Battle Log

• Battle Log
• Page 111

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been blessed in the mall by the local Korean Church coming to preach the gospel. It was wonderful to see Hana, a missionary from South Korea, preaching the gospel in multiple different languages. My heart thrilled to see so many people from China stopping when they heard the gospel in their heart language.

The first day that Hana came into the mall to speak, there was a number of us in the mall supporting her including her husband, son and her senior pastor and his wife. This group was fantastic because a crowd always attracts a crowd and people gathered to listen.

Of course, when this happens there is always counter moves by the enemy. Who should turn up in the midst of things, but Mr S. my old heckler and another repeat heckler. Mr S. immediately went on the attack with all sorts of slander and demands that I answer his questions. In one way I was pleased, he left the gospel preaching alone and targeted me (which I duly ignored). At the same time, it was very sad to see the hardening that has been taking place in Mr S.’s life. At one point the other heckler exposed herself at me and the other Christians present and Mr S. was not even troubled by this. It appears that despite years of hearing Christians proclaim the gospel he has only hardened his heart in rejection of God and embrace of sin. Please persist in praying for Mr S. he is lost in the darkness of sin.

Despite some small opposition there have been a number of great conversations happening also.

Mr SA – he was listening as I preached and came over to chat after Keiran approached him. His was a very sad story of alcoholism and estrangement from family. He had liked my bad jokes about the coming football grand finale, but as an atheist disagreed with the message of the gospel. He liked us as Christians and was happy for us to believe and speak on faith, but sadly believed he could not have faith in or help from God due to his demons and sin. We offered to pray with him but he would not let us. He left and we prayed for him afterwards and will continue to pray for him.

Miss S – she had stopped by another day while I preached and spoken at length with Keiran. She is a nurse in training and a Christian, and was very happy to see the gospel being proclaimed in the mall. Keiran had encouraged her to be faithful to God in her studies and work. She came after we finished talking to Mr SA, and was wanting us to pray for her to have greater faith. We talked about how powerful God is and Jesus who has her in His hand, and encouraged her to look at Him not at how small her faith might seem. We all prayed together that God would strengthen her faith in Him (and ours too!).

Mr T. – he had listened as I preached and came up to ask a number of questions. The biggest was “How do I reconcile the existence of evil and the goodness and power of God”? Five others gathered to listen to the discussion which lasted for almost an hour. There were many opportunities to point people to God and the Bible and provide good reasons to trust in Jesus. At all points Mr T. was very polite and the discussion went back and forth smoothly. It was a joy to share these things with people engaging openly with what the word says.

Praise God for all His goodness to us!

---

As the days in Hobart warm up people are becoming more likely to heckle the preaching in the mall. Praise God this brings people in to listen and the many good conversations have continued afterwards and there are many opportunities to share the gospel.

Recently there was a climate change protest/strike by students, unfortunately on this occasion there was much anger in the teens that gathered in the mall after the march. So many of these young people are fearful and confused by what is happening around them. Tragically they have been taught climate activism but also rejection of God who gives us the planet we call home and are commanded to care for.  This overflowed in anger at the gospel being preached publicly.

One group of young men repeatedly swore at me as I preached and told me that no-one was listening. When this didn’t appear to be working, they began to make threats but thankfully left before anything happened. As this is so often is the case, anger is the go-to option for people who are badly scared. These young men were very scared of the future and climate threats and so their anger was natural. God save them and us all from wicked people who frighten children into protests to achieve what they can’t with normal persuasion.

As I continued preaching a young man who has stopped before to heckle came. My heart breaks for him, I continue to pray for him, he is lost in the darkness. He claims to be both a sociopath and an atheist. As had been the case last time he came to heckle again. He came trying to disprove God. He came with as many arguments as he could find. He came with pride like armour around his heart and mind. He came, unwilling to listen to any reason or persuasion to trust Christ, leaping on any excuse for unbelief. As I said, my heart breaks for him, I tried to move him to see all the evidence for God and Christ Jesus.  I preached the gospel but I fear in vain, I just pray that God will soften his heart.

While this was happening the group of young men returned and surrounded me making threats and trying to disrupt the preaching. After a few short interactions it became clear that they were only seeking to “troll the preacher”. So, told them that I would preach over them if they were unwilling to be civil. As I continued preaching the police arrived and the young men quickly took off. Praise God He looks after me so often.

The rest of the afternoon was similarly tense with other teens likewise aggressive and threatening. It is tempting to think that all the outreach was a waste, casting pearls before swine. That would be forgetting to look around the people at the front of the crowd and see the large number of people listening behind them. There is always a double crowd in the mall. The questions and answers and heckles and responses and gospel preached goes through one ear and out the other of some hecklers, true, but it then hits the hearts and minds of more responsive people behind them! God’s Word never returns to Him without achieving His purpose in any situation. Praise Him there is always many who “overhear” the word preached or discussed.

---

Christchurch (NZ) Team

Sunday was a very hot day in Christchurch (NZ).  From now on, I’ll be putting sunscreen on every morning before I head out on the streets! :)  There were three people out sharing the Gospel at the corner of Cashel & Colombo in the afternoon.  I had two interesting Gospel conversations.

The second conversation was with two young Muslim girls, originally from Afghanistan, but now Kiwis.  As they walked past, I asked if they would like to try the good person test - and they were keen.  Very early on, we agreed that the ten commandments were the standard of good to measure against, and with that common ground, I proceeded to adjust the mirror of the commandments so they could clearly see their own reflection in it.  They agreed that, with God being just, then they would deserve hell.  But they appealed to the mercy of God.  And this is always the hinge point of all my discussions with Muslims: how can God be both just and merciful?  If He is merciful, then that would mean He isn't being just.  And so I explained how God can be both through the cross: Jesus being both perfect and willing, was able to take our justice and give us his righteousness through our faith in Him.  While I was explaining that Jesus rose again, I respectfully mentioned that Budha, Kirshna, and Mohummed were not perfect and had not risen - but only Jesus had, and so He was our only hope.  And it was at this point that I was challenged - as I had, understandably, hit a nerve.  But out of my love for them, I wanted to challenge them on this.  We parted on good terms.  They had known people who had died in the Mosque attacks earlier in the year, and for what it was worth, I expressed my sympathy.

The first conversation was fascinating.  I had five young teen guys walk past, and I had the energy to engage them.  I boldly challenged them to try the good person test, and they all stopped to see what I was talking about.  I had them on the line, and I had to use all my energy to engage them enough to get them to try it.  Three of them turned to walk away - I had two left.  So again I challenged them to try the good person test.  One of them then turned to his mates who were walking away and said, “Hey guys, I want to try this, come back”.  And they did, praise God!  But I had to fight for their attention.  Then five of their friends turned up and their attention was completely gone.  I now had the work of gaining the attention of all ten of them!  All glory to God, I succeeded at this, and I managed to get all ten of these guys to realise the importance of what I was talking about.  While I was taking them through the law, a lady joined the group.  I think she was attracted by my animation in working to keep these kids engaged.  I glanced at her, not knowing her motives and hoping she wouldn’t derail things.  Luckily she didn’t, she eventually peeled off and left - it was a pity there weren’t more Christians with me to be able to engage her separately.  But it wasn’t over yet.  I managed to get through the law, and most of the way through the Gospel, when yet another lady suddenly entered the fray!  She started saying things like: “you need to listen to this guy”, but it wasn’t helpful - it was just distracting the flow of the conversation.  I managed to hold their attention long enough to share the Gospel with them, when the lady decided to take over the conversation!  I decided not to stop her, knowing that it wouldn’t look good to these guys.  I left her to it for a few moments while I handed each of the guys a tract, and took the attached photo.  Before coming back to take back control of the conversation.  I found the right moment to say to the guys that I really appreciated their time, and if they had any questions they were more than welcome to ask.  I intended to have a chat with the lady, but as soon as the guys had left, she left too.  What a battle!  But it was worth it.  I know some of those guys were resistant to what I was saying, some seemed to be thinking deeply, but all heard the Gospel!

I was also in Cathedral Square on Saturday where God provided opportunity to plow and sow.  All glory to God for any increase that comes from our feeble effort.
 

---

Arthur Pink in the 1974 p/back "Practical Christianity", p.32 gives us food for thought, "...only by the blood of Jesus we can be saved. That is true Godward, but it is not true manwards. The work of the Spirit in us is equally essential as the work of Christ for us." - Titus 3:5

     It was another interesting time of serving our Lord. As we gathered for prayer, it was preceded by a display of carpark road rage where we observed man's fallen nature in a pathetic public rant and rave session. Thankfully, the 'accused' did not reciprocate and it eventually fizzled out. Once we got going, the Lord gave us:

     - a long chat with an older Irish Roman Catholic man  who could not listen because he had his own version including this: If he got to heaven and saw someone there he had a grudge against , he could not forgive them.He heard the good news.  

      - 3 young lads who heard the gospel for the first time. One was more open than the other two were.

     - Sisters R. & M, church-goers.who were weary of trying but failing to live the Christian life. Their faith was on a dodgy foundation and they were getting nowhere. They left rejoicing as they grasped God's gracious gift of salvation. May God get them discipled now so they can grow to maturity of faith.

     - T. a young lad who came asking what the flip chart was all about. He seemed to 'get the message' but then revealed in further conversation, that he had not. Ryan had another 3 to 5  reviews with him before he seemed to grasped it. He had not any concrete concept of God to begin with. Please pray that he God will speak to him savingly as he reads John's gospel. 

These last two chats were our last for the afternoon. But regardless of what we might think, we went to be used of God whose work always reflects His glorious nature. So we give thanks for the privilege and pleasure of serving Him in this way, 1 Jn. 5:3.

We give Him all the glory and we (you probably guessed it) went on our way rejoicing.

---

Redcliffe (QLD) Team

Providence on Display in Redcliffe

In Psalm 37:23, we are told that the steps of a righteous / good man are ordered by the Lord. Today, I saw a very practical outworking of that biblical truth; the Lord’s providence was clearly displayed in Redcliffe.

We arrived a little earlier than usual this morning, and after having a time of fellowship we set up our literature table and began our outreach. Before too long, we had people taking tracts and stopping to chat about the Lord Jesus.

The first person I spoke to this morning was a man who identified himself as a deist. He believed that God existed, but that we can discover God on our own and without the special revelation of God’s Word. He also told me that he didn’t like Christians, since all the Christians he knew were hypocrites. This objection of hypocrisy is a common claim, so I spent a little time addressing it. I stressed to this man that the standard we need to test everything by is not what people do, but rather by the Bible. If someone says they are a Christian, but don’t follow the example of the Lord Jesus, then we have grounds to question if they are really a Christian or not.

This line of reasoning seemed to strike a note with him, so he asked me to explain more about how someone actually becomes a Christian (I was more than happy to do so!). We chatted about how all of us don’t follow God’s standards, so we all need a saviour. The man told me that if everyone just loved each other, then the world would be a better place. This gave me a perfect opening to talk about personal sin. Using the command of Jesus to love one another in John 15:17, I asked if this man had always loved people in the way that Christ commanded. He admitted he hadn’t. I then asked, if he had loved God perfectly throughout his life; again, he admitted he hadn’t. I was then able to explain to him that none of us follow God’s commands, but Jesus loves sinners. This man listened as I shared about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. He also listened attentively as I shared with him the command of God to repent and believe in Jesus. At the end of our conversation, he shook my hand, said he had much to think about, then headed off down the street. 

I went back to handing out tracts after this, but I noticed Col was engaged in a discussion with a Muslim man who worked at the kebab shop next to where we were evangelising. I listened into the conversation, which by now was about the veracity of the Scripture. The Muslim man believed that the Bible had been corrupted, and that only the Quran was correct. When I heard this I was reminded of an apologetic booklet I had placed in my bag, it was written to address such claims. At this stage I joined the conversation; I greeted the Muslim man and began chatting to him. I have spent time studying Islam, so I really enjoy talking to Muslims. This man was friendly, but was using the common arguments against Christianity. I addressed his claims about the corruption of the Bible, then I offered him the booklet as a gift. He very graciously received the gift and thanked me for being prepared to talk to him. Col and I were also able to share the gospel with this friendly Muslim worker. After our chat, he went back to the kebab shop, and we went back to witnessing.

Since it was quite a hot day, I thought it would be wise to take a break and go buy a cold drink. This is where I saw God’s Providence on display. I walked passed the kebab shop, to a little cafe which sells a Scottish drink I really like. I went to purchase it, but they said they couldn’t accept my card. So, I placed the drink back in the fridge, and walked down to a bakery to purchase a drink from them. Upon arrival at the bakery, I noticed a line of people out the door. I wouldn’t have time to get a drink from there, so I started to head back to the outreach. As I walked back, I decided just to buy a drink from the kebab shop, even though it wasn’t the type of drink I wanted, it was hot, so I needed something to cool me down.

When I walked into the kebab shop, the Muslim man I had spoken to earlier greeted me. He then had to rush off to do something. I took my drink from the fridge, then went to the counter to pay. A lady was standing at the counter, and when I put my drink down she said, “I’m glad you are here; perhaps you can help me in a debate. Myself and the other worker have been debating about if the Bible is true or not, and if Muhammad is mentioned in the Bible.” This was not the conversation I was expecting!

Since there were no other customers in the shop, I was able to explain the gospel throughly to her. I also happened to have a booklet in my bag that addressed the question of if Muhammad is mentioned in the Bible. This whole experience reminded me that the Lord orders our steps, as I had no intention of buying a drink from that shop, yet, the Lord wanted me to be there to proclaim Christ to the worker behind the counter. God’s Providence is a wonderful thing!

By now our outreach was beginning to draw to a close. I had a brief conversation with a pagan who said she was nothingness and that God indwells here. She wasn’t overly friendly towards us. I was also able to hand out a number of tracts. It was also during this time that we saw children come and take copies of a free Bible colouring book that we were giving away. We rejoice that God’s Word keeps spreading!

The team from Operation 513 and OAC Ministries did a great job today. Please pray for all those we encountered.

SDG!

---

Christchurch (NZ) Team

It was good to be back at the Northlands and Eastgate bus stops, on Thursday afternoon, after a few weeks away due to the Myanmar mission.  Although, having gotten used to being able to have long conversations, I struggled to readjusting to the fact the buses would come and suddenly end conversations!  In spite of this, many good Gospel conversations were had - including some good follow ups.  I even had an opportunity to follow up with some high school kids I had apparently had a long Gospel conversation with at the Sparks in the Park outreach way back in February.

In Myanmar, you often get taxi or bus drivers stopping, and wanting a Gospel tract from you.  Well, I was very surprised to have a bus driver at Northlands move his bus up, and open his doors wanting to know what I was giving away, and indicating that he wanted one.  It was my pleasure to step aboard and hand him one, with a brief explanation of what it was.  He looked very interested, so I decided to caution him: “please read it, but not while you are driving”.  He laughed!

On Friday it was wonderful to be able to unfurl our new banner, outside Christchurch hospital, that read: “Thinking of suppressing the TRUTH about abortion?  Please chat with us, we care about you both.”  It was very encouraging to have a team of seven involved with this morning Gospel outreach.  And we had some wonderful opportunities to chat.  One young man, who had previously been involved with the JWs, heard the Gospel of grace.  He gladly received a Life is Precious Gospel tract, and wanted to know about the churches we were involved with (three were represented).  He was encouraged to get in touch, and told he would be welcome.  After he had left, one of the team reported that he had tears in his eyes!  Oh that those tears would be in understanding of the serious nature of sin, and the amazing grace of Jesus.  Praying that he indeed gets in touch.

In the afternoon, there was a climate change protest in the central city.  But before that got started, Andy had a wonderful opportunity to open air preach with the support of the heckling of the Wizard (pictured).  There was a good crowd around who got to hear the exchange, and also the good news of Jesus!

The protest provided a very busy afternoon of constant Gospel conversations for a team of four.  I was very encouraged to have a number of follow up conversations too.  After a long conversation with two guys who didn’t know each other but were wearing the same t-shirt - I offered a follow up tract to one of them, and I was very encouraged to hear him say, “no I’ve already got one - someone gave it to me at Eastgate”!  I also had a wonderful conversation with two girls where I was able to use all of the analogies I had learned on the Myanmar mission.  They both clearly understood the Gospel, but when I challenged them on what was stopping them from trusting in Jesus to pay for their sin, they sadly answered with: “because I want to live my life my way”!  This led to a wonderful follow up discussion about that, and they also asked me about what my thoughts were on homosexuality.  They never denied the truth I was speaking - they knowingly rejected it.  Don’t be like them!  The pleasures of sin in this life are not worth an eternity of just punishment in hell.  Trust in Christ. 

PS, the odd selfie is of me and one of our hecklers Adam.  He likes to try to unsettle you by getting into your personal space.  I again had the opportunity to share the law and the Gospel with him - and to tell him I care for him, and that I'm praying for him!  
 

---

Christchurch (NZ) Team

I’m back in Christchurch already.  The Myanmar mission was so busy and felt like it went so fast, that my brain can barely sequence the events of the trip!  And with re-adjusting my timezone, I’ve found these first few days quite difficult, esp. as I re-establish my routines!

I arrived home Saturday night, and managed to have a really good sleep, enabling me to get back on the streets in Christchurch on Sunday afternoon.

And my very first conversation was a follow up, on my way to Cashel Mall, with a guy I’ve talked to more than once before.  He had a friend with him, and they were heading to a bus stop where they were meeting more friends.  I was invited along, and had a short opportunity to talk with the whole group - before the bus came.

I finally made it to Cashel Mall, and I was very surprised to see someone, I’ve never met before, offer me a million dollar Gospel tract!  It turns out he was there with one of the newer outreach guys that I have recently met.  They had come to join me, which was very encouraging.

But having just been in Yangon, where there were scores of people willing to stop and talk about the things of God, I was surprised to remember how much fewer people there are in Christchurch, and how much more resistant they are to stop and chat.  Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of resistance in Yangon - but Christchurch is another level!  I got into a conversation with one man who was staring at the buildings about him - it turns out he hadn’t been in Christchurch since before the earthquakes and he couldn’t believe how different things are now.  But as soon as I tried to swing the conversation from the natural to the spiritual, he immediately switched off with “I used to be a Christian”, and he purposely walked away from me before putting his bag down so he could continue staring at the new Christchurch skyline.

I’m pretty sure I had at least one full Gospel conversation on Sunday, but on Tuesday I went to Riccarton mall for an earlier than usual outreach due to forecast rain - and for only the second time since starting with Operation 513 nearly a year ago, I went through a whole two hour outreach without being able to have a single Gospel conversation!  I got quite a few started, but people just weren’t interested.  I was able to hand out some tracts.  But other than that, I take solace in the fact that the outreach was successful in the sense that God was glorified in my being able to obey Him and go!

Wednesday (today), I was in Cathedral Square and outside Ara - again earlier than usual due to forecast rain.

In Cathedral Square I was able to set up right in front of the broken Cathedral (pictured), and I was able to get conversations started with various people, but I was finding it difficult to get people engaged enough for me to be able to share the Gospel.  I ended up switching to “walk up”, and managed to get a good conversation going with a lady from Melbourne.

Ara ended up being a great location for outreach.  I was there at lunch time, and there were a lot more people around - and they were willing to talk!  I had a wonderful Gospel opportunity with two young trainee chefs.  I was able to use the new flip chart from the Myanmar mission.  Both young men ended up saying they were already trusting in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins (which was interesting, as some things they had mentioned did not line up with this).  After discussing the cost of following Christ with them more, I left them with tracts, and a request for them to get in touch if they had further questions.

After this, I had a conversation with a group of six (pictured walking away after the chat).  I was nervous about approaching such a large group of young people.  But my opening line, seemed to work out, and we were very quickly discussing the important questions of life.  Sadly, they had to go back to class before I could get to the Gospel.  All but one (the atheist) took a tract.

One thing I’ve learned from Myanmar is how to slow down to take the time to labour with people so they can understand the Gospel.  Sadly, as much as I’ve wanted to do this since I’ve returned, people just don’t seem to be as interested here to be able to do that.  Praying that God would have mercy on our city and nation, and allow us to have solid Gospel conversations leading to a change of heart.  God, have mercy?
 

---

Toowong (QLD) Team

Toowong Village 24/9/2019

This was a day of the test of faith for me. At one point in time, all other members notified me that they could not come on various ad hoc engagement including Johnny who came back just last Saturday that he needed to accompany his wife for an operation this morning. An idea just flashed through my mind if I should still go by myself without a teamwork back up and spiritual coverage by Prayers. But when Johnny texted me just the same question, the Spirit used him to convict me that I should still go despite of circumstance and external factors because it is Jesus promise that Go Make Disciple of all Nations and He will be will us till the end of the world. God's grace was really sufficient for those who love and trust in Him. Before I set off, Johnny sudden called that he could now go with me as the operation of her wife was canceled and has been rescheduled to next Tuesday. So we still can work as a team to serve Him as the light and salt of the world. We went together to my usual spot under the foot path bridge. And God had granted us enough conversations to have almost fully occupied the full 1.5 hours course of our street evangelism session. We all had our chance intermittently so that we could manage to take photo for each other which are recap as follows in sequence of happening.

1) Johnny: An Aussie young man on the bicycle was stopped right away by Johnny as soon as we arrived at the mission spot. It was a very good and fruitful chat. The young man was a fall back Christian but was moved by Johnny to re-commit himself to Christ and promise to go back to church.
2) Hung: Beth, an Aussie Christian old lady who stopped out of courtesy but not for no reason. Our conversation helped her to fully understand that her heavenly citizenship was not gained by any of the merit of her good work but Christ's grace alone. As a result she has regained full assurance of salvation by Christ alone.
3) Hung: Cath-Sandra, an local Aussie claimed herself a spiritual woman but without committing to any faith. She stopped willing to chat and responded positively to the gospel message agreeing every one need salvation including herself. She promised to reassess her position as a sinner and the way to guarantee herself an eternal position by reading the tract in dept. Pray for her decision to turn to Christ from trusting empty spirituality that makes herself feel good only but leading to hell if without Christ.
4) Johnny: A matured young man of Middle East origin stopped to chat with Johnny despite hand holding two heavy shopping bags. He claimed himself as an atheist but found gospel message sensible. Pray for God's follow up work.
5) Hung: Sam, a local Aussie Environmentalist, who initially declined my invitation to chat. But God miraculously stopped him to check out a yellow scooter left on the street. He found interest to chat with me on some social justice issue like those happening in Hong Kong. However, I was able to switch back the conversation to gospel and the need of salvation of all human who are all imperfect with sin to be accountable for. The interruption by Rodeos I shared below added plus points to move Sam to see the oneness of brotherhood in Christ. We chatted for almost 20 to 30 minutes and we parted eventually with him taking a tract home to read. Trust God to keep touching his heart.
6) Hung: Rodeos from Venezuela, on 13 th August, I escorted him to the medical centre on the 3rd level of the Toowong Shopping Centre as soon as I found out he sat by the road side pale in face and short in breath. He came back to thanks me for the 2nd time. He tried to thanks me two weeks ago when I was busy in talking to some one and Kenneth just helped him to catch the bus. So this time, I could not but stopped my conversation with Sam to give him a hug and took an over due photo to leave for each other a fond memory of brother in Christ loving and helping each other.
7) Johnny: He was drawn to check out someone handing out tract near the bus stop 50 metre away from me, but found out it was just tract for promotion of work out. Anyhow, it ended up chatting with a Chinese student who found it hard to accept himself a sinner, not to mention to accept Jesus as his Savior. We anyway believe God must have a special plan for him even though he seems to be beyond redemption at the moment.
8) Hung: Onor a young UQ girl from South Africa who has never heard of Gospel stopped to let me share the full gospel with her. She appeared very positive and receptive and promise to read in detailed the tract and hopefully will turn to Christ in His time.
9) Johnny: He caught up with another Asia looking young guys but encountered very fierce objection to gospel. Nevertheless, God is sovereign and has a plan for this die hard person.

 

---

Myanmar (Burma) Short Term Missions

The September 2019 mission to Myanmar is complete!  I am writing this while waiting to board my flight home (and completed it after I arrived safely back to NZ).

The Aussie team had a half day of outreach on Thursday, before heading to the airport.  And the NZ team had a full day of outreach on Thursday, then a half day on Friday, before heading to the airport!

The NZ team were at a shopping center & Judson University - Thursday, and Kan Thar Yar Park on Friday.

But I’m reflecting on the whole mission.  What a whirlwind of tiring activity - but oh so worth it!  A team of 26: 20 from Aussie, 6 from NZ.  6 hours a day of outreach, mainly with a focus on conversations rather tract distribution.  An equal number of local Christian translators were involved.

Here are some stats of how many conversations were had:  One member of the team had 56 conversations over the mission.  If we be conservative, and round that down to 50 per team member: that would be 1300 people reached with Gospel conversations over the period of the mission!

And yet, there are millions of people in Yangon and beyond who are yet to be reached with the Gospel in our generation!  Be encouraged to be a herald of the amazing good news of Jesus - where you are today, but also - are you able to join a future mission?

Reflecting now on some of the conversations from those last few days, here are some highlights:

On Thursday, at Judson University, Andy was able to share with a Botany lecturer.  And separately, I had an opportunity to talk with a Zoology lecturer!

Also, outside the university library, my translator got into a long conversation with a local while I was trying to get a conversation started with two mathematics students in English - which didn’t work out.  But while I was waiting for him, I managed to get into a wonderful conversation with another three students via English.  Their faces went from very friendly to very serious as they understood the nature of sin and the exclusivity of the Gospel of Jesus.

On Friday morning at Kan Thar Yar Park the harvest was very ripe!  My first conversation started by someone approaching me rather than the other way around!  He spoke good English, and so I didn’t require a translator.  The Gospel was clearly explained, and his questions showed that he was understanding it - and yet rejecting it (at this time, anyway).  I had other conversations like this through the morning.

But one conversation ended with a young man understanding the Gospel and stating that he wanted to trust in Christ for the forgiveness of his sin - even after he had considered and counted the cost of doing so.  He is pictured exchanging contact details with my translator.

We praise God for all the opportunities we had to share of His love in Yangon, Myanmar.  We pray for the many Christians we worked with over the two weeks.  We leave the results in God’s hands: that many disciples would be made for his glory!

Funnily enough, one of the best conversations I had was on my final flight home: from Auckland to Christchurch.  God had sovereignly saw fit to sit me next to an older lady who was a Christian, and a warm conversation started very naturally.  We were able to talk about many important theological issues that we disagree on, and yet I was able to encourage her in the area of evangelism.  Before getting on the flight, her brother gave her some money.  She declined it, saying she didn’t need it - but he insisted she take it for someone who did.  And during our conversation she knew exactly who needed the money.  She gave it to me, and said that it was to be used for Bibles in Myanmar.  This was incredibly encouraging for me!  I will make sure the money is used for this very purpose.  As she lives in Christchurch, I hope I see this lady again.

Till the nets are full, or the next mission starts...
 

---

We were handing out the "Everything happens for a reason" tract and one lady who took one passed me again and said that her car was the other way. I said that she was meant to get the tract and Everything happens for a reason she agreed with me and laugh.

Today was a day where lots of people were responding positively and many taking tracts. We had a couple of good conversations.

One lady approached the us and was interested in the Bible table.  We asked her if she would like to go through the flip chart. At first she was saying living God's ways would get her to heaven but after going through the flip chart she was agreeing in the message of where we all stand as guilty of breaking God's law's and no work we can do will erase our sins. The good news was shared and this lady was visibly showing gratitude for Jesus. We know only God brings this understanding to anyone. She shared how she taught scripture to children many years ago and she had gone away from the teaching and wants to come back. We encouraged her how much we need to be in His Word as that is how God communicates with us. She said she had in the past studied the Bible with JW's and disagreed with them on the trinity and she believes they are wrong. God has protected her.

She was not seeking Christian fellowship as she has experienced  bad things in the past but we encouraged her that we need to seek out a good teaching church if possible to attend. We gave her a card with contact to a local church we would recommend. We also told her she had blessed us today to be able to talk with her. So it's all up to God how He will care for her as He does for His chosen ones. She took some tracts and was very thankful to be challenged to trust in Jesus for her Eternal salvation.

Another conversation with a man who was receptive has in his later years been involved in help in a country overseas where it is not a rich place but they are happy people who are rich in other ways. We can have too many material possessions and it may not be good for us. We can get spoiled and may not appreciate the blessings we do have as much as we should. Salvation is the greatest blessing and let's pray this man may receive God's gracious gift.

He was taken through the law and agreed that he was guilty. The Gospel was shared and we leave it to God to do a work in his heart. We pray he will be saved and be used by our Lord to share the Gospel with what he does for others.

We have a conference this weekend so will miss our regular outreach this Friday. But we are looking to be better equipped to share the message that 10 out of 10 of us need so desperately.

The good and great news of our saviour Jesus. All glory to God!!!

---

« Prev | 1 | 2 ... 109 | 110 | 111 | 112 | 113 ... 282 | 283 | Next »

---