Wednesday Morning February 17

Good Morning,

Every day in the early morning, I sit here in the hostel dinning area working on the blog and spending time with team mates and new friends.  It is always a good time.  My thing is people... big ones, short ones, gray haired people, blonde hair, brown hair, thin and not so thin... People and relationships are the Kingdom... So it is a good time.  This morning I sit with Brad from Arkansas, a great new friend.  he is a strong believer,  a good Sports Chaplain,  a great sense of humor, and a man with an infectious laugh.  It is always a time of sharing and of laughing.  We began this breakfast thing... we try to buy each other's breakfast... I will admit he has out foxed me there several times... but all in fun and fellowship. He, like many of my team mates, has helped make this trip fun, deeply spiritual, and rewarding.

I promised last night to tell you about our ministry yesterday.  It was amazing.  God has really touched my heart here.  We spent the day on Granville St. and Robinson Center were we shared with many individuals and families.  For me it seemed to be "family day" as I seemed to get mostly families.  School is out here so we see lots of children and teens.  Let me give you a little testimony about a meeting I had with one family that made my day. I have been talking a little about God giving us gifts along the way. This qualifies as an amazing gift.

I was talking to several teens and sharing the Jesus Pin when a family passing by caught my eye.  They were of Indian (India) descent and they moved in front of me and came around to my right shoulder and stopped, intently listening to my words as I finished sharing with the teens. When I finished, I turned to the father of this family and said "Hello",  and he introduced himself (and I will never try to spell this name because I could barely pronounce it!) and asked who we were.  Well, that was the door I needed and I took out some pins and began to share Jesus with them. I asked him if I could tell the story behind our pin and his response was interesting, "I will let you tell your story if I can tell you my story too".  I thought OK it is still an opening.  So I began sharing the story of Jesus using the Jesus Pin.  While I was sharing the story, he and his wife kept ginning at each other.  Well I have seen some families smirk, or get little looks between members and it usually signaled they were not really interested.  So I finished the story and asked them if they had ever heard the story of Jesus before. He stopped me and said, "No, I get to tell you my story now." "OK" I replied.  Here is what he said:

"We used to be die hard Hindus. My son" [pointing to his 15 year old boy] "went to a pool 6 years ago and something happened.  He was not right, but we did not know what was wrong.  My brother is an evangelical Christian like you.  He asked if he could bring his pastor over and I said yes.  His pastor prayed for my son and he was instantly healed." [With a sweeping gesture that indicated his whole family he said] "We are all evangelical Christians now!" 

I was blown away!  I shouted with glee right there on the street. The entire family had "Cheshire Cat "gins on their faces.  What a story... You can not fight against the power of God!  He has a way and He knows what it takes.  This made my day.

"Our God is an awesome God.
He reigns from heaven above,
With wisdom, power and love.
Our God is an awesome God."

Yes He is!


More pictures from yesterday:

This is the official Olympic Torch at the main Olympic stadium

Here I am sharing on the street with a young Vancouver resident. (Not the man in the testimony)

I was standing a few feet away when Jerry led two teens to the Lord while we ministered on the street in Robinson Center.

Grant sharing on the steps of the big screen video display at Robinson Center.