Battle Log
Sunday 6 April 2025
Posted 6 April 2025, 3:43 PM by Glen Richards. Permalink
It’s been a busy month. I’ve just enjoyed going through the photo’s and remembering. Some of them might seem a bit odd to you, but they have special meaning to me.
The one of Daniel and Bobby-Jean praying is special because they instigated a 6 am prayer time while we were in the Philippines. Of course we were all praying anyway, but it touched me that they would make this extra effort. We are so dependent on God, and prayer is so vital to everything we do.
The one with the green field & trees and the blue sky with the white clouds was taken on our last day in the Philippines, down at the University of the Philippines Dilliman - where we did all our ‘street’ outreach. And then the one with the thrown away gospel tract in one corner, and then a discarded coin in the other corner - some people don’t realise the value of the treasure they are discarding.
Our site at the Oxford A&P Show outreach (29th March, one week after getting back from the Philippines) was between 2 sites both selling jewellery. 3 sites with treasure - 2 selling, and 1 giving away.
And then finally, the video. I don’t think I’m going to be able to attach the video to this report. If I can successfully upload it to Facebook, I’ll link to it here. <-- (if there is no link, then I haven’t done it yet, or I wasn’t able to upload it). The video is amazing. Taken at the Oxford A&P Show. Daniel and Andy are in gospel chats, when a pipe band comes down the road. Amazingly, they stop and start playing the classic hymn “Amazing Grace” - I’m not sure if they realised the significance? But it was a special moment that I caught on video.
So, enough commentary on the photos. What happened this month? We spent a week or so in the Philippines. And then the Oxford A&P Show. In between that, our regular work has been happening. Street outreaches, online outreaches, and we are continuing to distribute free gospel tracts across NZ via the web store (outside NZ here).
While in the Philippines, we spent 2 hours in online outreach, and 4 hours in street outreach. There was a team of just under 20 from all parts of the world: NZ, Aussie, USA, Indonesia, and Chris from Norway! Also, many from the Philippines who follow needGod.net via social media came to join us as well.
As I reflect, some of the memories are coming back. I’ll highlight one. Edson from the USA was a big encouragement to me. There was a big group of students down in the ‘sunken garden’ and he challenged me to approach them. He said he would take one side, if I do the other. Big groups can be very tiring, and I was tired! But since he was keen, I swallowed my fear and just ‘did it’. Normally with big groups you get people in different places, and 1 person will kill the dynamic so the rest don’t get to hear the gospel. But that didn’t happen this time. Instead, the whole group engaged. Glory to God, it was like a Holy Spirit moment, where I had all their attention for about 10 minutes as I was able to minister the law and the gospel and then work through all the checks to make sure they were really understanding. Thanks Edson for your boldness that enabled God to minister in that moment! Glory to God alone.
There was much openness among the students, in spite of the intellectual environment that stands against the gospel.
I also had a random gospel opportunity on my day off. I was at the mall with my youngest daughter (she joined me for this trip). She was getting ice cream, and because the mall was so crowded, we ended up sitting close to a young guy. He started the conversation, and it just naturally turned into a good gospel chat. He accepted a gospel of John and a gospel tract in the end. God is sovereign and uses us where we are at.
The Oxford A&P Show was a long hot day. Plenty of people, but I wasn’t as busy as I normally am at outreaches like this. Maybe that was God’s grace in knowing I was a bit tired? Anyway, I still had plenty of chats. But one in particular stands out in my mind as very special.
It was right at the start of the day with two young ladies who go to a local church - one even had a Bible on her sweatshirt. They weren’t clear on the gospel, and yet they were very engaged in the conversation, so I was able to slow right down and work them through it. One of the girls in particular seemed deeply impacted. It was so good to see. I treasure moments like that, because the gospel is such a treasure to me. God is amazing, that he would die on a cross like me - it just brings me to tears. I rest in this grace, and yet I’m driven to get out and share it!
Yet, I’m looking forward to a day off tomorrow ;)
This month we have Easter coming up. We normally do a couple of hot cross bun outreaches for Easter, but we’ve decided not to do the hot cross buns this year. Instead, I’m just going to do regular street outreach. I guess I’m craving a bit of a ‘normal’ routine. I’m looking forward to a winter with no ‘special’ outreaches and to recharge for the next year that God brings, if he wills.
Please continue to pray for us - we so need it and appreciate it.
View previous Christchurch (NZ) report (2 March 2025)
Christchurch (NZ) Team
Weekly outreaches:
Tue 3:30pm - 5:30pm - Riccarton (corner of Riccarton Rd and Rotherham St)
Fri 1:30pm - 3:30pm - City (Bridge of Remembrance)
Sat 11am - 1pm - Riccarton (corner of Riccarton Rd and Rotherham St)
Sun 1:30pm - 3:30pm - City (corner of Colombo St and Cashel St).
Contact Glen Richards or Andy Barlow for more information.