desire to share the One who saved and changed you with everyone you meet. There should be a burden in your heart for all of the people who have never heard the name of Jesus.
The second thing is that personal evangelism can come in many forms. Anywhere you go, anything you do, and anyone you are with can lead to you sharing the Gospel. I would like to encourage you to take a look at what your passions are and see how you can use them to reach others for the cause of Christ. I did it with my love for spicy food, and you can do it with whatever you love.
