The cold does not discourage our church’s young men’s group from venturing outside to do outreach, sharing the Gospel with all who pass by. Some time ago, a generous donor provided us with resources to put together 1,000 gift packages that included snacks and Gospel booklets. We handed them out on the streets one chilly, building bridges with strangers and deepening relationships with those that we knew from Roses Church, our fellowship that meets outdoors in an urban park.
Sometime later we held a service downtown and had more than fifty people show up to hear the Good News and worship together. We invited them all to Roses Church, praying that God would move them to come and check it out. Weeks later, one did. As we were meeting at the park one Sunday, we noticed a man hanging back from our gatherings and we walked over to talk with him. The man, Mikawa, explained that he hung back because he was mostly deaf, and did not usually try to talk with people. He shared that a recent stroke had left him with some mobility issues and an ongoing, painful tingling in his body that had nothing to do with the cold. We shared the Gospel with him and, when he expressed that he wanted to believe, we right away laid hands on him in prayer. The tingling stopped.
Astonished, Mikawa realized that not only could he now move his hands normally, but he was hearing us clearly as well! It was with great gladness that he prayed that day to receive Jesus as his Lord and committed his life to following him.
The next week, Mikawa came again to Roses Church. Thrusting a warm wool sweater into my startled hands, he said how thankful he was for all that God had done for him through us. Now, whenever I wear my new sweater, I remember Mikawa’s thankfulness as well as my own - thankfulness for the generous love and faithful prayers of readers like you.
