Cautiously, I put one foot in front of the other and made my way along the muddy, unpaved path. My co-workers and I were spending time with a new group of friends at our assigned campus. Actually, our campus has outgrown it’s original location and overflows onto a second location. Though this is usual, the university made plans to combine all the students at a THIRD location, which is still in the works. Inspite of its unfinished status, the school moved students there already at the beginning of this semester.
We had contacted a friend at this brand-new campus, telling him we wanted to make some new friends at this section of the campus. It’s a ways outside of the city, maybe more than an hour by bus, and there is not much for the students to do, except study, of course! (Good thinking on behalf of the university, huh?) Upon arriving at the campus, we met a group of boys who took us to their cafeteria so we could sit and talk about many questions they had about God! What an amazing opportunity! One of the boys introduced himself as Peter, and I asked him if he knew what his name meant.
As we headed out of the cafeteria to tour the campus, walking down what would be future roads, I tried to tell him that his name meant “rock” and tried to explain the importance of rock (it’s important to build on rock, not sand). My point was made extremely clear when at one point we needed to step on rocks and stones sticking up through the mud. The dirt around the rocks was muddy and unstable, but the rocks provided a place for sure-footing. Peter beemed with pride as I shared that a rock is dependable and trustworthy. A good name is important! Seeds were planted in Peter’s heart that day!