All the guys were able to go on a trip with Jim to do what we on The World Race like to call, MAN-istry. It was Jim, Kameron, James, Jon, Jeff, and me. We were told to pack for two or three days and that we are heading to a plowing festival (in Ireland they spell it ploughing) in Athy, Ireland. With all our stuff packed up and no idea what the next few days entailed, we loaded up the RV and headed out. It was nice to have some quality guy time!
On the way we stopped by a fellow believer’s house named Paddy, to encourage and pray for him. We spoke Truth and words of Life over him and prayed for his family. He told us before we left that our visit meant a lot to him because he was feeling very alone and grieved by all the persecution and mockery around him. His family is catholic and he is the only Christian, so they all criticize him for not being a catholic and going to mass. We left after an hour or so and made sure that he knew that he was loved and that God would never leave nor forsake him.
We arrived in Athy the night before the festival so we ended up just staying the night in the RV. The next morning we all ate breakfast and had a time of prayer. Our mission for the day was to walk around the festival passing out Christian leaflets of the Gospel (in Ireland they call them tracks), talking to people about Jesus Christ, and holding up the sign that I love to carry that says, “Christ Died for Our Sins”. We walked into the festival and split up into groups of three: me, Jim, and Jeff in one group and Kameron, Jon, and James in the other. Jim and I walked around until we found a Christian book store booth and asked them if they mind if we held up our sign just to the side of their booth. (If we weren’t with a certain booth, they would have kicked us out, but as long as we were with a booth then it was fine.)
I unfolded the sign and went straight to work, fighting for the Kingdom of God. I stood there for an hour as, literally, thousands of people walked by and couldn’t help but read the sign. Many people walking past ridiculed, laughed, mocked, and even got angry for me holding up the sign. I even had people cuss at me for it. A few groups and individuals came up and had a conversation with me. The groups that came up were highschool aged kids that only wanted to poke fun and make jokes of the weird guy holding up a large sign. The individuals however came up and wanted to have serious conversations. They asked many questions about what the sign meant and what group I was with. I shared the Gospel with them and told them that I wasn’t with a group, but I was with Jesus Christ. I responded to the questions about what church I went to and if I was catholic with, “Will being catholic or going to church, get me into Heaven?” Struck with confusion that didn’t know what to say. I said, “No! Only accepting Jesus Christ as the Son of God into your heart, will get you into Heaven.”
I spent the rest of the time we were there passing out tracks. I even got to talk to a few people about the Gospel. All in all I say it was an extremely blessed day!! We got back to the camper around 6:00 p.m. and talked about what all happened throughout the day. It was confirmed that we easily passed out a few thousand tracks, if not more, and that we were able to plant seeds through the literature passed out, sign that I held up, and us sharing the Gospel. We spent the next moments in prayer for all the people we talked to and all the seeds that were planted. We prayed that God would reap a harvest in their lives through the Word that they heard. We prayed for open hearts and open minds and that our work did not go void. Thank you God for allowing us to be a part of what you are doing in the world and for blessing us with your Love and Grace that is so abounding!!! I love you Jesus!! Jesus is Lord!!!!
