TESTIFY !!!!!!!

Yesterday, I met a man who was from Texas. At first, he seemed completely

uninterested in getting some water bottles from sweaty people. However, after

talking to him about various things (especially our purpose for handing out the

bottles), he smiled and said, “you guys are very nice” with a huge smile. Then he

took a water bottle, even though he didn’t really want/need it. We did mention our

faith and how we wanted to spread the love of Jesus Christ. But, he wasn’t very

interested either. The lesson learned from this I believe, is that even thought

someone may be unwilling to understand Christianity, it is very important to plant

that seed in their hearts nonetheless.

Yesterday we had a delicious hog roast. It was divine. Afterwards, we went

to a motel to hand out popcorn and lemonade. While we were trying to knock on

the doors, the owner came out and made us leave. So, we decided to go back to the

motel we visited previously. This was great news to all of us because we had become

friends with a lot of people from there. It was like that was the place God wanted us

to be that night and it was truly amazing.

My heart was raining. My thoughts were jumbled. Who caused all this? God

did. On the streets yesterday I felt probably resembled an insane person. I didn’t

know if I was doing my service right for God. Then I thought, “just suck it up. You are

doing this to spread God’s love.” I walked up confidently with my group members to

complete strangers and asked, “would you like some free water?” those first words

then became to become a nice conversation about Jesus and the Heavenly Father.

Again and again we repeated this process despite the 100-degree weather. I had

many firsts before, but this first time had a unique feel to it.

There was a family of three, a mother and her two children. I offered the

some water and we just began talking. The most important aspect though was the

fact that I prayed for them out loud, on the streets in public where we were exposed

to everything.

I have been a Christian for quite some time, but it was the first time for me to

pray for strangers on the street just to spread God’s love. A happy sensation is a

general term of what I’d felt on the inside. This trip had been so amazing. I can’t wait

to experience more.

Yesterday was pretty nerve wrecking doing street evangelism. I was a little

horrified for a second when I was told I would have to walk up and down the street

handing out water, telling them about Jesus, and then praying for them. But as I got

started, I realized it wasn’t as bad as I thought. We did have a few rude encounters,

but most of them were pretty nice. It was pretty funny to see some people’s

reactions because they were so confused. Some thought we were kidding, some

thought we were drugging them, and some asked us why we were doing this. As

dazed and confused as they were, some just wouldn’t pass up the opportunity of

getting free stuff. One man on a tour bus was like “Heck yes! Why not if it’s free,

right?” as we finished with the bottles, we were each given a dollar to do anything

we felt was right with it. We prayed about it, and it was scary not knowing what to

do with it. But as we walked towards a bakery/deli, I just came up with this random

idea. We went in, bought a bottle of water, added a few more bucks to our $3, and

gave the cashier $10. We asked him if we could give him the $10 to pay for the next

customer after us. It was pretty cool seeing his confused face like “why are you

doing this?” as we were walking away, a man went to pay and the cashier started to

explain it to him. Although we didn’t see or hear his reaction, it’s nice to know that

we might have made someone’s day with a simple random act of kindness.

Yesterday, I met a man who was from Texas. At first, he seemed completely

uninterested in getting some water bottles from sweaty people. However, after

talking to him about various things (especially our purpose for handing out the

bottles), he smiled and said, “you guys are very nice” with a huge smile. Then he

took a water bottle, even though he didn’t really want/need it. We did mention our

faith and how we wanted to spread the love of Jesus Christ. But, he wasn’t very

interested either. The lesson learned from this I believe, is that even thought

someone may be unwilling to understand Christianity, it is very important to plant

that seed in their hearts nonetheless.

After a long day of missions work, our group was, to say the least, exhausted.

We had seen God’s work in people through our ministry that range from handing

out water bottles to engaging and discussing religion with international students.

We were on our way to pick up some supplies at a Wal-Mart. Due to Kyle

getting a little lost, it was a very long ride. Sitting in the car, all I wanted to do was to

sleep. However, Jesus didn’t intent to stop working just yet.

Seemingly out of nowhere, I heard the others singing a Camp Crossroads

worship song. Before long, I was also joining them in the songs.

Though some may simply attribute this to “teenage” energy, I felt that there

was a divine role that played into the car ride. To me, it was an example of the

passion of Christ that is planted in all of His children. I pay that God continues to

work in all of us: from random vacationers and students to His workers.

Thank you Lord for being a faithful Father!