Dearest Friends,
THE MOST WONDERFUL THING
After we finished the program on Friday night, a well dressed man came and spoke to me. His name was John. He said, “Tonight, I heard the most wonderful thing, that I believe will change my life. Thank you”. Please pray for John as he discovers who Jesus can be in and through his life. I loved the way he described the Gospel. Truly we have the “most wonderful thing”. Who is waiting for you to speak to them about “the most wonderful thing”.
JAKE’S STORY
Jake is a 5 year old little boy who came to the puppet show and band concert on Saturday night. We were on the main stage at the Rose of Tralee Festival for 1 and a half hours and even listed in the program. What a miracle! We are the only Christians with this privilege and surely it happened because so many faithfully prayed.
He had his parents bring him because he got a Reality CD last year and it is his favorite band. So, just like in scripture, this little child led his parents to our program tonight and everyone heard about Jesus. They were very happy to receive a picture that I drew tonight of the cross of Jesus as the bridge between us and God. They watched me draw the picture
A SHOPKEEPER
Between programs, I walked in a little shop and met the owner. I began to talk with him and tell him stories about the children that we have the privilege to serve. I showed him pictures. The other man who worked in the shop came over and began to listen as well. It was so sweet what God did. The city was bursting with people but no-one came into the shop while we were talking.
He began to tell me a story about a friend of his, a lady who he knew who did the same kind of work I do. As I listened to his story, my heart broke for his friend. After the death of her husband, she changed and became angry at God. She blamed Him for her situation and began to do things that she would never have done before his death. She became an immoral woman. As I heard this story, I thought of God’s grace in my own life. Only faith in Jesus kept me from the same darkness. Only complete trust in a sovereign God who has a plan, whether I understand it or not, kept me from certain disaster. Since faith and trust are God’s gifts, I can take no credit for any strength in this situation. I beg you to pray for this lady whose name we do not know, but God knows.
After he finished his story, I laid my hand on his and said, “Oh sir, how special it is that you would choose to tell me this story. Let me tell you my story.” As I told him about Mike and my life together, Mike’s death, and my certain hope, I could tell that he was really listening. I was overwhelmed by his response. He wanted to thank me and he presented me with a gift from his shop. God is so amazing! Please pray for this dear man to come to deep and wonderful faith in Jesus Christ.
STANDING IN THE RAIN
I never cease to be amazed at how people will stand in the rain to hear about Jesus Christ. I confess to you that I do not believe people in my own country would stand for up to 2 hours, listening to every part of the program as the rain came down. The corwd is full of little children but they don’t want to leave either, even the old people stay. On our first evening in Tralee, there were literally hundreds of people crowding the street and listening. Everyone says that Europeans are not interested in the Gospel, but surely those people ignore the power of prayer. We are all blessed, wet and happy.
Our times of sharing have not been without verbal attack. I will not share with you what was shared with us, as you would not like to hear it. People feel very free to scream at you on the street and add interesting expletives to their sentences. Through it all, we keep smiling. God is so kind to us.
GALWAY
Today is our last day in Tralee, tomorrow we move to Galway. This is one of the darkest cities that I have ever worked in. Each year, we have many difficult situations on the street. Please pray for wisdom and open hearts.
In Jesus,
Linda for
Naomi
Joe
Alex
Sam
Silvana
Anna
Reality