Battle Log

New Zealand Mission - Whangarei - Day Four

Is it really the end of Thursday?  Time is going so fast.  We have just finished another day of gospel outreach at the Kamo shopping area (morning), and then in Cameron Street Mall (afternoon).

It was quite wet in Kamo - but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm.  There were about eight of us out.  And as per the pictures, everyone was busy in conversations.

I had a follow up conversation with Chris.  I’d had a long chat with him the previous morning in the mall.  So I was really surprised to see him walk past in Kamo!  He had been thinking about what we had talked about the previous day - sadly, he was resistant.  Yet he was happy to chat again - I tried to address his objections as best as I could, but I couldn’t see any progress.  This reminded me of my dependence on God in what we are doing - I can’t convert people!

I had a sad chat with a guy called Hal who claimed he didn’t care about what happened after life - in fact he said he welcomed death (he wasn’t suicidal).  Yet he stuck around and we had a good chat.  He seemed to already understand the gospel, a checking question confirming.  And yet he said, it “didn’t click” for him.  Again reminding me of our dependence on God in what we are doing.

By this stage, Emma and I were paired up and we approached two ladies sitting on a public bench.  We fell into a good conversation - and yet one of those ladies started dominating the air time and resisting, yet I could tell the other lady was interested.  So I started focusing on the other lady, and naturally the conversation split, Emma taking the talker.  It was just what was needed.  I was able to work through the gospel with the lady I was talking to - having to go through checking questions multiple times for her to really start grasping it.  And praise God, the lady Emma talked to opened up and was also able to hear the gospel!

And yet, I was burdened with the need for prayer.  After lunch, Christine suggested we pray together - and we did!  Praying for the lost to understand the gospel and for His help in the work we are doing.

We had a wonderful time in the afternoon.  A guy I had approached on a previous day and refused, approached me today, and we had a long chat.  It turns out he is a Reiki Master & Clairvoyant.  He was deeply resistant, and yet the chat went well - Christine joined in.  He heard the law and the gospel was touched on, but most of the time was spent navigating the resistance.  We parted ways with a handshake, and he took a tract as I had taken one of his cards.

Later I ended up having one of the best chats of the week so far!  Beth was taking some of the new team members through the flip chart when suddenly she noticed two ladies watching from a distance.  Beth invited them over to join in, but they were happy watching from a distance.  I decided to engage them - a mother and daughter and they came to grasp the gospel.  Even after checking about the cost of discipleship, the daughter said there was nothing stopping her from trusting that Jesus died on the cross for her sins.  I asked what they would want to do now, and they brought up the Bible, and the fact that they would want to start going to church!  They don’t live in Whangarei - so I asked them to get in touch via needGod.net (Instagram) so we could point them to a good church.  I also showed them how they could get a good Bible on their phone and they left with tracts.

Ok, way over time on this report, but please keep praying!  Day five and six to come, and we are meeting up for more training tonight. :)
 

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New Zealand Mission - Whangarei - Day Three

Okay, it’s unintentional that most of the pictures from today have Andy in them!  There was a team of 12 out today.  It’s so encouraging seeing everyone getting involved, giving it ago, sharpening up - glorifying God and seeing him show himself strong through our weakness.

We started in the Cameron Street Mall again - and it became very busy by 10 am.

I know the team is having awesome opportunities - I’m hearing all the testimonies.  But I think the highlight conversation for me was one that occurred just as I was sitting down to have lunch.  I looked up and noticed three separate people watching a flip chart presentation occurring!  The person on the flip chart could only focus on one person, and didn’t even notice the person at the back.  I watched him start to move off, so I decided to go and talk to him.

I greeted the gentleman, and offered him a tract saying that it explained the content of the flip chart presentation.  But I also asked if he would like to talk about it.  To my surprise, he looked at me and said he would, but that he had had a hip replacement and needed to sit down.  So, we shuffled down the mall until we could find a place to sit.  Then he turned to me ready to talk about religion.

I didn’t hesitate, and we started by discussing how we know God exists.  Instantly he had questions, which I worked through one by one.  We moved through the law, why there is a hell, why hell is severe.  Finally I was able to share the gospel.  His response was that he couldn’t accept it - but I could tell he was interested.  I pleaded with him on the urgency of the matter.  He said he had questions, I offered to answer his questions.  But he refused, he needed time to process what I had said - understandable.  But I pointed him to the local church I am working with: Clark Road Chapel if he decided he wanted to talk further with someone.  He also had the gospel tract I gave him.  We parted ways with a handshake.  Please pray for George.

Before this, a Phillapino lady decided to accept an offered tract - she went out of her way to accept it, so I knew she was interested.  Sure enough, she wanted to talk.  She believed in God - having a Catholic background.  Surprisingly, she considered herself to be a bad person.  I was trying to swing the conversation to the gospel when she started to open up.  She had lost her husband nearly a year ago, and she was lonely.  She even came to tears - understandably.  Just at the right time, Christine came past and I pulled her into the conversation.  It ended up with the lady giving Christine her phone number and follow up will occur!

There was another great story - I started a conversation with a couple of guys.  One resistant and wanted to walk off.  The other wanted to talk, but had to follow his friend.  But to my joy, fifteen minutes later, I see Emma sitting down and talking to this guy (pictured).  So great being in this team, and seeing people have multiple opportunities to engage with the gospel!

After lunch, Andy & I open air preached, and then we moved to the Okara shopping area for outreach there.  Andy had a couple of outstanding gospel chats there.  One while paired up with Phil, the other while paired up with Pastor Andrew.  Apparently Pastor Andrew took them through the law, while Andy took them through the gospel - tag teaming the conversation.  Praise God.

I was paired with Callum, we had a few difficult chats, but at the end of the outreach I had a really great chat with a high school kid named Max - who came to grasp the gospel, took a tract and was pointed to the church.

And I’m over time for this report!  That is just a glimpse of the day.  Overjoyed at how things are going, but won’t stop praying - we are so desperately in need of God’s help in this work.  All glory to Him alone!
 

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New Zealand Mission - Whangarei - Day Two

A wonderful second day of outreach!  There is no way I’m going to be able to cover all the encounters in this short report, but I’ll do my best.  We were out for six hours today - two times three hour outreaches - with an hour for lunch in between.  About a team of ten today.  We started in the Cameron Street Mall with prayer before pairing up and spreading out.

I was initially paired with Christine, and we quickly fell into a conversation with Greg.  He was very happy to chat, and Christine quickly took control of the conversation and shared the law and the gospel with him.  It turns out he doesn’t live far from the church in Kamo: Clark Road Chapel - he even knew someone who attends there!  He happily took tracts, including one with Christine’s contact details.

After this, other Christians started joining the team and we decided to head down to the “Town Basin” - a lovely spot with a walking loop & cafes all on the edge of a yacht marina.

Christine and I found a seat next to the walking loop, and as people walked past we would offer tracts and try to get conversations started.  Two young ladies stopped, and a conversation got rolling.  There was resistance to the idea of God, but they were willing to stay to continue the conversation.  They heard the law, but as I was moving to the gospel - I could tell one of them was feeling uncomfortable and wanted to move on - but they were both happy to take tracts.

We then had another two young ladies stop and they were very happy to talk about spiritual things, one asking good questions.  At the end of the conversation the other said, “I’ve got goosebumps talking about this - thanks so much”.  Interestingly, the two girls were in different places, and Christine and I discussed splitting the conversation in situations like that.

Well, low and behold, our next conversation was an approach of an elderly couple enjoying the marina.  There was instant resistance, and yet they were very friendly - and although they said they didn’t want to talk about spiritual things, they kept engaging us!  And it turns out this was a perfect situation to split the conversation.  I ended up engaging the gentleman, who wanted to spar on evolution, while Christine talked to the lady.  She was open, he was resistant.  She heard the law and the gospel, he had his difficult questions answered and in the process came to understand the seriousness of sin.  She accepted tracts, he refused.  And yet the conversations were very friendly.  We parted with handshakes all round - so very encouraging!

We had lunch down by the marina in the shade.  And low and behold, a guy who had been talked to by Brian in the morning, came over and wanted to talk more - this time with Alan!  Pictured is the team (with a sea gull in the foreground) - Alan is on the right explaining things in the tract the guy is holding.

After lunch I was paired with Phil.  We had two great chats (which I’m out of time to talk about), before the team moved back to Cameron Street Mall.
Outreach continued around the Mall & I’m going to have to leave the pictures to do the talking!  Many chats of all kinds: short ones, long ones, hard ones, great ones - even some opportunity for follow ups from the previous day!

So encouraging seeing so many Christians taking time out of their day to come and be involved - even if it’s only for thirty minutes.  Oh Lord, please encourage your church, and use our feeble efforts for your glory.
 

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New Zealand Mission - Whangarei - Day One.

I’m hoping to be able to write daily reports - so they will be shorter than usual.

I made it up to Whangarei without problem on Saturday.  That evening I received a message from Abraham in Auckland: “Are you watching the news?”  It was bad news.  Auckland was going into a 7 day Covid lockdown from 6am on Sunday.  Andy was flying to Auckland at 7am on Sunday! :O  Sadly, this means that the Auckland leg of the NZ Mission had to be cancelled.

What this means is that the first week of the mission will be focused solely on Whangarei.  And the good news was that we were able to get Andy up to join the team in Whangarei early on Monday morning.

Monday started with some training before a group of about ten headed to the Kamo shopping area.  The team scattered.  Tracts were handed out, and conversations were initiated.  It was an encouraging time for me - It was so good seeing God answer our prayer!

Christine and I had a chat with an elderly guy (pictured).  We engaged on how we know God exists, and moved into the law - which brings the knowledge of sin.  We were just about to get to the gospel when, sadly, the guy said he had to go.  He accepted a gospel tract as he left.

We gathered again for a late lunch before heading into the Cameron Street Mall for the afternoon outreach where there were many opportunities to talk with people.  I had lots of conversations, my first too were with guys who seemed to grasp the gospel first time (checking questions confirming), which was very encouraging.

At the end of the outreach, I paired up with Ruby, and I ended up tackling a conversation with a group of about 8 to 10 high school kids.  It was hard work, as I couldn’t hold the attention of all of them, so I focused on three.  The law and the gospel was explained, and various checking questions were employed.  All those kids (and some more that joined them after the conversation started) accepted gospel tracts.

For Andy and I, it’s SO GOOD to be in a new environment, with fresh people to share the gospel with.  And it was SUPER encouraging watching all the Christians getting involved with the great commission!  Please keep praying for the Whangarei outreach continuing tomorrow.
 

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As I write this, I’m sitting in Christchurch airport.  It’s been a while since I’ve been in an airport I’m glad to say!  And yet, I am looking forward to an evangelism change of scenery.  I’m honoured to be involved in three weeks of mission across NZ.  The first week will be in Auckland & Whangarei at the top of the North Island of NZ.  Please keep the mission in your prayer - as always, I’ll be writing regular reports.  Believe it or not, there are still international flights leaving Christchurch (pictured).

Anyway, this report covers Thursday and Friday.

The forecast for Thursday wasn’t good, and so I ended up spending the whole day online.  So many gospel conversations!  I talked to a Palistinian, and also a guy in Tunisia - I’ve now talked to people all across North Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt.  I thank God for all these gospel opportunities!

On Friday morning I was also online, and then I headed into Cathedral Square.  It was very overcast, and there was some rain in the air.  Sadly, there weren’t many people there.  Other Christians started arriving: Mike, Andy, Marty, Roy, a Christian guy who had listened to Andy preach the week prior.  Only Marty ended up preaching, the rest of us got into one to one conversations with the few that were around.  Yet, in spite of the lack of people, I had some good gospel interactions.

I approached two late teen guys walking past the Cathedral, they were happy to stop and talk about the deepest question of life: what happens after?  They heard the law and the gospel in an easy going conversation and were happy to take tracts as they left.

Next up a guy walked past, and I said “hello” as I offered him a tract.  Suddenly I realised who it was.  It was the guy I had to call the Police about at Eastgate (a long time ago now).  I instantly closed my mouth to avoid provoking him further - he remembered me and instantly the finger pointing and abuse began.  I started walking towards some of the other Christians - safety in numbers - he kept hurling abuse as I walked.  My tactic worked, he decided to keep walking, but not before stopping, pointing, and yelling at me (with horrible language) about not being respectful of other religions (or something like that).  Marty pointed out the irony of his deep disrespect of me.

I went back to my spot and was soon into another conversation.  This time it was with a guy who had an openness to Christianity and yet was confused on what it meant to be a Christian.  So we went through the law and gospel.  His response was a blankness and doubt.  He wanted to talk, so I listened.  Soon he started touching on conspiracy theories, he wasn’t happy at how Christianity had been “corrupted”.  I gently probed, and then slowly his anti-semitism started leaking out! :o I asked him directly if he hated Jews.  He looked at me as though he had been caught in a sin, but he didn’t repent, he doubled down.  The conversation ended soon after, with him rambling.  I felt sad that I wasn’t able to reach him (through his confusion) with the clarity of the truth.

We headed to the hospital to bring the gospel to the issue of abortion.  As I was getting to the hospital, I started feeling nauseous.  I don’t think it was from nerves - I just needed to eat food.  So before joining the outreach, I sat down to eat my sandwiches.  Feeling better I joined the team.  There were seven of us today.  And it was a wonderful outreach!  Fairly peaceful initially, but then I noticed a girl walking back and forth - I could tell she was recording us while she was also talking to someone on her phone.  She left, but soon after a counter protester turned up, and then two others joined her.  The counter protester was the same girl who had created a big scene about a month prior.

Well, thankfully, this time she was much more controlled.  She wanted to talk, and I agreed - as long as the conversation stayed peaceful.  I had a long conversation with the three of them.  It was tiring, as I worked through all their arguments and kept coming back to: “how do we know what is right and wrong?”  Eventually one of her friends asked: “So, how do you know what is right and wrong?”  “Great question!” I exclaimed and moved the conversation to how we know God exists, and why God is the basis for right and wrong.  I never really got to share the gospel, but I was able to touch on it a few times - one of the two key reasons we are there is to bring the hope of forgiveness of sin, and the complete removal of guilt because of Jesus.

They finally tired of talking to me, and so they moved down the line and ended up having a chat with Jess.  After that, they decided to move to another group protesting abortion across the road.  We had a time of peace before they came back again and sat on the wall across from us talking among themselves.

Soon, more of their friends started arriving.  They came over to me to engage in discussion - first with a couple of guys, and then with another couple of guys.  The second set of guys were very open to discuss “how we know what is right and wrong” - the beginnings of a gospel conversation.  Yet another guy approached me and wanted to give me a piece of his mind, but I told him I already have my hands full talking with others, would he mind going down and talking to Andy.  He didn’t want that, he wanted to talk to us all, but the original guy I was talking to wanted to continue the conversation and so the interrupter had no choice but to talk to Andy.

Suddenly, one of the original counter protesters two friends grabbed the signs Marty was holding and ran off!  He found a rubbish bin and started to try to stuff the signs in it.  I was following him, and when he saw me coming, he took off with the signs again.  I smiled, and calmly followed.  He went round a corner, and when I turned it too, I saw him running out of an alleyway.  I retrieved the signs and started heading back.  I saw the original counter protester, and she said she had nothing to do with the taking of the signs, I was pleased to know her conscience was working.  Just then, the two guys I had been talking to came past, I stopped them and offered them tracts: “Life is Precious”, and “Jesus shows us God”.  They were happy to take them.

The outreach wrapped up with prayer - glory to God, we had many opportunities to engage with multiple people about the gospel and abortion!  I was buzzing.  As I left, Andy was still in a conversation with the guy I had passed to him earlier.

Oh Lord, have mercy!
 

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A hot day in Christchurch on Tuesday.  I started my day of outreach in Riccarton.  Roger couldn’t join me, so I decided not to bring my flip chart and walk the streets instead.  I had many opportunities to engage people with the gospel message.

I had a tract with me that I haven’t used for a while.  It has a question on it: “What will matter to you in 150 years time?”  I decided to make that question the basis of my approach to people.  One lady said: “I want the planet to still be here” - and then she walked off.  People grasp that the planet sustains life, but It fascinates me that people miss the deeper problem of death - a problem that has a solution!

I had to buy myself a cold drink, as the heat was surprisingly energy zapping.  As I was sipping my drink I was handing out the tracts, and I had a guy stop and engage in conversation.  He certainly grasped the deeper problem of death - we even talked about Cryonics for a few moments.  He heard the law and the gospel - but didn’t seem convinced.  He asked some good questions before we parted ways.  He took the tract, and the more in depth one, “After Life”.

I had some good engagements around the bus stops.

I fell into a wonderful conversation with a guy waiting for his bus.  He was a deep thinker, and was convinced there had to be a “higher power” before I had even talked to him.  Sadly his bus came before I could share the gospel with him - but he left with an in depth tract as well.

Another chat was with a young man who wore a cross necklace (he showed it to me).  He said his uncle was a Christian, but he was only half Christian!  I had to probe a bit to understand what he meant.  It turns out he still wasn’t convinced about the claims of Christ.  So going from there, we had a great chat about the gospel.  I could see the penny dropping - it was wonderful to watch.  He seemed deeply grateful for the chat - he shook my hand multiple times before we departed ways.

On Tuesday and Wednesday I was also online.

One of those conversations was with a girl with a mask and a guitar.  I was feeling very lethargic, but I stumbled through the law and the gospel with her (interrupted by her playing me a song).  As I was sharing the gospel, I was suddenly interrupted by another voice that said, “that’s the best explanation I’ve ever heard”.  The girl had a friend on her phone, and she lifted up her phone so I could see her.  She asked if I was a priest!  I proceeded with the conversation by asking checking questions, and suddenly the girl with the guitar started insisting she was a good person.  Her friend on the phone said: “calm down” and then she disconnected.

The last two chats of Wednesday were intellectually stimulating.  The first was a text chat who I suspect was a Muslim, who pretended to be a Christian?  I think he was trying to waste my time, but in the process he ended up asking a truck load of wonderful questions and coming to learn so much about Christ.  The second chat was with an intellectual guy who started arguing against the obvious reality of God.  After a few minutes, I stepped back and asked, “could it be that you’ve been deeply hurt and you’ve wondered why God didn’t stop it?”  He paused and agreed, and the conversation automatically shifted to why God allows evil.  Sadly, he didn’t stick around.  It’s fascinating: I’ve known people to go through immense suffering, and yet it draws them to God - not away.  May God have mercy on this guy.

 

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On Sunday it was very encouraging to have a team of twelve in Cashel Mall in the afternoon.  At least five churches were represented.  There was a good balance of experienced and newbies too - and it seemed to be a very productive time, from what I could see.

Tracts were going out, walk up conversations were occurring.  Flip charts were busy.

A group of about eight teen guys came down the mall, and Roger boldly engaged them, asking if they were good.  They all pushed one of their friends forward and said: “he is good”.  So Roger, standing in the middle of the foot path, with all these guys around him in a semicircle (blocking the footpath!) shared the law and gospel with all of them (pictured).  It was great to watch.

I had a number of interesting conversations.  A couple of Christians had great gospel answers and were super encouraged that we were out.  One in particular seemed super keen to join us in the future, and received contact details.

I had a great chat with a young couple who were Catholic.  Not surprisingly they said their good deeds would get them to heaven, but by the end of the conversation, they were articulating the gospel.  They didn’t seem too interested, sadly, yet they have heard the gospel.

Later in the afternoon, I was online with a team of at least twelve (as well).  We paired up for training feedback.  I was paired with Allie in the USA.  It was so wonderful watching her engaging a group of people with the gospel.  Her questions were excellent and appropriate for each stage of the conversation - I wrote many of them down so I could remember them for the future.  They all came to solidly grasp the gospel.  As they didn’t disconnect, Allie took them through her whole repertoire of analogies and checking questions until the connection froze.  Glory to God alone, but I’m so encouraged by all these passionate young people being raised up to share the gospel.  Lord protect them, and enable them to bring you glory by reaching many people with the gospel - for years to come!

On Saturday I was online with the team as well.  I had some easy chats - a girl recognised me from Tik Tok and was so excited to be talking to me.  She seemed to be a recent convert to Christianity.  But I also had some hard chats - I talked to a lesbian who it turned out had been raped, had the child, but the father killed the child when just four years old.  It was so tragic to hear, and I felt overwhelmed by the conversation - yet, with God’s help I persisted.  She couldn’t stand the thought that the guy that had done that to her could possibly be forgiven and go to heaven.  Without minimising the seriousness and wickedness of the crimes that had been committed against her - and emphasizing that perfect justice would be administered, I tried to relate to her that her (and my) sins were very serious in the light of the holiness of God, and that the only hope of forgiveness was Jesus.  I think that was one of the hardest chats I’ve ever had.

Again, thank you for praying for the team as we reach out with the gospel.
 

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On Thursday and Friday, the Christchurch (NZ) team were in Eastgate, outside the hospital, and in the city for outreaches.

The gospel + abortion outreach attracted a team of twelve, including a couple of newbies.  Praise God, it was a peaceful outreach with multiple opportunities to engage people on the issue of abortion and with the gospel.

I’ve had some very difficult encounters so far this year, but during this outreach I had an extremely encouraging encounter.  A young guy and girl approached me.  He had a look on his face that suggested he knew me well, and he knew my name - I drew a blank.  It turns out he had talked to me a number of times before about the gospel: in Riccarton and in the city.  The girl said: “he talks about you all the time”.  It’s very encouraging to know I have a positive impact on people sometimes.  But sadly, he couldn’t remember the gospel - so, including the girl, we started going through it again.  Unfortunately, they were on the way to class and couldn’t stay to finish the chat properly.  But I gave them tracts each, and suggested they check out needGod.net on Tik Tok.  Oh, that they would forget me, and see Christ!  Lord, I leave them in your capable hands.  I hope I have another opportunity to interact with this young man - to be able to sit down and really chat with him.

At Eastgate, I had two very memorable conversations.

I was passing out tracts at one of the bus shelters, when a guy and a lady walked past.  I offered him a tract, he took it and stopped - she kept going.  He wanted to chat, and so we did.  He had grown up in an atheistic environment, but as he became a teenager, he rejected the notion that there is no God - “there must be a higher power”.  And yet, he had headed down the path of astrology, and positive thinking.  We talked simple apologetics for a while - he fought against it, but he said he loved talking about this stuff.  Eventually I was able to move on to the law and the gospel - which is the main thing.  He had to get going, because his friend had left him behind.  It was a great chat.

Later, on the other side of the road, a bus stopped, and an older lady hopped off and walked past.  I offered her a tract - she took it and wanted to know what it was.  We fell into a good chat from there.  She liked to talk, so the conversation went a bit slowly - but that was okay!  Eventually I was able to take her through the law and the gospel.  When she understood that Jesus died on the cross for our sin - her face changed to surprise and joy.  Some of her comments: “that makes so much sense”, “others need to hear about this”, “keep up the good work”.  Very encouraging!  She took a tract like she was receiving treasure.  I hope the seed is not plucked away, and I hope to hear from her again too.  I leave her in the hands of the Lord who saves.

There was open air preaching in Cathedral Square, and other outreach in Cashel Mall / the Bridge of Remembrance.

I had a fascinating chat with a young man who had studied philosophy at University.  He was very intense, and his intensity attracted another couple who joined the conversation for a while (and left with a tract).  Eventually I was becoming very tired (sugar low) and the conversation had to end, but he accepted my email address and a tract - he said he would contact me to continue the conversation.  I hope he does.

It’s great watching Andy so confidently and respectfully approaching people to talk to them about Christ - he’s currently at another level!  When I compare myself to him, I realise I’ve lost a lot of confidence of late.  I think due to some of the difficult conversations I’ve had of late, I’m shying away a bit.  A fear of man.  Yet I will continue to persist in sharing the gospel, prayerful of where I’m at.  Please continue to pray for the gospel work in Christchurch (including all those not directly connected to Operation 513 - there are so many diligently working to bring the gospel to those around them).

In addition to the street work, I was online for many hours over these two days.  Twenty four recordings on my desktop.  Glory to God alone that the gospel is being proclaimed!
 

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On Tuesday afternoon I was back in Riccarton as usual.  I had a fascinating conversation.  A young lady went past who smiled and stopped.  She said that I had talked to her last year sometime - she had been in a larger group (I didn’t remember her).  So, I checked to see if she understood the gospel by asking what she had to do to go to heaven.  I was encouraged when she said: “nothing, it’s because Jesus died on the cross for our sin”.  I clarified that we would have to accept the gift by trusting that Jesus had done that for us.  So I asked if she was trusting that Jesus had paid her hell fine.  She started giving weak excuses as to why she hadn’t.  Soon she started arguing that she would want to take the responsibility for her own actions.  I worked through two analogies to demonstrate the problems with her thinking - but she just doubled down.  I was confused, so I figuratively stepped back and decided to ask: “is there another reason why you are rejecting this?  Could it be that you’ve been deeply hurt by someone, and you don’t like the idea that that person could receive God’s mercy?”  To my surprise, she agreed.  Key lesson: if someone is fighting against logic, it's possible there is a deeper issue why, other than the logic.  It was great that the issue was on the table, so it could at least be addressed.  So, again, I tried to highlight the problems with her thinking.  I tried to reason with her about the serious nature of her sin - while trying not to minimise the sin that had been done to her (we talked about the fact that all sin is not the same).  We talked about the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35).  But, sadly, she was resistant.  We parted ways soon after.  She took a gospel tract.

Before and after being in Riccarton, I was online.

I talked to a guy who had been in a car wreck a month prior.  He was stuck at home with a broken leg.  He was thinking deeply about life and death, and we had a great chat.  He really appreciated it, as he came to understand the gospel.  I could tell he was wrestling with the cost (in this life) of the gift (of eternal life) - he didn’t give me any details, but I challenged him on this, pleading with him to respond in faith no matter the cost.

A chat with a girl who had a giant dog that kept walking in front of the camera!  She didn’t seem too interested, but she stayed to hear the gospel before she bailed on me.

On Wednesday I was given the opportunity to do some training.  It’s so encouraging getting an insight into all the Christians that are actively learning to share their faith online - it’s such a good environment to learn!  I spent an hour and a half with a guy from the USA - I answered his questions, and gave him feedback on the two gospel chats he had.  I was very encouraged.

I also had a number of my own chats.

I connected briefly with a guy from Saudi Arabia - his battery on his laptop was nearly gone, but he received a link to needGod.net before we disconnected - he said he would take a look.

My last chat was with a couple of girls who gained some much needed clarity on the gospel.  They were looking to prayer and baptism to save them :O.  It was a great chat - glory to God.

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On Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of a lovely Christian couple.  The gospel was so clearly pictured and explained throughout the ceremony - the whole thing was such a joy.

Before the wedding, I spent some time online.  The highlight conversation was with a Buddhist guy from India - he seemed pretty dedicated to his religion, so I didn’t think I was going to make much progress, but to my surprise he ended up sticking around to hear the whole law and gospel presentation.  He seemed interested.  At the end I explained that to trust in Jesus, he would have to let go of Buddhism.  He said that would never happen.  The conversation ended soon after.  Never say never with God!

I had another great chat with a kid who became super animated when he grasped the gospel - it was so good to watch, it was truly amazing to him (and me)!

On Sunday there was a team of four in Cashel Mall.  Andy and Toby were active in “walk up”, and I used a flip chart and handed out tracts.  Susan joined us later.  It was Chinese New Year and a procession went through the mall near the end of the outreach - it attracted a lot of people.

I was straight into a conversation with a guy who was approaching people for surveys, he said if I did his, he would do mine.  No problem with me.  I didn’t have my normal “The good person test” front page up, and so during our discussion the subject of “being good enough” came up.  I smiled and said, oh, that’s what my flip chart normally starts with.  His eyes went dark.  He said that if he had seen that front page, he wouldn’t have stopped to talk to me.  He had done the flip charts years ago at an A&P Show and he didn’t like it.  But we were in a good conversation and so he was happy to overlook it.  God’s providence, because he had “walked away” from God while at Uni, but two years ago, he had “come back” to God.  Sadly, he didn’t understand the gospel - he was pointing to the fact that he was good enough to get to heaven.  So today he came to grasp the gospel - praise God.  On top of that, he had questions about why there is evil, and we also talked about the proper place good works played in the picture.  The fireman analogy really helped him.  He left at a crossroads; he understood he was in sin that he wouldn’t want to be in if he trusted that Jesus died for him.  I left him in God’s hands.

I had a number of other good opportunities, but the best was at the end of the outreach when a young man came over to chat - a girl, maybe his sister, came over and got involved as well.  She didn’t think she would die, because she said she would get her head frozen and come back once technology improved!  They seemed to be joking with me initially, but they became much more engaged as the conversation progressed.  By the end of the chat, they seemed to be grasping the gospel and were very thankful.  Praise God.

Once home, I joined the team online for “Training Sunday” - I was paired up with Sarah (New York) and Ryan (Chicago).  So great to work with this kids who are so passionate for the gospel!  While paired with Sarah I had a special chat with a Christian kid, who seemed to become a Christian during the conversation.  “When are you going to trust that Jesus died for your sins?”, “I already am”, “Oh, when did you start doing that?”, “Now.”  Praise God - may his profession reflect true conversion.

Later I talked to a guy from Bethlehem (Palestinian) and then Ryan had a great chat with three for four Catholic kids who came to grasp the gospel (pictured).

What a day, what a gospel, what a wonderful God!  Glory be to him alone!
 

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