Home

Blessings, Baptists, and Bantam Chef

January 15, 2009 | posted by Jon under united states, updates

Yes, I do have internet again this morning (at a hotel!), and the story behind it is rather incredible (at least to Lars and I), so we thought we’d share it with you.  We got into Union, SC last night around 5.  As usual, we went to the local public library to check email, update this site, and figure out our next steps.  As we were leaving, we asked the librarians which churches they thought would be willing to let us stay in their building for the night.  They told us to check out Tabernacle Baptist Church, saying “that’s probably your best bet.”

Boy was it ever.  We entered the church right as Choir practice was starting and the Wed. evening sermon was concluding.  After talking to a couple of people, our reputation soon preceeded us, and a number of church members were working on setting us up with accomodations .  After tossing around the idea of sleeping in the church’s gym, which would have been more than fine with us, they decided to get us a hotel room, saying, “We’re going to do something better for y’all.”

That seemed to be the theme for the evening.  As we were getting directions to the hotel and trying to thank the people of Tabernacle Baptist as best we could, a lady handed us each $5, saying that we could go get something to eat across the street at the Bantam Chef, a Southern fast food chain that has now become my favorite restaurant in the genre.

So we took her advice and headed over to the Bantam Chef, which apparently was owned by a member of Tabernacle Baptist Church.  Upon learning who we were, the owner told the wonderful ladies at the front counter to “take care of us.”  That manifested itself in the form of two huge cheeseburgers “with everything” (chili, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, mustard, and ketchup), as well as generous servings of cole slaw, fries, and soda.

After delightfully devouring this meal, we sat in the booth of Bantam Chef, stuffed and satisfied.  It was just then that we recieved a phone call from Steve, a reporter with the local radio station.  I talked to him for a couple of minutes on the phone, fielding theological questions such as, “What do you ”Mehonites” believe?”, “Do y’all believe in heaven and hell?”, “Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and our Lord and Savior?”

Steve showed up in the next 15 minutes, and a brief interview (complete with stuttering soundbyte supplied by Lars and I) was conducted, but what was really interesting to me was the discussion of theology that ensued in that local fast food joint.  We spoke with Steve for a while about who the Mennonites are, how they differ from the Baptists, and what commonalities all religions share.  It was clear that he was personally interested in our trip, and it was good to fellowship with him.

Full of food and good conversation, Lars and I gleefully rode to the hotel room provided for us at the Days Inn (which, we were told, was “just about the nicest hotel we have.”), told the clerk our names, and he handed us the keys to a heated, dry room complete with a hot shower and two wonderful beds.  We sat there, still in our bike clothes, shaking our heads at what had just taken place that evening.  I am still processing it further, but suffice it to say that God is good, and sometimes more than good, for reasons we don’t yet understand.