Meet the Neighbors: The Anwana Family
Meet Eddie and Angie Anwana,
They are a sweet couple that lives in our building and share our stairwell, so we see them several times a week. Eddie is a Postal Service driver and Angie is a shift manager at a Starbucks. They have lived in the apartment complex for 4-6 years now. When we met them they were not married, but they have since gotten married. We know that Angie is divorced from an abusive first husband and that she is still healing mentally and emotionally. They do not have kids but are cat enthusiasts. This past year they had to put down one of their cats, which was devastating to Angie. They are not close to either sets of their parents, either physically or emotionally. If they had to be put into a defined religious ‘box,’ I would say they are Agnostic. They believe that there is a higher power/God but are unsure of anything beyond that.
I like to think that we enjoy being neighbors. When either family travels we watch each others cats and collect packages for each other. When Adelaide and I have excess food from local produce giveaways we give some to them and Angie gives us coffee beans that she gets for free from work. When both families travel we always give small trinkets to each other from our adventures. They are vegetarian (for some health related problems they are trying to sort out) and Adelaide and I have had them over for a vegetarian meal.
When we try to share the things of God it appears they are either unsteady in their beliefs or do not want to share theirsfor worry of offending us. Their artistic expressions are eclectic. They have tattoos and decorations in their house that indicate an awareness of spiritual elements in the world but in no way show an awareness of the Almighty. One several occasions we have shared the gospel and gospel truths, and it seems to have fallen on deaf ears. When Ellette was born they stepped inside for a few minutes to meet her. In my joy I exclaimed the wonders of God in creating a tiny human and the miracle of birth. Another time we pressed into their beliefs more and shared the gospel, but had no response (yet!).
It is so important for all of us to remember that a Christian’s success in proclaiming the gospel is not in the response of the hearer, but rather the faithfulness of the one proclaiming the message. I think of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah who were told they were going to preach to deaf ears. Their success was measured by the fact that they shared God’s truths, not by the fact that their hearers didn’t respond. It can be discouraging for all of us to share God’s goodness with people that seem like they aren’t hearing it. But, our job is to proclaim it regardless. And who knows? Perhaps in coming days that person you have been laboring over will see the light and worship God because of your faithfulness during difficult times.
When thinking of Eddie and Angie, these are our prayer requests for them. Would you take a moment to pray for these today?
- First, obviously their spiritual need to accept the gospel
- Second, that they would find purpose and direction in their lives.
How can I pray for those you are trying to reach? Who is your one? I would love to hear!