It was´t long before I invited Renee and Leon to join the rest of the group on the balcony. And that´s when Renée shared his story about Leon, his faithful pup ...
Rene was born blind but never warmed to the idea of owning a guide dog. To him, dogs were slobbering beasts with gnawing teeth and ate little children. He was perfectly content getting around on a white cane. But his friends kept encouraging him to adopt a guide dog. After careful consideration he decided to 'give it a go'. He thought that if it doesn't work out, at least he could tell people he's given it a go. A friend had a black Labrador in mind for Rene, and he named it Leon, a reflection of 'the Lion of the tribe of Judah'. And so their romance began ...
Rene was born blind but never warmed to the idea of owning a guide dog. To him, dogs were slobbering beasts with gnawing teeth and ate little children. He was perfectly content getting around on a white cane. But his friends kept encouraging him to adopt a guide dog. After careful consideration he decided to 'give it a go'. He thought that if it doesn't work out, at least he could tell people he's given it a go. A friend had a black Labrador in mind for Rene, and he named it Leon, a reflection of 'the Lion of the tribe of Judah'. And so their romance began ...
Rene & Leon had a shaky start. For starters, Rene found it extremely challenging to trust a slobbering beast for directions ... And Leon felt it. The distrust of his master made Leon anxious. He threw up his food, malted, did his 'doggy business' in surprising places around the house, and slobbered even more profusely. Rene considered giving up Leon. After consulting his friend, Rene was convicted that needed to change his attitude. 'One cannot be led by one whom he does not trust.' Rene decided to learn to trust.
One of Rene's favourite hang-out places was Starbucks. Rene had a friend often hung out there with him and helped teach Leon commands. I was delight to learn how Rene taught Leon pseudo-Italian commands - ones that only Leon would respond to, and the only ones that Leon would respond to. Somewhere along the way, sitting in Starbucks cafe, Leon began to learn Starbucks as a command. Today, wherever Rene is, be it in his hometown Bern or a different city, if there was a Starbucks nearby Rene could simply give a 'Starbucks' command, and Leon would take him to Starbucks! As you can imagine, their relationship had taken quite a turn ...
It is hard to imagine the obedient, confident & loyal Leon who now adorns a thick shiny coat of fur ever being a slobbering, nervous wreck ... Rene is undoubtedly learning to trust in and be guided by his furry friend each day. When asked who decides where they should go, Rene lets out a broad grin and replied 'a bit of both'.
Rene shared with the team that he has a friend from Newcastle, Australia. It turns out that his friend lives just 5 minutes away from one of our team members. Our leader also felt to ask him whether his thoughts of being a baristar at the YWAM base in Newcastle, Australia was a dream or an idea. Rene asked for a definition so he could answer truthfully. Our leader gave it. Immediately Rene confessed that it's it´s been a dream that has now become an idea ...
Our team surrounded Rene and prayed for him before we parted. It was evident that the Lord's stirring up Rene's dreams, and that he was very dear to His creator. As we parted, Rene looked moved & pensive. But he wasn't the only one. We were all rejoicing in the Lord for a rockin' testimony.
On a side note, I ordered a cold chai tea, but ended up receiving a hot chai tea. When I mentioned it to our host, he explained that he was thinking in multiple languages when he was ordering our drinks (because Bern is the Swiss-German part of Switzerland). In German the word cold is sounds like 'hot' in English. And hence my hot chai tea! I realised the Lord was being sweet to me though. We were sitting outside on the porch in the cold, and I would've needed a hot drink after all!
Ah, the joys of being used by the Lord~~~
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