Moses, part 2

My wife is an amateur hair stylist. She cuts our boys hair and has taken a few whacks at mine in the past. Of course, I’m a much more picky and fussy customer than our children, and so it wasn’t unusual for my haircuts to take 90 minutes or so for her to appease my vanity. After numerous cuts, we finally decided that for the good of our marriage I should probably just go to a professional in Nairobi.

I found a young man named Moses at an outdoor mall and began to employ him every other month or so. Over time our relationship grew. We had a lot in common, and eventually I shared my testimony of how God changed my life. He was open to spiritual things, so one day I found him in between haircuts and gave him Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life. He was excited to receive a hardback book and told me he would read it.

At my next haircut, Moses enthusiastically told me that he had read it already. I was amazed. I told him we should get together and talk about the book. I hoped to see if Moses had given his life to the Lord or if perhaps I could help him take steps in that direction. We didn’t set up an appointment.

The next time I got my haircut (another six weeks or so had passed) we talked about getting together again. And again, I felt a burden to sit down with Moses and talk about Jesus, partially because of the alcohol I smelled on his breath as he cut. A man who reeks of liquor at mid-day probably isn’t experiencing the free and joyful life Christ intended for him. However, our trips into Nairobi are usually so busy (as we do a months worth of errands at a time) that the meeting was never set.

Another few weeks passed and I went to the shop where Moses worked. I called Moses early in the morning to ask him when he could see me for my hair. A relative answered his phone and proceeded to tell me a shocking story. Moses had died a week earlier in a house fire.

I went into the shop to talk with his co-workers, to grieve with them, and to learn more of his story. He had fallen asleep with candles burning in his one room apartment and the curtains caught fire. Fortunately, his wife and son were sleeping at her parents’ house that evening.

I'll finish the story on Friday.