a change in direction ~ : )

Hey Friends and fellow soul-winners and prayer partners, 04-10-08

This past weekend was amazing! We went downtown Orlando Friday evening and then to Daytona for Saturday afternoon/evening to talk to those who came to ‘Black College Reunion’ and Spring Break ~ WOW! What a joy it is to continue to learn how to join what our Master is already doing! There are so many stories and experiences that we couldn’t possibly get them on paper!

Below are some of the stories of how God is reaching into people’s live and challenging them to give their lives to Jesus Christ, and how He allowed us to be a part of that.

(Steven’s Update)
One main conversation that stands out in my head was the one we had with a guy named DJ. This guy was pretty interesting. Apparently, Paul, Deanna, Kayla, and Damaris talked with him. I didn’t really get to hear how that conversation went because we were talking with someone else right nearby. But, about 15 minutes or so later, he came back by and Kayla mentioned that he had apparently been hanging around ~ apparently curious, thinking… The second time I got to talk with him and challenge him a little. Then we all headed back to base and we had thought that DJ had left us and went somewhere. So, when we were all back on base sharing stories and experiences, suddenly DJ walks over and comes over to listen to our conversation. So, we got a chance to get in his head a little more. He apparently was a youth leader for a number of years, even though his dad and mom are apparently not interested in Jesus, but then his life started going downhill when he was mugged on 9-11 – he didn’t finish the explanation. Several of us got to encourage him and challenge him to go back to the words of Jesus and take them seriously, and also reminded him that there is nothing he can do that cannot be forgiven, as long as he is alive. Towards the end of the conversation, he mentioned that what he saw in us peaked his curiosity ~ and he implied that he wanted that too, or at least some of it. After he left, deep in thought, several of us prayed for him. His face and story will probably stick in my head for a long time, because it is similar to others I have heard.

Saturday afternoon/evening in Daytona was a WOW too! We talked to people on a walkway using million dollar bill tracts (which was great fun), chatted with people in a several story mini mall area, and also chatted with people on the streets. There were so many conversations. Here are just a few names. Matt and Taylor ~ two graduates from Lake Brantley, Kayla and Rochelle ~ 2 of the spring break promotion team, Matt and JC, Lawrence and Mai ~ hip-hop artist and his promo guy, the leaders of a hip-hop magazine, Linda ~ a friendly, talkative security guard who was just curious what we were doing, Desiree ~ who practices witchcraft, said no thank-you to a million dollar bill tract, but appreciated a friendly face, Donnie, Jonathan and gang ~ 4 guys just hanging around who really appreciated talking, another Matt, and a guy named Derek ~ who was unwilling to surrender his life to Jesus Christ right now. We also got to meet and talk to 3 people with the ‘Impact Movement’ ~ they were handing out New Testaments to anyone in the crowd who would take one ~ it was great! The ‘Impact Movement’ is part of Campus Crusade for Christ.

(Paul’s Update)
Hey all here's a story from Friday about challenging Christians to test themselves. One of the best conversations Friday was with two church guys in fact one of them goes to the same church as Deanna. The team I joined Friday was Kayla, Damaris, Deanna, and me. So it was Deanna and I talking with these two guys Scott and Darren. Scott seemed interested enough, but Darren really didn’t want to let Deanna go through all of her questions and explanations. He kept saying he knew all of that already, and he probably very well does. Then at the end we asked a bit of a different question. I read Romans 8:5-8 which says, "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God." Then I asked them both very directly, "What do you set your mind on?" Darren hesitated to answer, so then I looked at Scott who said, "I’m carnally minded." Wow, that reality hit like a ton of bricks. I couldn’t really tell what he was thinking after that and we didn’t get a chance to carry that any further before they left. When I looked back to Darren his response was, "Well, I’m trying to lay up my treasure in Heaven." That was an interesting response as well, but he didn’t want to talk any more about all of that, so that was where the conversation ended after Deanna and he talked about something at church. If you all have any favorite verses to further test the obedience of someone who claims to be a Christian to wake them up that would be very interesting to me!

Saturday was my first time to the Black College Reunion! I expected a really wild nasty party and very little conversation (I've heard about it). It was exactly the opposite on the streets that night! The light chill and then late night rain put a damper on the party, and the conversations were so incredible. I spent a lot of time with Sean Kelsey, and we talked to a lot of people. And there were many good conversations where people heard the truth and had to think about it a little bit. And then there were the conversations where after hearing some truth, they didn’t know what to do! It was like God stopped them in their plans and all of a sudden they just had to rethink things. The first one of those was with Zack. After a couple minutes of conversation, he was just standing there with his hands in his pockets and his head down and thinking. He didn’t leave for a while even though we gave him several gaps in conversation. He just stood there and let us explain everything that we could think of and even still he was hesitant to leave. And then Sean and my last conversation of the night was with Leonard who at the end of the conversation told us he had to leave right away, that he didn’t belong there and he needed to get right with God! Sean got his email address earlier in the conversation and then we took shelter when it started raining. And we just looked at a bunch of God’s Word together! It was great! Even just telling these stories reminds me to pray for them again!

(Deanna’s Update)
After arriving I was teamed with Paul and two other girls that I met for the first time that night. We headed out fairly quickly and my first witnessing encounter for the night is always special. I ran into a couple who were around 21 and stopped them to give them a track and quickly headed into conversation. The guy who's name has slipped my mind shared he felt he was not a good person so I laid my focus on Stephanie. She said she tried to be and I went through the law with her. I have been trying not to kick it into high gear right away but I do get carried away. hee hee. After seeming convicted I shared the gospel with her and half way through someone behind me ( I guess one of her friends) distracted her and pulled her away. So I shifted my attention back to the guy. He seemed to have more knowledge and didn't disagree with me but seemed to think "to each is own". I hear alot that people all believe different things and we sholdn't push our beliefs on others. I used the burning building scenerio but he stuck to his guns. It ended shortly thereafter and I thanked them for their time.

I spoke with about 15 folks altogether that night and they were all very interesting but I won't give you a play by play for each. I did have one gentleman who first I stereotyped as the thug type but I learn everytme I shouldn't do that. He had certain things well rehearsed and seemed to be pretty intelluctual so I needed help. Luckily Paul came to the rescue and helped pick up some crucial points. This man believed and studied many religions but the muslim faith came up quite a bit. He would quote the bible but did not believe in the diety of Jesus. I'll admit he stumped me a time or two and that's why I was glad to have my partner in truth near by. Downtown definately can be more challenging so it wets my appetite for future encounters, I like to find verses later that I can use next time. Ray Comfort always says use Scripture as much as possible so I'm trying to memorize more but that's not one of my strong points. I won't let that stop me though that's for sure. I took lots of pics that I will be sharing with you all and I ask for prayer when we go out. It makes such a difference and I can tell when were being prayed for.

Last night was the biggest group I have been able to go out with yet and I learn something new each time. There were alot of divine apointments for us last night. A few others I want to ask for prayer for are Tony, Scott, Lorraine, and another cute spanish couple (God knows) and the so called athiests. Thank You God for New friendships and Soul-winners. May we all be Bold as lions! Amen!

(Bryan’s update)
We prayed and broke into teams. I was teamed with Rich and one of his daughters Becky. We headed down the street and I was immediately separated from them as they crossed the street by a deaf homeless man asking for money. I had none. I did offer him a million dollar bill but he looked upset and disappointed at the same time. I tried to tell him it was better than real money but he didn't agree. I caught up with them on the other side and they were talking to a man they'd talked to on previous trips down here. His name is Omar, he's Muslim and very well versed in the Qu'ran and quoted it in the native tongue. Which wasn't shocking since that how they believe is the only way to truly study it. He's very intelligent and it was sad to see such an intelligent guy pouring his life and heart into something that will take him to hell if he doesn't repent and put his faith in Jesus. His arguments were contradictory and weak and it appeared he was relying on his ability to quote the Qu'ran in the original tongue to impress us or dissuade us. It didn't. It ended on good terms but he was still convinced of the Qu'ran. Please pray for him.

Then we found Sergio (I remembered names! I'm totally getting better at this). This was an encounter I really wanted to see happen in person. When the person is clearly not interested in talking or being bothered but you push through anyway and have a great conversation. He's a very confused kid. I'd guess early to mid 20's. There was a bit of a language barrier but it didn't hinder his understanding of what we were saying or vica versa. He kept wanting to quote things he'd heard but couldn't remember them. I really enjoyed talking to him. He understood the courtroom scenario and the debt he can't pay. He'd been trying to "do better" with sin for 2 years. We talked to him about how we can't do it on our own and God has been preparing him for us to come talk to him etc...

Rich mentioned after we left that it was like talking to a wall. He'd seem to grasp what we were saying then say that he was going to do better. It was frustrating to see him so utterly lost in the world and we have THE answer and he's unable to get it. Please pray for Sergio. He needs to be convicted and convinced of what we were saying badly.

After that it was already time to start packing up. We actually fellowshipped on the corner and grabbed random passersby as we talked and got to know each other. Since I'm a new guy I had a lot of friends to make and stories to share. It was a fantastic time and I can't wait to do it again.

Thank you Lord for the privilege and honor to do Your work among those who need it most.

Bryan

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Your friends, fellow prayer partners, and co-laborers,
David, Barbara, Steven and Paul

Great fellowship and 'fishing' w/ fellow AiC members

Hey fellow servants of Christ and prayer partners, 03-13-2008

What a joy it is to walk in the light of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! These past two weeks have been busy, and have included new ministry experiences, which is really good. :)

We are planning to join everyone at the Graham's house ~ we're looking forward to it! :) And then hitting the streets!

Several announcements before some interesting 'fishing stories':

What: 'Way of the Master' ~ 'Transformed Conference'
When: April 19th 2008
Where: near St. Louis, MO
First Baptist Church of Arnold
2012 Missouri State Rd.
Arnold, MO 63010
What time: (2 sessions)
8:30 AM to 12:00 PM
1:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Cost: FREE
To sign up, click here: http://www.wayofthemasterradio.com/transformed_signup_stlouis.shtml

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What: 'Evangelism Conference'
~ with Gabe Graham, Mark, Cahill, and Darrel Rundus
When: April 25th and 26th 2008
Where: St. Pete, FL
Calvary Chapel
8900 US HWY 19 N.
Pinellas Park, FL
General plan: Friday evening - 6:30-9:30PM
> ~ prayer, praise, and some food for thought
Saturday conference ~ 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM
> ~ worship, evangelism training, lunch, more training, then 'fishing'! ~ :)
Cost: FREE

For more info, check out: http://www.team-hope.org or you can contact Gabe @ ~ neosurf(@)hotmail.com

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Expelled the movie is scheduled to come out April 18th. It comes from a secular point of view, but apparently asks good questions and has some very interesting interviews. Ray Comfort (of 'Way of the Master') highly recommends it. You can find Ray's review of the movie here: http://raycomfortfood.blogspot.com/2008/03/expelled-review.html. Our family is really looking forward to it!

Also, to all those who pray for us, we would like you to pray for us this Saturday afternoon/evening as we are planning to go to Daytona Beach for 'Black College Reunion'. We've never done this before, but we are definitely looking forward to it!

Now, we had the wonderful opportunity of meeting two fellow evangelists (and our new friends) ~ Deanna and Bryan, and their stories are below.

(Steven's update)
This past week was very cool. Meeting two new friends, talking with an 'apathetic question guy' as Bryan called him, and then getting to talk to 2 friends - one was Hindu and the other Muslim. Those were some very fun conversations, and I'll let Bryan tell you those. Two weeks ago, I joined Rich, Jackie and Tramicqua as they talked with a Muslim man named Omar. It was quite an interesting conversation and I think God used us to plant some good seeds. Omar had some painful memories from his past, and he was also trying to rationalize his sin and how it really wasn't that important. We got to encourage him some about his past and apologize and show him that we care. Rich got him thinking about eternity and how important it was, and I was able to remind him that according to the Bible, we are rebels, going our own way - making ourselves enemies of God, but that even though we rebelled, God died for us - while we were still His enemies. And that He then rose again and was seen by 500 witnesses. And we did our best to remind him of Jesus' words in John 14:6 ~ "I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me." At the end of the conversation, Omar was back-peddling, and it was clear that God was working on his conscience. Please join me in praying for him that He will realize that he needs to give complete control of his life to Jesus and accept Him as his Savior - no matter the cost. (Very often, when someone with a Muslim background turns from Islam to Jesus, they are disowned, lose everything they have, and sometimes are hunted down and murdered for their faith in Jesus. ~ Please pray for Omar.)

(Paul's update)Friday night, we had two new friends from http://www.adventuresinchristianity.com/ (an evangelism connection), Deanna (from Deltona) and Bryan (from Apopka), join us on the streets of Downtown Orlando! It was funny that they both decided to come the same night. It was an amazing night of fellowship and fishing! I think we were all hugely looking forward to Friday night all day long! Our fellowship was so sweet! I think we all had way too much fun Friday night, but we also really strengthened each other in the work of building God's kingdom! There is just nothing in this world like meeting a fellow brother and sister in the Lord who have the fear of the Lord in them and have God's love for all of the people and are not tied down to the love of this world, so we can all fellowship in the pure grace of God and the wonderful work that he's doing in our hearts and our lives and the lives of those we love and of those he leads us to meet and minister to! It is so out of this world. We also really challenged each other to remember that we are pilgrims passing through this world, and we must have all of our focus and attention on declaring and praying for and looking for the glory of God to be revealed in this wicked world we live in until he returns! Now to the stories! Three stories that stand out - a conversation with Alex who listens to way too many voices, and that about summarizes that one! Then there was Jay - while my mom and Deanna were into a great conversation at one point, I decided to stop and pray. So I'm just standing there, kind of with my head down and eyes open just talking to God not really paying attention to what was going on around me. All of a sudden Jay walks up. We talked only a few minutes - long enough to find out that he knows all of the truth he needs, and he didn't say it but he seemed to really be doing some rethinking and knows he needs to change something in a big way. About twenty minutes later, he walked into 'Club Tabu', but then five minutes later I saw him just standing all the way across the street, just watching us talking with people! I really think he's looking for new life, I hope! Then there was Mike. We talked for about five minutes and really encouraged him to read God's Word more to really be clearer on things, but he definitely seemed to be a disciple. He really talked like God is building in him a new life, and he seemed like a new man! Now it's time to pray that he really takes it seriously to enter that narrow gate and stay on that path and never look back again!
This last week at Orlando Children's Church was so good that I had to tell you all about it. Orlando Children's Church, for those who aren't familiar with it, sends out eight school buses Saturday mornings across Central Florida and picks up about 300 children from five years old up through high school and even a few out of high school. They bring them to FBC Maitland where they get breakfast donated by McDonalds every week and play some games and hang out and talk and then we do a lot of Bible study. Steven and I work with the middle school/high school, and I lead the sixth grade small group and Steven has seventh and eighth grade. The large group session this week was about Moses life. The main point was not accurate, but their point was that Moses tried to use his own wisdom at first (killing an Egyptian), but later in his life when God was the One guiding the situation it worked out to release the Israelites and God used Moses as a wise and strong leader.So in my small group, I carried the point about not making your own decisions but letting God be in control of your life and your decisions. I told them that was one of the greatest truths that I have ever heard in my life, and described what happened when I repented and gave complete control of my life over to God and about why God must be God in our life instead of us. They were more attentive for those ten minutes than I've seen eleven sixth grade guys in a while. Even Justin who wasn't supposed to be in my small group and is often causing trouble but he sat right in front of me and listened to every word. Then they had a lot of questions. Then I had three specific conversations after our group that were just out of this world great! Noah had a very serious question, so we talked about that! Then Alex wanted to talk about how there are so many confusing things in the world! (One of my points was about all the lies they're getting at school that are going to be so complicating for them to sort through.) And then I went and talked to Edwin and his friend (I forget his name) came over to join the conversation and another friend was listening in. Edwin's friend commented also about how many confusing questions there are and concluded out loud that we've got to just toughen up and just do the best we can. So, I took Edwin's friend through the intelligence test: 1> How many of each animal did Moses take on the ark? 2> What is the name of the raised print that deaf people use 3> Is it possible to end a sentence with the word 'the'? 4> Spell shop out loud... then what do you do when you come to a green light? 5> Spell silk out loud... what do cows drink? As he was getting them wrong, he slowly felt more dumb, then when he got them all wrong he was like, "Wow, I must be really dumb." My response was no, but you can see how easily we can be tricked. The point is not to rely on our own wisdom for all of the confusing questions in life, but to look to God for the truth! He got that! There was so much more; you can ask me if you want to hear the rest!
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(Bryan's update)
http://www.adventuresinchristianity.com/?L=blogs.blog&article=2861
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(Deanna's update)
http://www.adventuresinchristianity.com/?L=blogs.blog&article=2858
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Your friends and co-laborers,
David, Barbara, Steven and Paul