Stories from all over our city & beyond

After a casual typical conversation during the work day, the discussion turned to religion, denominations, and the question what do I belief. The opportunity to share my faith has dropped in my lap and I was able to share how God dramatically entered my life one day in my early twenties and change my life forever. What a blessing!

After the Superbowl, conversation turned toward spiritual matters, and my friend shared more about her upbringing on the fringes of the Catholic church and then the evangelical church throughout college. She shared things that turned her off of organized religion but admitted that she did believe there was a higher power. I was able to agree with her on the brokenness she’d seen, pointing back to the Bible’s response to those things, which she had already alluded to knowing. Mostly though I was listening, praying for her, and thanking God for showing me that she’s much more open than I initially would’ve thought. (And thanking Him that He helped her feel comfortable enough to say those things to me.)

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!