Battle Log

Christchurch (NZ) Team

Wednesday, 17 February, 2021

Posted by Posted 17 February 2021, 5:29 PM by Glen Richards. Permalink

On Tuesday afternoon I was back in Riccarton as usual.  I had a fascinating conversation.  A young lady went past who smiled and stopped.  She said that I had talked to her last year sometime - she had been in a larger group (I didn’t remember her).  So, I checked to see if she understood the gospel by asking what she had to do to go to heaven.  I was encouraged when she said: “nothing, it’s because Jesus died on the cross for our sin”.  I clarified that we would have to accept the gift by trusting that Jesus had done that for us.  So I asked if she was trusting that Jesus had paid her hell fine.  She started giving weak excuses as to why she hadn’t.  Soon she started arguing that she would want to take the responsibility for her own actions.  I worked through two analogies to demonstrate the problems with her thinking - but she just doubled down.  I was confused, so I figuratively stepped back and decided to ask: “is there another reason why you are rejecting this?  Could it be that you’ve been deeply hurt by someone, and you don’t like the idea that that person could receive God’s mercy?”  To my surprise, she agreed.  Key lesson: if someone is fighting against logic, it's possible there is a deeper issue why, other than the logic.  It was great that the issue was on the table, so it could at least be addressed.  So, again, I tried to highlight the problems with her thinking.  I tried to reason with her about the serious nature of her sin - while trying not to minimise the sin that had been done to her (we talked about the fact that all sin is not the same).  We talked about the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35).  But, sadly, she was resistant.  We parted ways soon after.  She took a gospel tract.

Before and after being in Riccarton, I was online.

I talked to a guy who had been in a car wreck a month prior.  He was stuck at home with a broken leg.  He was thinking deeply about life and death, and we had a great chat.  He really appreciated it, as he came to understand the gospel.  I could tell he was wrestling with the cost (in this life) of the gift (of eternal life) - he didn’t give me any details, but I challenged him on this, pleading with him to respond in faith no matter the cost.

A chat with a girl who had a giant dog that kept walking in front of the camera!  She didn’t seem too interested, but she stayed to hear the gospel before she bailed on me.

On Wednesday I was given the opportunity to do some training.  It’s so encouraging getting an insight into all the Christians that are actively learning to share their faith online - it’s such a good environment to learn!  I spent an hour and a half with a guy from the USA - I answered his questions, and gave him feedback on the two gospel chats he had.  I was very encouraged.

I also had a number of my own chats.

I connected briefly with a guy from Saudi Arabia - his battery on his laptop was nearly gone, but he received a link to needGod.net before we disconnected - he said he would take a look.

My last chat was with a couple of girls who gained some much needed clarity on the gospel.  They were looking to prayer and baptism to save them :O.  It was a great chat - glory to God.


Toowong (QLD) Team

Tuesday, 16 February, 2021

Posted by Posted 16 February 2021, 7:59 PM by Hung Kwan. Permalink

Operation 513 Battle Log for Toowong Village on Tuesday February 16, 2021 from 1330 to 1500

God's promise to be with us whenever we work with Him to share the Gospel to People of All Nations really has been honoured time and again. Today it was all raining everywhere from my home and enroute on the Pacific freeway along all the way to Toowong. But Once we arrived at Toowong and finished our commissioning opening prayer, God stop the rain for us and turn around the weather status to a bright blue sunny sky. We even had to hide behind the shade of the Bus stop during short interval with people all gone on to the bus.

As normal there were rejections or initial reluctance from many of our gospel target, but The Holy Spirit would keep urging us to make a second attempt with success. So in overall, the success rate for a chat to share the gospel was quite high. All the three of us were almost fully occupied non-stop at the bus stop where Johnny finally decided to join Hung and Winnie there to be a fisherman of men. All glory and praises be to God alone.

Recap below were my divine encounters: -

1) Matt an angry fallen back Christian of Catholic background. He recognized my fish sign T shirt but rejected the tract and declined to chat. But I did not give up keep chatting as a friend to uncover the cause of his rejection of the faith possibly because of bad experience with church and clergy. Pray for God's healing and restoration of faith in His time.

2) Jerry from 昆明 China declared himself a Christian attending Citipointe Christian School after a short time of sharing the Gospel. The bus came too fast that I did not have time to check for assurance of salvation.

3) Mitis is an UQ student from Sadi Arabia with family of wife and a baby. He politely listen to my sharing of the Gospel and admitted that we are all sinners but he did not agree that we need to be punished suffering in Hell as there is forgiveness from God. I clarified that forgiveness without upholding the judgment and punishment is not fair and righteous. The only different of God's mercy way is to let a perfect God incarnated as a perfect man to take our place for punishment that our sin is pardon by the atonement of Jesus sacrificial death on the cross. Pray that this new enlightenment will draw Mitis and family closer to the faith of salvation by grace of Jesus.

4) Dominic and his friend initially did not want to chat and claimed that there is not heaven and hell as well as God. I used the analogy of the building that it must have a builder though we did not see the process it was built. His attitude was softened and took a tract to read when our conversation and to stop because of the arriving bus.

5) George and Alanna were a local Aussie couple doing study at UQ. They showed courtesy to let me share the gospel but appeared only listening to it half heartedly. Nevertheless, they also could not find reason to reject the Gospel so pray for God's follow up work.

6) An old Indian lady appeared very suborn to reject the message. I nevertheless keep the chat to go on in a friendly way.

7) Fatima an Aussie girl of Indian origin. She was receptive to the gospel and I gave her the power to change card for contact.

8) Rejected by an Asian looking lady of fair skin though I still managed to share with her the nutshell of the gospel.

9) Another Malaysian girl got the tract though showing no initial interest. Instead I shared with her my testimony of salvation.

10) Cindy an UQ student from Columbia who not only listened to my gospel but kept asking thoughtful question. I nevertheless still focused on sharing the nutshell of the Gospel to her before the conversation was cut by the arriving bus.

11) A group of three African girls got off from the bus. One was caught up remaining on the bus. I made us of this gap to quickly give away a tract and quick words of the gospel to the 2 girls waiting for their friends to leave the bus.

 

Battle Log of Johnny:

Thanks God let us have chance to preaching gospel at Toowong

Bus station , may God bless who heard gospel ,repent and trust Jesus Christ. 下午在 Toowong 的福音事工有許多人聽到了福音,有印度、新加坡、印尼、澳洲本地、中國等昆大的學生,祈求上帝拯救他們。

 

Battle Log of Winnie:

感謝主!在駕車上 Toowong 傳福音途中,非常大雨,我便禱告 求神 给我們平安底達,順利將神的愛傳揚。感恩今天有12人聽到福音。

第一位,中國少女 Perry,聽完整福音,明白主的爱,願意细心想想。

第二位澳洲少女,從巴士下來,我给她單張,講解福音,但她趕時間,不能詳談。

第三位中國年青人,Lee,問及天主教及基督教的問题。為何基督教那麽多不同的教會。我與他詳談直到巴士到來。我對他説,天主教要經過神父 才能對神認罪悔改,馬利亞也當作神。但基督教是三位一體的神,聖父,聖子,聖靈。認罪悔改 直着禱告可以與神構通,罪得赦免。

第四位 中國 UQ 學生,Willy, 聽完福音,會想想。

第五位,澳洲女士,當我講完福音,巴士到達。

第六位 Loren, 澳洲少女,會细心想想信仰問题。

第七位,Jimmy, 中國青年,不接受耶穌基督,後來 Johnny 來到,再次與他傾談。

第八位,中國青年 Sunny, 明白主耶穌的救恩,會想清楚。

第九位是澳洲女士,彈着结它,自弹自唱。我给她單張,及講述福音,她説她不會信主。她説如果神愛世人,為何讓 這麽多人反罪。我解释给她,神给我們生活自由,信仰自由,如果我們信靠祂,我們的罪 便得赦免。主的靈會住在我們心裏,會提醒我們什麽是對與錯。

第10,及11 位是一起的中國年青人,Mary & Brain. 聽完福音後,會想想信仰問題,將來會到那裏。

第12 位是澳洲男士,當我講完福音,巴士到達。當我們準備離開,有對年青人到達,坐着等巴士。因为時間到了,不足夠時間再傳福音。唯有给他們單張,讓他們知道神的愛,神的偉大。

感謝讚美主 今天的带领,願神 賜福给今天聽到福音人仕,認罪悔改,打開心門,接受耶穌基督為救世主。阿們!


Christchurch (NZ) Team

Sunday, 14 February, 2021

Posted by Posted 14 February 2021, 3:57 PM by Glen Richards. Permalink

On Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of a lovely Christian couple.  The gospel was so clearly pictured and explained throughout the ceremony - the whole thing was such a joy.

Before the wedding, I spent some time online.  The highlight conversation was with a Buddhist guy from India - he seemed pretty dedicated to his religion, so I didn’t think I was going to make much progress, but to my surprise he ended up sticking around to hear the whole law and gospel presentation.  He seemed interested.  At the end I explained that to trust in Jesus, he would have to let go of Buddhism.  He said that would never happen.  The conversation ended soon after.  Never say never with God!

I had another great chat with a kid who became super animated when he grasped the gospel - it was so good to watch, it was truly amazing to him (and me)!

On Sunday there was a team of four in Cashel Mall.  Andy and Toby were active in “walk up”, and I used a flip chart and handed out tracts.  Susan joined us later.  It was Chinese New Year and a procession went through the mall near the end of the outreach - it attracted a lot of people.

I was straight into a conversation with a guy who was approaching people for surveys, he said if I did his, he would do mine.  No problem with me.  I didn’t have my normal “The good person test” front page up, and so during our discussion the subject of “being good enough” came up.  I smiled and said, oh, that’s what my flip chart normally starts with.  His eyes went dark.  He said that if he had seen that front page, he wouldn’t have stopped to talk to me.  He had done the flip charts years ago at an A&P Show and he didn’t like it.  But we were in a good conversation and so he was happy to overlook it.  God’s providence, because he had “walked away” from God while at Uni, but two years ago, he had “come back” to God.  Sadly, he didn’t understand the gospel - he was pointing to the fact that he was good enough to get to heaven.  So today he came to grasp the gospel - praise God.  On top of that, he had questions about why there is evil, and we also talked about the proper place good works played in the picture.  The fireman analogy really helped him.  He left at a crossroads; he understood he was in sin that he wouldn’t want to be in if he trusted that Jesus died for him.  I left him in God’s hands.

I had a number of other good opportunities, but the best was at the end of the outreach when a young man came over to chat - a girl, maybe his sister, came over and got involved as well.  She didn’t think she would die, because she said she would get her head frozen and come back once technology improved!  They seemed to be joking with me initially, but they became much more engaged as the conversation progressed.  By the end of the chat, they seemed to be grasping the gospel and were very thankful.  Praise God.

Once home, I joined the team online for “Training Sunday” - I was paired up with Sarah (New York) and Ryan (Chicago).  So great to work with this kids who are so passionate for the gospel!  While paired with Sarah I had a special chat with a Christian kid, who seemed to become a Christian during the conversation.  “When are you going to trust that Jesus died for your sins?”, “I already am”, “Oh, when did you start doing that?”, “Now.”  Praise God - may his profession reflect true conversion.

Later I talked to a guy from Bethlehem (Palestinian) and then Ryan had a great chat with three for four Catholic kids who came to grasp the gospel (pictured).

What a day, what a gospel, what a wonderful God!  Glory be to him alone!
 


Christchurch (NZ) Team

Friday, 12 February, 2021

Posted by Posted 13 February 2021, 6:27 AM by Glen Richards. Permalink

Thursday and Friday were busy days of both street and online outreach.

I have 34 recordings of online conversations on my desktop from these two days.  It’s wonderful reaching so many with gospel seeds.

I’ll come back to the online conversations, but I want to talk about the street work first.

A team of six were outside the hospital standing against the horror of abortion and bringing the hope of the gospel.  It was a fairly calm outreach, although we had some students go past - one of whom, sadly, spat towards us.  And later we had a sudden verbal argument with two ladies who looked like they worked in the hospital.

The open air preaching in the Square attracted a large group of hecklers - one of the biggest I’ve seen.  At least three Christians preached, while others handed out tracts (Binu!), and others were able to have one to one (Ollie) or one to small group (me) conversations.  The conversations I had were difficult.  Heckler’s pulling out difficult Bible passages or concepts to challenge me on.  It was hard, but I had to be faithful to God’s word - even when it’s unpopular.  I decided to get the open air preaching going from this.  I decided to preach boldly on the issue of homosexuality being a sin (making it clear that I don’t hate homosexuals - even when faced with hatred from those in support of homosexuality).  I also preached against abortion.  But I also explained the hope of forgiveness found in the amazing sacrifice of Jesus.  Without God changing our hearts, it is impossible to turn from sin.  But Jesus did the impossible through his perfect life sacrificed on the cross for our sinful ones - received not by our works or actions, but by trusting in that sacrifice.

Later, a team of six were in Cashel Mall.  Two flip charts were running, tracts were being handed out, and plenty of conversations were occurring.  I had a tuff chat with a guy who has played indoor cricket for New Zealand.  It was a bit of an apologetics battle, but surprisingly I was able to get to the law and eventually the gospel - not that he was interested, sadly.

Now coming back to the online conversations.  The highlight for me was a chat with a young lady who was intelligent and very resistant to the idea of God.  It turned into a mini battle, but somehow the conflict got defused.  It turns out her resistance was because she had been Muslim and now rejected Islam.  I then found out she was from war torn Libya!  Thankfully she is not currently living in that country.  She asked that I stop recording the conversation, because her life was at risk because she had left Islam - I happy obliged.  Now that the conflict had been defused, I was able to have a wonderful gospel conversation with her.  She came to understand the key difference between Islam and Christianity.  And she seemed really grateful for the new information.  She said she would check out needGod.net before we parted ways.

Through the two days, I was also able to talk to guys from France and Spain, as well as many other places all over the world.  Online evangelism is a gold mine of gospel opportunity.  Please continue to pray for the team as we reach out in this way.  Thanks.
 


Sunnybank (QLD) Team

Wednesday, 10 February, 2021

Posted by Posted 10 February 2021, 7:27 PM by Hung Kwan. Permalink

Operation 513 Battle Log for Sunnybank on Wednesday February 10th , 2021 from 1300 to 1500

We were over joy to have Martin and Roobin joining us after a long pause because of the Covid-19. Martin used to come to Sunnybank very regularly before Covid -19. He joined online evangelism on Omegle and lately was invited to Melbourne to meet and serve with Martin Park. After returning, he is very eager to make appearance on the street apart from doing it on line. He started and team up with Roobin to Woodridge on Monday. Today Martin and Roobin joined us as a team. Andrew , our another regular team mate of Sunnybank Team could only come late after 2pm because of his new engagement as guest lecturer of Brisbane School of Theology that finishes on Wednesday at 1pm. We admire his fervent passion to keep coming despite of his overloaded and busy schedule. As usual I teamed up with Johnny on the East side near Sunny Park Shopping Centre while Martin, Roobin and Andrew served on the West side at the bus stop near Sunnybank Plaza. The whole team basically had many opportunities to engage into conversation. I was also too occupied to spare time to take photo for them despite I walked across the bridge 3 times to do Gospel sharing talking while I walked with the Gospel targets. God is always good to let us encounter various situation to train up our faith to trust and obey in whatever circumstances. Recap below were the main divine encounters God gave me: -

1) Karine a Thai girl studying at Griffith made no hesitation to stop and kind enough to let me share with her the gospel despite she is a Buddhist by family background. She listen with interest and appeared very receptive though still needs a bit of push from the Spirit to make the last step of faith to receive Christ. I asked anyway is there any reason she can name to reject Jesus offer of free gift of enteral life? She answered frankly that there is no reason to reject at all. She just could not rush an important decision like this. So I introduced her to join Power to Change at Griffith and take time as guided by God through the work of the Holy Spirit to make the final step of faith to receive Christ.

2) The I met up with Jean a fair dinkum Christian old lady who has the clearest understanding of the Gospel and 100% assurance of salvation. She is actually the Sunday School Head and she praise and thanks God for our street ministry.

3) Then came an Indian girl called Nadine who was in a hurry but graciously allowed me to walk with her across the bridge to share her the Gospel. She appeared receptive to the gospel message. I also gave her a card of Power to change to let her choose to pursue further as moved by the Spirit.

4) Ling From Nanjing with her friend were also in a rush but again let me shared as we walked across the bridge. She also responded well to the gospel and found no reason to reject the free gift of eternal life offered by Jesus Christ.

5) I caught up with a son and mum from China. Both appeared very friendly and accepted the tract right away. Despite the time left before the bus arrival was limited, I still managed to share the nutshell of the Gospel with them.

6) Finally I had a long chat with Sam who is a local Aussie with Italian blood. Our conversation was interrupted by Jenny the Kairos student meeting me to return a USB. I was glad God moved me to catch up with Sam to continue with our conversation. She was seriously misled by some Christians from Charismatic background that she will not be saved until she can receive the baptism by the Spirit resulting in ability to speak in tongue. Most Pentecostal denominations who advocate the importance of speaking in tongue still dare not claim it is a condition of salvation but over stressing its importance. She was so grateful to my clarifications that she now can claim she is 100% sure of her salvation and having absolute hope to continue on her life journey of Sanctification to be purified to return to perfection when Jesus comes again.

Battle Log by Johnny :-

Praise be to God, Operation 513 street evangelism team had 5 persons joining the today preaching at Sunny bank. as usual , God let many people stop and hear the gospel . One Aussie girl named Gakoda, she wanted to trust in Jesus Christ becoming her savior,after full gospel conversation . Please pray for her.

感謝天父上帝的帶領和祝福,513 福音團隊今天有五位弟兄出席,上帝一照往常的讓人停下腳步來聽福音,有一位澳洲女生Gakoda她聽完了福音之後我問她: 你願意相信耶穌基督成為你的救主嗎? 她說: 我願意信耶穌。請為她禱告。

Battle Log by Andrew:

On Wednesday I began my guest teaching role at BST and then raced across to Sunnybank to join the team for outreach.

I first chatted with Corby who is from China. He struggled quite a bit with English (and I have minimal Mandarin) but despite this, we were able to work our way through the gospel message. He knew nothing of the gospel and was very grateful to me for sharing. He took a tract in Chinese and a Gospel of John to read.

Yu Fung is also from China. Even though he has no religious background, he believes that there is a God but that this God is not involved in the world at all. We spent a while talking through the gospel and I was then able to give him tracts in both English and Chinese and a gospel of John in Chinese.

Please pray for both these guys as they read God’s word and for all the others through the afternoon who took tracts and had short chats.

 


Christchurch (NZ) Team

Wednesday, 10 February, 2021

Posted by Posted 10 February 2021, 5:33 PM by Glen Richards. Permalink

On Tuesday afternoon, as usual, Roger and I were in Riccarton with our flip charts.  It felt “back to normal” with the kids back in school.  It was a touch quieter, and yet there were still many opportunities to share the gospel.

A highlight conversation was with a young university student - very shy, and yet willing to go through the flip chart with me.  He didn’t know the gospel (or was too shy to articulate it), but he was able to articulate after our chat.  It turns out he had been going to a church for a couple of years - he had been invited along by friends, and he wanted to learn more about God.  It makes you think: how can someone be involved with a church for two years and not be able to articulate the gospel?

The rest of Tuesday and Wednesday I was online with the team.

On Wednesday I was having a bad day.  I don’t understand why.  I didn’t want to be there.  I didn’t have the energy to deal with the people I was talking to, the smallest thing would irritate me.  Before each chat I would pray partly apathetically, and yet desperately for God’s help (is it even possible to be apathetic and desperate at the same time? :D )?  And I persisted through quite a few conversations.

Near the end of the outreach, I struck a girl who was quite intellectual in nature.  For this reason I was completely upfront with her on why I was here (to tell her about Jesus) and asked if she wanted to talk about it.  She said that she would never be converted, but she was happy to talk about religion.  The conversation went completely off script, and yet I was able to explain the seriousness of sin via the law and the amazing grace of Jesus.

Later she was asking me about: “how has this improved your life”.  I was able to explain that it hadn’t necessarily improved my life - Jesus promised suffering for those that believe.  Before I was a Christian, I had been at the center of the universe, and my number 1 priority was my happiness - yet I wasn’t; but since I’d became a Christian, and now that I’ve grown I now realise that God is the center of the universe, and yet, I now have a Joy that I never knew.  I think it was something related to this where she came to tears.  She never explained why she was crying.  I didn’t ask.

The chat wrapped up soon after that.  But before she left, I checked to make sure she understood how one is justified before God.  Her answer indicated she understood.  She knows how to get in touch if she wants, I leave her in the hands of God.


 


Toowong (QLD) Team

Tuesday, 9 February, 2021

Posted by Posted 9 February 2021, 9:35 PM by Hung Kwan. Permalink

Operation 513 Battle Log for Toowong Village on Tuesday February 9, 2021 from 1330 to 1500

Today I thought we had a 4th team member, when I arrived at the marshaling point, but found out later it was the JW girl from Singapore who honored her appoint,ent with Johnny bringing a hand written note explaining the doctrine of JW. Johnny did not have time to read the notes but had a exchange of opinion with her trying to let her know what area of the JW doctrine are considered wrong. It was a pity the JW lady had to rush for another appointment so she left us before we started our routine opening commissioning prayer. Will discuss more in dept in separate post about the note from that JW lady.

The day went on very well for us. There were non-stop opportunities at the bus stop as such Johnny had to come over to join us at the bus stop to catch as many chat as possible. The pattern of initial rejection prevail. Some soften down and let you share . Some declined up right but after a while changed their mind to allow for a chat. SO, there was sign of God's presence to direct the entire street ministry providing us ample divine appointment to do His Work. Recap below was first my battle log then Winnie's in Chinese.

1) Viahi  from PNG welcome me with a sweet smile to chat. But there was only 1 minute left before the bus arrived. So I had to rush sharing here the nutshell of the Gospel and she promised to read the tract back home.

2) Sim a local Aussie abruptly rejected my offer of the tract and to chat. God moved me to first identify with his feeling that there was a reason for him to reject Christianity which he once was a follower. He seemed to have got a wrong image of God that He is a God of hatred punishing whoever disobey and don't love Him. I took him along to revise on some Bible story that God is merciful and is a very patient God who has given enough time and chance for people to repent like people at time before the flood were given 120 years before the ark was completed and the great flood came. Another case were the canaanites whom God ordered Joshua to do genocide when he occupied the land in God's power. As God had given them more than 600 years since he made Canaan the promised land to Abraham. Yet they insisted to rebel against God as such they were treated as cancer cell that had to be removed before the Israelites were to occupy the promised land without the risk of being led astray by these wicked people. Some things appeared to be trivial mistakes but God reckon they are seeds of sin which had to be destroy at the very beginning before it spread. After my elaboration, Sim turn silenced and than I started to share the gospel to show the gracious aspect of God's love and salvation plan to rescue us from the punishment of eternal death through Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross but rose three days after as King of our born again life. At last, Sim accepted the tract and promised to have a good thought about it.

3) A girl with a "Face to Face" purple T Shirt took the tract and a Power to Change name Card promising to start her journey of pursuance for Christ.

4) Everly a Canadian young man from Vancouver and is now student of UQ. He stopped politely to chat and soon revealed he is a Christian attending possibly the SCCCC. I turned to ask him the two diagnosis questions. He does not have 100% assurance of Salvation but he knows he is saved all because of Jesus. So I spent little effort to guide him to establish 100% assurance of salvation if it is his understanding that it was all because of Jesus dying for taking our place to received the punishment of our sins. I clarified with him that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ, but we have got our identity changed back to children of God wit hour life substance still imperfect. Yet God promised to make us perfect through the work of the Holy Spirit and also would guided us to grow in spirituality by working with Him to share the gospel saving many more lost souls. He enjoyed our chat and showed his appreciation by taking a selfie with me.

5) Johnny from 蘭州 Lanzhou and his girl friend from 西寧 recognized me first and said we chatted before (Dec 8, 2020). Last time it was Johnny who did the talking but this time the girl told me she is reading the bible herself frequently. 自己看聖經I asked if she has drawn any conclusion yet or if she has any problem with any passage or even the character of God. I used the same example of God's character as deemed by Sim a very cruel and angry God but actually God is full of compassion and mercy kindness. SHe appreciate my sharing and ask me to protect myself by wearing mask as we don;t know what kind of people we are going to meet on the street. , 保護自己. I hope God will bring them a few more step closer to salvation by faith in Him next time.

6) Pionni a tattoo woman seems to be from the Caribbean. She was surprisingly soften to listen to the gospel and appeared very receptive to the salvation of Jesus. It was a pity the bus came a bit too fast.

7) Craig a Vietnamese UQ Student who initially rejected Winnie. But God moved me to make another approach and he turned receptive to chat. Gospel was shared and he also showed interest to pursue.

8) Alex was approached by Johnny, but he claimed he is a Muslim and had chatted with one of us before then it could likely be me. He tole Johnny, he is convinced the Gospel is more sensible and logical than Koran so he does not think he is a Muslim any more. After Johnny's follow up sharing. Alex even proclaimed at last that he now want to belive in Jesus. How wonderful it was and glory be to God.

 

感謝神 今天的带领,讓我遇到十二人傳福音的機會。

第一位中國年青人,中法,UQ 學生,很留心聽着福音,將近講完,巴士到達,他説會看單張。

第二位,Cindy, 馬來西亞來的 UQ 學生,聽完整福音,會想想。

第三位是中國來的,未講完福音,巴士到達。

第四及第五位是非洲,蘇單來的夫婦,穆斯林。他們信A La. 真主。當我傳了福音给他們後,便與他們談論神的問题。他們信一位神,A La. 但基督教是三位一體的神。聖父,聖子,聖靈。分别做不同的工作。聖子(耶穌基督)釘上十宇架,為拯救我們脱離罪的捆绑,得到自由。耶穌為我們在天家预備地方,將來我們上天家有地方住。聖靈住在我們心裏,提醒我們甚麽是對與錯。應做及不應該做的。很多穆斯林因为沒有聖靈内住,所以四處殺人。他們都認同很多是很可惡的穆斯林。

第六位是中國少女,聽完福音後,會真正的想清楚。

第七位,Morgan, 非洲來的穆斯林,我也是説 A La 與基督教的分别,及罪的問题。

第八位, Lulu, Malaysia 少女(相片)穆斯林。我也是講及我們不同的宗教。耶穌為拯救我們脱離罪,得永生,及预備地方给我們上天家有地方居住。聖靈在我們心里提醒我們應該做的及不應該。她説會認真想清楚。

第九位,Steve 中國年青人,聽完福音,會想想。

第十及十一位,兩位中國來的年青人,將近講完福音,巴士到達。

第十二位是澳洲女士,Megan, 她説以前曾到過信義會,因某種原因,便離開,再沒有到過教會。我勸她再返教會,或者找另一教會。因为離開太久,便接觸不到聖靈,神 便會慢慢離開你。她説謝謝及會認真想清楚。

願神 賜福憐悯今天聽到福音人仕,悔改回轉歸向神。阿們! 感謝讚美主🙏


Christchurch (NZ) Team

Sunday, 7 February, 2021

Posted by Posted 7 February 2021, 4:00 PM by Glen Richards. Permalink

On Saturday I was online with the team.  When connecting with a stranger, some initial reactions to me: “Hi grandpa”, “Are you a teacher?” x 3, “I know you from somewhere!” x 2 (both times it was from Tik Tok video’s - praise God for that, may the gospel go far and wide).

A chat that fascinated me was one that seemed to end prematurely.  The three girls were very engaged from the start, and one of them even said, “don’t skip, I really want to talk about this”.  Because I could tell they were engaged, I was able to slow down and really work through the logic, law and gospel.  They seemed to grasp the gospel, as they were responding correctly to my initial checking question.  Then suddenly, one of them reached out and disconnected the chat.  I was so surprised - I have no idea why she ended the chat.  God does.  I leave them in his hands.

Sunday I was in the city as usual.  A team of seven with a mix of experience, which was very encouraging.  It was a very busy outreach, with some wonderful conversations.

I spoke with one guy who’s eyes seemed to shine as he came to grasp the gospel.  It was wonderful to watch him engaging.

A couple of Muslims were very interested in the flip chart and stopped to chat - they came to understand the gospel, even though they rejected it.  They were lovely, and we parted ways with a handshake.

One of the team brought three girls over to the flip chart to hear the law and the gospel (a boy friend also joined the conversation and heard the good news too).  And then later, I was into a conversation with an intellectual type, when more people joined the conversation - there ended up being a small group of unbelievers and believers hearing the gospel, or gaining experience in how to share.  Very encouraging.

By this stage I was a little late leaving, so I was slightly late to the online “training Sunday”.  I was paired up with Karah from the US, and we had a great time listening to each other's gospel conversations and giving each other feedback.

Karah had an interesting chat with a guy from the UK who had a guitar and would avoid Karah’s questions by bursting into song!  It was quite comical.  But despite his avoidance, he seemed quite smart, I think he was understanding what she was saying, but he was rejecting it.

I had two chats: One with a pair of girls who slowly became engaged and came to grasp the gospel.  The other was with a pair of guys with Christian backgrounds, possibly not Christians yet?  It’s unclear, but they certainly gained some clarity - glory to God.

I was encouraged to learn this morning that people actually read these reports from time to time.  If you are reading this, then thank you for praying for all this gospel outreach.  Pray that we will be humble and open to correction, we are so desperate to represent Christ correctly.  Pray that the gospel would prosper, and that God would be glorified.  Thank you!
 


Christchurch (NZ) Team

Friday, 5 February, 2021

Posted by Posted 6 February 2021, 12:52 PM by Glen Richards. Permalink

A very busy couple of days of outreach for the Christchurch (NZ) team.

On Thursday I was with the online team for five hours, and then Andy & I were at the bus stops (Northlands then Eastgate) for four hours.

My time online saw mainly difficult conversations - many false starts, lots of resistance, hurting people (suicide, wanting to go to hell).  Yet they were good chats: the gospel was heard.  One of the chats was interesting in the fact that the guy I was talking to whispered all the way through it!  I had another interesting one with a teen who was resisting the logic I was trying to explain when his uncle came into his room.  His uncle joined the conversation, sadly he was just as resistant.  It seemed like they had a Mormon background.  I focused on grace through faith and answered their questions until it became silly (going to absurdity to avoid the truth).  There was a chat with a girl who had a very visible GOT IT moment, when she heard the gospel after going through the law.  Sadly the video connection froze at that moment.  I have no choice but to leave them in the hands of God.

The bus stops saw many follow up opportunities.  A group of three school kids had flawless gospel answers, and yet it was clear they weren’t converted (they were almost mocking in their answers).

It was very quiet in Cathedral Square on Friday.  Four Christians proclaimed the gospel in the open air to no opposition.  I had some great one to one gospel opportunities.  There was also a newbie there.  As he was new, I offered him a tract which he took.  I soon learned he was joining us.  To my amazement, five minutes later he was approaching someone to offer them the tract I had given him and start a conversation!  I was so encouraged by this.  Oh Lord, raise up labourers for the harvest!

It was a quiet outreach in Cashel Mall too - even Roger noticed it.  And yet, there were many opportunities to share about Christ.  Lord, use our feeble efforts for your glory!

I finished Friday with the online team again.  A blur of eight conversations.  I was able to share the gospel with a fellow Kiwi, and with a guy who had such a deep fear of death it makes him physically ill - he came to hear the good news!


 


Christchurch (NZ) Team

Wednesday, 3 February, 2021

Posted by Posted 3 February 2021, 5:42 PM by Glen Richards. Permalink

On Tuesday I was back in Riccarton.  I letterbox dropped either side of ‘walk up’ outreach on Riccarton Road.  And I had a couple of interesting chats.

The first was an encounter with one of our open air preaching hecklers from Cathedral Square on Fridays.  He’s not a very vocal heckler - but he chimes in from time to time.  Anyway, he seemed to see me on Riccarton Road, and so he stopped to talk.  It was an extremely friendly conversation where I had a chance to learn his name and more about himself.  He didn’t deny the existence of a higher power, but he didn’t believe in anything further than that.  I warned him that everything in me wanted to convince him otherwise!  He said he needed to be somewhere and had to go, but he was happy to take a tract and read it.  I’m now looking forward to seeing him again in Cathedral Square - God willing!

The other chat was with an elderly gentleman.  It was a longish one.  He was subtly resistant - refusing to answer some of my questions, and changing the subject.  He liked to talk, so I let him, with gentle interruption to remind him of what was important in regards to the reality that we will all die one day.  He was lovely to chat with though: he had been in the British Merchant Marine and so had travelled extensively.  We had a connection in that we had both been to Myanmar.

I had one other short chat, with a young guy who actually knew the gospel - his background was Anglican.  Although I’m not sure if he was a Christian.  He had to move on - wanting to catch up with his friends.

After being in Riccarton I was online with the team.  Seven solid chats.

I had an interesting chat with a girl who was resistant, but I was able to touch on the law and the gospel with her.  But, later in the conversation I ended up circling back to talk about how we know that God exists.  Her response was to scream while disconnecting!

A chat with a guy with a Christian background, but wasn’t a Christian.  He came to grasp the gospel - I knew, because he said something along the lines of: “that means we can do whatever we want”.  I addressed that (we won’t want to).  But he bucked and quit.

I had a fascinating chat with a kid who had perfect responses to my gospel questions.  He recognised my voice?  Maybe he had seen some of my online videos?  He said he had been a Christian for a year or so - but he wasn’t really reading his Bible, and he wasn’t part of a Church.  I pointed him to both before we disconnected.

On Wednesday I was online with the team again.  Six solid chats - some of them longer.

I had a great chat with a smart kid who read the question on my wall and said, “oh, my - that is a really great question!”  We fell into an easy conversation where he came to grasp the good news.  His response was to say: “You should write a book, I’d buy it!”  My response was to say I didn’t need to - there already is one: the Bible.  I pointed him to Romans.

I had a long chat with a false convert who came to grasp the gospel and was really thankful.  I pointed him to his Bible and back to his church (he hasn’t been for a long while).  I specifically pointed him to his pastor to discuss the gospel.

I had a few apologetics battles that I actually enjoyed for a change.  A guy from the UK who quit.  An interesting chat with a guy who looked at stars as the creators of the universe: “and so at least one star must be intelligent” - !?  He came to hear the gospel, but was very resistant to it and fell straight back to pointing to his goodness to save him.  I became bold with him out of love, but he didn’t like that - the connection froze soon after that.

I had an interesting chat with a guy whose friend was on his phone and kept saying: “He’s from Tik Tok, he is going to talk to you about God”.  Eventually I said, “yes, I’m on Tik Tok, and I want to talk about God - so let's talk”.  They were both involved with church, but he didn’t have a good grasp of the gospel.  I didn’t really get a chance to talk to the girl on the phone.  But they both were deeply appreciative for what I was doing.

My last chat was with a very intellectual lady from the UK who eventually said something like: “well, I’m bi, so I won’t make it”.  Well, I had good news for her.  She was still very resistant by the end, but it was a good friendly chat - if not a bit of a battle.  I leave her in God’s hands.
 


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