DEAREST FRIENDS,
LITTLE LUCA’S FAITH
Again tonight we went to Belfast. Again, little Luca encouraged all of our hearts. Last night, Sam challenged all of the children to come back tonight and bring a friend. Luca brought Thomas to see the puppet show. Two of the children brought their mothers.
I told the story of Elijah and how God sent fire to comsume the sacrifice. I wanted them to know that no problem is too big for God. When I invited them to put their trust in Jesus, they prayed loudly. It is a rare, but beautiful sound to hear in Northern Ireland. Please pray for all the chilren who came to faith tonight. Please ask God to give them a strong faith.
THE OSTRICH AND THE KANGAROO
Today, we did a show beside an ostrich and a kangaroo. There was also a peacock, a donkey, and some goats. The caravan park where we did a show today had a petting zoo. I was told that the donkey is very loud, but today we were blessed with his silence. They had to stop the children from feeding the animals because it turns out that pepperoni pizza is not good for a kangroo.
A big crowd gathered, including many mothers and even some fathers. The children listened so intently. You would never have thought that they were sitting on the ground. Well, there was the dead fish that 5 boys briefly found very entertaining, but mostly, they listened beautifully. Our hearts are full of joy!
OUR FRIEND JOHN
The Agape Puppets first came to Ireland many years ago because a short man came running over to me as I was doing a street show in Athens, Georgia. It was well more then a decade ago, but I still remember my first meeting with John Moxen. He told me that he had been praying for a puppet team for Northern Ireland for 10 years and we were his answer to prayer.
I don’t know why, but I believed him. Somehow I knew that God had sent him. We came to Northern Ireland and kept coming. His invitation opened the door to ministry all over Europe and eventually the world. For 3 days this week, John took time out of his busy schedule to teach our team. We were so blessed! John is in his 70’s now and still a very bright light for the kingdom. So many things he said this week challenged each one of us.
He reminded us that as believers we are to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. He shared with us a quote from A.W. Tozer. He said "A man on a cross only looks one way. There is no turning back for him. More, he has no future plans." This is how we are to live. Our focus should be on Christ alone and we should let nothing turn us from His plan. More, we are to let the Father make our plans. I praise God for John! Please pray for him to have the strength he needs to continue to serve.
He told us a missonary story that we had never heard before. It was this story of King Loki, an African chief in Kenya. When the Mau Mau’s attacked his village they tried to force him to deny Jesus Christ. They put all of the villagers in their huts and burned them alive. The women tried to save their babies and threw them out of the fire as the roofs fell in. However, the Mau Mau’s would spear the babies and throw them back into the fire. Each time they burned a hut, they offered to stop if he would deny Jesus. Even when they killed his children in front of him, they remained faithful. I cannot imagine such great faith! Please ask the Father to give each one of us such a deep love for Him.
In Jesus, Linda for Sam, Sil, Billy, Seth, Meg, Mykayla
