No More Sweet Tea Please

This story is totally true and it happened January of 2008.

On January 6th of 2008, Aaron and Eliu from Samaritan Revival arrived in the states for the first time. Harold had already visited several states in the past. One of things that we do not have in Honduras is buffets and I know how these guys love to eat so I thought that I would introduce them to the Golden Corral.

We arrived in Douglasville, Ga about 8:00pm and we went directly to the Golden Corral. When we walked in, Aaron wanted to know if we were at a wedding reception or some type of party. I said no Aaron, we are at a restaurant. Once we paid, we got our plates and I told them to go get their food. Aaron and Eliu just looked at me and said "How do we know what we are allowed to eat?" I told them that they could eat anything they wanted. This blew them away. About 15 minutes later, they both came to the table with three plates each that looked liked Mt. Rushmore. I told them that they did not have to get all the food at one time, they could go back as many times as they wanted. They just smiled and started eating.

When they finished eating, Aaron had almost turned blue. You could tell that he was stuffed. The waitress came around and filled everyones tea and we set and talked for a while. Every few minutes, the waitress would come back around and give everyone tea refills. Aaron had a sick feeling on his face and he turned to me and said "Philip, please tell the waitress not to refill my tea anymore, my stomach is about to bust. I am going to be sick. I have drunk 7 glasses of tea and every time I finish my glass, here she comes again. I can't take it anymore." I told Aaron that if he did not want anymore tea, he did not have to drink it. He looked at me with a strange look and said "I know that we can eat what we want but we cannot waste food. Just ask her not to refill my tea anymore, please."

Aaron, Eliu and Harold came from a country where there is no refills. They came from a family that was poor and if food was placed on their plate, they ate every bite. They never had to learn not to waste because they never had enough to waste. Aaron was not going to waste a glass of tea.

How much do we waste each day when there are so many people hungry throughout the world. How many singings have we been to with so much food that no one can eat it all. That day, I was taught an important lesson. I was taught a moral lesson. Just because we have it does not mean that we can abuse it. I love to eat and once you meet me you will see that I am not lying but I have learned not to waste food. When I throw a plate half full with food into the trash, I think about Aaron and his sweet tea.

Always and I mean always thank God for what He has given you. What we have today, we may not have tomorrow.

Philip Tyson
Samaritan Revival
www.samaritanrevival.com