1995 -Hitch Hikers
Dear Evie,
How are you? Yes, we did a couple more of those "Fred the Pig" plays, ( See button "PuppetPlay") and they went down well. I guess there's a season for everything. We haven't done any more lately.
Thanks for your last letter about the ecumenical meeting. I wouldn't worry too much about Elsie Smaith calling your friend the Antichrist. I doubt if either of them have the right credentials. Do you think that this might be a way to help the situation? Suggest that she goes to see the Pastor, relate what happened, and ask if he will pray with her. If there is anything amiss anywhere the Lord will want to put it right. She may also need to be able to forgive Mrs. Smaith. Then the whole nasty situation can turn into a blessing. It isn't good for her to feel offended. I'm glad you told her how much God loves her. Don't worry! He loves Mrs. Smaith too of course. Although she probably doesn't want to think about that at the moment!
Did I tell you about the hitch hiker I picked up last week? I had one of the girls with me, and when we began to tell him about the Lord, he said he already knew Him. He got quite excited! So we asked him to tell us his story, and before he had time to get into it, we picked up another hitcher. To everyone's surprise, he knew the first guy, who had been trying to tell him about the Lord for months. Neither of them looked very respectable. The first man said he'd done some time in prison, and the second one had a great talent for not paying his bills. Well, the daughter paid his grocery bill on the quiet (I think that would have been a practical witness of what we were trying to tell him), and then we took him home. He seemed quite keen to take a New Testament. He didn't have a TV or a video, so we tried to start an Alpha* course in his neighbourhood, but he was soon moving away. I hope he contacted the church we suggested in his new area, but the Lord knows who he is anyway! You've never been in the nick I know (except visiting those guys you try to help). But you might be able to give me some insights as to what things are like there. As you are always telling me, it is important to understand where people are coming from isn't it? Your loving sister Catherine.
If you are interested in Prison Visiting, why not phone the chaplain at your nearest correction facility. There are courses you can do before you have any contact with the inmates. As you can imagine, there are pitfalls to be avoided, and doing some sort of orientation course would seem wise.
Mt 25:36 'I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'
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1998
Eve,
This hitch hiker thing is becoming a habit. Yesterday we picked up a chap en route to see his Mum who was dying in Hospital. It turned out that he had already been talking to another member of our church whom he met "by accident" in a park yesterday. He said that he knew he had to do something about making a commitment to God. Perhaps we should have prayed with him immediately, but that seemed to be rather embarrassing for him. We gave him one of those Gideon New Testaments. (The ones with a plan of salvation printed in the front). As he left we gave him the address of a minister he could get in touch with whilst he was visiting his Mum.
New Testaments can often be obtained free from the Salvation Army and other Christian second hand shops. *The Alpha Course is probably running at a church in your area. Write to Holy Trinity Church, Brompton, London UK. or email their website. They have a list of churches worldwide running the course and can put you in touch with your local co-ordinators. You can also find local details in Alpha newspapers, often obtainable from Christian bookshops.
In hindsight I realised that I forgot all about his mother's need to know Jesus if she did not know Him already. I think that perhaps I should have given him another N/T for his Mum. But I prayed for her, and trusted that the Lord would take care of it.
Note: I always pray before picking up hitchhikers. And get some indication in my spirit (Yes/No). I think it is necessary to be able to be discerning here. I do not advise anyone to pick up hitch hikers unless they are confident in their ability to hear from the Lord.
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1978 -1998 Talking to Children.
Hi Eve! - I'm finding out how easy it is to be a missionary in my home town. The school needs teachers for their "Scripture in School" classes. It is really easy. All the lessons are already worked out for you, the children have workbooks, and the teacher usually stays in to help with any disciplinary problems. It does not seem to matter what denomination you are. You can go in with another scripture teacher for the first half of the term so that you get your feet wet gradually.
What a privilege it is to bring little children to the Lord. And what is more, I found a source of 40 brand new Testaments at $1 each, and any child that asked was given one. That means that the Word of God is in the homes of those children. Who knows how the Lord may use it in the years to come? It was a good idea to give a list of page numbers with the parables on them for parents to use as short bed time stories, and a list of churches with their ministers' phone numbers, and times of Sunday schools etc. Some of the Sunday Schools will pick up the children from their homes and bring them back again afterwards. I think a lot of parents would be happy to send their children to Sunday School under those conditions. I made sure that the New Testaments had instructions on how to receive Jesus inside. Rosemary sleeps in her bassinet as I teach.
When a child comes to the point of making a commitment to Jesus I always tell them this:- If their parents don't like it, or won't allow them to go to church, or to Sunday school, they should not argue or cause trouble. Jesus wants them to obey their parents and have happy, peaceful homes. They need to be obedient and show Jesus to their parents in their changed lives. I say to them "Keep talking to God whatever you do, follow His rules as well as you can, and He will lead you in your life and never leave you". God wants them to be happy and to have peace in their homes, and there will come a time when they will be able to do the things they want with church and Sunday school.
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1994
Eve, guess what! I found out that I could buy 40 JESUS videos at $6 each. This means that the children in my scripture classes can have a JESUS Video each as a Christmas present from me! There's an opportunity to pray to receive Christ at the end of every one too! I am thrilled to bits! This is totally awesome!
JESUS Videos are obtainable from Campus Crusade for Christ: access the net address young@lifemin.org to find out where your nearest supplier is. Ask at your local Christian bookshop.LATST NEWS NOW YOU CAN BUY, FOR ONLY ONE DOLLAR VIA CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CHRIST, A TINY CD ROM WHICH GIVES THE WHOLE BIBLE INS EVERAL DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, PLUS THE FOUR SPIRITUAL LAWS, PLUS ALL ABOUT JESUS. There is also a special children's version of the JESUS video, Children in the dress of the times narrate the story as it goes along. These clips are woven in to the adaptation of the JESUS film; you could not tell that they were added after the original was made. The story of the children runs parallel with the story of Jesus' life. They come from differing home backgrounds, and one has a father who definitely does NOT like his son following the Lord. I think children would enjoy watching the children dressed in robes and sandals, telling and participating in the story as it unfolds.
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1998
Dear Evie,
There is a youth group in our town, and I've been given the opportunity to do a Bible study every week with them for half an hour. We shall use the JESUS Language Video and stop at various points to discuss things. This is a two hour (full) version of Luke's gospel. The other ones are cut and much shorter. Ideal to give away to non Christians.
Campus Crusade for Christ have a Bible study course that gives starting points for discussion at various places on the film. It is part of the JESUS Video Strategy and Training Manual. Ours is pretty old. If you can't get it, write to them on the net. (See below). The Teens are getting really involved, and it is going well. There are all kinds of questions. It is fun to bring in all kinds of extra details - for example, one reason why Jesus got upset in the outer court and turned over the tables of the money changers was possibly because it was the only place where the Gentiles were allowed to pray. The place was too noisy and busy. Of course, the money changers were also cheating.
At the time of writing, JESUS Videos are available through "JESUS Gift to the Nations" at $6 each or $240 for 40. They are available in sign language, or with subtext for the deaf, as well as in over 100 languages. There are also videos including personal testimony, with a football, sport, or Australian emphasis. In Australia, contact L Nicholls, 4, Ingrid Street Dandenong North, Victoria. Tel : 03 9791 1830 < lnicholls@jesusvideo.org
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1999
Hi Eve -
Mt 19:14 - but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."