Hi everyone,
On Wednesday and Thursday of this week our family joined Scott Smith and the East Coast Tour for a couple days of street preaching, and we had a great time! We met up with Scott, Mike Stockwell, Robert Gray, Don Karns, Scott's son Brendan, and Tom Mammen on Wednesday at Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachussetts.
After we all got together Scott, Robert, Brendan and Tom went over to the Harvard campus while Mike and Don stayed and preached at Harvard Square. We stayed with Mike and Don and were able to pass out tracts. I was able to talk to one girl as well. Don had a heckler who got up and shouted about Donald Trump and other things. There was even a girl dancing. Even those who try to mock the Gospel message can draw a larger crowd of people who can hear the truth of God's Word through the preaching.
After a while the other men came back from the campus and a couple of them preached at the Square as well. I got to meet "John" who I think is actually a girl, who the guys knew from another campus. There are certain people that have absurd beliefs but are okay with it. Like "John" thinks that before humans existed the universe could have both existed and not existed at the same time and in the same way. These people need Christ. As my brother in Christ would say, "Jesus did not only die to save souls for eternity, he died to save reasoning now". "John" has some Christian literature, please pray for her salvation.
On Thursday everyone except Tom went to UMass Boston. It was a crazy day. Different men preached throughout the day from the stone ledge on campus. I passed out tracts and we were able to have many conversations. One of my conversations was with a Muslim boy and two other boys. This was my first time doing campus ministry. I had a great time but sadly I do not have much opportunity to have conversations like that so I can still use practice. Questions such as, "Why did God make us if he knew we were going to sin?" One person used the analogy that I was a teacher, and if I knew that no matter how much I studied with a student they were going to fail the test, why did I even give to them? An objection came up that the Bible had been rewritten multiple times. One boy showed me a supposed contradiction in the Bible. These are some of the things you encounter when doing street ministry. Daddy came into the conversation after I had been talking with the Muslim boy for a while, but he had spoken with Scott and Mike previously and just didn't like the Bible's answers to his questions.
One of the boys, Greyson, asked if I was okay, if anyone hurt me. I told him I was fine, I was not part of a cult. That I had men who loved me and would protect me. Why do people think that since I go out to do ministry with my family that I am abused? The people I need to fear are the worldly people who attack Christ's messengers. We will hear about them later in this post. Mommy and Daddy were both able to talk to lots of people as well. We met one Christian girl that was very nice, and we even got some pictures together.
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We had some police around and a huge crowd, probably up to hundreds of students at a time. The more people that hear the preaching the better. There were some people yelling, and some who were opposed to the Christian's presence got mildly violent.
Mike was up on the ledge preaching and two people jumped up behind him and one of them dumped water on Mike, hence the wet shirt. The other person poured water on the team's signs and literature. At another time a girl jumped up on the wall and put her hand on Mike but did not push him or anything. The police had her move away. Someone else was led off by a police officer after she spit something towards Mike. Another person threw packages of Skittles up on the raised area that we were on. The crowd at one point moved closer and the police ended up standing near the preacher. Here is a picture of Robert with his "bodyguards". We are very thankful to the police for their work. Some people tried to put papers on one of the signs with stickers but the police officer took them off and put them somewhere else.
Daddy had a large group of people that he was talking to.
Someone tried to steal the team's things but Robert got them back. We had what looked like some police cadets around along with other officers. In the end I think we had 12 or 14 police. Yesterday was the first time that I walked away from the preaching spot followed by police officers. It is a new experience when you are walking into an elevator and the police are around and then you get down to the next floor and they are there to continue walking with you. They walked with us down toward our cars. Like I said, it was a crazy day.
We had a great time and the Gospel was proclaimed. We learned some of what these brothers go through as they preach at campuses like this. We knew some already but yesterday was another example of the total depravity of man. One guy had written a sign with things that I will not even bother to repeat here. These people need the Gospel and sadly there are not many Christians that will stand up and preach it boldly. I am not saying that everyone has to be a street preacher, however WE ARE ALL COMMANDED to PREACH THE GOSPEL. We are not given an option, it is a command. If you do not preach the Gospel you are in disobedience against God.
Yes, people are willing to hurt God's messengers and there can be an element of possible danger as described above. However that is not often and we cannot use our fear of what man may do as an excuse to not obey God. Christians in other countries face imprisonment and even death for preaching the Gospel, yet they still do it.What are you afraid of, that someone might look at you funny or think you are strange? Or in the weird situations, are you afraid that someone will scream at you or pour water on you? Persecution is part of being a Christian. Those who are persecuted for their Christian faith are blessed. Think about it this way, are you more concerned for your physical safety and your feelings, or about the souls that are dying and going to Hell and the command that was given to you by your God?
"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age'.”
Matthew 28:18-20
Do not be afraid to be a fool in the eyes of the world. Paul the apostle challenges Christians to be willing to be a fool in the eyes of the world in order to be wise in Christ.
"We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute."
1 Corinthians 4:10
Be an ambassador for Christ!
"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."
2 Corinthians 5:20
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| Myself, Mike and Robert. These brothers are faithful ministers of God and it is a privilege to labor alongside them. |
So what are you going to do this week to preach the Gospel to the world? Pray for these brothers as they continue to go out and labor in this world. Pray also that they will continue to have access to college campuses.
With love in the Lord,
Virginia
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