Stories from all over our city & beyond

I had been praying for the Holy Spirit to fill me and help me to speak boldly about Jesus, my girlfriend had asked how it was going on February 7 and I said there hadn’t been a clear door into a conversation. Well that very night a coworker mentioned they had prayed before and I felt the Holy Spirit giving me courage to ask questions, listen intentionally and tell him about what the Lord has done in my life.

I had a speech I needed to write for a ministry event and was working on it before some not-yet-Christian friends arrived at our usual hangout spot. I still had a little left to do when they got there, so I joined a bit late. When I finished, one of them asked me what I had been working on, and I was able to share briefly how I was working on a presentation about songs God had used in my life to strengthen my faith and encourage me throughout the years. I just love opportunities like this because no one in this group has expressed personal interest in spiritual matters, but getting the chance to show that God makes a difference in my life gives me hope that one day God will water those seeds in their hearts.

Another conversation with basketball buddy about the peace of God. This was at the Plano rec center with the 50+ basketball group.

Our family made backpacks for the homeless with food, gloves, scarves, and blankets. We keep them in the car readily available if we see someone in need. Tonight we drove past a QT and eight homeless people were huddled together behind the gas station. We handed everything out, asked them their names and listened to their stories. Ryan and Marsha are homeless, his boss died and he couldn’t find work and before they knew it, they were homeless. He also has stage 4 cancer. Marsha is a believer but he is not. We prayed for him and I told him that I have never experienced this kind of suffering, but I do know suffering. And I do know how years go by and I wonder if God even sees me or hears me. We told him about our Savior and how much He loves us and that He does love him and his wife. We shared about the glory in heaven for those who believe and there is zero suffering there. They were freezing outside but had access to an electrical outlet, so we went a bought a few small heaters for them and heavier gloves. Ryan told me he would think about what we told him. We promised to come back and talk some more.

We just moved into this neighborhood about two months ago after living in DFW a dozen years and attending NWB for a few years. LDS missionaries came to our house a few days ago. We invited them back to our house today and talked about Jesus and scripture. We’ll be meeting with them again in a few weeks.

On my flight home from my recent mission trip, I was seated next to a pilot who was flying standby. He was really friendly and chatted with me the whole flight. He is originally from Pakistan and is Muslim. He asked me, “what is the difference between a church Christian and a Bible Christian?” which led to a conversation where I was able to share my faith. I shared about the blood and sacrifice of Jesus, and how his sacrifice is sufficient to take away sins. None of the sacrifices of the previous prophets could do that. I’m praying that our conversation will keep coming back to him and stir up curiosity in him to discover more about Jesus.

We’re visiting friends in Denver, PA. So after dinner, Glenn and I went on a late evening walk. We were just completing the walk, when a gal that lived down the street pulled into her driveway driving a convertible red Miata. Before she pulled all the way into the garage, I yelled from across the street “oh, boy, I sure would love to ride in a convertible” to which she replied “want to go?” I didn’t have to think twice. Immediately I handed my phone to Glenn to take a photo of me grinning from ear to
ear.

In the quick 20 minute ride through the Amish country side, I learned that [she] is a special ed teacher in high school. Her husband is a retired high school psychologist. She was impressed that Glenn and I were on a 4 week road trip visiting missionaries that are retired. I then learned that her husband two years ago was hit from behind as he was riding his bicycle. He is an avid rider. He broke his neck, scraped up his face and arms. [She] doesn’t understand how her husband was still alive. I told [her] about Glenn’s personal bicycle trip in 1976 to Colombia South America and then Neil’s trip in 2019. I quickly told Lynn about the Listening Road on YouTube.

I expressed to Lynn that there’s a reason why her husband was not killed nor had any life threatening conditions.
I told Lynn that we were traveling, but she could always reach out to Jonathan who we were staying with.

My wife, Stacy and I met with a single mother while on our Mission trip to Cuba […] along with her son and daughter. [She] is struggling to make it to church because her son has an intestinal problem that he has had since he was born and has to wear a colostomy bag since day one. Some days, they do not have new bags to use so they attach rags around him and they can’t leave the house for fear of infection. He can’t go to school most days nor can they attend church due to this problem. [Her son] is 14 years old but was the same size as most of the 7 and 8 year olds. We were able to sit in with her and visit with the them about how God is moving in their town with Julio Ceasar’s church and the blessings that the Lord has given her with her children. Despite all of the issues that they encounter daily, she was so thankful for having the Lord in her life and what He does for them. We also talked about the vacation bible school that we were doing over the next two days. We prayed for them and invited them to attend and they all showed up! After the service that evening, we met collectively with Julio to discuss this family’s situation and talk about how we would try to help get the colostomy bags needed to help them. It was such a joy to see him running around and playing with all the other kids! It was also a blessing to get to see the hope and joy on [her] face and in her smile because of her faith in God!

London Mission Trip – We went to Kahaila for coffee and to hear [his] story. After an amazing BBQ lunch (in the UK!), we headed out seeking more opportunities for conversations to have about Jesus. This time, we had the extra resource with us to be able to invite people back to Kahaila the next night for dinner. I was relieved to have something to offer, further connection, but I still felt way more nervous this day. I was looking around the busy shopping area trying to decide who we would talk to. I caught myself questioning what I was doing, how was I making this judgement, was I judging people, and this began to bother me, when, [a woman] approached us.

[She] is a 31-year-old homeless woman. She sells magazines, which are more like small newspapers, to make enough money to stay in a hostel each night. Kahaila is off of Brick Lane, so is [her] favorite hostel. I knew she was preoccupied, with good reason to sell her papers, she approached saying “I promise I am not a beggar or a panhandler, I am trying to earn a wage.” I was so thankful that she approached us, it probably startled her how excited I was that God put her right before us!

I started to tell her why we there and how we believed God had sent her to us. She was in total agreement and was very sweet and gracious to listen to our spill, but I realized again, she had money that she HAD to earn, TODAY. We asked her how much her daily goal was, and she said 6 pounds. We didn’t have cash, but ATMs were right behind us. I immediately knew we should giver her 20. I continued talking to her, telling her how much God sees her and loves her. She said she grew up in foster care in Kent, and was now homeless, trying to eek out a living to get a roof over her head each night.

I invited her to Kahaila’s Wednesday night service and told her we didn’t want to take any of her papers, but that I would like her to bring me one the next night at Kahaila so we could connect her. She gave [my husband] her number. I asked if I could pray for her, [he] and I both put our hands on her shoulders, when we finished praying, I asked if I could hug her and she said yes, yes….after I hugged her, she wanted a hug from [him] as well. She assured us that she would try to come the following night.

As we made our way to Brixton, London on the London mission trip, we were warned that Brixton was a hard place. A team the week before had become very discouraged at many dead ends they had found there for conversations about Jesus.

I felt hopeful though, nervous of course, but hopeful. When we walked up the tube steps, some of our team were immediately met by a man who had asked where we were from. “Texas! Dallas! You came all the way from here to Brixton?” He marveled, we felt encouraged and welcomed. I felt like Brixton was Maurice and I’s kind of place. Rich in African-Uk culture, it reminded me of areas in Dallas that have rich diversity that we appreciate.

We landed at a Jamaican restaurant for lunch, and we met our server. She was a lovely and very busy woman. The restaurant had a dining area and bar area across the corridor, and its kitchens and store front on the other side. The store front held a bakery and food line for customers to take their food to go.

As we walked into the dining room, two men were inside eating, the dad was probably in his late 60’s and the son in his late 40’s. [One of the men] encouraged us, before we ordered to go around to the front of the restaurant to check out the line up before we ordered so we knew what things were. We obliged. After we checked things out, we came back and thanked him and sat down again. [Our server] returned and offered to bring us three different meat dishes: sides of plantains, rice and beans, and meat pies, their version of empanadas. She also brought me a sample of something I had never seen, a very traditional Jamaican dish of ackee and salted fish served hot, so I could try it, after asking several questions at the store front.

Everything was spicy and delicious. [The man] seemed to gravitate toward Maurice, he kept asking questions from across the small dining room. As a native Jamaican, he came to this restaurant about once a week for its authentic Jamaican food. Before he left, him and his son shook our hands, going around the table, and we took ouropportunity. We asked if we could pray for them before they left. The son smiled uneasily but friendly like, the dad took a slight defensive stance. The son said quietly, don’t get him started. Apparently, they had just had an hour and a half long discussion about faith. The son, presumably a believer, but the dad was not. I believe God put us there as an undeniable confirmation of what the son has been trying to tell the father.

[He] started telling us that he prayed every night, but that he wasn’t religious. He said he was raised catholic, but he did not believe “all that stuff anymore.” He rejected most of the arguments that we threw out. The conversation was short, we did not want Victor to feel that he had been ambushed. We wrapped it up, assured them we would keep them in our prayers and how thankful we were to meet them.

We had just begun to eat, and as we wrapped up, we asked Lisa if we could pray for her. She went and got a lovely older Jamaican man who was the owner. He started this business 21 years ago as a food stand. Him and his wife cooked food at home and had sold it on the very corner that their restaurant stood on today. He identified as a Christian, also being raised in the Catholic church, but no longer active in church, but faithful nevertheless. He said Brixton is an area that needs some change and some hope. Before we went to Brixton, we learned that there was no church there and that Alex, who is a part of Kahaila, has been praying that one will be planted there. The owner’s name was Stafford or Sanford. He wanted prayer for all the things that we all want, provision, protection, favor, and we add, revival and a church for Brixton. He also said, “more cash in his pocket.” He joined us around the table, and we all held hands and prayed together. He spoke a blessing over us before we left, and we made a note to let Alex know, through Lauren, that this may be a place to start the conversation about a church plant. Maybe Sanford would help be a catalyst for that.