Big & Mini

As isolation because of quarantine seemed to be at its peak, a group of college students in Austin, Texas wanted to create a solution. Having grown up in a world where communication over great distances was literally at your fingertips, the group wanted to solve two problems at once: decrease loneliness caused by the pandemic and bridge the ever-growing generational divide that our world is facing. Their solution was a program called Big & Mini that takes someone from a younger generation, matches them with someone from an older generation, and connects them so that they can begin a virtual friendship.

When Nancy Tallman saw the story air on the Today Show, she had no idea that God had already begun to work in the life of a seventeen-year-old high school senior from Pflugerville, Texas who just so happened to be watching the same story. They both signed up, waited for a match, and soon found themselves starring at each other for the first time on the computer screen. From the very beginning, Nancy wanted this to be an opportunity to share God’s love and allow Him room to work in the life of her “mini.”

Through the months that followed, their relationship grew. They learned about each other’s dreams and plans, got to meet each other’s family, and even exchanged Christmas gifts. Through their friendship, Nancy heard an increasingly familiar story about her “mini’s” spiritual background. She went to church when she and her sister were younger, as they got older sports took the priority, and now they haven’t been to church in years. But even with that, Nancy wanted to make sure that one aspect of her Christian life somehow wove its way into every interaction they had: prayer.

Nancy would ask her “mini” if there was anything she wanted prayers for. She would ask her “mini” to pray for things on her behalf regardless of whether or not she thought she might do it. And most importantly, Nancy constantly prayed that God would work in the life of her “mini.” And as always, He delivered.

At one of her practices, Nancy’s “mini” was exposed to COVID-19. She shared it with Nancy who immediately told her she would be praying about it. A few days later, her “mini” got the news that her test had come back negative. She was very excited to share the news with Nancy. When she did, she told her, “Thank you so much for praying for me. God answered those prayers, and my test came back negative.” As subtle a shift as it might seem, she went from simply being thankful her test was negative to being thankful to God that her test was negative. This is the first step in changing her entire worldview from one that just accepts that good and bad things happen to one that accepts there is a loving God in control of it all.