Dearest Friends,
Go Back To Cross
Yesterday morning, we were given a beautiful gift. We were asked to do a puppet show for a church in Balleyfermot. The church had some Irish christians , but was mostly full of Africans from several different nations. I was telling the children how they could know Jesus when one little boy raised his hand and interrupted me. He said,”Please can you go back to the cross.”
I stopped and “backed “ up the story and explained again how he could know Jesus. I went back “to the cross”. A few minutes later, I led the children in a prayer and I heard him praying, calling on Jesus to rescue him. We heard so many children praying! Please hold the children in your prayers! Please know that the deep joy which flooded my heart is not possible to describe. God is so kind to us!
Do We Risk It?
The evening promised rain in Galway and it was after eight when we arrived at the park to set up for the show. We had been delayed traveling to Galway and it would have easy to not go out. We all agreed that we had to go ahead and try.
By God’s grace, we had a very big crowd as I started the story. Big Bear was dancing to a Christian song and the crowd gathered quickly to watch him. The amazing thing is that they all stayed to listen to the story of the prodigal son. I told them that Jesus told this story so that we would always know that we can come home to God. Then , I explained God’s rescue plan to them and I could see that they were really listening. I felt God’s spirit on the crowd. For a few wonderful minutes, all of the noise and distractions seemed to disappear. They just stood there, hungry to hear about Jesus! It was powerful to watch the Father move in their lives!
A Very Drunk Lady
As I was telling the story of a native American chief who put his trust in Jesus , a very drunk lady came and stood very close to me and started yelling. I tried moving away from her so I could tell the story, but she shadowed me.
Through the years, I have dealt with many drunk men , but I have never had to deal with a drunk woman. She was so very loud and scared the children with her crazy behavior. I did not know what to do. At one point, desperate to finish telling the story to the children, I tried to outrun her and get in front of her. This was a terrible idea and very entertaining to watch. It turns out that I can not even run faster than a drunk woman! I actually said over the microphone, “Someone help me!” Someone did help me.
I felt a deep peace wash over me and I realized that though I was helpless, Jesus could help me. As I was talking about how the chief heroically forgave the man who killed his son when the lady shouted, “You have to forgive.” I told her that she was right and that I had forgiven many people. Then she became impossibly loud, and I stopped. I realized that I could not continue to tell the story and that maybe she was the story.
I smiled and said,”My mother taught me to be a lady, so I will wait.” She suddenly became quite and just stood there, staring at me. I finished explaining the Gospel looking straight at her. The crowd clapped, but I did not hear them. My eyes were on her. My friend Stephen told me about that part later.
Please pray for her! I am sure that the enemy ‘s plan was to use her to destroy the outreach that we were doing. Instead, now we see her and we can pray for her. God can rescue and deliver her! I know He is able to reach through the darkness that surrounds her and rescue her!
We will be back at the park today and I expect her to show up. I want to show her love in Jesus name.
In Jesus, Linda Kelsey, Drake, Jolly, Reality and God’s Handiwork
