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People find God in unusual places and often try to show others the way to their savior in even stranger places.
Believers have tried to “save” me on Mexican beaches and at basketball games. They’ve tried to lead me to God on college campuses, in airports and on airplanes. They’ve praised Jesus and encouraged me to follow his way at Spanish parties and Mexican weddings, too.
But I never expected someone to try and show me the way to salvation while I stood in the chairlift line at Copper Mountain. And not only me, but “Brother Nathaniel,” as he’s known, was reaching out to everyone, boarders and two-plankers alike.
“I have found the way to Jesus,” he sung. “Follow Jesus home.”
Decked out in a white dress, a purple vest and a purple top hat adorned with a cross, Brother Nathaniel walked up and down the lift line, singing for Jesus, giving praises and kneeling for God’s mercy. He brings his crucified Christ out to the lift line a few times a month, one of the lift operators told me.
Apparently, Brother Nathaniel has been around the mountain before. Although he was annoying, he didn’t seem to harass anyone, which is more than can said for the general public who he preaches to. Brother Nathaniel, it seems, annoys others a lot more than skiers, as he was the victim of a death threat by a Dillon man after one of the brother’s public sermons.
As long as he stays out of the hospital, maybe Brother Nathaniel can pray for some late-season powder while he’s got God’s ear.— Luke Turf
