From Harlem Nightclubs to Billy Graham Crusades. Guess who?
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined. – Matthew 4:16
The dark sky to the west put us on high alert. Aluminum canopies with plastic covers don’t do well outside in wind and rain! Sure enough the storm that we hoped would turn to the north, came upon us quickly and everything, including our Bibles, tracts, tables and lawn chairs flew in every direction. But it was over almost as quickly as it had started. We were wet but not discouraged.
A lady named Susan was the first one to come to what was left of our booth after we recovered to request a free Bible. When asked where she was from she replied, “Oh, all over.” Her dad was a teacher and what she remembered most about her childhood was traveling and living in six different countries during his tenure. Now she was in her forties and still traveling. How she ended up in our town was somewhat nebulous, so we didn’t press it. Susan said she was a Christian but the man she lived with didn’t like churches so she didn’t go. She had two sons, one was in prison and another daughter with two children. Susan was estranged from them all.
We prayed for Susan and she received such a mighty deliverance that we had to hold her up. She spent the next hour praising God with the rest of the believers with her hands lifted high. Before she left we introduced her to a local pastor of a church that was just a few blocks from her home.
A single mom in her twenties named Desiree was in tears as she told us her story after picking up one of our tracts. She had three little children in tow and was pregnant with another. She openly shared with us her continuing struggle with drugs and poor choices. She was living with an uncle because she had no other place to go. She didn’t work and was on welfare. She said, “I have no hope and no place to turn to for help.”
Desiree asked for prayer and made a confession of faith and we baptized her thirty minutes later with two of her boys. That’s right, we were prepared with a portable baptismal on site! Another local pastor said he and his wife would follow up with her and her family.
We gave a tract to a lady with a fluffy little dog on a leash. She willingly took it, read a little and then politely placed it back on our table. Not interested.
These partial sound bites are from our participation in an outreach at a public park in our city. Fifty or so believers met to worship and pray under a large canopy in the middle of the park. There was other activity all around us, with the local Farmers Market in progress around the park’s perimeter; an advocacy group promoting breast feeding to moms at the gazebo; and hundreds of curious people just milling around. What a mission field!
Before we left, still kind of damp, we prayed for the lady who returned our tract and all the others that received one, that the Holy Spirit would convict their hearts of their need for Jesus and that someone else along the way would water the seeds that were planted that day (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).
The next night we were scheduled to set up again at an auto speedway in another city to also give away Bibles, tracts, pray with the drivers and engage people in conversation about Jesus.
The weather forecast was for stormy weather again. Good, we thought. That’s when Jesus does His best work! Maranatha!
