BALKANS — An odd quiet settled on the blizzard-beaten town as, one by one, doors cracked open and people struggled to emerge from their homes. Random gusts teased the head-high drifts, playfully tossing loose powder into the frigid air — a stark contrast to the howling, merciless tempest that earlier seemed bent on burying them all.

In the silence after the storm, a still, small voice whispered to Dave, a Crossworld worker serving in the community. As local officials passed out shovels and implored residents to help dig out the town, Dave strode to his barn.

Var-ROOM! He fired up the tractor his team normally used in their summer agribusiness project, and affixed a plow to its front.

First: Free his Crossworld coworkers from nature’s icy grip.

Next: Help his Balkan neighbors retake their snowbound town.

Snow flew as Dave plowed driveway after driveway. Neighbors gaped as the tractor attacked snowdrifts and tossed them aside.  A man who formerly shunned Crossworld workers and their gospel message was dumbfounded. “Who is that man, running the tractor?”

“That’s my boss,” the team member answered.

“I can’t believe a boss would do that for his employee,” the neighbor said, eyeing the team member with new respect. “It never goes like that around here.”

Indeed, witnessing faith in God linked to acts of kindness is a rather novel idea in this former Communist country. Admiration for Dave grew as he cleared main roads and a route to a nearby village. Schools, banks, gas stations and hotels cheered as he dug them out.

“I can’t get to my patient. Can you help me?” a doctor pleaded.

“Sure!” Dave responded. “Hop on!”

For several days, the roar of Dave’s tractor filled the town as he worked from dawn to well past dark.

Appreciative residents showered him with homemade treats, drinks and dried meats. As Dave accepted their thanks, the same question arose over and over.

“Why would you do this?”

“I am motivated by the love of God and love for my neighbors,” he replied.

Along with the snowdrifts, Dave’s tractor plowed away resistance to the gospel. “God used Dave’s good-neighbor acts to bring about tremendous opportunities to share about our Lord, citywide,” said Dave’s wife, Amanda. “We couldn’t have imagined that, when God opened up the heavens to cover our town with snow, it was part of His perfect plan to create a cloudburst of His message descending all around us.”

What acts of kindness can you do in your neighborhood or workplace, no strings attached?