Character Confession: Cleaning Bread Crumbs

Last week I shared my utter frustration with fellow shipmates during a recent cruise. I promised to write about the opposite of their selfishness and today is the day.

Of all the things I could walk off a cruise and be impacted by, I returned home stunned. It wasn’t the food, the shopping, or the sun (because there really wasn’t any.)

It was the servants.

I couldn’t get enough information about the lives of those who worked day and night to serve the passengers. I learned they came from 62 different countries and resided on the second deck. One Romanian worker said from the time she applied to the day she learned she had a job was 4 years. It was that job that gave her money to save and send home because her main job back home just covered living expenses.

Another man admitted his wages helped him save for a home to build for him and his fiancee that would have cement to protect them from the tsunamis. Many were married with children and said they worked 7 mos on the ship, often 6 or 7 days a week, up to 20 hours a day. Granted, some might have been embellishing or my understanding their broken English was off, but somehow, I don’t think so.

One of the passengers asked what everyone thought the workers might be saying about us once on their own deck. I felt whatever negative things they might say, we deserved it. I really struggled with being served. My main waiter, Neptali, from the Philippines, stopped me when I tried to hand him my finished plate. He remarked, “Julie, this is your vacation. You don’t do the work. I do.”

The biggest impact of all, so big that when I tried to recount his demeanor and actions I started to tear up, was the assistant waiter, Borko. He is Serbian and both him and Neptali memorized our names the first night. Everytime we saw Borko other places, he stopped and greeted us with a bow.

When we thanked him for every single thing he did, from water refills to taking away knives, he bowed and said it was his pleasure. He was always smiling. He told us when we docked in Mexico he had never been and was looking forward to it. He admitted being nervous, afraid his friends would deceive him and he’d end up paying for more during shopping experiences on land.

I told my husband if I could adopt him then and there, take him on land and buy him a souvenir shirt, I’d do it.

The hardest act for me to comprehend was my bread crumbs. I’m not the most graceful anything, and my eating is a messy experience. I had crumbs all over the place. Without a word he came by with a small tool designed to wipe crumbs away. I lifted my hands and begged him not to clean up such a mess. He kept cleaning, with a smile, and said,

“But Julie, it is a pleasure to clean this for you.”

His face was so sincere I was overcome and I haven’t been the same since.

The last night in our stateroom my husband and I both blurted the same thing at the near exact time. We pre-paid tips. We had some cash left aside from the tolls we knew we’d have driving home.

We wanted to give our cash to Borko.

So we did.

I don’t know where his faith level is, my guess is he does not have a personal relationship with Christ as when we said goodbyes Neptali said God Bless you, I returned the sentiment to both of them and he said, “May your God bless you.”

But He has the servanthood attitude down, I’ll say that.

Now more than ever I feel drawn to a short terms missions trip and I believe in central/southeastern Europe.

I want to make a difference.

I want to serve.

I want to wipe off the crumbs of life and give people the Bread of Life.

And that is what I learned during my vacation.

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