Dearest Friends,
It has been a great joy to have the privilege of being light in New York! The following is a list of things that the puppeteers wanted you to know about the Syracuse trip!
1. Once at shows we did outside in a park and once in front of a church, we heard children calling loudly on Jesus, asking Him to rescue them. It was incredible! They were so very loud and not shy at all about praying! Praise God! The Father knows their names. Please pray for them to go deep in their faith!!
2. We had a group of 5 boys quit their basketball game and come watch the show. Daryl invited them, but we could not believe they actually came! More, they really listened!! Some of the adults at the show really fussed at them because they were talking a little, but I was just glad they were there, and they there talking about the show. Their language was rough, but who would I be outside of the cross? After the show, I went over and talked with them and shared more of my testimony. This seemed to be what they needed to hear. Please pray for these boys!
3. At another show in a park, the young people were surprised that they heard adults praying, asking God to forgive them, and Jesus to rescue them. It was a show that delighted all of us!
4. My team from Georgia had heard children praying many times. However, the New York team had never heard anyone praying out loud, asking Jesus to rescue them. My team said they loved the look on the New York teams faces as they heard people praying out loud. I would add that the children prayed loudly, determined to be heard!
5. We set up in a mall in Syracuse and did shows for 2 days. It is the 8th largest mall in America. Guys from the candy store next to us invited people to come to our puppet show. They tried hard to get people to come. We did not think they were Christians. This was something that the young people were really happy with because they were thinking about the mall shows. Everyone was surprised at the people who actually came to the mall shows. We had a lot of young people that did not look like they would have come to a puppet show. More, they stayed and eagerly accepted literature about Jesus! We also had a mother drag her son out of the show as soon as she heard me say “Jesus.” Please pray for this mother and her son, that they will get another opportunity to hear about Jesus.
6. Everyone really loved doing their testimonies! I would add that they were vey brave as they consistently stood in dark places and brought light!
7. Caleb, Jana, Ellie, Evangeline, Daniel and John James all talked about the friendships they made with the puppeteers from New York. Our new friends also expressed surprise that they all felt so close after such a short time. They started referring to each other as family! I explained to all of them that standing in the dark together really binds your hearts.
8. For some of the team, they had never seen the kind of poverty and brokenness we saw. They said they would never forget!
9. My team smiled when they reminded me of the kindness of children in Syracuse guessing my age. At home, I usually get guesses of “90”, but I got ridiculously low guesses here.
10. All of them loved passing out Bibles with our children’s tract inside. We gave away hundreds of Jesus Storybook Bibles with our children’s tract inside. Most accepted, but some refused.
11. None of them forgot the witch who came to our show with her 2 children. When her daughter asked her to hold her Bible storybook, she said, “I can’t touch that.” She had a witch tattoo on her arm. As crazy as it sounds, witchcraft in on the rise in New York. Please pray for light to flood this state! Beg the Father to rescue these children!!!
12. They all talked about the heat. We were outside working in a heat wave. It was miserably hot and no one complained, not even one time. I think it is worth noting that the heat was 12 on their list. All of them had a great perspective about what was really important!
We just finished a few days in Buffalo and are returning to Horseheads then on to Philadelphia. Please keep all of us in your prayers!
In Jesus,
Linda, Caleb, Jana, Evangeline, Daniel, Ellie, John James, Daryl and the New York Team