All glory and praise to the Lamb of God. Our hearts are overwhelmed. We cannot take in all that the Lord is doing. It is so evident that many have prayed and are praying and that God is answering prayer. Through the decades of preaching the gospel we have never seen such things.
Being the first team we are trying all avenues. Today we took the bus from the village into the city. The time was about the same, the bus tickets equaled what parking would have been, but we saved some of the precious petrol – which is $8 a gallon here.
As soon as we got off the bus and began distributing tracts we were engaged in conversation by a Pentecostal who did not believe the Bible and a Jehovah’s Witness who did. (You must know this place is crawling with JWs and they are hated because all G.O. know that Jesus is God.) As we discussed the scriptures a small crowd gathered to listen in. We showed these two men that salvation is a gift of God through the finished work of Jesus Christ, something neither of them thought possible. When the light dawned in the heart of the J.W. he laughed out loud and exclaimed, “I see it, I see it!”
As this conversation led to others a woman approached whose heart was flooding with joy. She had heard the singing, seen the signs, saw the tracts being handed out by the other members of our group. She broke in to our conversation and said to Brother Angelo, “I have been praying that the Lord would send someone to our city to do what you are doing.” With many other words she blessed our hearts. She was the first of four persons today who wanted to know where they could meet with us to learn more, and we urge you to pray that we can quickly find a suitable gathering place.
For a solid week we have been preaching in front of stores, shops, apartments and police stations. Not one word of complaint has been raised by anyone. This is unheard of. When we sing people stop and listen, some cheer and thank us. People stand in wonder and read the scripture signs; some pull off the road to soak them in. When we preach, instead of taunts and mocking as in the states, people stop, listen, ask to know, “What is this you are doing.” People we miss with tracts walk up to us and ask for one. We turn to each other over and over again and say, “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Christian from Nigeria was back today to get his Bible. He sought out several of us to thank us.
After some hours we stopped to eat. Lilian and Kristin sat down on a bench and a woman stopped to enquire about the verse on the sign leaning against their bench. Angelo and I joined them and a man approached who said, “If I die today I will go straight to hell.” He had committed some grave sin and had not been to the priest for confession. We pleaded with him for half an hour to believe the word of God we were showing him. The poor soul fears God, but fears the G.O. church more.
We made it back to the house and were talking over the day’s events when the first phone call came from someone who had received a tract. He wanted to know more. When a fantastic day could hardly get any better, Illias called and scheduled an appointment to see us on the morrow.
Trouble may find us, but for now we want everyone to know that God has done exceedingly and abundantly above any prayer that we ever dared pray about our entry into Thessalonica. If you are weary of knocking doors or passing tracts with no response – come here. If you are tired of preaching on the street to those who ignore or curse or show no interest – come here. If you want to offer the good news to people who are starving for some – come here.
VITAL REQUESTS
- There is no way to describe how valuable it has been to have Brother Logan and his family here. The work they have done in finding and furnishing a place to live, in scouting out the city, in knowing where to shop, etc. has been so valuable. Their fearless love for souls and their lives of sacrifice for the saints are so very rare. You cannot pray for them enough and their supporting churches should know that your gifts are not wasted.
- Had God not sent Angelo most of what we have done this week would have been impossible. There are a few conversations in English, but very few. We sing, preach, tract, we throw the line, but when we get a bite we hand the rod and reel to Angelo. He is gracious and loving but absolutely fearless. He is tender but without compromise. Those who dispute with him know he is without guile and has no motive but a longing to see them find what he has found in Jesus Christ. Without your constant prayer for him he is going to be exhausted in no time. He must certainly be a prime target of our enemy as this work goes forward. You must uphold him before the throne of grace. We cannot do this without him.
- In a city of 2,500,000 spread out over many square miles we have to find one place to rent. It must be central, convenient, safe, sufficient, in a place where neighbors will not complain, in a place easily recognized, affordable, etc. We cannot possibly know what spot is the right one to start this church, but we need a place right away. Will you ask the Lord to direct our steps to find the perfect building for our church?
Today we go by bus
As soon as we arrived these two men engaged us
Others stop to hear, including this woman who has prayed for our arrival
I see it, I see it, said the Jehovah’s Witness
Look how the crowds gather as we sing and preach
Look how the curious stay to hear the gospel explained
They pull their vehicles off the road to read the signs
Where do you meet? When do you begin? she asks
No time to eat
First call