A lasting impression.

Let me explain a bit of a story from a day where we went out to "evangelise" in the streets. Jared and I were paired up, but we decided it was a better idea to meet up with a pair of the girls and visit the hospital. We originally intended to go to the hospital and make balloon animals for the children that were there but got there about thirty minutes late and the children's ward had closed, despite the fact that we tried to convince the security guard that they were open. We were a little bummed but shrugged it off to begin plotting our next move. We looked down the hall and there were a few families sitting with children outside of the ward. It worked itself out after all!

We left the security "officer" and made our way to the area of the families all waiting on benches. They were all accepting and the children seemed to really like Jared's magic tricks with card and coins. When I tried to make balloon animals, the balloon always popped and the children always cried. I made a crucial decision to switch from playing with children to talking to the parents of the children. I made the right decision and seemed to have much more success. My opinion is based on the logic that none of the adults cried when I talked to them and I didn't feel the need to alter my voice to talk to them. John was also at the hospital. John and myself began talking to an Indian man who had stomach cancer. He told us about a group of westerners who had prayed for him a week earlier and asked if I would do the same. I gladly prayed for him and he gave John his contact information so we could contact him later.

Fast forward a few weeks. We had another evanglism time over the course of the weekend. This particular occasion we were to stay out and let God lead us where He willed. Jared and I kind of walked around with stupid looks on our faces and just let people talk to us. We stayed at the top of Penang hill for $10 and it was an even more awesome sight at night. Then yesterday, we mostly walked and walked and walked.

The real story actually doesn't even involve us. It is about John and his team. Peter and John both speak fluent Tamil and they decided to go to a Tamil church on the mainland. Joy was on their team and speaks no Tamil, but with two fluent speakers he was in good shape. They met up with a pastor that Peter knows and he took them shopping after a nice dinner that he provided for them. He received a call at some point over the course of the night about a man that wanted someone to pray over him and Peter, John, and Joy decided they would ride along. They got to the house and walked in and immediately John recognized the man that wanted prayer. It was the same man that we prayed for at the hospital! The man's response was so welcoming. He actually said in a very excited voice, "PASTOR! I am so glad you are here! Where is your American friend?...I cannot believe that you are here, now I know that God truly loves me!" This guy told John that he and his family were going to begin going to church immediately and he thanked them so much. It is amazing that all that was needed was for someone to just show up. John, Peter, and Joy didn't know that there was going to be anything significant happen, they just felt that God wanted them there so they showed up. God used them "showing up" to speak into a Hindu man's life, a decision they made that will not only effect his, but also his family's life. Pray for this man as today he was supposed to have an operation. Thank you for allowing me to tell you incredible stories like this one!