Dearest Friends,
COURAGE
A little 8 year old boy showed great courage as he bravely prayed out loud at a puppet show, asking Jesus to save him, to rescue him. He was the only child in a room full of children who prayed out loud. When he finished the prayer all the children turned around to stare at him. He smiled the biggest smile. It seemed to me he was saying, “Yeah, I prayed, and I’m happy.” Pray for this little one to grow strong. At the end of the show we talked to many other children, and they told us that they had put their trust in Jesus as well.
THE SMOKEY MOUNTAINS
We are all so excited! We have been doing shows in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville area of Tennessee. Tomorrow we have two more shows in this area and then one show in Maryville, Tennessee. Piney Grove Baptist Church is having a party as an outreach to three trailer parks and we have the honor of sharing the hope of Jesus with all the families who will attend.
Please pray for these last shows in this area. Ask the Father to call children to Himself. Please pray for us as we travel tomorrow night to Elizabethton, Tennessee to participate in Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship’s Family Conference. Please ask the Lord to bless our times with the children. Thank you for praying!
WOW! I CANT BELIEVE WHAT GOD HAS DONE!
It is absolutely awesome what we have seen the Lord do in the last few days. We are all amazed and delighted by the children that we are with. The following as a list of blessings that made us smile, laugh, and cry.
1)At one place, dozens of children rushed forward after the show to thank me for the story and thank the puppet team for the show and their testimonies.
2)One little boy said, “That was AWESOME!”
3)Samantha is a small little black haired girl with beautiful big eyes. I gave her the story that I had drawn and she clutched it tightly. She said, “I asked Jesus into my heart today. I am going to tell my Mom and Dad!.” She was so happy!
4)Another little boy said, “That was amazing.” His friend said, “I loved it.” How sweet it is when children enjoy Bible stories!
5)A little blond haired girl said, “I want to tell you 2 things. First, that was a great story. Second, God Bless you.” We are indeed very blessed.
6)Three boys wanted my autograph. Two had trusted in Jesus at the puppet show and one told me that he had not prayed. Ask the Father to call all 3 to deep faith!
7)Another little boy said, “That was great!” It thrills all of us when the children are thrilled with the Gospel.
SKYLER’S STORY
Heather was giving her testimony to the children after I had finished the Bible story and prayer. She said, “You can ask Jesus to be your Savior.” One little boy immediately raised his hand and blurted out, “I asked Jesus into my heart!” Pray for Skyler to keep his eyes on Jesus.
THREE BOYS
I asked some of the children if they remembered the story that I told last year. I was trying to make sure that I told a different story. It is amazing that at every place we visited, there were always a large number of children who remembered. However, my conversation with these three boys was really funny.
The first boy smiled and said that he was not here last year. The second boy said,”Oh, I think you told the story of little Red Riding Hood.” The third boy said, “No, you told the story about the Great Teacher, and Paul walking on water.”
Okay, he got most of it right. I am thrilled to tell you that all 3 of these boys trusted in Jesus Christ at the puppet show. They heard the story of Joseph and discovered God’s gift of forgiveness. Pray for them.
WHAT I KNOW
A little girl came to see me today after the show. She said, “I know something about God and Jesus. If I do something wrong, they still will love me.” Please pray for this precious little girl to hold to this important truth! We live in a world where unconditional love is often only words, but to this little one, that truth is hope.
In Jesus ,Linda for Paige Hopkins, Heather Kelley, Christa Powell, Jared Bolstridge, Seth Barnett