Witnessing

One of the hardest things I find in my walk with the Lord is to easily witness to others. Especially folks I do not know personally. Let me assure you from personal experiance that a mission trip will beyond a shadow of a doubt give you a chance to witness. To Folks. To lots of different folks. Starting with our jobs, our church, our families just the simple act of obediance to the call to go on this mission trip opened all sorts of doors. Doors that stayed open upon our return and continue to stay open as we walk the row the Lord has laid out before us. The guys at work were curious as to why I would want to go to a place "destroyed". Some of the folks at church wanted to know why MS "isn't there enough work here for the Lord"? And the family, some went with us, some wanted to go and could not, and one using language I care not to repeat anywhere much less here, questioned my IQ. Or lack thereof as it were. To all the answer was Christ. I follow Him cause he saved me. Though my trek may be uncertain at times and in the flesh I may be weak (some call it irritating), I find strength and fortitude in Christ Jesus. When I am about His business I have no trouble at all talking to folks and sharing about "the mission""who called me to it""who made it possible""and what a blessing it is to be in His service". And I get to ask them to pray. For me. For the team. For those affected. For the responders. And the coup-de-gras? The icing on the cake. How can I pray for them this day; oh the change in composure and continence. When it sinks in that you are sincere. Then you can encourage them to go to church, to reopen the bible, to reopen the lines of communication with God. To seek the Lord, to call out to Him. Because if He can use me. If He can bring me peace thru the knowledge of being forgiven. If He can give me joy in the hope of eternal salvation. He can most decidedly do the same for you. And in fact died, for you, to be with you, to be able to call you one of His own. Yep, a mission will allow you more witness time than any other situation I can think of. In preperation I was able to witness to folks at Office Depot, not only in Tucson, but also at the call centers in Florida and Colorado. I was able to witness to the business tellers at the bank. I was able to witness to an old friend not heard from in 30 years. I was able to witness to the hotel call center operators during arraingements for lodging. I was able to witness to every waitress, gas station attendant and person standing next to me in the check out lines as we made our way across the country during all our stops. I was able because Christ made it possible. I was able because Christ decided to use this broken piece of pottery. Once on station in Lakeshore, the list continues. The hotel clerks as we left Slidell very early and got in late. The gas station attendants curious of the AZ plate on our car. The clerks at the Wal-marts. The staff at the propane company and the rental company. The visitors to the distribution center we were able to talk to. And a whole new group on the way home to Tucson because we detoured thru Missouri. Do you have trouble witnessing? Answer the Lord's call to go on a mission trip, and just talk to folks. The Lord will do the rest.
Next post: Saying goodbye.