Dearest Friends,
OUR FIRST SHOW
All of us were so blessed to worship today with our brothers and sisters in a nearby town. The church was set up very different from churches in the US as the man and women sat on separate sides of the church. You took off your sandals as you entered. Will’s shoes were the biggest there. This was a more prosperous church than some village churches that I have attended; they had plastic chairs.
There was such an amazing spirit in the place. Not everyone was a believer that attended, some were seekers. They would pray for a while and then they stop and sing a praise song. I opened my eyes and looked at their faces. I saw such love mirrored there and such reverence. I began to cry as I saw their deep love for Jesus. Many had walked to church, some a great distance. The roads are very dusty and dirty, crowded with cows, trash is everywhere. I was challenged by the day to day obstacles that I knew many faced to serve Jesus. This is often a hostile place for the Gospel.
Sam and I shared in church; he juggled his knives and presented a great Gospel message. I told them stories about what the Lord is doing around the world in the lives of children.
The Lord blessed, we finished speaking, and sat back down very happy. Then our friend came to us and asked us to speak to the children’s Sunday School for 30 or 40 minutes.
We had absolutely nothing with us except Sam’s knives and clubs. We had already used them and I wondered what we could do. You would be surprised how long 40 minutes is with children and no plan. I confess that I was concerned, but we quickly prayed and knew that the Lord would give us a plan. I signaled Sam that we would tell the story of Goliath and he would be Goliath. Before we finished, Alli played the part of King Saul’s beautiful daughter and Will was the group of men who were too afraid to fight Goliath. The children were fascinated that Will who is 6 foot 4 inches tall could be afraid of anything. It was a great way to teach them that our real strength is in our hearts, that God is our strength.
Some of the children were from Christian homes and some were not, but they loved the Gospel that they heard today. God blessed us! Most of the children prayed out loud, calling on Jesus to save them. What an awesome beginning for our trip to India!
ANOTHER BLESSING!
Yesterday as we went to the wood yard to buy wood for the easel, we began to talk with the children and a couple of ladies there. They were so sad that they could not see a show. After we paid the owner and since he was happy, we asked permission to do a show in his lumberyard. We were careful to explain that we were Christians, so he knew what we would share. He agreed and next Sunday we will be in the lumberyard. Not having an easel was a problem that ended in a great blessing. More, our friends here really needed one and now, thanks to Will’s creative carpentry, no power saws, we have one to leave with them.
Please stay on your knees!!!!!
In Jesus, Linda for the team
Sam Shaw-Assistant Director
Silvana Shaw
Will and Alli Jackson