I have never witnessed to so many people in such a short amount of time. The airport, the terminal, the gate, the plane, you name it...ministry just HAPPENED. Hostels, coffee shops, alley bars, bus stops, street corners, the mall...it happened there too. During this trip I noticed that my fears decreased a level and that my love and understanding (which leads to perseverance) had grown. PRETTY exciting.
ABRAHAM AND PETER
I met Abraham and Peter, from Holland, as I passed them at an alley pub. Both men were smoking sheesha and enjoying a cold beer. They invited me to sit down. I was waiting for friends and had 15 minutes to blow, so I sat down. They were very easy to talk to. I enjoyed their company. I asked them questions, but they were more determined to get to the core of who I was with theirs. They asked me the inescapable question of what I did for a living, which opened a door to a more in-depth conversation. Peter, a Jew, was in his upper 20s or lower 30s. When I initially sat down he was lazily reclining in the opposing booth, now he was wide eyed and perfectly straight waiting for me to answer his questions. He wanted to know HOW I was able, WHY I was able to believe in Jesus–a man who died on a cross thousands of years ago. I told Him that Jesus said His teachings and His miracles were proof that He was who He claimed to be. Then I told Him that I have been a witness to both–that there is LIFE in obeying His teaching and that the deaf, the blind, the sick, and the calloused are still healed in Jesus’ name. I gave him examples of my personal experiences to better illustrate my point. Peter had eyes like a child as I told him stories of how God speaks and moves me. He was filled with wonder and curiosity over the RELATIONSHIP that is available with God through Jesus Christ. People are dying to hear God’s voice, to see and know Him as He IS, to experience His presence, and it is available to everyone. It gets easier to deliver His message, as you continue to experience and understand how GOOD the GOOD NEWS is!
TABLE OF FOUR
A few days later, I again found myself ministering at the same little outdoor pub. This time to an even larger group–four Americans. Three of the men [Joseph, Tank, and Mitch] were in their younger 30s. The older one in his mid-50s, Dave, had shining blue-eyes and never stopped smiling. They were all very kind and respectful. Tank invited me over and all four hammered me with questions about who I was, what I did, etc. After quickly learning that I was a Christian, we discussed many topics, such as....
1. Why/how I believed in Jesus
2. How I hear God’s voice and what it sounded like
3. My experiences ministering
4. How my own desires fit into my ministry
5. Why I wanted to be a missionary
6. How I “defused” men while ministering
7. Why/how I traveled alone as a single female
8. Mary, the virgin conception, and her amazing faith
9. Whether or not I wanted to marry Tank from Colorado
We laughed a lot and enjoyed a peaceful, yet intense, conversation. Tank joked about how it was his voice that called me over to the table, not Gods. I laughed, and everyone joined me. I don’t think I felt it was necessary to correct him. ;)
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