(From Mike, David, Chris, and Amy)
I met a young guy working in the parking lot as an attendant and was busy speaking to him about the Lord’s love and plan for his life when a rough looking character approached and gestured him over. The young man politely “can you excuse me for a minute” and went over to the other man who began yelling at him and hitting him. I was quite shocked but just stood by the side praying inwardly and waiting for him to come back. When he did he shook his head at me and said “sorry that was one of the gang members who runs the town we are like their slaves that’s why I couldn’t fight back” I felt really bad for him and felt a leading to really focus on Heaven in the conversation.
We spoke more about how the Lord promises to his children a Home in Heaven that’s better than we can ever imagine! He really liked that and wistfully spoke of how wonderful that would be. Then we spoke about forgiveness for sins – unconditional forgiveness and love. In the end he accepted Jesus as His Saviour together with me and then after exchanging details I prayed for him for protection and grace and wisdom for how to carry on. He was really touched and I felt like Jesus had put us together at just the right time.
While handing out pamphlets on the street. I met Emile and Adian. They invited me to walk with them and wished to know more. I explained we had come from Cape Town to tell people about Jesus. I then asked them how much they knew about Him.
“Not so much.”
“May I tell you about the Jesus I know?”
As I began, I asked the Lord for a clear way of explaining His message to them. Immediately I revived a word picture:
Imagine you just stepped out of the store with a brand new pair of white sneakers. Yes, they’re nice! Then, and for no apparent reason, someone walks by and steps on your shoe. You’re. Brand. New. Shoe. O, you’re mad! You want to get even. At this point, you have a choice to make: you can either go around, stepping on other peoples shoes to make them just like yours, or you can try to clean your shoe.
You choose the latter. You start talking to others, asking them how they clean their shoes. Some people give you the advice:
“Don’t worry about it, you shoe is perfect just the way it is!”
“As long as your shoe isn’t as dirty as the persons’ next to you, you’ll be alright! It’s just a matter of perspective!”
You hear these things, but you can’t help but notice their shoes are still just as dirty. Their advice isn’t making their shoe any cleaner: they’ve only come up with good reasons why their shoe can stay uncleaned. Nobody seems to truly know how to clean their shoe. During this time, your shoes keep getting stepped on, and you’ve even unintentionally pressed down on a few yourself. You sit down, discouraged. You feel so ready to take just the shoes right off, and be done with it.
Then, all of a sudden, someone comes up to you and tells you about this amazing new cleaning product: Handy Andy. This product will make your shoe so clean, you could even run through the mud, wash them after, and have them coming out cleaner than before. No dirt can last against this cleaner.
And not only that, but the more you clean your shoe, your bottle will never run out. On top of this, it even promises that if you use it for others, you can become an official Handy Andy shoe cleaner.
I paused, and said: “ I think you already know where I m going with this story. Jesus is the Handy Andy of your soul. You wash your heart with Him, and you will be truly clean. Don’t you want it?”
That day, both men prayed with me, and asked the Greatest Cleaner Jesus Christ to work in their hearts, and make them Handy Andy cleaners to other as well.
We embraced. I prayed for them and over them. We swapped details and said will stay in touch.
since that day, I have created a “Handy Andy” group on WhatsApp, and anyone Ive met who has made a decision in their life to serve Jesus is on it. So far, we are 7 strong, and use it for Prayer Requests, Bible Q&A, and questions regarding how to a Godly life with Jesus as our Centre.
Two of us had the opportunity to join some young guys having a beer late evening. We prayed about it, and felt that it was an open door to minister further. Upon sitting down, we were immediately thrust into an intense conversation of questions, philosophy, theology, and discussion. In the midst of it, while Mike was answering questions from the “leader” of the group, I ended up having a one-on-one conversation with one of the other guys across from me. I felt led to open with “you can debate truth and reality all you like, but personally I KNOW Jesus is real because of what He’s done for me.” He seemed taken aback, but intrigued, and we entered into a long discourse. He was raised a Catholic, and I asked him “how do you think God feels about you right now, at this moment?” He said “well, we are having beers, but we’re also speaking about Jesus, so I think He’s happy. I don’t think this was a chance meeting.” I agreed, and said “but think about this – God loves you just as much no matter what you are doing, and His Love comes with an offer of change, joy, and eternal life.” He said “whoa, that’s really something you’re saying…”
At one point, as I looked into his eyes I felt the urge to say “you’re searching for peace, right? When you go out with friends, when you drink, when you live your life, you’re looking for peace inside.” He nodded slowly and said “yes, yes that’s exactly right.” I told him how Jesus promises peace that no circumstance can take away, and satisfaction that remains… “whoever drinks of this (earthly) water shall thirst again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst…” “..peace I leave with you, MY peace I give unto you, not the peace that world tries to give, but Mine, which lasts.” (John 4:14, John 14:27)
It got very late, and eventually they had to go, but he clasped my hand and thanked me for what I’d told him, and I saw a new light in his eyes. I was not able to pray with him to accept Jesus right there, but I trust that the seeds planted will grow and sooner or later spring up into Salvation. Thank you Jesus that Your Word never returns void, but accomplishes the purpose that you sent it for. (Isaiah 55:11)
So, I was witnessing to this car guard, telling him about the simplicity of Salvation. After a short conversation he agreed to pray with me, but it didn’t seem like he was really taking what I said to heart. But he had made a decision, so I prayed with him. After we finished, he began to thank me, but stopped mid-sentence.
“I feel…” he said, and motioned from his feet upward, “I can feel the Spirit.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“I… I’m a child of God!”
“Yes,” I told him, “You are! That’s what I’ve been telling you! And no one can ever take that away from you!”
He just looked at me as he searched for words. Then he motioned again to his feet, and moving up to his head.
“I feel the Spirit! I am a child of God!”
I was passing through a temporary festival gate when my attention was drawn to a man sitting off almost behind it. I sat down with him and found his name was Bradford.
We spoke for a while and from the beginning he listened very intently to everything I had to say. For some reason I felt the need to really delve into how Jesus is always waiting for us like the story of the prodigalson – not only God’s plan to save us and redeem us but especially that he waits for us to return.
As I spoke about it his eyes began to get teary and he took off his glasses and wiped his eyes again and again. Then he told me that in fact he was planning on coming to the Lord and he told himself that soon, very soon, he would walk into church and give his life to God he’d even told his friends and those living around him that was going to become a Christian again (as he was originally raised one) but they all laughed at him and told him “Bradford you’ll never be a Christian look at you!” I think it was such an encouragement for him to hear and see how the Lord brought us together to give him a chance to give his heart to Jesus.
When we finally prayed together and he accepted Salvation there was such a feeling and almost an aura of joy and Holy Spirit power around us. When we finished he looked up at me with his eyes still wet and said “I feel so much lighter!” then he broke out into the most beautiful smile and said today is my day…today is my day! I said “yes today is a wonderful day it’s the day you entered God’s family and you are His child forever!” Bradford said to me “I’m gonna go home tonight and I’m gonna dig through my things until I find my Bible.” I said to him “I can give you a Bible then when you find yours you can pass it on to someone else” – he was so overwhelmed and happy! We exchanged details and later on that day I brought him a brand new sponsored Bible with his name and the date in it. He thanked me again and again and said “I keep thinking of those words you told me…I’m a child of God! I’m a child of God and no one can take me out of his hand!” It was such a beautiful thing to see the Word already transforming his life, and we are staying in touch.
I had been feeling a little tired and discouraged because of the heat and how slow and difficult the witnessing had been for me. I walked slowly down the street and as I did so, I came by a worker sitting in a high trailer hooked up to a tractor. I was trying to stay out of the crisp-making sun, but I felt that I should go up to that man and give him a tract. So I went up to him and gave him one, but he didn’t really want to talk to me. Disappointed, I began to move on, when the driver of the tractor asked for a pamphlet too. Happily I gave him one, and he was so excited to see it was about Jesus. He asked me to pray for him and his life, that he could stay energized and going for God. I did so and at the end of the prayer he was extremely thankful for my stopping to talk with him. I kept going down the street, but with a much more positive outlook, thank you Jesus!
Upon walking up a side street, I came up to a group of men talking animatedly. I offered them tracts, and found to my surprise that one was a pastor, and the other Rastafarians – moreover, that I had come in the middle of the pastor trying to bring them to Salvation. He came to the side with me, and explained that he’d been coming to see them for quite some time, trying to get them to understand the Gospel. I encouraged Him that the Lord sees our faithfulness, and asked if I could speak with them. After some conversation, they all accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour! What a wonderful victory and proof once again that “some plant, some water, and some harvest.” (John 4:37)
I met Gavin and Nico at a petrol station during their break. We had a good talk and when I was about to leave, I asked if they had any prayer requests. They both looked nervous and asked if I could come back the next day, when they’d have more time. I gladly agreed, and we met up the next day, going to the staff room to talk. They shared some personal issues with me, and I prayed with them right there, asking God for miracles of health, resolution, supply, and encouragement. I encouraged them that even if God doesn’t seem to be answering yet, just hold on, and trust; that we all have trials and life is hard, but Jesus is ALWAYS with us in the valleys. I was also able to leave them with a “Key Bible Verses” and Activated magazine each, to help build their faith.