I took my first mission, preaching, very seriously while I was in New York.

I didn’t go to the NY church that often, but I did spend my free time trying to preach to people in the school and from my class.

There was one particular girl, April, who agreed to have dinner with me. We sat in restaurant after restaurant until we had overstayed our welcome and had to move to another. Dinner, dessert, drinks at Starbucks. I showed her so many verses from the Bible.

At the Starbucks, some people—Jews for Jesus—overheard us and started adding to the conversation, then arguing with other random people in the café.

I watched giddily as the entire establishment seemed to erupt into debate about the Bible. The air felt charged, like there was something supernatural going on. This must be god’s work, I thought.

April and I left after a little while. It was almost midnight, and we were running around the city. I felt so free and excited.

Did you know we were angels from heaven? I asked her.

Really? She looked awed. (At least that’s what I thought.)

That was the last time April let me talk to her, and I understood in hindsight why.